The mobile market has come a long way over the past decade and its incredible growth shows no signs of slowing down, with a constant battle to stay at the forefront of the technological advances. It will come as no surprise to anybody that Apple have not only remained but in fact further cemented their position as the most profitable phone manufacturers, but what may be slightly more surprising that Nokia – a firm that has little share of the UK market – remain the biggest manufacturers. This is down significantly to their popularity in the Middle East and Africa (predominantly North African nations), whilst continuing to sell a reasonable amount in the US.

Whilst Apple’s dominance is predictable given the popularity of the iPhone, it is particularly impressive given that just short of 1 of every 4 mobile phone contracts sold in the final quarter of 2011 were for a phone made by Apple. This coincides with the launch of Apple’s iPhone 4S but many believe that it is actually the 3GS which has helped them take an unprecedentedly high market share. Whilst the 4S has attracted new and existing customers, the launch of newer models has driven down the price of the 3GS and allow individuals who would not normally be able to afford to buy an iPhone to benefit from all of Apple’s latest software and apps, whilst paying the same as their low cost alternatives such as the Samsung Galaxy Ace.

A report by Juniper Research which provided the figures and insight into the markets current state also suggested that Apple may not really want to keep offering these old phones to the market but are forced to do so in order to keep ahead, with the Samsung Galaxy S2 actually outselling the iPhone 4S. This shows that whilst there is not much in it, when Apple and Samsung’s latest products go head-to-head, it is Samsung that is coming out on top. 470million smartphones were sold throughout last year and with Samsung having a wide range of different models to suit different requirements and more importantly budget, the expensive iPhones would be unable to compete in significant chunks of the market without the continued release of the iPhone 3GS.

Despite the rivalry between Apple and Samsung, competition in the market as a whole is not as thriving as it once was with only HTC showing notable year-on-year growth, shipping 12.1million of the 170million in the final quarter. Blackberry manufacturer Research In Motion (RIM) cannot boast significant growth (and in fact fell slightly) but have maintained a healthy presence in the market having shipped 14.4million in the final quarter – not much short of 10% of sales.

Nokia, the Finnish giants that many credit with being the original manufacturers of the modern mobile phone, have continued to struggle, falling 31% in the space of 12 months. However, 2012 will be a big year for Nokia who have recently announced a partnership with Microsoft to use their Windows operating system, with several new phones set for release.

Simon writes for Best Mobile Contracts, where you can compare all of the latest mobile phone contracts for many of the latest phones including the Samsung Galaxy Ace.

Recently, Samsung Electronics Company failed to win a court order against Apple. The court order was proposed as a means through which to halt sales of the iPhone 4S in France. A court in Paris denied the application of Samsung for an emergency order to be served against Apple. This court order was sought as a means to halt sales while the court considers whether or not Samsung’s patents were infringed upon.

Just days after the Apple iPhone was revealed in October of this year, Samsung acted quickly to stop the sales of the iPhone 4S in France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Samsung argues that in the design of the iPhone 4S, Apple ignores Samsung’s wireless communications patent. The court did rule that Apple’s legal fees which amounted to 100,000 Euros must be paid by Samsung. The court asserted that the claim was not abusive and should proceed as any other lawsuit would.

This is not the first time Samsung and Apple have done battle. Actually, Apple had filed a claim previously that when creating their Galaxy Devices, Samsung imitated the iPad and iPhone. In the last quarter of this year, Samsung was able to secure the majority of the market. However, Apple commands the most in the tablet market. With a bitter rivalry, these claims filed should hopefully be decided soon.

Samsung filled lawsuits in several different countries. The Samsung lawsuit filed in Italy will be heard in an Italian court on December 16th. In regards to Apple’s suit against Samsung, an American court refused to grant the request o the Apple Corporation. Apple was seeking to stop the sales of the 4G Smartphone by Samsung. Also, the request was made as an attempt to halt sales of Samsung’s Galaxy 10.1 tablet. The future remains to be seen in regards to the sale of these competing phones. You can buy the iphone 4s today at http://www.phones4u.co.uk visit the site now to find out more.

The iPhone 4S is proving to be the first Apple device to enjoy a major launch in Asia. With expectation that the device will launch in China before the end of the year – a key target by Apple for expansion – along with Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong the latest Asian country to announce plans for the iPhone 4S is Taiwan.

Reports from Taipei suggest the iPhone 4S will go on sale in Taiwan by mid-December. Mobile Phone providers and wireless carriers are said to have been notified by Apple that they should prepare for the release of the iPhone 4S. Apple usually notifies carriers and providers around a month before the device launches in each country.

