Cellphone Industry Hopes For A Blockbuster Summer

According to a report by the New York Times, the cellphone industry looks like the movie industry nowadays. Some highly anticipated phones — including the Palm Pre, an updated iPhone and new phones using Google's Android operating system — have focused the industry's efforts on the months between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

In the past, "nobody gave a darn about mobile phones; they weren't headline grabbers," told Charles Wolf the Times. The Needham & Co. analyst said "This summer will be really interesting. It could be potentially the most exciting time in this market."

The season's releases began last week, when T-Mobile announced the Sidekick LX and AT&T unveiled the Samsung Jack.

But the most compelling drama will start the first week in June, when Sprint begins selling the Palm Pre, people briefed on the company's plans said.

Palm has been hyping the Pre for months as an iPhone killer, but the company has allowed few peeks. Analysts say the stakes are high for Sprint Nextel, which has exclusive rights to the phone in the United States, but they're even higher for Palm, reported the Times..

Also in June, Samsung plans to release the i7500, its first phone based on Google's Android operating system, but it has not said when that phone will come to the United States.

(May 18, 2009)