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Well, it was an interesting year in 2008 for mobile devices; Google brought us Android, iPhone continued to trounce the competition, RIM intro’d a couple of very nice devices and Palm…well, we’ll see.

Windows Mobile had a kind of crazy year.  There were a TON of new WinMo devices that came out this year with some VERY standout winners such as the Touch Diamond, HD and Pro, XPERIA X1.  Windows Mobile continues to sell well, mainly because the manufacturers and resellers have been able to create enough buzz about their version of the WinMo smartphone.  Microsoft this year has not really done anything to help in creating a buzz for their mobile OS, which is a real shame.  While some of the updated UI’s like Touch Flo, Mobile Shell and the XPERIA widgets help with the initial face of Windows Mobile they just don’t go deep enough to create a compelling UI.  Microsoft REALLY needs to come on strong in ‘09 with some kind of UI update.

One of my predictions for 2009…the reintroduction of the PDA. “What’s that?”, you say…

Everyone has dropped the PDA saying that smartphones are simply going to replace them.  While smartphones will certainly continue to be the most diverse segment I think you will see some companies jumping back into the market with PDAs.  Apple had the foresight to release the iPod Touch and it has done VERY nicely for them!  My guess is that others will follow suit.

I am certainly looking forward to 2009.  All of these OSes are maturing and bringing us the kind of user experience we have craved far too long.  Bring on the new gear!

Wishing everyone a safe and

Happy New Year!  See you in ‘09!!

Chris Leckness (3530 Posts) - Website | Twitter | Facebook

Chris Leckness is the Owner/Administrator of Mobilitysite. He is a Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices and a member of the exclusive focus group, Mobius. Chris runs a Mobilitysite, GotZune, and a few other smaller sites and blogs. His personal blog is chris.leckness.com.