comScore released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month period between October 2009 and January 2010.

The report found Motorola to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 22.9 percent market share, while RIM led among smartphone platforms with 43.0 percent market share.

Overall satisfaction among smartphone owners has increased considerably over time as manufacturers continue to improve styling, feature sets, usability and software, according to the J.D. Power and Associates studies.

Apple ranks highest among manufacturers of smartphones used primarily for personal reasons, with a score of 811, and performs particularly well in ease of operation, operating system, features and physical design. LG (776) and RIM BlackBerry (759) follow Apple in the rankings.

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“Smart phones continue to shine as one of the brightest spots of the technology industry, with shipments growing despite the global recession,” says the recent Canalys’ report on the Q2 key smartphone market trends.

The report shows that Nokia maintains global lead, Apple’s success continues, as the iPhone takes 23% of the North American market and RIM continues to gain share, succeeding with its push into the consumer market. Touchscreens become the preferred interface, representing 40% of all shipments.

Research in Motion announced acquisition of Torch Mobile, the Toronto based developer that has created Iris - an open-source browser for mobile devices. As Blackberry users look for innovation, RIM take a bold step in redefining their browser.

RIM has launched a RIM-operated community forum for BlackBerry users.
MyBlackBerry is akin to a bulletin board and is intended as a place were any BlackBerry users can share tips, stories, review apps and discuss their handsets.

Following up on the Sprint Launch, Verizon has launched its version of the BlackBerry Tour 9630 and has launched both a non-camera and camera-equipped version for consumer purchase.

The devices are otherwise identical to the Sprint version with a tri-mode CDMA EVDO Rev. A/quadband GSM/EDGE/single-band HSPA radio, HVGA landscape display, GPS transceiver with A-GPS support, Bluetooth, Qualcomm chipset with 256 MB of RAM and 192 MB of ROM running at 528 MHz, speakerphone, and microSDHC expansion slot.

Both versions are available for $269.99 after a new two year agreement before a $70 instant rebate, bringing the total to $199.99.

Encyclopedia: BlackBerry 9630 Tour

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Sprint has officially launched one of the most highly awaited BlackBerry devices in the Tour, an unexpected color variant in the Inferno Curve, and the LG LX290 entry-level slider.

The BlackBerry Curve 8330 is functionally identical to prior models with EVDO Rev. A, QWERTY keyboard, speakerphone, media player, HTML browser, Bluetooth, microSD expansion slot, MMS support, and QVGA display with the only change being an uncharacteristically loud orange color called Inferno by Sprint.

The LG LX290 features a QVGA resolution display, Sprint One Click user interface, Sprint Mobile Email Work and Mobile Email Work Calendar support, Bluetooth, speaker-independent voice dialing/voice control, GPS support and speakerphone.

The BlackBerry Tour features a tri-mode CDMA EVDO Rev. A/quadband GSM/EDGE/single-band HSPA radio, HVGA landscape display, GPS transceiver with A-GPS support, Bluetooth, Qualcomm chipset with 256 MB of RAM and 192 MB of ROM running at 528 MHz, speakerphone, microSDHC expansion slot and 3.2 megapixel camera with video recorder, auto focus and flash.

The LG LX290 is available for $79.99 after new 2 year agreement before an additional $50 mail-in rebate, bringing the total to $29.99. The BlackBerry Curve is available for $149.99 after new 2 year agreement before an additional $100 mail-in rebate, bringing the total to $49.99 and the BlackBerry Tour is now available for $299.99 after new 2 year agreement before an additional $100 mail-in rebate, bringing the total to $199.99.

European smartphone users are to get a standardised charger following an agreement between handset manufacturers that control 90 per cent of the region's mobile market.
From next year, new phones will be sold with the charger but will eventually come without one - significantly lowering manufacturing and shipping costs.

Apple has launched its new iPhone 3GS with demand expected to be strong for the handset in the US and seven other initial launch countries.
However, with a smartphone market also offering new handsets from Palm, RIM and Nokia, to name but a few, the landscape has changed considerably since the original iPhone hit the market two years ago.

RIM is boosting its Blackberry range with a new 3G dual-mode handset aimed at both its core executive users and the wider consumer market.
Candy-bar shaped and with a full keyboard, the Blackberry Tour will launch with Verizon and Sprint in the US and Telus and BCE's Bell unit in Canada.

Not owning a smartphone today is the social equivalent to not having email a few years ago - at least in the US.
That's the conclusion of a report in the New York Times, which says that having an iPhone, Pre or BlackBerry is pretty much mandatory these days unless you want to ostracise yourself from "society".

