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  iPhone 3G and the Others

  Rohan Naravane, Jun 20, 2008 1333 hrs IST

  A first look at three eagerly-anticipated mobile titans - Apple iPhone, HTC Touch Diamond & Samsung i900 Omnia.

  

Page 1 - Introduction & Specifications Comparison Page 2 - Design & Looks Page 3 - User Interface, Connectivity & Camera Page 4 - Final Words

You never know what to expect when it comes to any new product from Apple. About a couple of years ago, the world heard that the company was in the process of cooking up their own cellular-phone. There were many speculations about the designs and the features it would include. Popular artistic impressions even suggested the inclusion of the iPod's touch-wheel above a numeric keypad. But eventually we know that there will be no touch-wheel and no numeric keypad. That's right, no touch-wheel and no numeric keypad! I remember how dazed I was when I saw the iPhone in reality. Sure, Apple may have ripped off the LG Prada's design, but LG wasn't able to pull off the 'ooh' factor that most Apple products successfully carry, so much so that they make us adapt to the way their devices function, rather than the other way around. For instance, people were initially skeptical about the oddity of the 'stylus not required', finger-operable touch-screen. But after its success, now we see almost every manufacturer making their phone finger-friendly.

Like I said earlier, back when the iPhone was launched, no one, including the manufacturers, knew what to expect. But after its success, the iPhone has created a huge demand for iPhone-like devices, with quite a few manufacturers succumbing to the trend. Till then, the iPhone sales soared and people bought it despite its shortcomings. Perhaps the early users bought it for its status symbol, one you associate with any Apple product, or maybe because it was a pretty decent convergence device. One of the major complaints about the iPhone was that it didn't support 3G. In countries that use this technology, people experience broadband-like speeds that one could get on the move. And it was a sad fact that such an internet-friendly device couldn't load web pages as fast as other, cheaper phones.

Now the tables have turned. While Apple was busy preparing the 3G version of their coveted device, a few other manufacturers were already prepared with their own flagship phones to take on Apple's market share. Namely, there's the Touch Diamond from HTC and the i900 Omnia from Samsung. A few days back, we finally witnessed the announcement of the much-expected iPhone 3G. Before these three models settle down in the Indian market, let's have a quick look at what is in store for us.

Specifications Comparison

Now as you can see from the chart, all three models are fighting it out head-to-head when it comes to the specs. We can't really decide on the best of the lot before actually using all of them, but here's my commentary based on the information floating around.

Page 1 - Introduction & Specifications Comparison Page 2 - Design & Looks Page 3 - User Interface, Connectivity & Camera Page 4 - Final Words

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