2009 is the Year of the Linux-powered Smartphones

Although I don't consider 2009 as the year of the Linux desktop, most of you will probably agree with me that this is the year of the Linux-powered smartphones. We can mainly thank Android for this as its popularity and market share has been growing at a rapid pace.

Gartner Inc. predicted that by 2012, Android would become the world's second most popular smartphone platform, behind only to Symbian OS. Leading handset manufacturers have already released several Android-powered phone models that contributed to the huge market share growth this year.

One of the smartphones that catapulted Android's success in 2009 is Motorola Droid. According to analytics firm Flurry, about 250,000 Motorola Droid phones were sold during its first week in stores in the United States alone.

Motorola Droid

But Linux smartphone business is not all about Android. Other phone makers like Nokia and Palm have developed their own Linux-based operating system that has been quite successful. Nokia has Debian-based Maemo, which powers the N900, while Palm created webOS for their multi-featured Palm Pre smartphone.

Nokia N900

As we look ahead to 2010, there are a lot to be excited about. Google is rumored to release a smartphone that's been dubbed as Nexus One. It will run the Android Mobile OS and the device will be manufactured by HTC Corporation. We've also heard that computing giant Dell has been preparing to unleash their very own smartphone.

Google Nexus One (rumored)

The future is bright for Linux on the smartphone, and I won't be surprised that the desktop will be conquered soon.