The job market for smartphone developers is booming. No news there. And while the device market is expected to grow “by nearly 50 percent” this year, with enormous opportunities for Android, iPad, and iPhone developers, the same can’t be said for BlackBerry developer jobs.

In fact, Research in Motion ^[1] saw a six percent decline in development jobs—even after the release of the much-heralded Playbook. And frankly, the company’s lackluster response to internal problems isn’t helping. It was only last week, after all, that an unnamed high-level executive sent a public appeal ^[2] to the company to focus on meeting consumer demands, hiring top talent, and improving company culture. Ouch!

But what about other players in the smartphone game? According to Freelancer.com CEO Matt Barrie, it’s  a “two-horse race.” Any bets on the horses?

Read more at AllThingsD ^[3].