I haven’t had a fixed line at home for about four years and haven’t missed it. I spend the money on wireless internet and a mobile.

That to me was the way of the future. I think it quaint to have a phone at a fixed place in the home to which I have to rush if it rings.

I was unconvinced when I also bought one of the first cordless phones, which you could wander around the house with. Like the remote control, I couldn’t remember where I had left it so it was stressful when it rang and also the battery would go flat when I wanted to use it. The reach of the handset was barely to the gate.

The mobile is small enough to carry around and I could also take it out of the house anywhere in the world. If people find a way around getting broadband without needing a fixed line and breaking the bank  (I use wireless internet), then fixed lines will be dead. They already are in the winds of most kids and teenagers and people under 35 who carry a mobile.

So it’s no surprise that today, long time respected tech research company Gartner is reporting that in the fourth quarter of last year, the market registered a single-digit growth as mobile phone sales to end users surpassed 340 million units, an 8.3 per cent increase from the fourth quarter of the previous year – but what is interesting is confirmation of other trends many of us have predicted for years.

The mobile devices market growth is being driven by growth in smartphones and low-end devices. So both ends of the market are growing meaning that the better off can move much of their internet use to a smart phone, while others can forget about fixed lines and use a pre-pay phone for texting and calls. And what massive growth in smart phones – globally a 41.1% increase in the last quarter with Blackberry and iPhones controlling 14.4 and 19.9% per cent of the worldwide smartphone market. As far as non smartphones,  Samsung was the clear winner among the top five with market share growing by 3.2 percentage points from 2008.

Once again, Microsoft has dropped down the list in another category – mobiles. Android  increased its market share by 3.5 percentage points in 2009, while Apple’s share grew by 6.2 percentage points from 2008, which helped it move to the No. 3 position and displace Microsoft Windows Mobile.

I’m still not sure about Android and Gartner makes an interesting observation, which means predictions for Android still deserve to be treated with caution. It says: “Android’s success experienced in the fourth quarter of 2009 should continue into 2010 as more manufacturers launch Android products, but some CSPs and manufacturers have expressed growing concern about Google’s intentions in the mobile market. “If such concerns cause manufacturers to change their product strategies or CSPs to change which devices they stock, this might hinder Android’s growth.”

Maybe it’s just Google envy.