Have we entered the age of the smartphone? According to data captured and analyzed in In-Stat (News - Alert), more than half of U.S. handsets will be smartphones by 2012. This was the news shared in this latest Android Community post.

According to In-Stat findings, unit shipments for smartphones will reach nearly 850 million by 2015. Principal Analyst Allen Nogee said there are a number of critical factors that are contributing to smartphone success, including a powerful browser, a wide variety of apps, an easy-to-navigate user interface and a good keyboard or touchscreen.

It also doesn’t hurt when the smartphone is considered to be “fashionable” or used by everyone in a circle of friends. Apple gained much of its initial speed based on all of these principles, and it seems Android is gaining ground for the same reasons.

In-Stat’s report shows that Android will maintain much of its momentum, continuing as the leading operating system in the United States. The second highest shipments of all smartphone operating systems, according to In-Stat, are not from Apple, but Nokia’s (News - Alert) Symbian.

The smartphone war is certainly intensifying, with key players vehemently competing for the lion’s share of the global market. And, while the market is already very crowded, it doesn’t mean new or renewed entrants aren’t trying to find their own place. Companies like MeeGo, Bada, and WebOS are trying to make their mark.

In-Stat also found that by 2015, more than two-thirds of all smartphones will be WCDMA-based, and LTE (News - Alert) smartphones will make up only the small minority of annual handset shipments. This will be true even in 2015.

The most expensive elements within the smartphone continue to be the display and the baseband/apps processor. Other elements that can drive cost include memory, camera, software, licensing, case and manufacturing.

This In-Stat research, “Smartphones: A Worldwide View,” includes forecasts of smartphone unit sales segmented according to operating systems, and attach rates for touchscreens, Bluetooth, WiFi (News - Alert) and accelerometers through 2015. The report also includes an analysis of smartphone features, such as operating systems, touchscreens, applications, image sensors and wireless connectivity options.

For more on smartphone technologies, check out this recent TMCnet report as Chris DiMarco examines a project that features a group of British engineers that will be blasting a smartphone into orbit to see what the machine is capable of. While the exact smartphone has not yet been selected, it has been confirmed that it will be Android-based.

Want to learn more about 4G wireless technologies? Then be sure to attend the 4GWE Conference, collocated with TMC’s (News - Alert) ITEXPO East, taking place Feb 2-4, 2011, in Miami. The 4GWE Conference provides unmatched networking opportunities and a robust conference program representing the wireless ecosystem. The conference not only brings together the best and brightest in the wireless industry, it actually spans the communications and technology industry. To register, click here.