Predictions (Smart phone)

Predictions for 2012 -Android Market will get out of control and Windows Phone will gain market share. For 2012, Android apps will out number iOS apps in number and at the same time there will be an influx of malware that makes the Android Market out of control. Android users will become scared by this and also become frustrated by the upgrading system and feel some what left behind compared to users of iOS devices. While this happens, smart phones with WindowsPhone OS will start gaining share as the market pie grows and people start moving from Android handsets amid the frustration. Microsoft, as a late comer to the smart phone market will learn that WindowsPhone should avoid the "openness" of Android and at the same time the time consuming Apple's approval system. -An iPhone on LTE is 40 percent likely. There will be an iPhone 5 for September but the likelihood of it being on LTE is about 40 percent. Two things have to be cleared in order for Apple to launch an LTE iPhone; battery life and coverage. 3G phones were thick and heavy at the time of launch because of the battery consuming 3G chips. LTE smart phones, on the other hand, even with mediocre battery life, do not seem to be as thick as the first 3G smart phones. This is a good sign in terms of design for Apple. However, they will have to cope with the battery life anyway. Coverage is another issue Apple has to face. LTE coverage in the countries that have it is currently spares. This would not be satisfying enough for Apple. Coverage would not get as wide as 3G for a few more years to come. Even in Japan which is comparatively smaller than the U.S., to cover a large percentage would not be done by next September. NTT DoCoMo has just released its LTE smart phones with a pretty nice fanfare but coverage is still limited. It would be interesting to see if Apple releases its LTE version of the iPhone only in Japan September announcement and December start of sale if DoCoMo hurries up its deployment of LTE antennas. There have been rumors that Apple representatives have been meeting with representatives from DoCoMo in Japan and Nikkei is reporting that that conditions in which DoCoMo would carry the iPhone is if it is launched LTE compatible. If this is true and if the talks are about the next iPhone, DoCoMo must be pretty confident of its LTE coverage in Japan by the end of 2012. Below a picture I took with an iPhone 4S in south Texas.