Handset makers had been betting on 3G to sustain what seemed like an unstoppable market suspension. This did not happen and ever since the industry has been looking for other panaceas to return it to the bonanza days. The latest hope is that we can be persuaded to replace our voice-only phones with enhanced versions, so-called 'smartphones'. It is on replacement - rather than forging new markets - that so much of our handset-dependent industry will depend. They too will have an ever more important role to play in prolonging talk-time and keeping costs down.
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