Worldwide smartphone shipments grew 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to the latest quarterly market overview by Canalys.
However, Pete Cunningham, senior analyst with Canalys, told smartphone.biz-news the North American consumer market saw shipments rise in Q1 2009 by 22.5 per cent year-on-year.

Smartphone sales grew 12.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 despite sharply falling sales of mobile phones generally - down 9.4 per cent year-on-year.
Leading the charge in high-end device sales were RIM's Blackberry handsets and Apple's iPhone, along with a number of other touchscreen phones, according to research firm Gartner.

RIM and HP are partnering together to offer Blackberry business users some features which they say will allow mobile workers to increase their productivity levels.
Among the first applications and services for the smartphones is printing service that enables users to easily print to the nearest printer.

Helped in no small part by aggressive promotions, RIM's Blackberry Curve became the best-selling US smartphone in the first quarter of 2009 - overtaking Apple's iPhone.
The Curve's popularity helped increase RIM's consumer smartphone market share by 15 per cent over the previous quarter to almost 50 per cent, according to market research firm NPD.

The iPhone has come top of JD Power's customer satisfaction study measuring consumer tastes.
The Apple handset ranked highest among smartphone consumers judging five factors: ease of operation, operating system, features, physical design, and battery function.

Location-sharing start-up Wizi has announced the release of SMS with Location for BlackBerry.
The application adds a new option to BlackBerry contacts allowing users to send an SMS with their actual position or the location where they are heading.

RIM's plans for its soon-to-be unveiled BlackBerry OS 5.0 include an overhaul of maps and messaging options.
BGR reports that the Canadian smartphone maker is bringing in new maps features, including displaying the address location of a message - such as email, text or PIN.

Research In Motion (RIM) has launched its application store Blackberry App World in the US, the UK and Canada, with more country launches to follow.
Unveiled at CTIA 2009 in Las Vegas, the much-anticipated app store for BlackBerry smartphones will offer a mix of personal and business applications, both free and paid.

Skype is now available for the iPhone - and will be coming to BlackBerry in May.
The VoIP app on the iPhone will only work over Wi-Fi and not 3G.
It will allow iPhone subscribers to use phone numbers in their existing iPhone address book - without the need for duplicate lists.
UPDATE: Since being released on Tuesday it has emerged that Skype on iPhone does works over 3G, despite being intended only for use with WiFi.

INTERVIEW: Sanjiv Parikh, vice president of marketing for FutureDial, talks to smartphone-biz.news about its mobile content management service and its potential to generate revenue for operators and retailers.
The company's Retail Management Solution (RMS) 4.0 allows mobile content to be directly loaded to handsets at store counters - an industry first.

Nokia still tops the smartphone market with sales of 60.9 million handsets last year for a total global market share of 43.7 per cent.
But the Finnish phone-maker's sales grew by just 0.8 per cent and its market share dropped from 49.4 per cent, with rivals Research In Motion (RIM) and Apple taking bigger slices of the smartphone pie.

It was interesting to hear Eitan Linker, CEO of emoze, talk about his company's efforts to introduce the mass market to mobile push email at the Showstopper event on the eve of Mobile World Congress 2009.
Emoze's free software enables users to configure multiple mobile email accounts - and send and receive emails from corporate, personal and family accounts all on the same mobile.

Google's Android Market is expected to begin accepting paid applications this week for the first time.
The move could provide a much-needed boost to the platform, which currently has around 800 applications.

Orange UK is to offer a pay-as-you-go Blackberry - the first carrier in Europe to launch a PAYG RIM device.
The move underlines RIM's intention to re-position itself as a provider of handsets that appeal to the consumer market as well as its traditional enterprise stronghold.

Zach Epstein, on the BoyGeniusReport blog, notes that Nokia/Symbian has a lot of catching up to do with Apple, despite the fact that Symbian is the world's dominant smartphone OS.

...Despite the fact that Symbian has gotten pretty gray up top over the past few years, it is still the world?s most popular smartphone operating system by a huge margin. S60 is incredibly capable and versatile, and Nokia has consistently pumped out solid hardware to carry it. That being said, it is hardly the most exciting mobile OS on the block these days...

RIM's rival to Apple's App Store has moved a step closer to fruition.
The Canadian company has sent a message to all registered BlackBerry developers calling for application submissions for its application storefront.

T-Mobile has sent out an internal memo to employees informing them that the long-awaited BlackBerry Curve 8900 smart device will be launched ahead of its scheduled launch on February 11th, now on January 19th for business customers only.  This follows up on the leaked consumer release date for the device and lends credence to the fact that T-Mobile is pushing to court international business travelers.  

