As many iPhone users will reluctantly admit, trying to send or receive data over AT&T’s
Now that the latest generation of smartphones powered by Google’s
That’s good news for beleaguered Verizon
These new entrants will be competing in a smartphone market that is flush with growth. Smartphone sales grew by 27% in the second quarter of 2009, despite mobile phone sales worldwide dropping by 6.1% compared to the same quarter a year ago. Nokia
Nokia still maintains a healthy lead in global market share, but research from Deutsche Bank shows that Apple now claims 20% of the operating profit in mobile devices as of 2008, even though iPhone sales only amounted to a little over 1% of the market. BlackBerry maker Research In Motion
Clearly, high-end smartphones can generate a great deal of profit. With Android 2.0 devices coming to market, Google will soon be partaking in that windfall. By limiting its killer product to AT&T, Apple allowed an opening for the competition -- an opening that Google seems well-prepared to exploit. I’d say that’s a threat.
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