My cynicism when it comes to forward-looking reports isn't that sensible predictions can't be made about the future, but that by their very nature, really significant future events are unpredictable.

Unlike Pyramid Research's senior analyst Omar Salvador then, I wouldn't be cut out to write a report like Smartphone Forecast: Operator Strategies Will Fuel Growth in Emerging Markets.

In the way of such tomes, it's 80 pages of analysis and facts about eight markets: Brazil, China, India, Nigeria, Russia, Turkey, the UK, and the US.

Salvador estimates smartphones' share of the total market for handset sales will expand from 16 percent in 2009 to 37 percent in 2014.

"Although the US continues to lead the globe in 2009 in smartphone sales, Pyramid expects China to capture the number one position in 2010, driven by operators' aggressive promotion of smartphones using wider portfolios, more attractive pricing for services and new initiatives," he says.

"Brazil, India, Turkey, and Nigeria will be the fastest growing markets over the next five years. Latin America will be the fastest growing region."

You can download a free excerpt of the report, or pony up $2,490 for the whole 80 pages.