The quarterly mobile phone market research report from Gartner also goes into the progress of the smartphone operating system market and it reveals which one continues to be top dog.

And it remains the Symbian operating system, although its share of the market dropped just over 5% to nearly 47% in 2009.

A Gartner spokesperson said:
“Symbian had become uncompetitive in recent years, but its market share, particularly on Nokia devices, is still strong. If Symbian can use this momentum, it could return to positive growth.”

Breathing down the neck of the Symbian operating system is of course the real powerhouses behind smartphones: Research in Motion’s operating system (which drives the BlackBerrys) and the iPhone operating system. These two gained ground in 2009, with an increase to 20% from 16% for Research In Motion and 8% to 14% for iPhone.

The other slight concern for the Symbian operating system – which is now fully open source - is that it is affected by the weakness of Nokia in the high-end smartphone market.

But things could improve with the impending release of Symbian3, announced at the recent Mobile World Congress 2010, and Symbian4 which will follow shortly afterwards.

The unloved Microsoft Windows Mobile lost market share, falling from nearly 12% to just below 9%. It remains to be seen how the latest reincarnation of the generally unpopular operating system will fair in 2010.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the new kid on the block, the Android operating system, rose nicely from 0.5% to nearly 4%. With it gaining popularity, it will be bound to stay on that sort of course throughout 2010.

The Gartner spokesperson added:
“Looking back at the announcements during Mobile World Congress 2010, we can expect 2010 to retain a strong focus around operating systems, services and applications while hardware takes a back seat. Sales will return to low-double-digit growth, but competition will continue to put a strain on vendors’ margins.”

So will the new Apple iPad cut the mustard? Will it straddle the gap between a smartphone and laptop? Or to be more precise, will it save the flagging publishing industry?

To great fanfare and usual Apple appetite whetting the iPad has just  been unveiled to an excited public.

It looks sleek and ‘sexy’, something you’d expect from the cool guys at Apple. It’s a tablet shaped computer which looks, say many, like an over-sized iPhone, and boasts a 9.7 inch colour screen.

But for most observers, it’s not about looks, but about where it fits into the overall scheme of techno-gadgets. And in launching the iPad, Apple’s CEO Jobs described where it was targeted, the currently sleepy ebook market. In the same way that Apple took a stranglehold on the music market and helped change the way people listened to music for ever, so they now want to take control of the ebook market.

There’s plenty there already, with Sony’s ereader having been out some time and Amazon putting a lot of weight behind their Kindle ereader.

But Apple has proved that smart design, coupled with smart marketing, can give them the edge as they build the device then stimulate growth and sales.

Of course, the iPad can do many other things as well, including surf the web, send emails, play games, watch TV, make notes and generally organise their owner’s lives.

But Apple have their eye on the ebook market and have created iBooks which lets the user purchase and download ebooks onto the iPad.

And to reinforce their commitment in this sector, they already signed deals with the likes of Penguin, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster.

What’s more, it’s not only book publishers who are hoping for big things from the iPad. All content creators, the newspaper and magazine groups especially, will be praying that this is the device that not only makes reading content interesting, but also gives it a value. The big hope is that devices such as the iPad and Kindle will change the way people read books and newspapers. And thus bring about the end of the ‘free content’ age, when everything could be expected to be on the internet for nothing.

So if you want to read your Charles Dickens, or Financial Times on the iPad, then American citizens will be able to get their hands on a model by March for around $499, whereas those in the UK will have to wait a little longer and prices have yet to be set.

In case you’re interested, the iPad weighs only 700 grams and is a mere 0.5 inch thick; which is useful, given it has to spend a lot of time cupped in your hands. And it can store between 16 and 64 gigabytes of data.

Form an orderly queue now!

Whether you think Google is the Evil Empire, or are the saviours of the Universe, they are expected to make another technological land grab this week when they go head to head with Apple.

The industry is a buzz with the launch of the Google smart phone Nexus One which will be a direct competitor to the iconic iPhone.

And although it’s easy to think that this is just about securing large revenues going forward, what’s really at stake here is both companies desire to get a lion’s share of the mobile browsing market. Once derided as a gimmick, mobile browsing has become a key digital activity and mobile internet searches are growing at a dramatic rate.

The launch of Nexus One is said to be on Tuesday and it is cannily timed to go live just before the consumer techno shindig which is held every year at Las Vegas. Called the Consumer Electronics Show, it sets the tone for the technology year in terms of what’s going to be the next big thing.

And there are companies queuing up to have a slice of the action enjoyed by Apple. But it’s not only the iPhone which is in sights of Google, the boys from Seattle don’t seem to have the success they would have hoped from Microsoft Windows Mobile and much rides on the latest version, number 7. Although Apple have seen off attacks before, this time it’s not just about cool devices, it’s about winning the hearts of minds of the mobile browsers and the portal they feel most comfortable with. Both Apple and Microsoft must be feeling the hot breath of Google on their necks.

