The Mobile Spoon Summarizes 2011. Is It Possible That Nothing Has Changed?

2011 is officially over, and boy, was that a crazy year or what?
Well, actually, despite of all the action, if you think about it – nothing has really changed this year. The winners are still winning, the losers are still losing.

The winners:

• Samsung Galaxy – HTC? Motorola? LG? Nokia? Give Samsung a break. 2012 was the year of the Galaxy. A number of amazing models that placed Samsung at the top of the phones manufacturers pyramid.
• Google Android - climbing to new heights in terms of sales and activations per day, but despite of all the success, Google is still looking for a bit of personality to its' successful robot, re-inventing the user interface every few months.
• Apple iOS – iPhone 4S is disappointing? iOS 5 failed to innovate? Who cares. Users are happier than ever, Siri rocks, and iPad continues to be the undisputed king. On the other hand, the momentum is constantly slowing down; Apple lost Steve Jobs, the stock is not as happy as usual, and iOS is officially the oldest mobile OS in today's market.
• Amazon Kindle Fire – sales are rocketing, the Fire seems to be the first true competitor to the iPad. 2012 could become the year of Amazon in mobility. On the other hand, I heard about more people who returned the Kindle Fire saying it's a crappy device than people that are actually happy with it…

The Losers:

• RIM BlackBerry – it's hard to believe how RIM, once one of the most successful companies in the world is impotently surrendering without a fight. Try one of RIM's latest BlackBerry devices and you will understand why analysts are not giving RIM a lot of hope.
• Microsoft Windows Phone 7 – year after year I'm writing about Microsoft's failing mobile products. I actually bought a Windows Phone 7 devices, I even like it a lot. I'm all in favor of Metro UI, yet it took me 6-7 months and then I went back using an iPhone. The apps, the user experience, the possibilities… Microsoft still has a long way to go.

The Tragic Hero:

• Palm's webOS – I'm thinking of all the ups and downs webOS had this year,and I cannot help myself from thinking about the engineers who built webOS and how they must feel about it. A brilliant piece of work that never had a chance to make it in this cruel world.

So you see? 2011 had so much activity, and yet nothing has really changed.

Here's 2011 as it was presented here at the mobile spoon:

December, 2011

iPhone 5 rumors emerge once again. Feels like we've been there already: new design, bigger screen, new materials, different back-cover… talk about a Déjà Vu! HP announces that WebOS would be available as an open-source project. Yet another zigzag by HP. Android activations reach 700,000 per day. It doesn't change the fact consumers and developers prefer iOS over Android. Microsoft continues to fail in smartphones sales.

November, 2011
RIM continues to decline and seems to be loosing the enterprise world too. Android is still doing great, but is being considered to be "too risky" for the enterprise webOS continues to look for a new home Motorola Razr is making an official comeback  with a legendary model. Flash is officially dead for mobile. HTML5 is the new way to go.

	October, 2011
	iPhone 5 turns out to be iPhone 4S. What about all the rumors? Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) is officially released. Targeted to challenge iPad's dominance in the tablets world. BlackBerry devices stop synchronizing for 3 days. iPad surpasses netbooks sales Steve Jobs dies

September, 2011
Amazon reveals its' new Kindle Fire. The first HTML5-based App store is released Microsoft reveals Windows 8. It's going to kick ass, but will it be sufficient to compete with iPad? We think of 3 possible scenarios. Regardless to the growing competition, 90% of tablets users are interested in iPads. Mobile Spoon finally reveals what is the most popular smartphone in the world

	August, 2011
	HP TouchPad is sold out. Did HP find a winning formula? Nope, they actually decide to dump all webOS products and sell its' Personal Systems Group. Mobile patents war crosses a few red lines We explain why Android smartphones are just like Tamagotchi

July, 2011
First WP7 Mango devices show up. Will Mango be a game changer for Microsoft? Users are happier with iPhone and Windows Phone, than with Android. It doesn't help Microsoft, that is still making more money out of Android than it does out of WP7…

	June, 2011
	iOS 5 is announced – is it a lame catch-up or a final blow to competition? Android continues to rage, 500,000 activations per day. Windows Phone barely exists… Android vs. iOS, the apps comparison shows Android Market full of crappy apps.

May, 2011
BlackBerry. Chronicle of a death foretold? WP7 sales look very bad. It doesn't change Microsoft's decision to bring Metro UI to windows 8. HP's webOS sales look very bad too. Modu is making a comeback in the shape of a WebTop.

	April, 2011
	The world is in shock – Apple and Google are collecting our information! iPhone products generate more revenue than entire Google. Studying UI - How can user interface change the way you hold your smartphone? Mobile Spoon Predicts: By 2013, Html5 Will Rule Enterprise Mobility

March, 2011
Google is tired of low quality devices manufacturer, ruining the Android code – does not release Android 3 as an open source NFC is here The Mobile Spoon App is available in Windows Phone 7 MarketPlace

	February, 2011
	Android 3.0 (Honeycomb) is released, targeted to challenge iPad's domination in the tablets world. (Didn't I just said that?) Android activations per day reach 400,000!
	Palm/HP is back! TouchPad, Pre3, and Veer are announced. Is there still hope for webOS? Windows Mobile future is a bit blurred…

January, 2011
RIM's decline seems inevitable: even Windows Phone 7 is considered to be more attractive than BlackBerry. iPhone 5 rumors begin; new design, bigger screen, new materials, different back-cover… talk about a Déjà Vu!

What a year! So much action, yet so little have changed.

Here are some of the most popular articles of 2011:

• Can Microsoft generate more revenue out of Android than Google?
• What should Microsoft do in order to save Windows Phone 7?
• Mobile Spoon predicts: By mid 2012, Android will lead tablets market
• Mobile Spoon Predicts: By 2013, Html5 Will Rule Enterprise Mobility
• Why technical specifications should not be your primary way to select a new smartphone
• What is the most popular smartphone in the world? The moron test

2011 is officially over now. Thank you all for reading the mobile spoon. See you all next year!

Happy new year,

Gil Bouhnick, The Mobile Spoon.