Who's Winning the Mobile War?

As phones continue to develop in style and capabilities every month, a war is waging amidst the top manufacturers to top the list of most-wanted mobile.

From various studies conducted by companies like JD Power and Associates, it would appear that - unsurprisingly - Apple is currently dominating the satisfaction scales with its Apple iPhone 3G. Most of us know at least one, and probably several, people who have one of these devices, and it's often difficult to get them to stop extolling the iPhone's various virtues.

The iPhone isn't the only player in the mobile war, and not everybody wants to get one. The competition is fierce amidst rival manufacturers, and, when you compare the results of the JD Power survey at least, Apple's reign might not look quite so stable after all.

Although Apple won the race, which asked over 15,000 users about mobile phones, it garnered a score of 791 out of 1000 for various points. South Korean manufacturer LG, however, came in second place with 772. And this is just for smartphones. LG reached first place with its line of traditional mobile phones, an area that Apple has no stake in whatsoever, as its two entrants into the market are both smartphones.

When we consider how huge the traditional mobile market is, it becomes increasingly obvious that Apple isn't holding much of a lead over fellow manufacturers. Conglomerates like Finnish group Nokia and Swedish-Japanese joint effort Sony Ericsson sweep the board when it comes to the traditional mobile market, a business area worth billions. Without Apple in the running, other manufacturers are scooping up fans from all over who want a phone in their pocket, not a miniature PC (or Mac, as the case may be).

That said, the smartphone war still wages on, and the most vicious battles are yet to be fought. Apple is a well-known operating system with well known rivals, and those rivals - Google and Microsoft - also want a piece of the smartphone pie. Google's Android operating system was released to a great deal of praise last year and Microsoft's Windows operating system is installed on a great many rival smartphones, with the company to release a handset itself in the future.

Whoever's winning the war when it comes to mobile phones, one thing's for sure - with increased competition and ever-eager manufacturers, mobile consumers can continue to expect fantastic new developments and innovations to come as companies fight for the top spot.