I like the International CTIA Wireless show. It does a good job of pointing the direction for the cellular industry and showcasing the latest products and services. Attendance in Las Vegas was down to 34,000, compared to 44,000 last year. Yet the show was very positive and upbeat overall as key trends seem to defy the global economic downturn.

Smart phones were the talk of the show. They’re still a small category, representing only 23% of all handsets, but it’s a fast-growing and exciting market. The RIM BlackBerry and Apple iPhone lead this arena, but other companies are making headway like Samsung, LG, Nokia, and T-Mobile with its HTC G1 Android phone. Palm’s new effort called the Pre is an attempt to get back into this category, which it dominated just a few years ago.

The big news in smart phones is the touchscreen. Almost every smart phone has one now, including some BlackBerry models. Apple really started this trend, and now everyone seems to think it is a necessity. I’m not a fan of touchscreens, as I’m still touchscreen-challenged by my iPhone. And, I’m happy to say that keyboards won’t go away.

App Stores And Netbooks

One big trend making the smart phone an even hotter category is all the new application stores springing up. Again, Apple leads the way with its online store offering lots of downloadable software and apps. RIM announced its apps store for the BlackBerry at the show. So did Nokia, with its Ovi apps effort. Both RIM and Nokia have lots of new apps for download, from free to modestly priced.

It looks like the open movement has produced some great new software from independent third parties. It’s like the early days of the PC all over again. Remember back in the 1980s and 1990s when every day produced dozens of new PC software packages? They’re back. Even Apple is thinking of a version of Microsoft Office for the iPhone. Whoa…

Netbooks also got a huge share of the coverage at the show. Many chip vendors see the netbook as a major new market with embedded wireless. Right now, Wi-Fi is built into every laptop. That’s happening with netbooks too. WiMAX will also get a piece of that business. But you will see 3G and 4G cell-phone modules embedded into these devices as well.

Qualcomm’s Gobi is an example of a chipset that does the whole wireless job inside the netbook. In fact, carriers like AT&T will soon be offering netbooks as part of their cellular offerings, and they will be subsidizing them like handsets. You will be able to pick up a good netbook for $100 if you sign up for a two-year data contract.

WiMAX Worldwide

WiMAX also had a good presence at the show. Clearwire co-chair Ben Wolff discussed the need for a major wireless broadband option during his keynote. The company is trying to fill that need as it rolls out its nationwide Clear WiMAX service over the next few years. Maybe Clearwire will get some of that $7.2 billion stimulus money allocated to bring more broadband to the nation.

I’m happy to see its success, as it is a great technology. Some parts of this country that don’t have access to cable TV or DSL need wireless broadband for Internet connectivity. Several other major WiMAX vendors like Alvarion were on hand to show off products that are in demand in other parts of the world. WiMAX is a hit in remote places where a wired telecom infrastructure doesn’t exist.

But if you think WiMAX is a competitor for Long-Term Evolution (LTE), forget it. LTE has already won the next-generation cell-phone battle, as 26 carriers including all the big ones have already adopted it. The fight is over. Yet WiMAX remains as a solid wireless broadband option in areas that need it. There’s no doubt you will see some Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) over WiMAX as well. So what if WiMAX is a niche?

As for LTE, the progress continues. There are no handsets yet, but infrastructure manufacturers have already lined up customers among the carriers to build 4G LTE basestations and related infrastructure. The test and measurement guys also all have products to test any aspect of LTE. The 3GPP still has not finalized the LTE standard, but it is expected to get there later this year, unless it is delayed again—business as usual in this industry. Look for LTE to roll out a little later than expected during this economic downturn. In the meantime, HSPA will see some great action. Some people will ask who needs LTE anyway.

TV, M2M, And IWPC

I had hoped to see more about mobile TV but did not. It is still in its infancy, though I suspect it will get bigger as the business models get sorted out. My bet is that free over-the-air TV will win, but I do hope offerings like MediaFLO survive. They can with the right mix of desirable and not-available-elsewhere content and moderate pricing.

LG demonstrated a couple of models of handsets that featured the new U.S. digital TV (DTV) standard ATSC M/H for mobile handsets. It was picking up regular DTV from local Las Vegas stations. LG makes a demodulator chip for this standard. I hope to have more details of the ATSC M/H standard for you in a future report.

Machine-to-machine (M2M) commnications was also big at the show. Dozens of companies showed off their wares in the M2M Zone. More and more companies are building cell-phone technology into other products for simple telemetry to complex control. Lots of companies are building these modules, and others are offering the network services and back-office management of that massive amount of data. As cell phones reach their saturation point, look for M2M to continue the cellular growth in years to come.

I had in interesting discussion with Mark Lacy of the International Wireless Industry Consortium (IWPC). I asked Mark where the P comes from. He said that the organization started out as the International Wireless Packaging Consortium but changed its name to better reflect its broader coverage. You may have seen some of the IWPC’s calls for papers or monthly workshop announcements. Of course, you can’t go to these events unless you’re a member.

IWPC includes representatives of wireless carriers, equipment manufacturers, chip companies, test equipment manufacturers, and other companies who get together on a regular basis to discuss the details of new technologies, industry opportunities and issues, and solutions to problems. A typical turnout for a workshop is about 100 people. In these closed meetings without press or outsiders, the companies are free to discuss problems and issues openly as a way to find common solutions. The results are obviously positive, as more than 150 members now pay the membership fees to be a part of the discussion.

The IWPC’s motto is “Under the radar… ahead of the curve.” That seems to be the case. IWPC’s founder Don Brown says that the organization is one of the best-kept secrets in the industry. I have to agree with that. The group does good work, but no one knows about it but its members. Yet others do benefit indirectly by its work. Take a look at www.iwpc.org for more details.