Top 10 smartphone highlights of 2011

by Aloysius Low | 22 December 2011 3:42pm SGT

What a year it has been. From the announcement that Nokia would stop designing its own smartphone OS and will be using Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform to the return of the Motorola Razr branding, 2011 has been an eventful year for the mobile industry. Here's are the top 10 things we think made you sit up and take heed.

Return of Nokia

It was a shocking move, but Nokia's announcement to stop work on its own mobile operating systems and partner with Microsoft certainly made headlines. With the announcement, the Finnish company also made its first (and last) Meego-based Nokia N9, while using the hardware for its newest Lumia 800 Windows Phone 7-based smartphone.

Fruity Mango goodness

2011 marked a turning point for Microsoft's mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7. With its partnership with Nokia secured, the company released an update called Mango with over 500 new improvements. The upgrade added multitasking, threaded views, multiple email inboxes, social media integration as well as Internet Explorer 9. Next year will see a posssible "Tango" update announced at CES, so stay tuned.

Google acquires Motorola

With its Android operating system taking too many punches in the face from patent lawsuits, Google decided to do the next best thing--buy Motorola for its massive patent portfolio, while also gaining a hardware division for its mobile OS. Google even managed to get its partners like HTC to say good things about the deal, even though the obvious implication was that the search giant was now a competitor.

HTC buys Beats Electronics

In a bid to differentiate its products, Taiwan-based HTC bought a 51 percent stake in Beats Electronics for US$500 million. The move saw Beats Audio technology being integrated with most of its newer devices, including the HTC Sensation XE, which received our Editors' Choice award.

Rise of the dual-core smartphones

The end of 2010 heralded the 1GHz processor as the standard spec for the higher-end models. However, 2011 saw phones with dual-core processors as the new de facto standard. As 2012 beckons, it's likely we'll see quad-core devices and more, while the 1GHz spec is likely to be the weapon of choice for entry-level to midrange handsets.

Seeing double with 3D phones

With 3D being the "big" thing for most manufacturers, it was only a matter of time before the same thing made its way to smaller handheld devices such as mobile phones. LG introduced its Optimus 3D, while HTC announced a Evo 3D handset. Sharp also announced a 3D smartphone, though it was not released in our part of the world. Unfortunately, due to the glasses-free technology used, the handsets turned out chunky. It also seems that these smartphones aren't as well received despite their more innovative features.

RIM turns to Asia for hope

The PlayBook will be the only next-generation device from RIM for a while. (Credit: James Martin/CNET).

As its fortunes decline and its BlackBerry 10 phones get delayed, the Canada-based smartphone maker turned its sights toward Asia. With Indonesia remaining one of its biggest markets, RIM launched its Bold 9790 in the country first, before making it available to the rest of the world. Francois Mahieu, RIM's senior director for regional product management, told CNET Asia that RIM will continue to make an effort to launch new products in Asia as soon as they are announced in North America. Mahieu also said the global launch of the BlackBerry Bold 9790 in Indonesia underscored the importance of the Asian market for RIM. The popularity of RIM's smartphones in Indonesia also inadvertently led to a top BlackBerry executive being arrested over a stampede at the launch of the Bold 9790.

A phone made for Facebook-ing

The social networking Web site has become so popular that HTC made two phones with Facebook in mind. The handsets had a dedicated Facebook button for sharing information and would light up when you received updates on your Facebook wall. In other Facebook-related news, the mobile apps for the social network was finally updated to a more polished version and the number of users for the Android version has surpassed those using iOS devices.

iOS turns five

Apple continued to make improvements to its iOS platform with a bunch of new features including an Android-inspired Notification Center, a data-based text messaging service called iMessage and built-in Twitter integration. Siri, a voice assistant, was made exclusive to its new iPhone 4S. The smartphone was not the redesigned handset that most were hoping for, but did feature a new 8-megapixel camera and a dual-core processor.

Android's Ice Cream Sandwich

Last to the party was Android 4.0 and its accompanying hardware, the Galaxy Nexus. The Ice Cream Sandwich update melded its tablet and smartphone operating systems together, while also adding a bunch of new features such as "Face unlock" and a metro-inspired "People app". You should see a whole bunch of Android devices sporting the new operating system soon, while some devices will be getting the updates rolled out to them over the new year. If you're impatient, there's always the option to root and flash a custom ROM, though note that you will be voiding your warranty if you choose this route.

About the author

Aloysius Low is a Senior Writer at CNET Asia and covers all things mobile. A former World of Warcraft addict, he now dabbles in social media to stave off the withdrawal symptoms. As a lover of all things furry, he's also the unfortunate slave/minion of two adorable cats.

Aloysius Low, Senior Writer