What's Coming in 2008?

In 2008, we can expect more mobile phone manufacturers to jump onto the touch screen bandwagon. For instance, Nokia have already started showing off their highly-anticipated S60 touch user interface.

In 2008, we can expect some Nokia phones to be released with this smashing new user interface. Much is expected of this new user interface as the Symbian 60 is the world’s leading smartphone operating system. In addition, Nokia is also planning the release of phones that support WiMAX, a 4G technology that has vastly-superior coverage and speed compared to 3G, 3.5G and WiFi.

Samsung also has plans for touch screen phones. For example, the upcoming Samsung F490 that has a 240 x 432 resolution display, a 5 megapixel camera and HSDPA connectivity; and the Samsung P720 with a 2.6” touch screen and a 3 megapixel camera. Both are scheduled for a 2008 release.

2008 promises to be another great year for HTC. This long-standing OEM company, which has just gone full-scale after acquiring the top Windows Mobile phone brand, Dopod; will start releasing mobile phones using the new Linux-based Android operating system.

The Android operating system is an open-source mobile operating system developed by a group called the Open Handset Alliance, which include key-founder Google (proprietor of the company Android Inc. that started the idea), HTC, Intel, Motorola, Qualcomm, T-Mobile, and NVIDIA. The Android-based phones will complement HTC’s current line of Windows-based mobile phones which are currently leading the market. HTC also has plans for a new TouchFLO user interface and WiMAX phones by 2008.

Motorola Skarven Preview Poster (Picture taken from gsmhelpdesk.nl)

Motorola is also looking forward to a great year in 2008. With many highly-hyped mobile phones coming soon, they seem very determined to wrest the No. 2 spot back from the Korean electronics giant, Samsung. Motorola aims to revamp their marketing efforts by changing their strategy through dividing their phones into 4 distinct categories

• the ROKR line for the music focused phones,
• the ZOOM line for the camera phones,
• the RAZR line for all the new multimedia handsets; and
• the Multi Q line for business oriented phones.

The highly-anticipated Motorola Skarven of the ZOOM series is rumoured to have an 8 megapixel camera with optical zoom, a large 2.8” screen and a kick-slider form factor. Motorola also has plans for releasing WiMAX phones in 2008.

The circle comes to an end with Apple. In 2008, Apple plans to release a more advanced 3G iPhone and go worldwide with their iPhones. So, if you have been waiting for your own iPhone (if you have not already bought a hacked iPhone!), 2008 is the year of the iPhone for Asia, Europe and Canada. If it achieves the same success that it did in the US, we will see it eat into the overall sales for mobile phones from other brands.

To sum it up, 2008 looks like a very good year for the mobile phone industry. Notable releases would include even more touch screen phones and the dawn of WiMAX phones. What we’ve yet to see is how they are going to improve the quality of the pictures taken by the built-in cameras. Right now, the built-in cameras are not exactly what they claim to be due to sensor issues.

If you are looking to purchase a full-featured mobile phone right now, you may be spoilt for choice. Many of the current range of phones are excellent, but you will especially want to check out the Nokia N95 8GB and the HTC TyTN II. At the moment, what they are serving in 2008 may not seem that revolutionary, but we'll see soon enough.

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