Also leading to growth of smart phone sales to business users is the fact that, often, consumer purchases lead to enterprise purchases. One notable and often-cited example is the Palm Pilot itself, which initially was purchased by individuals who used the devices to manage work-related contacts and appointments. Eventually, many IT departments bought and maintained the devices for employees.

The crossover from consumers and the enterprise is actually built in to smart phones such as the Nokia E62, Kort noted. That device comes with software for listening to music and watching video, but it also is capable of receiving corporate e-mail from platforms such as Microsoft Exchange and BlackBerry Connect.

An ironic story

Palm's Treo 680 announcement is the latest page in a story full of irony and premature far-sightedness.

It began with a company called Handspring, which was started in 1998 by two of Palm's founders, Jeff Hawkins and Donna Dubinsky. Handspring started with PDAs, but after a couple of years of mixed success, announced it would focus on smart phones, which it predicted would be the wave of the future. Hence, the original Treo was born.