Almost half of the latest smartphones have a 1 GHz processor or faster according to a new report by Strategy Analytics.
The report, which tracks key features and specs on handsets in the market, said 48% of the latest smartphone models featured a 1 GHz or higher processor and that Wi-Fi support increased to 53% in February – the highest figure on record.
Bluetooth featured in 88% of new models, up significantly from January when only 52% of handset models announced included it, while HSUPA also hit a new high with 32% of new models supporting a high-speed data uplink.
Of the 50 new handsets announced in February, Strategy Analytics said 14 use Google Inc.’s Android operating system, while two run on Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Phone 7 and no less than six announced by Hewlett-Packard Co. run webOS.
Android, said the report, is still in a strong position, with more than two-thirds of new handset models running the operating system, but Google’s thumping lead has been dampened slightly by the release of handsets running on competing OS’. This is especially true when comparing to December 2010, when every new smartphone model announced was based on Android.
In terms of Android OS breakdown, the report says all but one of the new Android smartphones is running on Froyo (v2.2) or above, with three models running Gingerbread (v2.3).
It wasn’t just OS’ bumping up to a higher level, but network capabilities too, with the majority (56%) of new phones announced in February classed as 3G or above, with HSUPA-enabled models showing the biggest increase to account for 28% of all new models.
Strategy Analytics said it was Acer Inc.’s Iconia Smart handset, which featured the highest data-rate capabilities, reporting a 14.4 megabit per second downlink and 5.7 Mbps uplink. In total, however, eleven new phone models supported HSUPA at 5.7 Mbps out of a total of 16 HSUPA-enabled models. Basic 2G models, said the report, were few and far between in February.
While speeding up, mobile phones are also slimming down, according to the stats. The report notes that the average thickness of the 50 handsets announced in February was just 13.8 mm, down from 14.1 mm in January.
Also reduced in February was the average standby time and talk time which apparently fell from January’s averages owing to a high number of handsets with smaller than average battery capacities.
But while bad battery life is a common complaint from most smartphone users, owing to power draining touchscreens and longer usage times, Strategy Analytics says manufacturers are trying to remedy the problem with much larger batteries in cellphones. Indeed, many current phones now sport a 1213 milliampre per hour battery, compared to the smaller 1070 mAh battery most featured a year ago.
Another improvement on current cell phones is camera quality, with brands continuing to push the pixel limit. Japanese firm Sharp Corp. got a special mention for its continued efforts to introduce cameraphones with ultra-high camera resolutions. The firm just announced its Baccarat SH-09C model with a 14.1-megapixel CCD image sensor, helping to take the average for February to 3.51 megapixel, the third highest monthly average on record. There were also two 8-megapixel models, 15 models with a 5-megapixel camera and six models with a 3.2-megapixel camera.
In terms of brand popularity, Research In Motion Ltd. remains king in most markets, except Europe. The Canadian company’s BlackBerry Bold 2 9700 remained the most popular handset model in Strategy Analytic’s analysis, appearing on the portfolios of more network operators than any other device for the third successive quarter.
It wasn’t all good news for the 9700, however, as it has seen a drop from its peak shelf share in Q3 2010. Still, in Q4 2010, the phone could be found on the shelves of 67 network operators out of the 130 monitored each quarter, which is a fairly resounding success. Meanwhile, its cousin, the BlackBerry Curve 2 8520, fell from second spot in Q3 2010 to No. 10.
In the United States, RIM dominated carriers’ shelves, with seven of the top eight places in Q4 2010, while in Asia Pacific, RIM held five of the top ten shelf-share places, with the same three models that topped the table in Q3 2010. Only the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Ruby prevented RIM from taking a clean sweep of the top eight, said Strategy Analytics.
Indeed, Korean firm Samsung saw some impressive wins this last quarter with the International (UMTS bands I, II and VIII) versions of the i9000 Galaxy S shooting to No. 2 and No. 8 with the 8 gigabyte model appearing on slightly more shelves than the 16 GB version.
In Europe, Samsung and Nokia Corp. took the top seven shelf share places in Q4 2010 and RIM did not appear anywhere in the European top ten. In fact, the most frequently appearing BlackBerry handset was the Bold 9000, which only made it to a disappointing No. 14.
Meanwhile, Nokia’s top model, the 2730 Classic, was pushed down into No. 7 as the Samsung Galaxy S rose to take equal No. 3 spot with the 16 GB and 32 GB versions of Apple Inc.’s iPhone 4.
