CES: Smartphones To Take Center StageCES: Smartphones To Take Center Stage

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is a great opportunity for manufacturers to showcase their latest gadgets, and smartphones generally have taken a backseat to laptops, HDTVs, and other products. But with multiple players looking to make their mark, smartphones and mobility should play a prominent role at this year's show.

Google's Android operating system is expected to power multiple handsets in 2009, and consumers should get a glimpse of what these smartphones will look like at CES. Forrester analyst Charles Golvin said the show could be a good indicator of how quickly cell phone manufacturers are adopting the open source platform.

Golvin said T-Mobile's launch of the Android-powered G1 has been a success, and there's still a lot of enthusiasm among some carriers, manufacturers, and developers. Motorola has backed Android in a major way, and consumers may get a sneak peak at some hardware. Motorola's Android line is expected to be a mid-level device that features heavy social networking integration, but co-CEO Sanjay Jha has said he doesn't expect devices to be available until the second half of 2009.

Samsung is reportedly readying a touch-screen Android phone that could have a similar form factor as the company's Instinct or Behold smartphones. CES would be a good time to build buzz for the device as Samsung executives told ETnews the smartphone is expected for Sprint and T-Mobile in the second quarter.

Sony Ericsson recently joined the Open Handset Alliance, and it could show off some smartphones. HTC and Garmin could also have some handsets, but Garmin is more than likely to focus on its oft-delayed Nuvifone.

For developers, the diversity in hardware potentially opens up a larger audience for content, but it also means content creators will have to spend more time with compatibility testing because not every Android handset will have the same features or input method. By contrast, Apple's mobile developers only have to write their applications once to reach the millions of iPhone owners.

"There's no question Android will be more challenging to develop for than the iPhone," Golvin said. "But the long-term promise of Android for developers is to ultimately have a less complex environment to reach a multiplicity of handsets."

Palm is also hoping CES can help it re-establish itself as a significant player in the smartphone market, as the company will unveil its next-generation OS "Nova." Rumors say the company will be launching the OS on a touch-screen smartphone with a slide-out keyboard, and it will have media, e-mail, calendaring, and mobile Internet capabilities.

While the specifics of Nova and the hardware it will run on aren't clear, industry watchers are certain Palm needs to hit a home run with this release to get back into significance. Once the king of the U.S. smartphone and PDA market, the company has posted six consecutive losses, and it's rapidly losing market share to Research In Motion and Apple.

"They really have their work cut out," said Golvin. "They need a device that is not simply 'me too.' They need to do something that goes beyond what the industry leaders are already doing, and that's a very tall order."

The company did get a recent $100 million equity investment from Elevation Partners, and the private equity firm said Palm is in a "position to transform the cell phone industry" with Nova. Golvin said Palm needs to leverage its rich stable of applications and developers into an easy-to-use store like Apple's App Store. The smartphone maker did launch a Software Store for current devices, but it's a browser-based application that is not as seamless or smooth as the App Store or Google's Android Market.

Palm said it is aiming for the "fat middle" of the market between the media-centric iPhone 3G and the enterprise-focused BlackBerry. But Palm may find that middle isn't quite that fat as RIM continues to target the casual market with devices like the BlackBerry Pearl, Flip and Storm, and iPhone continues to find its way into more businesses.

Even though Apple will not be in attendance, the iPhone 3G's influence will be found at CES, Golvin said. Although Apple wasn't the first it, the iPhone has made touch screens popular, and there should be plenty of touch-screen iPhone competitors on display. Additionally, application developers are bound to show off their new mobile programs to take advantage of the popularity of the App Store.

Microsoft may announce the Windows Mobile 6.5 update during CEO Steve Ballmer's keynote address, but most expect to see a few new smartphones. Symbian and BlackBerry will also have their place at the show, but no major announcements are expected.