Can you feel it? The pre-Christmas buzz? Here in Australia we don’t have a big run up to Christmas like they do in the US – there’s no Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving where electronics retailers mark down everything and people get murdered in the hunt for a new TV) and there’s no Halloween to get people’s celebratory juices flowing. Of course, we have warm summers and the Spring Racing Carnival. And these are definitely things.
But alas, the world of mobile electronics revolves around the US and its psychotic Christmas shopping season, which represents most of the yearly profits as Grandmothers buy ill-informed digital knick-knacks for their surly teenage grandsons.
Mobiles are a slightly different gift item though. They’re far too expensive on the whole for seasonal gift-giving, which is why they’re usually bought subsidized, on-contract. Though we highly recommend that people consider outright purchases (and pairing up with excellent low-cost SIM only plans from the likes of Amaysim), mobiles are still largely bought “on-plan”.
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Nevertheless, the pull of technological one up-manship, combined with crazed seasonal spending is hard for manufacturers to ignore, so we’re all expecting the next three months to amp up the white-hot pace of mobile handset releases. Let’s have a look at what’s in store:
Apple 
You may think that Apple has shot its wad for the year, with the release of boringly excellent iPhone 5. Wrong be you would! With Google and Amazon releasing sub $200 7 inch tablets, the pressure has been on for Apple to release a mini version of their blockbuster iPad. Two tablet releases in one year is hardly Apple’s style, but leaks and rumours have locked in an iPad Mini announcement by the end of October, with even the New York Times reporting that as many as 10 million units have been ordered for production.
The current rumour mill has envisaged a 7 inch tablet in a range of bright colours, to contrast against the sober white and black of the 9 inch iPad. That’s nice, but news that the iPad Mini would run on the same internal hardware that the iPad 2 runs on is very disappointing – going backwards is poor form. For a company who seem to run on a religious platform of “smaller, thinner and lighter is better”, dumbing down a slightly smaller form factor of your best product seems counter-intuitive.
Beyond the iPad Mini, one can assume that the iPhone will be off the blocks until at least this time next year, when hopefully THE WORLD’S TALLEST COMPANY comes back with something that actually brings something new to the table.
Samsung 
The Samsung Galaxy S3 has sold 10 million units in less than 6 months, and has properly claimed the title of Top Android Handset (or TAH). Many might champion Samsung, especially in light of Apple’s preposterous court battle with them, but let’s not overlook the fact that Samsung is a huge, evil corporation itself, and that they market just as insidiously as their American rival.
You could also argue that the S3 has, like the iPhone 5, not brought the goods in a big way. If the iPhone 5 is riding on the coattails of the properly exciting iPhone 4/4S, then the S3 is riding on the wave of goodwill brought on by the excellent Galaxy S2. The HTC One X is, by most measures scientific and anecdotal, a better handset – deeper specs, better overlay on Android, more durable materials, sleeker design. But alas, HTC has shivered away in the shadow left by the Korean juggernaut.
But to Samsung’s credit, they’re not a one-hit wonder. Their surprise hit, the gargantuan Galaxy Note, has a ripper runner-up in the…wait for it…Galaxy Note 2 (TWO!!!) which brings an ever bigger 5.5 inch screen in an even slimmer body. It’s not a huge jump, but it’ll satisfy the people buying the thing out of sheer morbid curiousity (disclosure – the Galaxy Note is the only Android phone I’ve actually owned, and I loved it).
Also in the pipeline for Samsung are Windows Phone handsets, and Windows 8 tablets. And probably a thousand iterations of the Galaxy line, as they slowly devolve into HTC just 2 years ago. Stop fragmenting! Concentrate! Selling 10 million units of one phone and stranding 20 million units of 50 other phones is a net loss, innit?
HTC 
HTC is sticking to its guns, even in the face of shrinking profits. They’ve committed to the overhaul of their crowded product line, sticking to the One series. Their Windows Phone 8X looks to be a Windows Phone version of their One X, but with one curious oversight- 16GB onboard storage with no expandable storage. And that’s it. With some gaming apps exceeding a GB in size, why limit something so easy to improve upon?
The Nexus 7 tablet is made by HTC for Google, and could prove a hit. That would help, but in the meantime expect some quiet releases of Windows tablets and updates to the One X. This is one season where the Taiwanese firm will have to sit back and avoid overextending themselves.
Nokia 
Here’s where the action is. The Nokia Lumia 920 seems to be a last ditch, hold-nothing-back offering from the firm, and it’s nice to know that the threat of impending oblivion has kick started something. The flagship Windows 8 Phone brings it all. Nice Big Screen. Durable polycarbonate shell. Bright colours. Huge internal specs. Great Maps. Wireless charging pad. Excellent audio. Excellent camera. What’s not to like?
Really, not much. Those in the know peg this as the best phone on the horizon, the handset that might just bring Nokia back from the dead, and the otherwise-healthy Microsoft properly into the mobile operating sphere. The only problems? No-one knows the release date. The US release is pegged for November, with the Australian release a mystery. Big Mistake. Nokia is still a much loved brand here.
The other issue is price. If it comes in at a high price tag, it just won’t sell, not with so many stellar Android handsets at low price points. Windows Phone is still unknown with the vast majority of phone users. Hell, even Android is unknown with many users, who think in terms of Samsung, HTC and Sony, not “Android”. Some Apple faithful might leap to Windows Phone, which is overall more aesthetically pleasant and sensible than Android has been in the past, but just as many Apple faithful have dozens of paid-for apps on their phone, which they might not be keen on buying again.
So a quick release is necessary, as is a cheap one. Nokia and Microsoft need to get these into a lot of hands if they ever want to catch up to Apple, Android and Samsung.
Overall
Expect a wave of 4G handsets, even if many of them are just updates of 3G models. Huawei will likely dump a bunch of cheap-yet-powerful handsets on the market, as they move into the slot formerly owned by HTC.
Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and the Surface Tablet are all expected to be some type of success. Even if they don’t hit with consumers, they might prove an alluring ecosystem option for business people, who still rely on Microsoft Office and Enterprise.
Of course, some people don’t need the latest and greatest smartphone. Ok, let’s revise – no-one needs the latest and greatest. But some people would rather buy last year’s model on the cheap, and enjoy a marginally lesser experience with more cash in their pocket and more freedom on better plans. I envy those people. Check out our recent article on 4 Smartphones You May Have Overlooked. And stay tuned for more news as new products come through the pipeline!