Leaders shuffling in mobile market

The mobile technology industry has been undergoing rapid change in recent years, with new devices introduced seemingly every other week and market leaders constantly shuffling their positions.

Regarding the latter, it seems that things are starting to settle down, however, as a report from technology news provider eWeek predicts Apple®, Google and Microsoft® will ultimately emerge as the leaders of the mobile space.

Citing figures from Forrester Research, eWeek states that these companies will have hands in 90 percent of the world's smartphones and tablet computers by 2016. The prediction is an interesting one. Both Apple and Google have made obvious impressions on the mobile market, but Microsoft has yet to make a meaningful contribution.

This also leaves little room for Research In Motion® and its BlackBerry® handsets. Once the king of smartphone technology, RIM® seems to be waning as it struggles to compete with the new industry players.

Microsoft's success in the mobile space will depend largely on the upcoming Windows® 8, which will run on both tablets and PCs. The software giant is looking at a mid-to-late-2012 release for the operating system, which some say will ultimately determine whether Microsoft can compete in the post-PC era.