Even during the worldwide recession it seems consumers continue to abandon ‘dumb’ phones when, for just a little bit more money, they can get a pocket-sized computer – a smartphone – instead. According to research firm Gartner, overall handset sales are expected to shrink by 4 percent this year compared to last year. Meanwhile, smartphone sales are forecast to grow by more than 20 percent.

Smartphones account for only 14 percent of the mobile phone market today, but this segment has doubled its share of the global mobile phone business over the past three years. More than 500 million smartphones are expected to be sold in 2012 when they are forecasted to make up half the market. Revenues from smartphones are expected to double to half the industry total by 2014.

With the smartphone market being really the only game in town, the intensity of the battle for the smartphone market is