In a recent article at Business Week, they take a look at the leadership the US displays with innovation in the mobile phone and wireless market. Two main companies are leading the surge, as Business Week credits the efforts of Google and Apple for the advancements. The innovative new products are showing a great push on the market. As of this year 16% of Americans purchasing mobile phones are buying smart phones, which is up from 6% last year. Studies also show that these phones are being used for email above anything else.
To encourage the innovative minds of their users, Apple opened up the iTunes Application Store. Here, people from all over the world have developed over 3000 innovative applications for the iPhone. This move shows that Apple is focusing on the software and content to improve their applications.
Google has been working on developing the Android software. This new software will debut in cell phones this fall. A third party site will host applications where users can download and use them, then rate them in a YouTube-like fashion.
Correction in response to your comments: Worldwide, U.S. is still behind Asia in terms of mobile innovation. In comparison to Europe, however, as Kanishka Agarwal, VP of mobile media at Nielsen stated:
"The industry needs to stop talking about the gap between the U.S. and Europe. We have caught up, and we have already passed."