New Smartphone Brands Next Year: Facebook, Amazon, Lenovo, Google and Sony

Apple, Samsung, Nokia, HTC and Research In Motion will face several new rivals in the smartphone market next year.

For mobile phones, which comprise smartphones and feature phones, Nokia Oyj edged Samsung to be the top vendor, with 106.6 million units shipped, compared to Samsung's 87.8 million in the third quarter, according to IDC. In the high-end phones market, Samsung led the pack with 23.6 million units of the Galaxy S2 and other brands shipped, compared to Apple's 17.1 million units of the iPhones, and Nokia Oyj's 16.8 million units of the aging Symbian line, says IDC.

Smartphone purchases softened in the third quarter as consumers delayed purchases to wait for the fifth-generation iPhone, RIM's BlackBerry 7 phone series or Microsoft's upcoming Windows 7 or 8 phones. But analysts expect smartphone demand to increase in the years to come, as more people are expected to replace their talk-and-text only phones with more advanced devices.

Although the market is already crowded, new players are expected to join the bandwagon in 2012, hoping to gain ground against Apple and Samsung.

Lenovo

Samsung has unveiled the Galaxy Note, a device with a 5.3-inch-screen, which straddles the line between tablet and smartphone.

The Galaxy Note features the world's first and largest 5.3" HD Super AMOLED display, offering the largest screen estate among current high-end phones, but is more compact than the 9.7-inch iPad.

Mashable is reporting that Lenovo is joining the club, as revealed by a photo showing off a five-inch Android.

Lenovo could be a serious threat to the smartphone heavyweights as nobody knows China better than Lenovo. Lenovo is the world's second-largest seller and the number one PC vendor in China, which has almost 1 billion wireless subscribers.

Lenovo unveiled a smartphone in China last year, the LePhone. The LePhone was offered at half the cost of an iPhone but was not sold outside China.

Amazon

Early this year, following poor launches of the Motorola Xoom and the BlackBerry PlayBook, analysts were saying that Apple didn't create a market for media tablets, it created demand for an iPad. But Amazon has shown that there's a market for non-iPads at the right price point. Following the success of the $199 Kindle Fire tablet, the online bookseller will try its luck at the smartphone market. Research analysts working for Citi believe Amazon will start selling a smartphone of its own late next year.

According to reports, CIti believes that Amazon is working together with Foxconn, the manufacturer of the iPhone and many other devices, to develop the Amazon smart phone. The phone is expected to use a Texas Instrument OMAP 4 processor, which will make the phone a "mid end device" by late next year.

Amazon's entry into the smartphone market is not unexpected given that it has its own Android App Store and it's offering a huge portfolio of digital content at the Amazon site, and $79 per month live streaming at Amazon Prime. Like the Kindle Fire, Amazon will probably sell the smartphone at a loss and recover those revenue from the sale of online content. And, as with the Kindle Fire, Amazon won't need superior specs to compete with the like of Samsung, but by using its digital content as a major draw.

But the smartphone market could be more complicated: While Apple's iPhone 4S costs a steep $649 contract-free, it is only available for $199 on two-year contracts with major networks. Amazon could probably build its own cellular network to deliver wireless service at lower rates. But it's easier said than done.

Facebook

Facebook is the number one social network, with 800 million active users. Rather than creating a better app for Android and Apple tablets and smartphones, Facebook is said to be building its own phone, code-named Buffy, after the vampire slayer of the same name.

According to AllThingsD, citing sources familiar with the project, the company created by Mark Zuckerberg has tapped HTC and will tap potentially Samsung to create a phone that will run on Android that's tweaked heavily to deeply integrate Facebook.

Facebook addicts will likely try out the Buffy phone. Even if just 10 percent of Facebook users buy a Facebok-branded phone in a year, the numbers could propel the social network as top smartphone vendor. But who needs a Facebook phone when you can access Facebook with just any smartphone?

Google

Google Inc. is not new to the smartphone market. It owns Android, which is now the most used platform for smartphones. But Google is paying $12.5 billion for Motorola Mobility. Google has assured Android partners Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony and others that the search giant will continue to provide Android to device-makers for free. While Google will probably promise that Ice Cream Sandwich and future versions will be available equally to everyone, Google will probably try to beef up the Motorola business in order to have a return on its investment.

Motorola has struggled to retain its market share after it leaped on top of the market with its RAZR clamshell phones. Aside from the world's number one search engine, Google has a wide portfolio of online services that include GMail, Google Docs, YouTube, and Chrome. Integrating those services to future Motorola phones and probably using the Google brand will probably help its smartphones have the edge over other Android phones.

But it remains to be seen whether Google will find success as a hardware maker. Its recent launches have been hit-or-miss. While its Google+ social network has gained popularity, its Chromebook laptops have not found success. Google and Samsung have co-developed the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. While the Nexus is the first smartphone running on Android Ice Cream Sandwich, it remains to be seen whether the phone will be as successful as the iPhone 4S (which sold 4 million units in the first three days) and Samsung's flagship Galaxy S 2 (10 million units in the first five months).

Sony

Sony Corp. and Ericsson combined their handset business 10 years ago to draw on the Swedish company's wireless technology and the Japanese consumer electronics giant's gadget expertise. But the joint venture lost its relevance after Apple launched the iPhone in 2007.

After paying 1.05 billion euros to buy out Ericsson from the joint venture, Sony hopes to have a new lease of life for its smartphone business. Now with full control, Sony hopes to differentiate the Sony's Android devices by seamlessly connecting them with other Sony devices, cross-selling and cross-promoting smartphones, tablets, and TVs, and providing access to its entertainment and digital portfolio. While Sony Ericsson's access to Sony's film and TV studio, record labels and gaming network were limited while it was a joint venture, Sony now promises to deliver more content to its smartphones.

Sony has its answer to iTunes, the Sony Entertainment Network, which streams Sony-produced films, games and music to Sony devices. Its PlayStation Network has more than 90 million active users.

"This acquisition makes sense for Sony and Ericsson, and it will make the difference for consumers, who want to connect with content wherever they are, whenever they want. With a vibrant smartphone business and by gaining access to important strategic IP, notably a broad cross-license agreement, our four-screen strategy is in place. We can more rapidly and more widely offer consumers smartphones, laptops, tablets and televisions that seamlessly connect with one another and open up new worlds of online entertainment. This includes Sony's own acclaimed network services, like the PlayStation Network and Sony Entertainment Network," said CEO Sir Howard Stringer.

Stringer also noted that the acquisition will afford Sony operational efficiencies in engineering, network development and marketing, among other areas. "We can help people enjoy all our content - from movies to music and games - through our many devices, in a way no one else can."

The transaction is expected to close in January 2012.

To contact the editor directly, e-mail c.fernandez@IBTimes.com.au