Android Smartphone makers seek unique positions

Samsung is flexing his muscles with the Samsung Galaxy S II, while HTC and Sony Ericsson are betting on the deep integration of Facebook and mobile gaming as the war for smartphone supremacy continues at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.

Not surprisingly, this year the show has been all about Android, according to Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner. With many vendors using the mobile operating system from Google, they must work to differentiate their products with other features.

Samsung kicks off Mobile World Congress with a bang: the Samsung Galaxy S II is thinner than the Galaxy S and comes with a dual core processor, a bigger, better screen and a faster Internet connection using HSPA + (High Speed Packet Access) up to 21 m bps (bits per second).

HTC has taken a different route with the sauce and the ChaCha. The two Smartphones come with deep integration of Facebook, including a Facebook button that lights up whenever there is an opportunity for users to share content or updates.

"[They are] different, and the fact is that what we're seeing on Android is very homogeneous. The same goes for the Sony Ericsson Xperia game; It's different in a sea of Android is that all look the same, "said Geoff Blaber, analyst at CCS Insight.

The Xperia has a chance to sell well if it's priced right, second Blaber.

However, today, both Sony Ericsson and HTC is a high-end smartphone with a dual core processor.

"They are both closely aligned to Qualcomm and Qualcomm was, up to this show, a little behind Nvidia ... but the reality is that we will see these products originating in that year by Sony Ericsson and HTC," said Blaber.

The number of consumers who really care if their smartphones have a dual core processor may be in the minority, though.

"I think from a perspective of mass market, consumers are still happy with single-core devices," said Milanesi.

LG Electronics is also trying to differentiate by adding a 3D screen smartphone Optimus 3D. Is one of the most revolutionary products in the mix, but the screen still feels a bit like a prototype, in Milan, he said.

However, the race of smartphones at Mobile World Congress not only high-end. The race to reduce the cost of smartphones based on Google's operating system also continued, according to Milanesi.

The most notable was the launch of Alcatel, according the Blaber.

The company announced five phones based on Android, Android market that will push in prepaid. A mobile phone, in particular, One Touch 890, which only has 2 G, seems destined to take Android under the level of $ 60 (US $ 80), with a small amount of subsidies, said Blaber.

ZTE and Huawei also launched low-end Android phones for my similar territory.

Android is now scale the end very, very low to high-end Smartphone with dual core processors, hardware acceleration and a lot of memory. The big question is how long the platform may continue to scale as that; There is a risk that you start to constrain developers in high-end, because they host multiple simple hardware, Blaber said.

Send news tips and comments to mikael_ricknas@idg.com