Smart phones stole the show at the International CTIA Wireless 2009 conference earlier this month, and touchscreens and applications will play a key role in their success, according to iSuppli Corp. In fact, iSuppli’s optimistic forecast for global smart-phone shipments totals 192.3 million units in 2009, up 11.1% from 173.6 million in 2008.

“With overall mobile handset shipments expected to decline in 2009, smart phones represent a precious growth opportunity for the wireless supply chain,” said Tina Teng, senior analyst for wireless communications at iSuppli. “Because of this, wireless firms are focusing on enabling technology and services for smart phones, including touchscreens, mobile content, and location-based applications.”

The Rise Of Resistive Touchscreens

Apple’s popular iPhone has spurred the industry’s interest in touchscreens, Teng noted. That’s why competitors are preparing alternative products, the so-called “iPhone killers,” which use touchscreen technology. Most of these rival devices use resistive touchscreen technology instead of the projected-capacitive solution found in the iPhone.

Among the touchscreen announcements at CTIA, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB unveiled a prototype of its Idou smart phone, which features a 3.5-in., 16-by-9 ratio, 360-by-640-pixel format resistive touchscreen. Along with voice communications, the Idou offers music and video playback as well as a 12-Mpixel camera.

Samsung dedicated a significant portion of its CTIA press conference to its TouchWiz user interface, which uses resistive touchscreen technology as well. The company also revealed its WiMAX-based Mondi mobile Internet device (MID), which uses TouchWiz. While Mondi supports Wi-Fi, though, its first-generation model isn’t compatible with SprintNextel’s EVDO network.

Kyocera Wireless demonstrated its determination to refresh its brand image by announcing its plan to release a Google Android operating-system-based touchscreen product, highlighting its intuitive and customizable user interface. The phone, expected to be released in early 2010, may use resistive touchscreen technology.

One much-anticipated touchscreen-enabled smart phone, the Palm Pre, was nowhere to be seen at CTIA. The Pre’s backers, Palm Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp., didn’t even have booths at the event. Both companies said they expect the Pre launch to occur later this year. Rumors have surfaced that Palm is secretly meeting members of the media and other interested parties to showcase the Pre, a development that only adds mystery to the product and its new WebOS and user interface capabilities.

App Stores And GPS Services Arrive

Several exhibitors presented mobile content, applications stores, and services for smart phones. Applications stores highlighted at the event included Nokia’s Ovi Store, Research in Motion’s BlackBerry App World, and Microsoft’s Windows Marketplace for Mobile. Each application store provides a centralized location for application downloads, including games, music, videos, user interfaces, and various utility programs.  

The BlackBerry App World and Widows Marketplace for Mobile have similar business models. For Windows Marketplace, developers must pay $99 for registration and in return get paid 70% of applications sales revenue. RIM BlackBerry App World developers pay $200 for participation and receive an 80% split of application sales revenue. At the Apple App Store, developers set the price for their applications and retain 70% of all sales revenue.

With the rising consumer awareness of GPS services provided by operators and the prevalence of portable navigation systems, location-based services (LBS) and applications were hot topics at CTIA. Systems shown at the event included A-GPS, Cell ID, or triangulation using connectivity to improve indoor coverage. However, support for indoor elevation was still missing from the show floor.

GPS-related demonstrations and announcements at the event included the Garmin-Asus dual-branded Nüvifone, an extension of the map-data partnership between NAVTEQ and TeleNav, Nokia’s Point & Find service, and NTT DoCoMo’s fleet tracking service.