iPhone pretenders or contenders?
December 2nd, 2008, 2:19pm by Jake
Nokia N97 sitting next to iPhone
Nokia N97. Blackberry Storm. Samsung Instinct. Palm TBD. T-Mobile G1. HTC Touch. The list goes on. Nearly 2 years after its introduction, the rest of the smartphone world has fully revealed their iPhone envy. What does the Pyslent community feel about all these newcomers– can any stack up to the juggernaut that is the iPhone?
December 2nd, 2008 at 2:41 pm
The only one of these that I’ve tried extensively is the G1, which feels like a brick compared with the iPhone. Android seems like it’s probably fine, and I’m sure it will eventually be a successful OS, but on different hardware.
I’ve also played briefly with the Storm, which I didn’t like at all. The click-screen is completely annoying — you have to push it pretty hard to register a “tap.” Actual typing seemed like it would really be a pain. If I were in the Blackberry world, I’d be after a Bold instead.
Overall, though, the iPhone isn’t an invincible juggernaut. It’s not all things to all people, but so far, it’s the one that’s gotten the most things right. Although it has been a little buggy out of the gate (with low signal strength, wonky microphones, battery life issues, etc, etc), and is filled with a TON of little tiny annoyances (to me, at least), it’s come a long way, reinventing the smart phone, and becoming a great product in its own right.
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I agree with Mike on most issues. I also didn’t like the storm’s click screen, played with the G1, Instinct, Touch Diamond/Pro, and they were all kinda blah. In general, I still don’t like touchscreens, but from what I’ve seen, the iPhone is the only device that leverages the advantages of touchscreens enough to make up for the inherent shortcomings. I could deal with a touchscreen on an iPhone, but I don’t think I could be bothered on any other device out there.
What I really want is the developer support surrounding the iPhone in a QWERTY, touchscreen-optional device. But until then, I’m pretty happy with my phone.
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:19 pm
I like my Storm. It took a little bit of adjustment, but I’m a reasonably fast typist on the click screen now–at least as fast as I was on my Curve. Also, the latest leaked unofficial OS update made it much faster. It’s certainly not perfect, and I’m waiting for the 3rd party apps to catch up, but overall I think I’m going to keep it.
December 19th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
Samsung has an Android device due to hit in March, per Engadget. Might be a contender if they can use some of their BlackJack mojo.