The device is intended to be a variant of the Bold without 3G access and features a landscape HVGA (480×320) display, quadband GSM/EDGE 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, speakerphone, microSDHC expansion slot, media player,  Wi-Fi with UMA support for HotSpot @ Home, Bluetooth with stereo audio support, and GPS support via built-in transceiver.

Details are emerging about Palm’s expected launch of its latest smartphone and operating system at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show.
The new handset is to have a full QWERTY keyboard that will slide down under a portrait-oriented touchscreen.

Palm has secured a USD $100 million equity lifeline from Elevation Partners just a few weeks before it unveils its new Nova operating system.
Faced with mounting losses and weak smartphone sales, the success of the new operating system could very well decide the company's fate.

Growth in the global smartphone market dipped to 11.5 per cent in the third quarter year-on-year, the slowest rate of growth since it started tracking smartphone sales, according to research firm Gartner.
Some 36.5 million smartphones were sold globally in the July-September quarter.

Whether the long, cold waits - and, for many, ultimately empty-handed departures - were down to a security issue or general inventory problems is still not clear.
What's certain is that the Blackberry Storm's US launch didn't go as either exclusive operator Verizon or maker Research In Motion would have wished.

A security issue could lead to shortages of Verizon's Blackberry Storm on its US launch day today.
The last minute hitch has forced both maker RIM and exclusive operator Verizon to update the firmware and reduce supplies of phones, according to a report on BGR.

Information has surfaced regarding the delay of the highly anticipated BlackBerry Storm.

Many reps and engineers have been quietly confirming the delay of the device from a planned Friday November 14th simultaneous launch with Vodafone to a new date later in the month, with most reps suggesting a release on Black Friday, but a more realistic timeframe given by engineers is closer to the end of the month. 

The delay is due to two factors: Carrier field testing and the fear that the device suffer the same type of delay cycle as the oft-delayed Bold due to the same strict carrier testing requirements that have led to delay cycles stretching as far as five months after planned launch date.

With Verizon positioning the Storm as its gambit against iPhone 3G, potential and current customers are waiting to experience RIM’s take on the touchscreen device concept and expecting an equal if not greater experience than the former.

T-Mobile has updated the BlackBerry Pearl Flip to OS 4.6 and the BlackBerry Curve 8320 to OS 4.5.

  

The upgrade features support for myFaves version 1.5, HTML email support, video recording, attachment download with full editing support, full UMA support, general improvements to the Wireless Network stack, improved HTML browsing, phone application, Bluetooth, and now features a software GSM/EDGE toggle.

As an additional service, T-Mobile has also jointly developed updates for the SunCom BlackBerry lineup with RIM.

Firmware Tracker: Updated

Buy a BlackBerry Pearl Flip from T-Mobile
Buy a BlackBerry Curve 8320 from T-Mobile

T-Mobile has launched new colors for the venerable BlackBerry Pearl 8120 in time for the holiday shopping season.

   

All three new colors are otherwise identical to the original model with quadband GSM/EDGE radio, Wi-Fi with support for WPA encryption and UMA support for HotSpot @ Home service, QVGA display, converged QWERTY SureType keyboard, microSDHC expansion slots, media player, myFaves support, speakerphone, Bluetooth with stereo audio support, and 2.0 megapixel camera with video recorder.

The devices are available now for $349.99 retail, or $199.99 after new 2 year agreement, $150 instant online discount and additional $50 mail-in rebate, bringing the total to $149.99.

Buy a BlackBerry Pearl from T-Mobile
Buy a T-Mobile BlackBerry Pearl from Wirefly

T-Mobile has officially launched the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220, the first clamshell BlackBerry device manufactured by Canadian platform developer and hardware manufacturer Research In Motion.

The BlackBerry Pearl Flip features quadband GSM/EDGE, Wi-Fi radio with WPA encryption, UMA support for phone calls via T-Mobile HotSpot@Home, QVGA internal display, converged QWERTY SureType keyboard, trackball navigation, microSDHC expansion slot, media player, 2.0 megapixel camera with video recorder and flash, speakerphone, and Bluetooth with stereo audio support.

The device is now available from T-Mobile for $349.99 retail or $199.99 after $150 instant online discount and new 2 year agreement before an additional $50 mail-in rebate, bringing the total to $149.99.

Whether the Blackberry Storm unveiled today lives up to its much-hyped “iPhone killer” title remains to be seen.
What’s certain is that RIM – the champion of corporate emailers – appears to have delivered excellent new touchscreen technology in its first handset not equipped with a physical keyboard.

