When it comes to Android smartphones, it’s generally agreed upon by most online forum-goers, editorial reviews and office geeks that Taiwan-based manufacturer HTC is the brand to beat. HTC has set the standard for mobile devices powered by Google’s Android operating system, consistently rolling out high-quality and innovative cell phones.
Awareness of the HTC brand is continuing to rise, challenging the likes of the iPhone and BlackBerry for the loyalty of a new generation of mobile consumers.
We are going to compare two of the most popular HTC Androids to determine which gives the best bang for your buck: both have a recommended retail price of AU$779.
HTC Hero
• Sharp bright screen with 320×480 resolution.
• Powered by a 528 Mhz internal processor and 288 MB of RAM.
• Not a lot of internal memory space though.
• For a touchscreen phone, it’s amazingly hassle-free to use. Intuitive scrolling, tracking, scanning and re-sizing capabilities make the Hero a simple and fun device to operate.
• Easy Internet connectivity including USB, 3G and Wi-Fi, and web browsing capabilities are great for both business and social networking.
• Impressive array of apps and widgets, both pre-installed and available for download. While nothing can beat the iPhone’s bottomless App Store, but 10,000 aps is nothing to sneeze at.
• Battery life is not fantastic, but better than HTC’s predecessors. At least you’ll get through a whole day without needing to recharge.
• The 5 megapixel camera comes with auto-focus but there’s no flash, so indoor photos won’t turn out well.
• Built-in Microsoft Exchange makes it handy for business.
Verdict: As a typical “jack of all trades, master of none” touchscreen smartphone goes, this one does pretty well in checking more “master” boxes than “jacks”.
HTC Desire
• The next generation on from the Hero, this smartphone contains all the features of the Hero with a few minor variations.
• Lightening quick 1Ghz internal processor and 576MB of RAM.
• The touchscreen is even crisper with 480×800 resolution, however users have reported it as being a little too sensitive.
• To support a range of extra apps and inbuilt software programs, the battery life actually runs for about an hour less on average than the Hero.
• As well as Exchange for emails, Quickoffice also comes ready for editing MS documents.
• The camera has a flash, though this tends to result in a weird blue-ish overtone in most photos.
• For those who still listen to the radio, the Desire comes with one built-in.
Verdict: Another powerful all-rounder, with a design focused neither completely on business nor completely on fun.
There is no clear winner here – with the prices equal on both smartphones, it really depends on what you value more. Battery life and easy usability for the Hero, and extra power and prettiness for the Desire.
There’s no denying the popularity of the iPhone. Thanks to its distinctive design it tends to stand out and be recognised more than its competitors. The following overviews of the two latest generation models aims to reveal whether that attention is warranted.
iPhone 3G
· At a recommended retail price of $849, this is a mid-range priced smartphone with an accompanying mid-range internal processor of 412MHz CPU and 128MB RAM.
· Presentation is sleek, with the simple clean design and smooth lines that are characteristic of Apple products.
· The large touch-screen limits battery life to 8 to 12 hours before recharging is required, and means impaired typing ability when compared to a physical keyboard.
· The system itself is user-friendly, without much distracting clutter on the screen.
· The lack of video and picture messaging is disappointing on a smartphone branded by its marketing as a media innovator.
· The media shortcomings continue with the substandard 2 megapixel camera that lacks basic functionality – no zoom, flash, auto-focus or colour filtering.
· However the Apple App Store is far and away the industry leader when it comes to the range of applications available, and you can also buy iTunes music with same account.
· Wi Fi is a breeze to set up and use, and of course it uses the 3G network.
· Internet browsing is great with the preinstalled Safari web browser, which brings quick and clear loading, plus intuitive touch screen finger controls to expand, contract, scroll and drag through web content.
· There is the option of either 8GB or 16GB of memory storage – great for storing an impressive media collection on the inbuilt iPod.
Verdict: Good, but not great.
iPhone 3GS
· A higher end model with improved features that take the recommended price to $1100.
· For that price you get 600MHz CPU and 256MB of RAM, plus a slightly longer battery life.
· In appearance though it is virtually identical to the 3G model, so there are no extra “look at my superior iPhone” bragging rights.
· Until someone hears the very cool “Voice Control” feature which allows you to give voice commands such as “Call my mother”, “Play artist Michael Jackson”, and “Play similar songs to this”.
· Voice Control also gets the iPhone to speak back to you – it can read out phone numbers, menu options and SMS texts, as well as answer questions like “What song is this?”
· Though the camera still has no flash function, it is improved in terms of megapixels, colour and focus capabilities, and it can record and play video.
Verdict: The iPhone 3GS is an outstanding piece of technology - more of a mobile computer than a mobile phone.
