Nigel Field, Director of Devices at 3G Operator 3 UK has recently outlined how 2009 went and how 2010 looks with regard to 3G mobile devices.

He confirmed that 3 UK’s best selling handset of 2009 was the Nokia E71 with its QWERTY keypad. This is no surprise to us at 3G.co.uk as at the time of our review we classed this as “The ultimate smartphone, for either business users or consumers”. See 3G's Nokia E71 review here or buy the Nokia E71 here.

Also in 2009, Nigel confirmed that the popularity of Touchscreens grew rapidly and particularly with the arrival of the HTC Hero ( above ) with its Android operating system and Spotify music service included. 3G.co.uk also reviewed the HTC Hero when our verdict was “The HTC Hero has set a precedent for functionality in phones. The user experience is comparable only to the iPhone, it looks good and is cheaper to boot”.  See 3G's HTC Hero revirew here or buy the` HTC Hero here.

3 UK see data devices ( both 3G and Wi-Fi ) as an important growth area and launched their MiFi device which has proved to be very popular. Looking forward and 2010, Nigel is excited to see the new HTC Desire added to 3 UK’s portfolio and appears to like the idea of adding devices to the portfolio which have Microsoft’s Windows Phone Series 7. 

Nigel predicts “3G devices will get “smarter” and cheaper, as the market polarises between high end feature rich devices, and their value alternatives” Additionally, he confirmed 3 UK’s stance with regard to the Apple iPhone as “We don’t currently have a commercial relationship with Apple but are working to change this during 2010 and add Apple to our portfolio”