HTC’s Touch HD has joined the Blackberry Bold and Nokia 5800 on the list of 3G smartphones that have no US release date.
HTC has announced through its Twitter feed that says that although it "looked into it," it has decided that by the time the HD could be converted and imported into the US, the device would be "old news".

Thirty per cent of US consumers who purchased Apple’s new iPhone 3G from June through August 2008 switched from other mobile carriers to join AT&T, according to a survey by the NPD Group.
Unsurprisingly, the new iPhone was the top selling smartphone between June-August, pipping RIM’s Blackberry Curve and Pearl to the top slot.

The rising popularity of smartphones and their increasing use to access the internet means web sites must be prepared for effective handheld viewing.
With the launch of new phones from the likes of Apple, RIM and now HTC, with Google’s Android-based G1, that trend is set to accelerate.

In a post on the Official Google Mobile Blog, Google has announced a new version of the venerable Google Maps for Mobile application with support for Street View and pedestrian direction input as well as increases in loading speed and My Location updates.

The application is now available for all Java enabled handsets and BlackBerry devices with future versions for other platforms planned.

The increasing numbers of smartphones on flat-rate data plans, coupled with ever-improving handsets, is leading to a surge in mobile search, according to comScore.
It has published the results of a survey which show that searching the internet from a mobile phone is gaining in popularity in the United States and Western Europe.

Touted as Google's answer to the iPhone, the first cell phone powered by the feverishly anticipated Android software is to be unveiled on 23 September.
The Android launch will heighten competition in a market increasingly dominated by Apple's 3G handset and RIM's BlackBerries.

T-Mobile has opened a placeholder product page for the forthcoming BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220.

The clamshell device features a large internal QVGA display, large outer display, converged SureType QWERTY keyboard, quadband GSM/EDGE support, Wi-Fi radio with WPA encryption and HotSpot@Home support for calls over UMA, myFaves support, 2.0 megapixel camera with video recorder and flash, Bluetooth 2.0 with stereo audio support, speakerphone, microSDHC expansion slot, full HTML browser, and media player.

T-Mobile has opened a placeholder product page for the much anticipated first clamshell from RIM in the BlackBerry Pearl Flip 8220.

The device features a large portait QVGA display, quadband GSM/EDGE support, large outer display, 2.0 megapixel camera with video recorder and flash, Wi-Fi radio with WPA encryption support, trackball navigation, SureType QWERTY keyboard, microSDHC expansion slot, speakerphone, media player, and Bluetooth with stereo audio support.

An internal information card designed for Verizon Wireless sales people has surfaced with detailed specifications on the forthcoming BlackBerry Storm touchscreen device.

Image courtesy of Engadget Mobile

The device will feature RIM’s first attempt at a “click” touch display at HVGA (480×320) resolution, microSDHC expansion slot, 3.2 megapixel camera with video recorder, and quadband GSM support for international roaming on Vodafone along with an HTML browser, VZ Navigator support, and media player.

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For many, Research in Motion’s Blackberry has been seen simply as a corporate favorite with little appeal beyond email-hungry executives.
Yet the Canadian handset-maker is broadening its consumer reach, announcing deals with TiVo and Ticketmaster and the addition of “lifestyle” apps like Slacker Radio, MySpace and Microsoft Live Search.

Smartphones accounted for 25.8 per cent of worldwide mobile ad traffic in August, up 3.4 per cent since May 2008, according to AdMob’s August 2008 Mobile Metrics Report.
Nokia dominates globally, with a 62.4 per cent slice of the traffic in August and more than 50 per cent in every region except North America.

AOL’s email and instant messaging applications, AIM and ICQ, are to be embedded in Blackberry smartphones.
RIM and AOL have developed native BlackBerry applications for both of the IM clients to ensure they work effectively on the Canadian-made handsets.

The success of Apple’s App Store is making smartphone software developers increasingly attractive to venture capitalists and phonemakers with millions to invest.
The head of one US$100m fund that invests in smartphone application start-ups has told the New York Times he expects to tap into the iPhone’s success.

Questions remain about battery life, security and email options but it would seem Apple’s 3G iPhone is attracting increasing interest from the business world.
HSBC is considering equipping its employees with some 200,000 iPhones, according to HSBC’s Australia and New Zealand chief information officer Brenton Hush.

The US smartphone market grew 67.3 per cent in the first half of 2008 with RIM’s Blackberry the firm leader with nearly half of all sales.
However, even with Q2 shipments dropping in anticipation of the new 3G iPhone, Apple retained the second place spot for the first half of the year with Motorola a close third.