Having said all that, the iPhone 4G is being released in Australia in June. If you’re not keen on paying out-of-the-box prices on an iPhone, then this could be the perfect opportunity to grab a perfectly usable model second-hand from a friend or colleague who has to have the latest and greatest version before anyone else.
Based on user recommendations and editorial reviews across the web, we have identified the 2 most popular BlackBerry phones on the market today: the Bold 9700 and the Storm 2 (aka the Storm 9520). Together they are the flagship phones of RIM - but which one should you pilot?
BlackBerry Bold 9700
The Bold is all about communication, connectivity and a corporate focus. Designed with functionality firmly in mind, this is the smartphone for people who need to get things done.
The keyboard is hardware not touch-screen, making it easier to type messages.
Powered by a very speedy 624 MHz processor, the Bold allows you to multitask efficiently.
Allows access to ten email accounts without the need to sign into each one.
Can handle multiple applications with the aid of its 128MB of Flash memory and 1GB of built-in memory.
Tools for handling and editing documents.
Access to the 3G network and WiFi make browsing the Internet fast and simple.
USB socket allows for synchronisation with your computer.
Beyond that, the Bold can be synchronised with your company’s web server, and with other BlackBerry phones used by your colleagues.
Battery life is relatively decent compared to touch-screen phones like the iPhone, which are notorious for their power-draining large screens.
The screen has fantastically sharp 480×320 resolution.
Servicable camera, video and music playing capabilities.
Verdict: The perfect phone for busy business-minded people. If your day is defined by your email accounts, calander appointments and task deadlines, then the Bold 9700 is for you.
BlackBerry Storm 2 (9520)
The Storm is RIM’s effort to break into the popularity of touchscreen smartphones, separating it from every other BlackBerry model. Essentially, it seeks to combine the social and audiovisual appeal of the iPhone with the functionality traditionally associated with the BlackBerry brand.
Large touch-screen is a visual delight, but a hassle to type on compared to hardware keyboards.
However, the screen does have intuitive ‘click’ touch, so it’s an improvement on some other touchscreens.
Battery life is still an issue, expect to need to recharge at the end of each day.
3G and WiFi enabled, though the built-in web browser is slower than the iPhone’s.
256MB Flash memory and 2GB of onboard media memory, double that of the BlackBerry Bold, so great for running multiple rich media applications such as movies and games.
Speedy and accurate screen rotation.
Impressive range of compatible applications both fun and useful, accessible at BlackBerry App World.
Social connectivity is simple with online chat features and streamlined Facebook usability.
Verdict: RIM’s attempt to mix the best of both worlds has resulted in both hits and misses. The Storm 2 is fun and pretty, but it sacrifices too much functionality for too little sociability. The Bold is the superior BlackBerry, and as for touchscreen phones, there are better options out there.
In the next instalment of Smartphone Smackdown, we look at the best of the brand that is virtually synonymous with touchscreen, the Apple iPhone.
Sound familiar? These days, it seems that at least one out of every five people you know is intermittently repeating a variation of that phrase.
Then comes the invariable followup: “But I don’t know which one I should get.”
Indeed. Considering that a smartphone – succinctly defined by Wikipedia as “a miniature computer with phone capability” – is what most of us want these days, the opportunity for indecision increases exponentially.
Making a commitment to a phone in today’s consumer climate is a big deal, in terms of both money and time. For a start, expect a respectable modern unit to set you back at least $500, and up to and beyond $1500. The smartphone itself can come cheaper or even free, but only if you’re willing to sign yourself into a one or two-year contract.
Another significant deterrent to upgrading phones is the average Australian consumer’s lack of comprehension about what each smartphone brand and model actually provides in terms of features, usability and service.
This is why people can talk about how they need to get a new phone, for months or even years at a time, before actually taking the plunge. Consumers are traditionally wary of selecting one product because it means they lose the features and benefits of all the others. Especially if they’re unclear about what exactly those features and benefits are.
And there are so many variables to consider when it comes to choosing a smartphone, it’s unsurprising that a lot of people prefer to put the decision off rather than risk making the wrong one.
With this in mind, we at E-Web have undertaken to publish a series of posts designed to demystify the most popular smartphones currently available. Rest assured, you will not need to be technically minded to understand them, or even to have held a smartphone before.
Quick Overview of the Major Players
The graph below, by research company Canalys, displays North American consumer statistics for smartphones. We refer to these statistics because they are more accessible and frequently updated than those for Australia, as well as providing a generally accurate indication of what trends the Australian mobile market will take.
Significantly, the table divides the smartphone market by the “OS vendor”, not by the vendor of the smartphone hardware itself. OS is short for operating system, which is used as an interface between a hardware device and the software that runs on it. A good example Microsoft Windows, which manages software programs on computers made by hardware companies such as Toshiba and Dell.
