The following is a guest post from Mikhail Damiani, CEO & Co-Founder of Blue Bite.

Lately, one would be hard-pressed to read through a tech journal or mobile-focused publication without finding some mention of NFC (Near-Field-Communication).  But why the sudden surge of excitement and evangelization of the not-so-new technology? In fact, NFC has been around for years, and manufacturers like Nokia have been embedding the technology in their handsets as early as 2006, albeit, these phones have not made their way into the U.S.

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In Gartner’s latest mobile market report, the research firm indicated that over 428 million mobile devices were sold in Q1 of this year, representing a solid 19% year-over-year increase.

As usual, the growth is attributed to the continued spike in smartphone sales– which Gartner pegs at 100.7 million for Q1, up 85% year-over-year.  Android remained the top dog, which soared past Symbian to capture 36% of the market.  Nokia’s Symbian is in second place with 27.4%, followed by Apple’s iOS with 16.8%, RIM’s BlackBerry with 12.9% and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 with 3.6%.

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Though you may not realize it, Qualcomm is a company that has major influence in the mobile ecosystem.  The company’s processors and other mobile hardware and technology power numerous mobile devices across a wide spectrum.

One area the company is using its influence and vast portfolio of mobile technology is mobile healthcare, or “mHealth.”  The company is looking at its high-performance mobile processors and communications technology, along with third party biometric patch technology, to deliver mobile, wireless monitoring of health for a range of purposes.

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It’s always interesting to be reminded just how influential cell phones are, no matter where in the world you live.  A new infographic from Wilson Electronics details the staggering statistics of how many cell phones reside in different regions and the evolution in how we use them.

For example, there are nearly two cellphones for every one person living in the United Arab Emirates and Estonia, while China remains the number one country in terms of the number of devices in use.  The data shows China has more than 640 million cell phones within its borders, followed by the US in the number two spot with 270 million.

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Africa is quickly growing into a mobile powerhouse, with a new estimate pegging total mobile subscribers at over a half a billion.  This represents over 10% of all mobile subscribers worldwide.

Mobile connections provide vital services throughout Africa, for things like reminders to take medication, mobile banking opportunities and overall communication.  Despite a horrible infrastructure that forces operators to run their cellular networks with diesel powered generators, mobile phones are provided very cheaply to ensure nearly everyone can afford one.  Companies like Nokia and Vodafone offer handsets for as low as $20 and under.

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Strategy Analytics is out with new data regarding global smartphone sales for Q3, showing record growth and the fact that Apple continues its surge to the top.

According to the data, global smartphone shipments grew 78% over the same period last year to 77 million total units.  Apple, while still in second place to Nokia, showed the strongest growth in terms of market share, while both Nokia and RIM continue to lose share as competition heats up on a global scale.  Still, Nokia shipped record smartphone volumes of more than 26 million units.

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The International Data Corporation (IDC) has released numbers related to smartphone shipments, indicating massive continued growth and consumers’ appetite for full-featured mobile devices.

According to the research, vendors shipped 119.4 million smartphones for the first six months of 2010, compared to 76.8 million smartphones for the previous year.  The IDC expects total shipments of 269.6 million smartphones this year, compared to 173.5 million units shipped last year, representing a 55.4% overall growth.  Interestingly, this is 10% higher than the IDC previously predicted.

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