Now a start-up company called Sonopia is trying to apply the same concept to the cellphone market.

On a touchscreen, in the very large cellphone market?

As proof, he points to the cellphone market.

GSM has 80 percent of the cellphone market spread through 200 countries.

But the global cellphone market, measured in dollars, could decline more than 10 percent in 2003, the company said.

It would also mean that 74 percent of the entire cellphone market would be controlled by three gigantic operators.

The opening of the cellphone market, for example, brought prices down and led to a surge in handset sales.

Intel already has a presence in the cellphone market with flash memory, which is used, among other functions, to store information on the phone.

It is also one of the fastest-growing cellphone markets on earth.

The competition reflects the deep tensions in the cellphone market, which analysts have said is poised for consolidation.