Nokia was the world's largest computer maker in 2008

The tech community is gearing up for CES and Macworld Expo 2009 events this week and it is expected there will be new from the large computer makers, Apple, HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc. However, did you know that Nokia is now the world's largest computer maker with 13.8% of market share? HP, Dell, Apple, Acer, Lenovo, RIM, and Toshiba follow in the stats. These numbers only include the Nokia smartphones and not all of the Nokia mobile phones (Series 40 phones are quite powerful too, but not included) or devices (Nokia Internet Tablets are not included), which would increase their numbers even more.

Now, the first argument you will probably make to Tomi's article linked above is that Nokia smartphones (and those from RIM, Apple, Windows Mobile, and Google) should not be considered computers. I recommend you check out his other follow-up article that takes an in-depth look at the history of computers over the last 50 years to see how today's modern high end smartphones fit into the computer picture.

Nokia has been calling their Nseries devices "multimedia computers" for the last couple of years and I tend to use this label often too as agree with them about the Nseries functionality. These devices capture amazing photos and video that you can even edit on the device itself and share online without ever needing to connect to a PC. Most, if not all, of the Nseries devices come with TV out cables and Bluetooth so you can actually use a Nseries device as your only computer with a connection to a monitor/TV and Bluetooth keyboard. Most people today use their computer for email and web browsing and with a Nseries device and external monitor/TV there is no reason you can't do it all with the phone as the central core of your system.

You will never do away with the full PC computer and no one is saying they will go away because there are a ton of real needs for a full size powerful computer. However, it is quite amazing what these mobile devices today can do and I know that every phone currently in my collection blows away the PCs I had back in the 90s. I actually prefer to use my mobile phone for setting appointments, browsing through email, and browsing through my RSS feeds over using my PC since I find it more convenient and faster. Coworkers also tell me they prefer using their iPhone for browsing through their email list rather than using Outlook on the PC.

With Nokia's continued focus, growth, and integration of services into their S60 lineup I think that users may enjoy even better experiences in the future that drive even more usage of these portable computers.

I recommend you check out the two articles I linked to above since there is some great analysis and supporting arguments and data for the statements made by the author. Do you agree that today's high end smartphones can be considered as portable computers?