The Iphones, Galaxys, Nokia E series and BlackBerrys have been riding their way up handset popularity charts globally, especially among corporate and urban users. This is driving the sales of smartphones significantly. According to the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, smartphone vendors will ship more than 450 million smartphones in 2011 as compared to the 303.4 million units shipped in 2010.

Further, the smartphone market is expected to grow more than four times faster than the overall mobile phone market. This growth is expected to be led by Nokia and Apple. In the fourth quarter of 2010, the two companies shipped 28.3 million and 16.2 million units respectively.

In India, however, these devices still cater to a niche segment. According to industry estimates, smartphones constitute about 3.6 per cent of the total handset shipments to India. This year, the figure is expected to increase to 5.7 per cent, facilitated by the uptake of 3G and the demand for cutting-edge applications and services.

Spurred on by the business opportunity that such growth offers, handset vendors Acer, HTC, Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, etc. have flooded the market with smartphones, each device focused on providing a full suite of business applications on a single, converged platform.

tele.net takes a look at the various smartphones in the market today...

Nokia India 

Nokia has introduced the E7 smartphone. It comes equipped with an AMOLED touchscreen, a four-line QWERTY keyboard, built-in VPN and support for high definition video recording and playback. Its other features include an 8 megapixel camera with dual LED flash; HDMI connectivity to project files, videos and images onto large screens; 16 gigabytes of flash memory; a USB-on-the-go facility that enables easy file sharing by connecting a USB stick to the smartphone; and an in-built Adobe Reader. This smartphone costs Rs 29,999.

Nokia has further expanded its smartphone portfolio with the launch of the N8, which is packed with Ovi services. The N8 is powered by Symbian ^3 and comes with a 12 megapixel camera, an inbuilt video recorder, access to social networking sites, support for MP3, AAC, AAC+, etc. format ringtones, a 16.7 million colour screen and Bluetooth support. It is priced at Rs 26,259.

Research In Motion 

Research In Motion has introduced its BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone in the Indian market. The device incorporates BlackBerry email, messaging and social networking capabilities. Its other features include Wi-Fi connectivity, GPS, an optical trackpad, dedicated volume and media keys, a 3.2 megapixel camera with flash and support for up to 32 GB of data. The BlackBerry Pearl 3G smartphone is available in two models in India, the BlackBerry Pearl 9100, featuring a 20-key condensed QWERTY keyboard, and the BlackBerry Pearl 9105, with a 14-key traditional phone keyboard.

Motorola 

Motorola India has launched its new Defy Android handset. The offering packs in a 3.7-inch capacitive touchscreen with Gorilla glass display, a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus and LED flash, MotoBlur user interface and an in-built FM radio. The phone supports 3G and houses 2 GB of internal memory, which is expandable to 32 GB. The Defy also offers access to Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. It is priced at Rs 18,500.

Motorola India has also launched the country’s first Android-powered dual SIM touchscreen smartphone, priced at Rs 31,999. The Android-powered Milestone XT800 is a dual-SIM (CDMA+  GSM) smartphone with a 3.7-inch display, a 5 megapixel camera and expandable memory of up to 32 GB. The handset has inbuilt GPS satellite navigation that uses Google Maps. It also enables users to view and edit documents in popular formats like Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF.

Samsung 

Samsung has launched its latest Android smartphone, the Galaxy S LCD 4 GB, in India. The Galaxy S LCD, also called the GT I9003, has a four-inch WVGA (480x800 pixel) resolution touchscreen made of Gorilla glass. Running on the Android 2.2 Froyo platform, this smartphone has a 1 GHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU and a dedicated graphics card for better display. It also features 4 GB of inbuilt memory that users can expand to 32 GB by using an SD card. It has a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera and supports HSPA, video calling, Bluetooth technology, Wi-Fi, GPRS and EDGE. The phone costs Rs 25,000.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab is another smartphone introduced in India recently. Priced at Rs 38,000, it is based on the Android operating system and packs in GPS technology, a 3 megapixel camera, support for e-reading and Google Maps. The Tab also supports various email engines, including Google, MS Exchange and ActiveSync.