As the Canalys graph above shows, the three dominant smartphone operating systems on the market are:
1. The BlackBerry series of smartphones, produced by Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM). BlackBerries can only use the RIM operating system, called the BlackBerry OS.
2. The iPhone phones, which are made by Apple. Like RIM, Apple equips its iPhones with their own exclusive operating system, called the iPhone OS.
3. The Android series. Unlike the iPhone and BlackBerry, the name Android refers to the smartphone’s OS, not its hardware manufacturer. Various companies, including HTC, Samsung and Motorola, produce smartphones which are designed specifically to use the Android OS, which was developed by search engine giant Google. They are known collectively as Android phones.
There are other contenders of course, but these are the three favourites we will be focusing on. Be sure to check back for part two of the smartphone series, where we put the spotlight on the latest and greatest incarnations of what was the first smartphone brand to gain widespread popularity – the RIM BlackBerry.
In the normal fashion, for CEO Steve Jobs, Apple unveiled the new iPhone operation system update at an event at their headquarters in Cupertino, California. The major feature of this update is the ability to multitask, this means that users will now be able to run multiple programs at the same time. This is a massive update for the market leader, but it’s not all they are updating…
Folders will be added for increased usability for data storage, even with a drag and drop feature. This change will increase the number of apps you can visually see from 180 to 2160.
Mail is changing, multiple mail accounts will be displayed in the one inbox, and multiple exchange accounts will be supported.
iBooks will be introduced to the iPhone and iPod touch.
Enterprise. Apple is introducing more advanced email encryption, mobile management and deployment management tools, and also a wireless app distribution for push applications, and support for SSL and VPN.
Game Centre, social gaming network, think Xbox live for the iPhone.
iAd, Apple recognises that non-mobile adds are not nearly as effective on mobile devices. Apple want to introduce T.V. style adds to applications, and these would be viewed without the user leaving the application.
Apple has said that there will be more than 100 new features available on the 3GS, most will be available on the 3G and the iPod touch 2G, but due to hardware limitations multitasking will not… FAIL!. This update should be available during the US Summer or Aussie Winter.
As reported on InformationWeek, the worldwide social network for professionals, LinkedIn has on Monday launched a mobile-ready version of its website for use by its member base of more than 19 million. The release is in Beta and allows members with a web-enabled mobile device to perform the sites common functions which include searching profiles with photos and bios, making introductions, inviting others to join a network, and receiving updates from the site and a user’s groups or colleagues on the site.
Professionals worldwide use LinkedIn to create trusted networks with colleagues and other professionals, and to share expertise, business contacts, and job opportunities. LinkedIn is backed by several investors, such as Sequoia Capital, Greylock, the European Founders Fund, and Bessemer Venture Partners.
A new deal between Google and Japan’s largest mobile phone operator DoCoMo will see its handsets using search, email and other services such as YouTube and Picassa from the search giant. The deal, reported on the Washington Post website, will help Google’s overseas growth whilst giving DoCoMo an edge in Japan’s highly competitive mobile market.
The two firms, which also plan to launch a Linux-based mobile handset in Japan, aim to reap joint advertising revenues of 10 billion yen “as soon as possible,” they said, without disclosing how they plan to split revenues.
“Japan’s mobile Internet services lead the world,” DoCoMo senior Vice President Takeshi Natsuno said at a news conference. “It’s no wonder that big U.S. companies are paying attention to Japan.
Google’s video sharing website YouTube which currently runs on just a few mobile phone handsets is reportedly expanding this service to a far wider audience by enabling it on phones from Motorola, LG Electronics, Nokia, and Sony Ericsson. The move will enable millions more potential viewers and offers the same experience as browsing the site on a normal desktop computer. (more…)
The latest innovation from the team at Google Maps, among a flurry of other announced features, is “My Location” that uses fancy-pants triangulation between mobile phone transmission towers to help you find yourself on a google map by browsing the web from your phone (to within a certain approximated area that is - but hey it’s still pretty nifty!).
The service is in Beta testing currently. This video from the Google channel on YouTube explains how it works;
CNET News.com reports that movie rental chain Blockbuster is in talks with all the major mobile phone makers about partnerships aimed at making it easier for consumers to watch movies on the go. “We’re talking with virtually all of the major manufacturers about the opportunity to provide greater mobility and convenience,” Chief Executive James Keyes said on Tuesday.
Blockbuster is looking for new ways to expand its business as consumers, including himself, have an increasing number of entertainment options besides renting movies at the store. “The challenge is how do I make this convenient for everybody,” the CEO said.
