The new generation of smartphones.

[tyranical]

We've got:

iPhone 3GS

Nokia N97

HTC Touch Diamond 2

Palm Pre

What do we think?

I've watched a couple of vids on youtube directly comparing the Palm Pre with the iphone 3g and it does look impressive compared to the 3g, it does everything much faster, but i suspect that would be solved with the 3gs.

 

[the1]

Well I don't know about the other fones, but been reading what people think about the Nokia N97 & thought I would quote what one guy wrote up on mobilereview.com.

I've had my N97 for a day now and i can say that i don't like the keyboard at all, i prefer typing on the T9 numeric pad. as a matter f fact, i can even type faster on my Blackberry curve keyboard crammed keyboard.

phone overall is not a breakthrough, but it's ok if like symbian touch(yes it feels gimmicky), the widgets are great, but only if you have data package plan cuz it'll kill your phone bill at the end of the month. so i turned mine off! as a matter of fact, it charged me $3 when i went to sleep while the widgets were online, that's 8 hours of sleep and i got charged $12 lol x30 days that's $360/month just to keep the widgets online. so i just turned the widgets offline.

the camera and video are superb.

the phone speed so far when it comes to browsing the menus is good but not great, it's slower than my old 5800. keep in mind the phone memory is free, i barely took any pictures, videos or even installed apps.

so far im not too thrilled, the iPhone has ruined every phone UI for me, i'll give the N97 some more time and see how i like it in a few days.

Also what about the Samsung i8910 Omnia HD?.

 

[Munson]

I'm not bothered if the other handsets make me a cup of tea. If they don't run the iPhone OS, which they don't, then iAren't interested -x-

 

[Chili Red]

Here's someone's thoughts on the iPhone 3G S. A con, according to them - I do like this article!:

http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/Blogs/264742/james_the_iphone_3g_s_is_a_cleverlystaged_con.html

I'm still waiting for the Samsung i8910 to come out on O2. After looking at everything else around, it's still the best for what I want, namely camera and video capabilities.

 

[Lee]

Here's someone's thoughts on the iPhone 3G S. A con, according to them - I do like this article!:

http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/Blogs/264742/james_the_iphone_3g_s_is_a_cleverlystaged_con.html

I'm still waiting for the Samsung i8910 to come out on O2. After looking at everything else around, it's still the best for what I want, namely camera and video capabilities.

Most pointless article ever. All he's doing is stating the obvious, then trying to make out it's a bad thing. So Apple have a business model which means ever 12 months they bring out a slightly improved model, and the fans buy it anway. Most companies would kill to be able to be able to do that. Plus the iPhone was already way ahead of the market in most areas.

Cleverly staged con or good business sense?

Renault do it successfully!!

 

[JJ!]

If they made a smaller version of the iphone about the size on a LG Arena I reckon it would sell even better. A lot of people are put off by the brick sized 1990's proportions.

 

[Revels]

I'm not bothered if the other handsets make me a cup of tea. If they don't run the iPhone OS, which they don't, then iAren't interested -x-

Plus one.

I haven't looked at any of the others, because frankly, I don't care.

 

[Turkish]

Most pointless article ever. All he's doing is stating the obvious, then trying to make out it's a bad thing. So Apple have a business model which means ever 12 months they bring out a slightly improved model, and the fans buy it anway. Most companies would kill to be able to be able to do that. Plus the iPhone was already way ahead of the market in most areas.

Cleverly staged con or good business sense?

Renault do it successfully!!

You can apply it to anything, automotive industry, electronics, clothing. All business' want to extract maximum money for as little additional R&D costs or changes of tooling etc as possible.

 

[ForceIndia]

I won't have an iphone because I'm not a fan of touch screens, it's too big (for me), and the battery life is too poor.

 

[Lee]

You can apply it to anything, automotive industry, electronics, clothing. All business' want to extract maximum money for as little additional R&D costs or changes of tooling etc as possible.

Exactly, but people wanting everything for nothing then moan about it. Not everyone is successful at doing it though.

If you apply it to mobile phones look at SE and Nokia over the last 10 years. The way in which the OS works on their handsets has barely changed. Cameras have improved, video has come, mp3 playback, but nothing really stands out as new or revolutionary. It's all just a slow drip feed evolution.

You can be sure Apple know exactly what's coming in at least the next 2 generations of iPhone, and I'd expect it's possible to do most of it now, but that would kill sales further down the line.

 

[Revels]

People just love to b**ch about the iPhone.

Just look at all the f**king muppets complaining about not being allowed to upgrade for free. Since when has any network ever let you upgrade at any point? Especially when you've had a new phone thats been heavily subsidised.

At least everyone knows when to expect the new iPhone. Not like SE/Nokia who keep you guessing, with delays and strange releases etc.

 

[Scutch]

iAren't sure.

