Symbian's share of the smartphone OS market is declining, while Windows Mobile shipments are growing, says an ABI study expected to be published soon. The study also says that Palm-branded smartphones running on Linux will take market share from Symbian.

Another market research firm, IDC, expects Symbian to gain marketshare through 2009. Gartner, meanwhile, noted recently that even mobile OSes with declining marketshares are shipping more units than ever, thanks to rapid growth in the sector.

In its forthcoming report, ABI says smartphones are defined by their complex operating systems, which allow them to bridge computing and communications technologies. Another research firm, Strategy Analytics, forecasts high-percentage growth in smartphone shipments, despite higher shipment volumes in the simpler “feature phone” category, as illustrated below.

Mid-market “feature phones” represent the highest-volume near term opportunity in mobile phones, according to Strategy Analytics, while smartphones will see faster growth in terms of percentages

ABI says Symbian's weakness is its close association with Nokia, and its concentration in GSM-heavy markets. Microsoft's strengths are its enterprise focus and interoperability with proprietary Microsoft email server products, while its weakness is its lack of customizability. The firm calls Linux a “wild card,” saying the OS is still an “unknown quantity” outside of Asia.

Senior Analyst Philip Solis said, “We are bullish about the prospects for a rebranded Palm user interface running over Linux (alongside many other Linux OS solutions) taking some of Symbian's market share.”

A complete table of contents, along with additional details about ABI's new study Smartphones, the market for smartphones and smartphone operating systems, can be found here.

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