Of course the internet is literally alight with keen anticipation about Nexus One. Google know that if they are to rip the iPhone family from its devoted fans and make a meaningful impact in the mass market, then the Nexus One has got to be the dog’s what-its-names.

So expect a bobby-dazzler, although first reports suggest that despite being slightly thinner than the iPhone, it’s not as ‘sexy.’ It’s built by the reliable HTC team who produce superb handsets, but maybe don’t quite have the flair of the Apple boys and girls. That elusive Apple ingredient which turns their products into design icons and is not easy to emulate, as many have found out to their cost.

The Nexus One is said to run the Android 2.1 operating system which is powered by a 1GHz Snapdragon CPU. As with the iPhone, the screen is where everything happens and at 3.7-inches with a 480 x 800 display, it’s up to the task in hand. The on-board camera boasts five megapixels and is supported by a LED flash.

So there we are. Will Nexus One give the iPhone a run for its money? Or to be more precise, who will stand over the gateway of internet browsing and reap the rewards? We’ll have to wait and see!

And how long before the Nexus One is laid bare before the mobile phone recycling companies? Not long.

Vodafone intends to please its customers in the new year by making available the iPhone in the UK.

This will no doubt bring a raft of older iPhones to the attention of the mobile phone recyclers.

The Vodafone iPhone will be available to its customers on contract with those paying a £35 paid plan getting a iPhone 3G free.

There are three models available of course, the iPhone 3G 8GB, iPhone 3GS 16GB and iPhone 3GS 32GB. Each are available in a number of plans within the Vodafone contracts.

The iPhone 3GS, whether you get the middle-weight 16GB, or the heavyweight 32GB, is, says its fans, the most powerful iPhone yet, up to twice as fast as the iPhone 3G.

Amongst its many qualities the iPhone 3GS boasts a high quality three megapixel autofocus camera, a longer battery life, simple to use video recording and hands free voice control, just in case you appear in an episode of The Apprentice and want to abuse your fellow team mates in front of the cameras.

All the iPhones connect to the mother ship via the App Store which, whichever way you look at it, has been a phenomenal success, with over two billion downloads up to now. These Apps of course are there to ease life for the modern human, or just make it a wee bit more complicated; take your pick. But if you need advice, or help, on anything, then go to the bountiful App Store.

Vodafone contract customers wielding an iPhone can expect up to one GB of mobile data and unlimited access to Wi-Fi in the home.

Consumer entry point for a Vodafone 3G 8GB is a 24-month contract costing £30 a month and a phone price of £59. This gives you 300 minutes yapping time, unlimited texting ability and a single gig. Top of the pile is the 18-month contract costing a significant £80, but you can jaw on for 3000 minutes, again send unlimited texts and still get one gig; but on the upside, you do get an iPhone 3GS 32GB phone for free.

Confirming what most people have known for a long time, the iPhone is the coolest brand.

It has won top slot in the CoolBrand ranking for 2009/2010, pushing the iconic car brand Aston Martin into second place.

CoolBrand is compiled following extensive research administered by The Centre for Brand Analysis amongst influential opinion formers and the British public.

Stephen Cheliotis, Chairman of the CoolBrands council and Chief Executive of The Centre for Brand Analysis commented:
“Aston Martin has finally lost its top spot in the rankings but only just – in fact considering cool is seen to be very fluid and changeable the top twenty shows remarkable consistency with 15 of last year’s top twenty in there again; equally most of the category winners are the same – so much for cool being a fleeting thing. That said it would be easy for the brand leaders to take their eye off the ball, become complacent and let others steal their thunder, so they really should be congratulated for continuing to maintain their lead in the eyes of the experts and consumers.”

Technology brands dominate the yearly list, demonstrating their influence in their hearts and minds of consumers.

And the BlackBerry is proving it was not just a flash in the pan for City types. It has reached position seven, up 16 places from last year. The Apple’s iPhone and Research in Motion’s BlackBerry phone brands are the only such telecommunications representation in the top 20 list.

The complete CoolBrands 2009/10 Top Twenty is:

1. iPhone (up one place)
2. Aston Martin (down one)
3. Apple (same position)
4. iPod (up 36 places)
5. Nintendo (up two places)
6. YouTube (down one place)
7. BlackBerry (up 16 places)
8. Google (down two places)
9. Bang & Olufsen (down five places)
10. PlayStation (up five places)
11. Xbox
12. Tate Modern (down two)
13. Dom Perignon (down two places)
14. Virgin Atlantic (down two places)
15. Ferrari (down two places)
16. Sony (same position)
17. Mini (up 11 places)
18. Vivienne Westwood (up 23 places)
19. Rolex (down ten places)
20. BBC iPlayer (New entry)