Alternatives to the Apple iPhone 3G

by jaganath on July 9, 2008

As the release of iPhone 3G is fast approaching, you may be wondering if it is an upgrade you should go far. Especially if you are the owner of the first generation iPhone. If you are looking at the alternatives, then there are two phones which I would strongly recommend. One of them is already released and the other one will be released in a month’s time. Here is a quick and short description of what are the pros and cons of these phones when compared to the Apple iPhone.

HTC Touch Diamond

Perhaps the best Windows Mobile phone in the market that you can buy today, though I do not recommend this for readers from India.

Where it betters the iPhone:

  • Much higher resolution than the iPhone (640×480 as against iPhone’s 480×320)
  • Far better camera (3 MP)
  • Better PIM applications and Exchange sync capability
  • Desktop compatible office suite
  • Huge base of freeware and shareware applications

Where it struggles to match the iPhone:

  • Though high resolution, the screen is only 2.7″ as opposed to iPhone’s 3.5″
  • Only 4GB capacity and no expansion slot
  • Windows Mobile default interface will require the use of stylus
  • No multi touch
  • Resistive touch screen does not offer the responsiveness of the iPhone

Nokia N96

Nokia N96

This soon to be released flagship from Nokia will be a worthy rival to the iPhone 3G (No one can forget the N95 comparisons we had with the first version of iPhone).

Where it betters the iPhone:

  • 16 GB capacity with expansion slot. (Virtually unlimited memory)
  • Stellar camera with excellent video recording
  • Mobile TV (DVB-H as of now is available only in a few countries)
  • Huge base of freeware and shareware applications
  • Nokia provided Maps for virtually every country in the world
  • Truckload of Nokia services including Ovi etc.,

Where it struggles to match the iPhone:

  • QVGA screen
  • No touch features
  • Brick like form factor may not appeal to many

There are many common features between these 3 devices. The browser on each one is very useable (In fact Safari and the S60 browser share the same codebase). All of them feature GPS and excellent multimedia capabilities. So the choice is yours.

I have left out phones like Samsung Instinct from comparison because they are not strictly ‘Smart Phones’.

Related: Should you buy the HTC Touch Diamond in India?

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Should you buy the HTC Touch Diamond in India?

by jaganath on July 9, 2008

No, I would say. Though a great phone, the HTC Touch diamond sold in India is not the 3G version that is being sold in Europe. Forget 3G, it is not even Quad band GSM! According to the specs in the HTC India website, the phone only supports 3 GSM bands - 900, 1800 and 1900. That means it is not a world phone and you can’t possibly use it in a country like the USA. On top of this, HTC still sells it at a hefty INR 27000 price tag, which is about US $630.

HTC Touch Diamond

You may ask - 3G services are not available yet and what is the point in buying a 3G phone? First of all, days of 3G in India are not far away. Owing to the current political instability in the country, it may take a little more time for 3G to be launched here, but you will definitely not wait beyond 2009 for that. If you are planning to buy the Touch Diamond and use it for say about 2 years, then definitely it is not worth buying with these specifications and price tag.

Complete specs of the ‘Indian’ Touch Diamond taken from the HTC website:

Processor Qualcomm® MSM7206A™ 528 MHz
Operating System Windows Mobile® 6.1 Professional
Memory ROM: 256MB
RAM: 192MB DDR SDRAM
Internal storage: 4 GB
Dimensions 102 mm (L) X 51 mm (W) X 11.35 mm (T)
Weight 110 g (with battery)
Display 2.8-inch TFT-LCD flat touch-sensitive screen with VGA resolution
Network

Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:

  • Europe/Asia: 900/1800/1900 MHz

(Band frequency and data speed are operator dependent.)
Device Control TouchFLO™ 3D
Touch-sensitive navigation control
GPS GPS and A-GPS ready
Connectivity Bluetooth® 2.0 with EDR
Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g
HTC ExtUSB™ (mini-USB 2.0 and audio jack in one)
Camera 3.2 megapixel color camera with auto focus
Audio Built-in microphone, speaker and FM radio with RDS
Ring tone supported formats:

  • MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, WAV, and AMR-NB
  • 40 polyphonic and Standard MIDI format 0 and 1 (SMF)/SP MIDI
Battery Rechargeable Lithium-ion or Lithium-ion polymer battery
Capacity: 900 mAh
Talk time:

  • Up to 330 minutes for GSM

Standby time:

  • Up to 285 hours for GSM

(The above are subject to network and phone usage.)
AC Adapter Voltage range/frequency: 100 ~ 240V AC, 50/60 Hz
DC output: 5V and 1A

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