More than the tech sector, the mobile enterprise and wireless arena are in a constant state of flux. This week mobile-giant Nokia said it will lay off 600 employees [1] as a result of the weakening economy, and--check this out--the presence of new competitors. Accusatory eyes turned toward Apple's game-changing iPhone [2], which might well have accelerated RIM's shift toward more consumer-centric devices like the BlackBerry Bold [3] and BlackBerry Storm [4].

Of course, Google's release of the Android operating system [5] couldn't have helped either; this probably sparked Nokia's decision to effectively buy over and open-source the Symbian operating system [6]. I mean, if you can't beat them, join them, right? In the meantime, Shane O'Neill thinks that the sale of Smartphones will eat into Windows PC sales [7]. The rationale is that casual users, with limited budgets might forgo a desktop or laptop entirely, and be adequately served by Smartphones.

Despite the clear success of its iPhone, Apple certainly isn't resting on its laurels either. It appears that IBM's chip-guru Mark Papermaster [8] will be heading its iPod group over at Apple [9]. One can only imagine the kind of future media player--if it can still be called that--that Apple has up its sleeve. It will certainly require someone of Papermaster's expertise in high-end processor design.

Finally, a new study says that up to 50% of mobile consumers plan to get Smartphones within the next two years [10]. If this is accurate, this represents an extraordinary jump--with the most popular platform of the next decade to be determined by the sales over the next two years.

The Smartphone war is just getting started. - Paul [11]