The Blackberry Curve in “Sunset” Red is now available at T-mobile’s website. It carries the same features as the titanium and gold Curve, with a 2 megapixel camera, full querty keyboard, stereo Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and support for T-Mobile’s “Hotspot at Home” service. The phone replaces the not-so-popular gold color with a sleek dark red casing, as well as a black keyboard. The Titanium Curve is still available and both phones are priced at $149.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate, with a 2 year contract.

T-Mobile Curve (Sunset) Product Page
Buy a Curve (Titanium) from Amazon.com

Global demand for mobile devices is expected to reach 1.3 billion units in 2008 despite financial uncertainties, according to ABI Research
As the recent launch of the 3G iPhone demonstrated, the public appetite for the latest, most sophisticated smartphones is strong.

Some impressive mobile phone product launches between now and the year-end will help the world’s mobile handset markets finish 2008 with strong sales, according to ABI Research.
Spurred on by the launch of Apple’s second-generation iPhone, rival handset vendors such as RIM, Nokia and Samsung are also expected to debut new models in the second half of 2008.

Avid posters on  SprintUsers have been discussing the leak of a new roadmap that details new phones and smart devices up to September.

Click for full-size image.

The first wave of phones launches this month with the hotly anticipated Treo 800w launching this Sunday July 13th, followed by the formerly Best Buy exclusive Blue/Black LG Rumor and Red BlackBerry Curve on the 27th.

August 17th sees the release of the previously reported Motorola VE20 which will fall under the MOTORAZR family as well as updates to both Sierra Wireless and Novatel ExpressCard and PC Card EVDO Rev. A modems respectively, while finishing out the month with an updated version of the Katana DLX known as the Eclipse which will feature EVDO, microSD expansion slot, full access to the PowerVision suite of services, Bluetooth, and external touch sensitive music controls.

September sees the release of two low end clamshells from Samsung in the M220 and M320 which will replace the M300 respectively in the lineup. The first Motorola QChat device will launch under the the name Renegade while adding a new iDEN bar phone in the lineup with the i365/iS.

The last device to launch on this day will be the MP6950 from HTC which is expected to be the CDMA version of the Touch Diamond smart device, with the model number corresponding as the successor to the 6900 series Touch also known as the Vogue.

As always these dates are tentative and subject to change without notice.

A three-way initiative between Vodafone Australia, Cisco and Research In Motion (RIM) is to launch an integrated business communications services in Australia known as Vodafone Business One.
Starting later this year, it will combine all telecommunication services - fixed and mobile, voice and data, services and equipment - into one managed service with single-point accountability on installation, technical support and fleet management and one monthly invoice.
The service will be focusing primarily on small-medium sized businesses of between 10 to 100 employees.
By using Wi-Fi-enabled BlackBerry smartphones along with Cisco Wi-Fi and IP-PBX in the office, Vodafone Business One customers will be able to make calls within the office zone at fixed-line rates, while making calls outside the office via the Vodafone mobile network.

Strong sales of Blackberry devices have helped Smartphone-maker Research in Motion Ltd (RIM) to more than double its first quarter profit and revenue.
The Canadian company earned US$482.5 million for the three months that ended May 31, up from US$223.2 million in the same period last year.
RIM’s revenue increased to US$2.24 billion from US$1.08 billion for the same period.
There was a net gain of 2.3 million BlackBerry subscribers in the quarter, six per cent higher than in the fourth quarter, to bring the total number of subscribers to more than 16 million.
Around 5.4 million new devices were shipped by the company in the first quarter of 2008.
Jim Balsillie, co-chief executive of RIM, said revenue had increased 107 per cent in the quarter, a rise he attributed to the continued popularity of the BlackBerry platform in business, government and consumer segments.

Nokia’s intention to compete in the Smartphone market by launching an array of devices will lead to a substantial and prolonged “upside” for the mobile giant.
Gus Papageorgiou, an analyst at Scotia Bank, said he believes Nokia is undervalued after hearing its CEO outline future growth plans.
Among the reasons for his optimism is the company’s aggressive plan to compete in the high-end Smartphone market, so far largely dominated by the rivalry between Research in Motion’s Blackberry and Apple’s iPhone.
Nokia is launching a range of new Smartphones and repositioning its image away from the hardware/”mobile phone” tag, by integrating services with its handsets to deliver web-enabled customer solutions.

The success of Research In Motion’s Blackberry Curve will ensure the company announces good first quarter 2008 results, according to analysts.
Simona Jankowski, an analyst with Goldman Sachs, said results, driven by US sales of its Curve at Verizon Wireless, were likely to be at the high end of current guidance when revealed on June 25.
“Our view is based on very strong retail checks suggesting that the Curve remains the most popular device among consumers and small and medium businesses alike, partially offset by a softer enterprise environment,” she said.