FollowFive years ago, the global leaders of cell phone manufacture and distribution were located in Finland and Canada, where Nokia and Research in Motion have their headquarters, respectively. Nokia made some of the first mass produced cell phones, and have been a contender in the market for some time.
In 2007, the iPhone and Android were released, and the smartphone was born. This changed the market drastically, and today Apple, Google and Samsung all dominate the market. Samsung in particular has made a jaw dropping amount of phones in a very short period of time. Currently, Samsung can account for 1/4 of all of the smartphones in the world. Apple can claim 18%, and other companies don’t even come close. 
The operating systems of the new devices are getting more and more complicated, and while iOS was originally thought to be the leader, the Android OS has been getting better and better, and is quickly surpassing the capabilities and features of iOS. Samsung and Google have also begun making cheaper phones than was normal a couple of years ago, and this is bringing more and more people over to the side of the Android. Five years from now, it can be expected that many of these trends will continue, but in a market that changes as fast as cellular devices expectations can often lead to surprise.
The Android OS will surpass the iOS, as it is getting close to doing so now. Android will have a simpler and smother browser and navigator as well as having many more apps. Google will begin making more and more hardware for their devices, as they have recently bought Motorola and intends to use their new warehouses to produce the Google X, which is supposedly a ground breaking device that will change the face of the market.
Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE will take the lead in smartphone market share, as they have been rising quickly. These are some of the things that are likely to happen in the next give years.
