From tiny Palm, the struggling smartphone pioneer, to Research In Motion (RIM), the BlackBerry manufacturer, and the dozen or so handset makers who build smartphones based on Microsoft's Windows Mobile, as well as the 800-pound gorilla of the business, Nokia all have been forced to react to the iPhone's touch screen, intuitive software and iconic appeal, not to mention its rapid penetration of the market.

ECONOMIST: The competition this time will be a lot stiffer