Flat or declining sales projections are getting a lot of attention in ‘09 CE industry projections, but here’s a sweet exception

By Audrey Gray

Flat or declining sales projections are getting a lot of attention in ‘09 CE industry projections, but here’s a sweet exception: IDC analysts predict that demand for smartphones is expected to grow 8.9 percent over the next 12 months.

Connected handsets seem to be the one purchase that consumers have no problem justifying, even in tight times, and with American carriers offering new deals like a refurbished $99 iPhone 3G at AT&T and Best Buy Mobile, the choice to upgrade is getting even easier.

It was not an Apple or a Blackberry model that stole the mobility show at CES 2009, however. Palm, the creator of one of modern history’s most successful smartphones, the Treo, tried to put itself back among the top-handset contenders with the Pre, a combo touch-screen/QWERTY keyboard smartphone.

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