Both field generals – Lazaridis vs. Jobs – are brilliant strategists, but each has a unique vision and problem solving style reflected by their respective organizations and their products.

R.I.M. has long appealed to business users who demand relentless connectivity; the company shaped the category due to its combination of functionality, stability and security.  Those features were enough to give R.I.M. a critical mass of market share which has grown incrementally.

Then came the iPhone with its silky touchscreen and utter seamlessness.  It was a category killer from Day One. I’ve never met a user who wasn’t enthralled.  The user experience is the message.

What’s next is their battle for the hearts and minds of business users in the rarified 3G space.  Both companies will likely co-opt the best features of the other.  (Look for R.I.M. to come up with a niftier interface while upgrading its functionality and security in the 3G world.)

This battle couldn’t be more fascinating. I’m betting – and this is a very safe bet – that the real winner will be the consumer.

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But, with all the hoopla about how the iPhone is revolutionizing the marketplace, we’re missing another interesting – if less sexy – mobile trend: the rapid acceleration of cell phone penetration in emerging markets and its impact on the global marketplace.

Mobile phone penetration in developing regions is staggering. And, it’s a key contributor to economic growth. Studies show that every 10 percent increase in mobile penetration results in a country’s GDP growth of 0.6 percent.

The growth of mobile teleco penetration affects global poverty, and the way people in emerging regions consume a growing range of services from prepaid phone cards to banking services.  Micro economies in rural villages are developing around those who buy and sell prepaid vouchers. People are using cell phones to enable their nascent businesses to flourish. Some of these micro-enterprises are growing – rapidly.

Until recently, network coverage in emerging regions focused on large cities as well as in major tourist areas. But operators are realizing the sheer economics of extending their networks to rural areas, particularly in regions without fixed line infrastructures. In order to do this, base stations are being built at a record pace. It’s a major undertaking, with financial costs to match.  But the ROI is massive.

Looking back at the past year and looking ahead, here are the hot, new trends facing teleco operators in emerging markets:

1. Infrastructure sharing: operators using the same base station sites and transmission equipment reducing network infrastructure costs.
2. Consolidation of carriers.
3. Investment is coming from unlikely sources such as private equity firms.
4. 3G leapfrogging in emerging markets. (Operators in Qatar and Saudi Arabia have begun to offer 3G services, as did South Africa.)
5. WiMAX is emerging as a platform alternative for introducing new mobile services over vast expanses.
6. Deregulation in Middle East markets is enabling greater competition and better service/pricing. GCC nations, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, as well as Lebanon are awarding new licenses for carriers.  Consumers are benefiting from better service.
7. Regional call-centers will be used to help convert prepaid customers to higher-revenue, lower-churn post-paid accounts.
8. Celtel’s Pan-African roaming network will enable people across geographic borders to connect without having to pay for incoming calls.

I’m not knocking the iPhone as the tech-business story of the year. Apple’s success will change the shape of things to come in the coming year and beyond. The iPhone has earned a special place in the zeitgeist of commerce.  But, consider the under-reported story of mobile penetration in emerging regions, and fathom the scope and scale of what’s on the horizon.

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