There’s a dark horse in the mobile industry that most people don’t hear much about.’a0 With all the talk today about Apple’s iPhone, Nokia, and the Android OS and it’s myriad of device choices…there’s a company who continues to deliver amazing results quarter after quarter and year after year.

Samsung continues to perform consistently and this fact cannot be denied.’a0 As mobile thought leader Tomi Ahonen points out, Samsung is the number 2 worldwide market share leader in the year 2009 with a whopping 20% market share.

Now, Samsung is trying to re-invent itself as a company focused mainly on feature phones to one squarely in the “smartphone” category.’a0 I constantly question what a “smartphone” means, but to Samsung, the label means a graduation to a new line of features and capabilities to their customers.

Samsung is about to unveil the Bada OS.’a0 At the recent Mobile World Congress, they announced a device called Wave.’a0 This phone impresses in the hardware category with a 1Ghz CPU, a 3.3″ AMOLED hi-res screen, and a 5 megapixel camera.’a0 Add to this a multi-touch and mult-tasking capabilities, and this device seems to have an amazing base to build upon.

The Big Question

However, the question remains: Is there room in today’s mobile market for *another* operating system?’a0 We have a few main players in a crowded field including: iPhone OS, Symbian, BlackBerry OS, Android, Palm’s WebOS, and Windows Mobile.’a0 Until we see the Wave, I guess we won’t really know.

Samsung better impress with Bada.’a0 They are positioning Bada to be the smartphone OS for everyone on a device at any price point.’a0 Samsung has said that Bada is their “vision to advance the democratization of the smartphone era, regardless of cost, or lifestyle or geographic location.’94

However, in my eye, this is a spot that Nokia has already filled.’a0 For example, the Nokia XpressMusic 5800 is a device that can be had for $200.’a0 Since the 5800’s release a year ago, Nokia has come out with devices with more capabilities at cheaper prices.’a0 But, these devices run Symbian — perhaps Bada can take on Symbian and win with features and beauty?

What are your thoughts – do you think there is room for yet another mobile OS?’a0 Would you consider a ‘smartphone’ device from Samsung?’a0 Please weigh in by leaving a comment below!