 

[Chili Red]

Most pointless article ever. All he's doing is stating the obvious, then trying to make out it's a bad thing. So Apple have a business model which means ever 12 months they bring out a slightly improved model, and the fans buy it anway. Most companies would kill to be able to be able to do that. Plus the iPhone was already way ahead of the market in most areas.

Cleverly staged con or good business sense?

It's not pointless at all. He actually acknowledges everything which is good about the iPhone, and he doesn't say that Apple's marketing strategy is bad. Everyone knows that it's excellent, that isn't the point.

What he's saying is that the upgrades everyone is wetting their pants over aren't anything that special.

"Ultimately, the problem with the iPhone 3G S is to do with the mindless fandom the Apple brand engenders, and the pandering to it Apple does with presentation and O2 does with pricing. Huge numbers of iPhone users will upgrade. In hardware terms, it is a rip-off."

 

[Turkish]

It's not pointless at all. He actually acknowledges everything which is good about the iPhone, and he doesn't say that Apple's marketing strategy is bad. Everyone knows that it's excellent, that isn't the point.

What he's saying is that the upgrades everyone is wetting their pants over aren't anything that special.

"Ultimately, the problem with the iPhone 3G S is to do with the mindless fandom the Apple brand engenders, and the pandering to it Apple does with presentation and O2 does with pricing. Huge numbers of iPhone users will upgrade. In hardware terms, it is a rip-off."

I'm still struggling to see the problem with a company that is successful at creating brand loyal customers. Plenty of other manufacturers offer minor tweeks and upgrades on new models and wax lyrical about how great they are in the attempt to get people to replace their current model with its successor.

Within the market apple always makes slick products that look classy and have a great UI in comparison to competitors. I guess to an extent they could be classed as the luxury/aspirational end of the market they occupy.

 

[Revels]

It's not a massive upgrade, but it is an upgrade.

I'm not quite sure what people were expecting, but the rough design is going to be similar. The screen is the main part, you have to get all the other components in somewhere.

Most people with a 3G won't be upgrading as there isnt a massive difference. For the people without the 3G, then its a good upgrade.

 

[Lee]

"Ultimately, the problem with the iPhone 3G S is to do with the mindless fandom the Apple brand engenders, and the pandering to it Apple does with presentation and O2 does with pricing. Huge numbers of iPhone users will upgrade. In hardware terms, it is a rip-off."

It's not a rip off, it's good business. It's personal choice if you decide to spend the money on a fairly minor upgrade.

Everyone wants something for nothing, as we've seen with people wanting free upgrades. People are always going to call it a rip off when they can't afford it.

Being at the cutting edge of anything, especially technology, is always going to cost.

Apple are very lucky to have such fanatical followers. Most companies would kill to be in that position.

 

[JJ!]

People just love to b**ch about the iPhone.

Or are so stuck up its iArse to realise its an over sized pile of poo

 

[Chili Red]

It's not a problem, I'm sure Apple are the envy of every other phone maker.

The article's not saying that the phone or the marketing of it is sh!t, just that the latest version doesn't really warrant the hype. Fair play to them for creating it though!

 

[ForceIndia]

This is getting better than ps3/xbox fanboys.

 

[JJ!]

Xbox being normal phones, iphone being the extra large PS3 that wont fit in your tv cabinet?!

 

[Chili Red]

It's not a rip off, it's good business. It's personal choice if you decide to spend the money on a fairly minor upgrade.

It's a rip off IMO if you end up spending a LOT more money on something which isn't really much better than the previous version.

From what I can gather from the other thread, you can't get O2 bolt-ons for the new iPhone, so how much will people end up paying a month just to say they've got one?

This is turning into Me Vs iPhone fans :S

I'm not against them that much, I just posted an article!

 

[ForceIndia]

Made me roffle!
[youtube]CZGIn9bpALo[/youtube]

 

[Revels]

3G 8GB - £96.89
3GS 16GB - £184.98
3GS 32GB - £274.23

It's no more expensive than the 3G was. The tariffs are s**te, I'll give you that. It says they are re-evauluating the bolt ons, so I want to see what they're doing with that first..

I won't pay anymore than £40. I think I've worked out the best way to do that now..

 

[Christopher]

LMAO.

I watched that the other day again, after you mentioned it on Forza.

iFanboys FTW.

 

[Christopher]

3G 8GB - £96.89
3GS 16GB - £184.98
3GS 32GB - £274.23

It's no more expensive than the 3G was. The tariffs are s**te, I'll give you that. It says they are re-evauluating the bolt ons, so I want to see what they're doing with that first..

I won't pay anymore than £40. I think I've worked out the best way to do that now..

PAYG?

 

[Revels]

Yup.

£30 a month on PAYG gives you unlimited calls and then use that £30 to cover my messaging. Win.

(You didn't PM me either, you little tease)

 

[Christopher]

We'll see.

