Five key mobile phone trends for 2009

2008 was the year when smartphones hogged the limelight and touchscreen handsets flooded the market. The trend is likely to continue and the competition intensify, but the cell phone industry isn't just about churning out one handset after another.

This year, we'll probably also see manufacturers place more emphasis on improving their handsets' performance and making them more energy-efficient. Mobile applications will also go primetime with a laundry list of programs designed for smart phones.

These five key predictions get my vote for what's most likely to happen in 2009.

1. Talk of the town: Open source

Open source was for the geekiest of geeks. No longer. Last year, Google debuted its first smart phone based on the Android open-source operating system. Last we checked, members of the Open Handset Alliance include familiar household brands like Asus, Garmin, HTC, LG, Motorola, Samsung and Sony Ericsson. Although the Kogan Agora Pro, Australia's first smart phone to run on Google's Android, has been delayed indefinitely, we're still placing our bets on giants like Samsung and HTC to introduce their own Android devices this year, maybe as early as Mobile World Congress in February.

Although the open-source platform will be gaining more traction this year, other software to watch out for include Symbian's S60 5th Edition, while word on the street is that Microsoft will announce a new version of Windows Mobile next month.

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2. Primetime segment: Web services and applications

With Apple and Google's online application stores in business, RIM's due to launch in March and Palm's upcoming App Catalog, we'll see a stratospheric increase in the number of apps designed specifically for mobile devices. Music (DRM-free?), gaming (motion-sensitive titles) and lifestyle (GPS-related) programs are likely to be the focus as handsets become more capable of handling multimedia-rich applications. The way I see it, it's a win-win-win situation for manufacturers, developers and end users.

One thing I'll also be watching out for is service extension. As we become more reliant on mobile technology, storing content will have to look beyond storage cards and built-in flash memory. It's highly possible that SIM card-related services and capabilities will get a boost as well.

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3. Market watch: Data speeds up, prices down

Some things don't go in tandem, like inflation and salary. While I don't expect rock-bottom prices for ultra-fast data speeds, telcos will probably introduce more affordable data packages or reduce the current pricing this year. As more content moves online, we'll need this to happen. Can mobile broadband deliver the always-on connectivity we've been looking toward? Yes. 4G? We'll shelve that as unlikely.

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4. User interface: RIP keypad?

It's not a secret that I prefer a conventional keypad/keyboard over touch input methods. That said, I do like the polished user interface of the iPhone. If anything, 2009 may be the year I'll have to learn to live with touchscreen phones. Every major operating system, from Windows Mobile to Symbian, from BlackBerry to OS X and Andriod, has a touchscreen user interface. The number of touchscreen vs. non-touchscreen devices? It'll be a 40:60 ratio.

5. Going green: Defining eco-friendliness

How green is green? That's a question I think will be answered this year. Manufacturers will be paying even more attention to using Earth-friendly components and processes, and these will have a more prominent place in press releases. As more companies get on the green wave in the face of hard times, a regulatory body has to step out and define which products are truly environmentally friendly.

Fuel cell technology has been talked about at length in recent years, but it's not ready for primetime yet. What we will see are manufacturers tweaking software performance to optimize battery consumption, thus reducing the frequency of topping up at the mains.

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