The boss of Taiwan Mobile Co. one of the largest carriers in the country would not confirm that they had received notification from Apple over the imminent arrival of the device, although he did say that iPhone 4S contracts would undoubtedly impact on sales of other devices.

In its staggered launch across Asia, the iPhone 4S has been met with hysteria and widespread excitement. Thousands queued outside stores when the device was on sale. In Hong Kong stocks of the device were pre-ordered and were exhausted in 15 minutes. 3,000 people queued outside the Apple store. In Korea, the first 100 customers were treated with drinks and prizes by carrier Korea Telecom. Its competitor SK Telecom matched that with a midnight launch and exclusive performances by hip hop artists at its headquarters as the device went on sale. The potential for a legal blocking over the sale of the Apple device in South Korea ended when Samsung, who are tied in a legal battle over the patent of technology, withdrew their request to block its sale. The device goes on sale in India before the end of November.

The staggered global launch of the iPhone 4S has helped the California giant maintain momentum and enthusiasm for the device across the world. With an initial launch in the US, UK and Canada, the availability of the device has then spread east, garnering headlines and frenzied sales as it moves. While expanding into Asia, the device also launched in 12 more markets in Latin America and Europe in mid-November, a month after its US and UK launch. It is the enthusiasm and growth in the Asian market that will be a real cause for delight at Apple.

Asia was a main target for former Chief executive Steve Jobs, it was often reported. With a population of over 1 billion in both India and China, and a boom on the telecoms markets in both countries, Apple eyed both countries as ones with real potential for global growth. Korean electronics giant Samsung, who has made significant ground in the smartphone market with its Galaxy series, particularly the Galaxy SII, the Apple expansion into Asia has not been welcome.

Patent battles, the use of technology in both smartphones and tablets has seen proposed Apple launches in Asia dogged by legal hurdles. Yet while Samsung might not be pleased about the expansion of Apple, it would seem consumers are. With reports that some iPhone 4S buyers had been waiting for up to 12 months for the new device the excitement surrounding the launch suggests that Apple is already more than halfway there to make a real splash in Asia.

Simon writes for Best Mobile Contracts, where you can compare deals for the iPhone 4S on contract and also find free gifts for Christmas.

There’s been a lot of hype on the news about the iPhone 5 lately. Who can blame them. It’s surely going to be one of the highest sold gadgets of the year. But it’s not quite the jump that we got to see from the 3GS to the iPhone 4. Still though, previous iPhone owners will enjoy the new iPhone. But those who have tried other smartphones from other manufacturers know that there is a world outside of Apple iPhones.

While the iPhone 5 is a great smartphone, it’s lacking in several areas. Here are a few things that the iPhone 5 does not have that other smartphones made by other companies do have.

HDMI

Other smartphones have a mini HDMI port. This lets you connect your phone directly to your TV to watch the high definition videos on your phone. The iPhone 5 already plays HD movies, you just can’t watch them on your TV without needing to buy an Apple TV device.

Memory

Most other smartphones have a microSD card slot. This means that if their phone comes with 2 gigs they can expand it with a 32 GB memory card. But not on the iPhone. If you get a 16 GB version you’re stuck with that storage space for the life of your phone. So why doesn’t Apple add this ability? Money of course. If you add a memory card people will start sharing their iTunes purchases.

Battery

You can’t remove the battery on the iPhone 5. This means you can’t carry another one that’s fully charged as a backup. Imagine you’re going on a trip to the woods for a few days. You’d like to have your phone working for days, but you can’t because as soon as your battery is drained, you can’t do a thing about it.

Flash

I’m no fan of flash content, but some websites still insist on using it. It is annoying to not get the full experience of web browsing on the iPhone 5 because there is no flash support.

The latest operating system upgrade from Apple adds some exciting new features for iPhone users. The last major update let us create folders for our apps and multi tasking. While the changes on this next iteration of the iOS may not be as big as the last one, there are some interesting ones to note. Here in this post I’m going to break down several key features I found interesting in the latest operating system update.

iMessage

iOS 5 users can now communicate with the new iMessage service. Think of it like an internal message system. When messaging through this platform, messages exchanged won’t count against your text message limits. You can send text, photos, videos, locations and contacts. You can start a conversation on your iPad and then finish it later on your iPhone too.

Notification Center

It was always annoying to have all of these icons on your home screen (or folders) with little numbers next to them. Now the new iOS has gotten rid of that in favor of a notification bar. Similar to the one found on the Android, this bar at the top of the phone will keep all of your alerts (such as missed calls, text messages and game updates) all in one place.

