Google is the current hot topic among manufacturers, with LG and Samsung set to unveil Android phones in the second half of 2009.

Android will allow manufacturers to integrate Google’s mapping, search and email services onto more mobile devices.

There are also likely to be a handful of netbooks with the Android operating system later in the year, with Sony and Dell expected to join HP.
Android is posing a significant threat to the established Windows operating system on PCs and smartphones.

Strategy analytics director of global wireless practice, Neil Mawston, said: ‘I can see Android taking between 10% and 15% of the netbook market within two years. Netbooks and laptops are a big growth area; they have higher growth potential than smartphones, even. All the major operators – such as T-Mobile, Vodafone and Orange – are already pushing them.’