Flurry of Smartphones Coming This Christmas

SAN FRANCISCO (AdAge.com) — What a difference a year makes.

Last year, the iPhone ruled the smartphone roost, barely stirred by early challengers like the BlackBerry Storm and Android G1. This holiday season, more than a dozen touchscreen smartphones are out to take on Apple, with device makers and carriers banking on hearty appetites among consumers who want a minicomputer in their back pocket.

How hungry are U.S. consumers for smartphones? Twelve percent of the 4,255 U.S. consumers surveyed by Changewave in October say they plan to buy one in the next 90 days — representing one of the highest percentages ever seen in the firm’s quarterly smartphone surveys.