More and more they resemble mini personal computers, with internet, e-mail, cameras, keyboards and/or touchscreens and ever bigger memories, and — more and more — PC manufacturers have been waking up to the fact that smartphones are presenting them with a clear and present danger.

And, they hope, an opportunity, one that could lead to a fierce battle for the hearts, minds and money of consumers worldwide.

Stung by the sight of revenues being beaten down by the new kids on the block, PC makers are turning to fight the smartphones at their own game. Dell, Acer and Toshiba are among the old school manufacturers launching multi-featured mobiles.

They have little choice. By the end of the year worldwide smartphone sales will have grown by 29 per cent year-on-year to reach 180 million units, overtaking notebook computers in total unit terms, according to a new report by Gartner, the analyst. Worse, smartphones are expected to account for about 37 per cent of global handset sales by 2012, up from 14 per cent. Smartphone revenue is forecast to reach $191 million by 2012 — higher than consumer spending on notebook computers, set to reach $152 million.

In recent months Asus and Toshiba have released their own smartphones. Dell is launching its first model in China — a touchscreen, like Apple’s iPhone — called the Mini 3i and next year will introduce a handset in the United States.

Acer introduced a range of smartphones this year, hoping to emulate its success in the low-cost netbook PC market. It expects to sell ten million units by 2012. Yet this is a company that can claim success in the PC world: the Taiwan-based group has overtaken Dell as the world’s second-largest PC seller. Acer was the fastest-growing PC brand in the third quarter, shipping 25 per cent more units than it did a year ago and outperforming Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Toshiba, according to IDC, the industry tracker.

But Acer and its peers have been stung into action, not least by the explosive success of the iPhone. Apple’s handy handbag filler has become something of a cultural icon, a shorthand for multimedia on the move, and it has raised the bar significantly — in the use of touchscreens, for example — since it hit the stores in June 2007. According to recent data from comScore, sales of touchscreen phones in America were up 159 per cent from August last year to August this year, when units sold hit 23.8 million. The total smartphone category was up 63 per cent to 33.8 million units.

Such impressive numbers contrast starkly with this: PC makers with their own smartphones collectively account for less than 1 per cent of the market.

According to Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst with Gartner, PC makers face a huge challenge. Any one company would be hard-pushed to grab more than more than 2 per cent of the smartphone market during the next three years, she said. “PC vendors should realise that while convergence of technologies offers an opportunity to enter into the smartphone arena, the business models ... and positioning of products is very different from the PC market,” she said.

“PC vendors will find it difficult to simply use existing supply chains and channels to expand their presence in the smartphone market. The smartphone and notebook markets are governed by different rules when it comes to successfully selling products.” In particular the volatility of consumer tastes in smartphones and the way that distribution channels for smartphones are almost wholly controlled by mobile operators.

Both Dell and Acer are betting on the Android operating system, developed by Google, for their smartphones in 2010, a platform that is being adopted by a host of other companies, including experienced smartphones manufacturers.

The success of the iPhone has prompted renewed competition from Research in Motion, the BlackBerry maker, which has launched a new version of its touchscreen Storm phone and its popular Bold device. Palm offers its Pre. Motorola’s new Droid smartphone is the latest to be touted as an “iPhone killer”. Analysts say the trick for the new players will be to find a unique selling point to make their mobile stand out in an increasingly crowded market. It will not be easy.

Times Recommends

• Lies and cover-up at MG Rover exposed by report
• High oil prices push manufacturing costs up
• Primark founder steps down as chief executive