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 how many devices did mobile phone giants Nokia sell in the last quarter of 2009 and do they still continue to dominate the market?

In their recent financial results announcement Nokia confirmed that they had sold some 126.9 devices, up 12% on the quarter, but perhaps more significantly, up 17% on the third quarter.

This is especially good when considering that Nokia estimates that overall industry mobile device volumes were only up 8% on the year and 14% from the preceding quarter.

Nokia reckons that they enjoyed a whopping mobile device market share of 39% in the fourth quarter, a 2% increase on the same period last year and 1% more than the previous quarter (Q3 2009).

Although, despite good sales figures and market shares, sales at 12 billion euros were down 5% compared to the fourth quarter 2008 and down a far larger 22% from the preceding quarter.

Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, the CEO of Nokia, said:
“We grew our market share in smartphones in the fourth quarter, driven by the successful launch of new touch and QWERTY models. Our performance in smartphones, combined with continuing success in the emerging markets…Our solid results also owe a good deal to world class supply chain management and impressive sales execution.

“Our focus remains firmly on execution, especially around user experience. Here I want to highlight our move to shake up the navigation market with free walk and drive navigation on our smartphones, a good example of how we are leveraging our assets to bring real benefits to consumers.”

The reference to the smartphones market in the above quote might be seen by some observers as a nod to Nokia struggling in the past to make its prescence felt in the top end of this particularly demanding sector. In other words, it does not have the ‘killer’ device. Many feel that although Nokia does dominate in market share terms, it has not traditionally had a device which can take on the iconic iPhones and BlackBerrys.

Brands are of course fickle things and only time will tell as to whether a Nokia smartphone will genuinely begin to challenge the two brands that are considered the trend setters.

Tesco appears to have a hit on its hands with its VX1i Party Phone, mainly because it fits easily into skinny jeans.

Research from the team at Tesco Telecoms found that nearly 70% of people in Britain don’t like to carry a large phone around in their pocket. What’s more, some eight out of ten women don’t like the distraction of a handbag on a night out, so have to find somewhere else to stuff their phones. And depositing a large smartphone into a pocket of some skinny jeans, is not that easy. So, the ultra slim VX1i Party Phone was born and it will fit, says Tesco’s, into the skinniest pair of denims.

And they seem to have got it right. The VX1i Party Phone, which retails at £18.99 is now one of Tesco’s best selling mobile phones and 10,000 left the stores in the run-up to New Year.

The great attraction of course is not only its lightweight credentials, but also the fact that it is a SIM free phone. You buy it, then insert your own SIM card. It will work with most of the SIMs from the main networks, apart from 3, and this is a great attraction for those who like to party unencumbered with the usual personal belongings. They can easily swap their own number into the VX1i and party all night, safe in the knowledge that there are no unsightly bulges, at least that can be blamed on their phones.

A spokesperson for Tesco Telecoms and Tesco Mobile said:
“Our handset was developed as an affordable replacement, temporary phone or alternative to a more expensive phone, but its popularity really has taken us by surprise. The start of a new year is the perfect time to cut costs and we are amazed to see how many shoppers want a plucky little alternative to the smart-phone pack – or they want both!”

Tesco Mobile is a joint venture between Tesco and 02. It sells Tesco Mobile branded services online, through its own stores and via Tesco Direct.

The new HTC Smart is one device that won’t end up with the mobile phone recyclers for some months to come.

Unveiled at the recent Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas, HTC claim that the Smart is a new type of smartphone which is the beginning of a group of straightforward, connected models that will be accessible to people all over the world.

Launched initially in Europe and Asia this Spring, the idea behind the Smart is to produce a device that is a smartphone, but one that is easy-to-use and perhaps more importantly, affordable.

In the words of a HTC Corporation spokesman:
“HTC has always focused on listening to customers and setting the stage for new mobile categories and HTC Smart is the response to customer demand around the world for an easier-to-use, affordable smartphone. Just adding a touch interface doesn’t mean a phone is a smartphone; The integration of HTC Sense brings an unparalleled smartphone experience for people looking to do more on their phone.”

HTC claim that the Smart has a friendly design (not sure how many people design unfriendly phones), which is compact (small), touchy (operated by fingers) and integrates an intuitive user experience that is based on the HTC Sense. In their own words, it stays loyal to the HTC design philosophy that puts people at the centre by focusing on three core areas: Make It Mine, Stay Close and Discover the Unexpected.

This basically means that the Smart can be customised and is a great portal to seeing what your friends and colleagues are boasting about on their social networking websites.

It’s powered by the delightfully called Qualcomm Brew Mobile which is apparently a cheap and cheerful, yet powerful operating system which allows the production of affordable smartphones.

A Qualcomm spokesman said:
“HTC Smart breaks new ground in delivering the powerful, in-demand smartphone features that consumers want on a more accessible device for global markets. We are pleased to be supporting HTC as they utilize the capabilities of Qualcomm’s Brew Mobile Platform open operating system to offer high-end capabilities and a compelling mobile user experience at mass-market price points.”

So, pretty HTC Smart then.

A US research report shows that smartphone users in the states are relaxed about buying goods and services using their handsets, although poor mobile site functionality is still very common.

The report, from Kantar Media company Compete, also predicts a massive upsurge in what’s known as m-commerce (short for mobile commerce) in 2010.

Known as The Smartphone Intelligence Survey, the report looks at behavioural patterns of those owning Android Devices (Google), BlackBerrys and iPhones, and this latest edition, based on third quarter of 2009, is timed to appear just before the techno love-in held yearly at Las Vegas. It’s known as the Consumer Electronics Show and the great and good of the gadget world pay homage to one another’s clever musings.

But back to the report. A spokesman for Compete says:
“As manufacturers show off the hottest new devices at CES, our research shows that they’d be wise to consider the complete mobile shopping experience and how it varies by individual and device.

“We’re seeing notable behavior differences across devices, so, for example, users of the Android operating system share different characteristics than Blackberry and iPhone enthusiasts. As manufacturers and marketers better understand how each group actually uses their devices, there’s a huge potential in 2010 for mobile commerce to explode.”

The main findings from the report show that 37% of those who own smartphones have bought something non-mobile, using their handset, in the last six months. What’s more, 19% of smartphone users have bought music using their handset; 14% have purchased books, DVDs, or similar items; and, 12% have purchased movie tickets.

But research still wins the day, with 41% of smartphones (actually the iPhones and Android fraternity) using their devices to cannily check sale prices at alternative locations whilst out shopping. And as an extension to that, around 39% of iPhone users and some 31% of Android owners, read reviews about the product they’re thinking of buying before they make a decision.

Although smartphone consumers are not tolerant of sites that are not geared for m-commerce, with 45% abandoning a sale process because the site would not load and 38% saying they left sites that were not developed specifically for smartphone users.