Camera

One thing that always bothered me about the iPhone camera was how long it took to take a picture. I had to first turn on the phone, then slide the bar across, then tap the camera icon and then finally tap the onscreen icon to take a picture. By the time I went through all that the moment had passed. Well, you won’t miss memories anymore after this iOS5 update. You can open up the camera app directly from the lock screen. Then just press the volume-up button to snap your shot.

Computer

Previously you needed to have a computer to own an iPhone. That was the only way to set up the new device. Now you can activate and set up your new iPhone 5 without first connecting it to a computer. Not only that, but you can get all the latest software updates wirelessly as well.

Wifi Sync

You can now wirelessly sync your iPhone to your computer via wi-fi. When you connect your iPhone to a power source it will automatically sync new content to iTunes.

Other updates

There were also improvements made to the Safari browser, photo editing capabilities, as well as various email and calendar improvements. Twitter integration is now built-in, so you can update your status from many of the native apps without needing to first open a Twitter app. The Newsstands app, similar to iBooks, takes care of your magazine subscriptions.

This has been a guest post on behalf of Allstream IT services.

If I had a WTF category I’d place this one right there. Yes, airbags in phones. Undoubtedly you have dropped your phone before. Sometimes it’s a drop on a carpet and you’re saved. But other times it’s a hard drop right on concrete. If you had a case on it, you just saved your $300+ phone with a $10 case. But many of us like to have our phones “naked” and without a case.

When a phone is dropped you’ll either end up with some scuff marks on the side, scratches on the back or the worst result of all: a shattered screen. Well imagine if there was a way to protect your phone so it will never be damaged in a fall ever again. That, my friends, is the airbag in a cell phone.

The CEO of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos, owns a patent on this not yet developed technology. In the patent it states that prior to impact, after a determination of a risk of damage is made, a protection system (namely, an air bag) would deploy to spare the phone from any damage.

So does this mean that it’s being actively developed? Most likely not. While it sounds intriguing, it would never work. Here’s a few reasons why.

Cost

How much would this cost? If it’s going to cost $100 more to add this system to a phone it’s just not worth it. Not many would pay $100 to protect a $300 device, that’s some costly insurance. Not only that but what do you do after it’s deployed? Do you have to buy and install another air bag?

Size

Smartphones need to be thin. Thick smartphones don’t sell as well as thinner smartphones. If you stuff a bag in it the phone would become too bulky and it would of course increase its weight.

False Alarms

How would the protection system be able to determine what is dangerous and what is not? Let’s say it detects a certain speed (speed of gravity) and direction (downward). What if you’re on a roller coaster. Will it deploy in your pants pocket? What if you’re tossing the phone to a friend or you’re throwing it on the bed? It’s just not feasible.

Maybe…

The only way I can see this invention ever becoming reality is if the actual skin of the phone could “puff up” as it’s falling and then deflate back into its original state. This would mean no real air bag. The trick is to create a material that can pop up, sort of like bubble wrap, all while keeping the phone stylish, thin and affordable. Will we see something like this in the future? Well, if we do, you heard it here first.

In years past it was not too common to see kids with cell phones. Times have certainly changed though. Nowadays when kids sit on Santa’s lap they don’t ask for Barbie dolls and G.I. Joe’s, they want an iPhone. An increasing number (more than half) of our younger generation have cell phones before they even get to high school.

Who can blame them for wanting one? They can text with their friends and play Angry Birds all the want. It can be a good idea for parents as well. It can allow you to communicate with your child in the event of an emergency. It’s a digital umbilical cord of sorts. And with many households eliminating their landlines it makes sense to let every member of the household have a cell phone. But there are perils to kids having cell phones. Here are a few things that parents should look out for before they decide on getting their son or daughter a smartphone.

Monthly fees

Fortunately adding a new line to your plan is only going to cost you about 10 bucks a month. But remember, this is a phone line for a child. It really means $120 per year – every year. Add to that the cost of the phone itself and you’ve got quite the costly present.

Overage fees

Kids have no clue about the value of a dollar. Their eyes would gloss over if you even discussed overage fees with them. Overage fees can be real costly. That is why the parent should closely monitors their child’s cell phone usage. Keep track of their minutes used, their text message usage and their data  usage.

Parental controls

When you hand over a smartphone to your child you are giving them a powerful tool that can be used for good purposes as well as bad ones. With great power, comes great responsibility. Many children are too young to be responsible with their phones. Among the bad things kids can do with their phones include prank calls, sexting and visiting websites they’re not supposed to be on.