 

[Munson]

What the anti-fanboys fail to realise, is that the iPhone only has such a loyal base of fanboys because it's f**king excellent. I didn't even want mine when I got it, and now I wouldn't have anything else. That's because it's an amazing handset, not because Steve Jobs sucked me off.

Keep on whining. Unless you have hands like a bunch of bananas, it's the most user friendly and intuative handheld device available, and it also happens to be an excellent cell phone.

 

[ForceIndia]

Fair enough, but not everyone has to share the same pov, agreed?

 

[AK]

What's the main differences between the 3G and the 3GS? Tempted by an iphone tbh but not the massive downpayment at the start lol.. the 3G is cheaper etc..

 

[sn00p]

What the anti-fanboys fail to realise, is that the iPhone only has such a loyal base of fanboys because it's f**king excellent. I didn't even want mine when I got it, and now I wouldn't have anything else. That's because it's an amazing handset, not because Steve Jobs sucked me off.

Keep on whining. Unless you have hands like a bunch of bananas, it's the most user friendly and intuative handheld device available, and it also happens to be an excellent cell phone.

Oh yes. I love it when people go on about it being massive, maybe the "haterz" all have hands the size of children because for me, it's just about perfect.

Nothing comes within a light year of the development tools either which doesn't mean a lot to the end user, but to developers it's a big f**king deal.

 

[Munson]

Fair enough, but not everyone has to share the same pov, agreed?

Absolutely.

 

[MaLicE]

Yup.

£30 a month on PAYG gives you unlimited calls and then use that £30 to cover my messaging. Win.

(You didn't PM me either, you little tease)

whats the payg handset price???

i was tempted to cancel my contract and start a new one to get a 3gs... but im thinking i might just get a payg and stick my contract sim in it...

 

[Revels]

£440 for 16GB
£530 for 32GB

But I think the unlimited bit is only from your chosen postcode..

 

[tyranical]

How did my attempt at healthy discussion comparison of the wide variety of smartphones available turn into an iphone ejaculation session? lol.

 

[James172Cup]

Read the previous 33 posts to find out. I have iPhone and i quite like it, my missus has a samsung u900 soul and doesn't like it, but does like my iPhone, you can all do the math....

 

[Munson]

How did my attempt at healthy discussion comparison of the wide variety of smartphones available turn into an iphone ejaculation session? lol.

You'll have to ask Apple.

 

[Keydogg]

Rofl @ all the iPhone fanboys in here.

Let me get one thing straight before you all judge me when I spout my opinion. I think the iPhones are great, I think Apple are very good at what they do. My current phone is a HTC and its ok but not great, my next phone will definitely be an iPhone.

BUT. The fact of the matter is I don't think the GS is that impressive at all tbh. While manufacturers like HTC are making phones with 640x480 resolution screens (and have been for nearly a year) Apple still opt for the same resolution as the previous model. Similar with the camera, 3mp? I had a 3mp camera phone THREE years ago. And even that one had a f**king flash! I like the way everyone is making a big deal about the autofocus, but I can't remember the last camera phone I had without it.

The fact remains, it WILL be an ace phone, I WILL get one, but is it a decent upgrade from the 3G? Not so much...

 

[Bloooor]

Can I just ask a quick question about the camera's on phones. People always ask me what mega pixel my phone is and when I tell them it's a 2 megapixel they are like "that's sh*t"

As far as i'm aware (and correct me where wrong as i'm not sure) but I thought megapixel size just meant how large you could scale the photo and it would keep its quality... well I don't want to upscale a photo to fit onto A1 paper so why would i need a higher megapixel camera? Am I making sense...

BTW the lens on my nokia n90 is a carl zeiss so I take it that's why my photos don't look that bad tbh...

 

[Munson]

Rofl @ all the iPhone fanboys in here.

Let me get one thing straight before you all judge me when I spout my opinion. I think the iPhones are great, I think Apple are very good at what they do. My current phone is a HTC and its ok but not great, my next phone will definitely be an iPhone.

BUT. The fact of the matter is I don't think the GS is that impressive at all tbh. While manufacturers like HTC are making phones with 640x480 resolution screens (and have been for nearly a year) Apple still opt for the same resolution as the previous model. Similar with the camera, 3mp? I had a 3mp camera phone THREE years ago. And even that one had a f**king flash! I like the way everyone is making a big deal about the autofocus, but I can't remember the last camera phone I had without it.

The fact remains, it WILL be an ace phone, I WILL get one, but is it a decent upgrade from the 3G? Not so much...

iDon't think many iPhone fanboys really care about the hardware. It's all about the UI and software. It always has been. The 3GS is good enough to be excited about if you're not in a contract, and not good enough to be overly bothered about if you are. It's the 3.0 software that's giving me a stroker, not the new handset. Although, the 3GS/3.0 combo is immense. Perfect.