LG India 

LG has launched its flagship smartphones, the Optimus 2X and Optimus Black. The LG Optimus 2X is a dual core processor-based smartphone that runs on the Android 2.2 operating system. It has a 512 MB RAM and 8 GB of onboard storage besides an 8 megapixel camera with support for high definition video recording. The Optimus Black houses a 1 GHz single core processor, a 5 megapixel camera and 2 GB of onboard storage. The Optimus 2x and Optimus Black are priced at Rs 30,000 and Rs 27,000 respectively.

HTC Corporation 

HTC Corporation has launched its Desire Z Android-based smartphone. The device has a touchscreen, a dedicated QWERTY keyboard, support for high definition video recording and a 5 megapixel camera with flash. The Desire Z operates on an 800 MHz Qualcomm 7230 processor, has 1.5 GB of internal memory and a 512 MB RAM, which supports GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. It also has HTC widgets such as mail, instant messaging, music, etc. and an internal GPS antenna. The phone costs Rs 25,590.

HTC Corporation has also introduced the HTC Desire HDTM Android-based smartphone. The handheld has an LCD display and SRS virtual sound facility. It is powered by a 1 GHz Qualcomm 8255 Snapdragon processor. The HTC Desire HD enables 720p high definition video recording, has an 8 megapixel camera with dual-flash and the HTC fast boot facility. The device is priced at Rs 26,990.

Acer 

Acer has launched the Liquid Metal smartphone in India. The device houses the Android 2.2 (Froyo) platform and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon core processor, a curved display with a TFT capacitive touchscreen and support for HSPA 14.4 MBPS, 3G (3G+ Wi-Fi), GPS and a mini USB. Its other features include an inbuilt video recorder, Dolby surround sound technology, EQ profiles and dynamic bass boost facility, support for push mail, three predictive diallers, an accelerometer sensor and a 5 megapixel camera with auto focus. The Acer Liquid Metal is priced at Rs 20,500.

Dell 

Dell has expanded its mobile portfolio with the launch of the Venue and Venue Pro devices on the Aircel network. The Venue packs in the Android 2.2 operating system, a 4.1-inch AMOLED display, an 8 megapixel camera and a 1 GHz processor. It also had support for ActiveSync and QuickOffice and Swype facility for faster text input. The Venue Pro is Dell’s first Windows Phone 7 smartphone. It features a sliding vertical QWERTY keypad and comes with XBOX Live and pre-loaded work/life applications. It also has a 4.1-inch AMOLED touch display, a 5 megapixel camera and cloud-based services. The Dell Venue costs Rs 29,990 while the Dell Venue Pro costs Rs 34,990.

Olive Telecom 

The operator has joined hands with Olive Telecom to launch the OliveSmart V-S300 HSPA+ smartphone. The device is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon MSM8255 processor and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) operating system. The Olivesmart packs in a multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, the Adreno 205 graphics engine, support for 3G, HSPA+ and Wi-Fi. It also has features such as a 5 megapixel camera with flash and auto focus, a front camera, a built-in accelerometer and proximity sensor, Bluetooth connectivity, 32 GB of expandable memory and a 1400 mAh battery backup. The OliveSmart V-S300 is priced at Rs 19,999.

Garmin-Asus 

Garmin-Asus has introduced the A10 Android navigation smartphone in India. The A10 is powered by the Android 2.1 operating system, using a 3.2-inch capacitive screen. Its other features include a 5 megapixel auto-focus camera, 4 GB of storage in addition to a 512 MB RAM and 512 MB ROM for storing files. It features Garmin’s proprietary car and pedestrian navigation technology, which utilises the built-in point of interest database that offers information related to movie timings, public transportation, shops and establishments, weather, gas prices and parking lot availability, among other things. These services are integrated into the A10’s customised “click and go” function. The device is priced at Rs 18,990. 

To conclude, smartphone sales are picking up significantly in India with corporate and urban users looking to achieve greater functionality and efficiency by utilising the new smart features. With 3G services taking off, these devices are expected to find a bigger market going forward.