best iPhone alternative

[The Talking Mac]

My answer to the iPhone

My answer to the iPhone was to take my old RAZR and hack the iPod and wire them together. GO DIY. I will put up a site on how to do it soon. GO APPLE

 

[wako]

honestly I think the best alternative to the iPhone, I would even go to say the better phone to the iPhone are PocketPC phones. Despite what Steve Jobs want you to think, as slick as the iPhone maybe with the touch features built in, you are confined to the programs that are built in. Probably even worse, you are confined to what AT&T will allow you to download for a fee.

On PocketPC phones you can customize the bananas out of the phone with a bunch of applications that have already been made, largely thanks to Windows CE programmers. There are dozens of freeware out there that you can do alot more than what the iPhone is offering.

If only the iPhone would allow 3rd party programmers to make applications and take use of how OSX is integrated into the phone I would quickly join the bandwagon. Until v2 of the iPhone i guess for me...

 

[bloodycape]

Anything from HTC that has a touch screen.

 

[tjcampbell]

I have had my XDA Orbit (o2) for a few weeks now and it's the best phone I have ever owned.

Clear calls.
It's small and light.
Built in Wi-Fi
Built in internal Sat Nav antenna! I run TomTom 6 no problem.
Syncs with everything via missing sync which makes it pefect for me.
I put skype on it and it works like a charm.
Micro SD slot. Got a 2gb card on ebay (syncs with iphoto, itunes so life is good)

An Excellent product. I wont consider an iPhone until it has satnav. This feature is just too handy for me.

 

[DeepIn2U]

I have had my XDA Orbit (o2) for a few weeks now and it's the best phone I have ever owned.

Clear calls.
It's small and light.
Built in Wi-Fi
Built in internal Sat Nav antenna! I run TomTom 6 no problem.
Syncs with everything via missing sync which makes it pefect for me.
I put skype on it and it works like a charm.
Micro SD slot. Got a 2gb card on ebay (syncs with iphoto, itunes so life is good)

An Excellent product. I wont consider an iPhone until it has satnav. This feature is just too handy for me.

Sat Navigation I find expensive and overrated. Where are you going to get lost with such a delicate & expensive & nice device hmm?!!!! Exactly. But great phone non the less. Question Sat Nav & TomTom will it ONLY update/DL maps over the provider wireless data connection (GSM/GPRS/EDGE)??!!

Well it ALL depends what you want out of your smartphone and what you know you WILL intend to do with it within the near future - standard 4mths - as applications debut for it.

> From my great experience & knowledge of continuously working in the cellular field and now supporting networks & BlackBerry devices.

> That Samsung Ultra Smart F700 LOOKS nice but what can it do daily. Great feature is 7.2 Mbps HSDPA support > but unless you plan on connecting to your Mac Pro to do presentations & also deliver presentation connecting to your Mac Pro as an admin over SSH or using it as your daily Mac modem (mobile or stationary) its just hype. 1.8Mbps is QUITE enough for streaming H.263/4 standard video formated for that kind of screen.

> DON'T just look at the SPEC's of a device ... look at its features & how you go about interacting with them. That Samsung device is just a copy of what HTC has mastered.

HTC TyTN (not the cingular 8525 remake (which D-Pad is inferior in execution as apposed to tactile feel).


The HTC S620/Dash is a VERY capable device for Themes, Phone Calls, Voice Activated (non trained) dialing, Email (MS Push or BlackBerry Connect), Internet Surfing - us Opera Browser so much more efficient & much better plus its free.

My choice on Palm is to AVOID ALL units unless its a PocketPC device. It so much more powerful, integrated features (editing word documents - something Mobile 6 tomorrow will announce in full).

If you want native .mov video support > just resize it and get a BB Pearl > incredible device that for work I must get for training a group of 20ppl > and I love its media features (camera is a pale comparison to my SE W810 or the SEk800/790 but will do for quick face shots - I'm not trying to see the zits on the face)


E90 SHOULD be nice, but I want to SEE a working prototype before I rest my faith in it. They said the SAME thing about the 9500/9300 and BOTH SuCkeD EGGS! I love S60 so the E90 Communicator will delight some. I'm thinking the E61i with a 2MP camera will be the BEST option for UMA, WiFi or EDGE surfing and 3G roaming in Europe. FULL incredibly Stable BB COnnect that matches the RIM Blackberry devices the BEST of any 3rd party device! IMAP4 Push Email is already supported. And it has NO memory issues over heavy Browsing WITH or WITHOUT other apps running or ran like the beautiful but ****y N80 (i'm STILL made Nokia didn't give it more ram), the E70 suffers as well.

You want something NOW!

BEST Bang for the buck IF:

Email is your primary Focus:
1> TMobile DASH (a Branded HTC S620)
> Video, A2DP Streaming Audio of MP3s
> MS Exchange Push Email or iMAP4 POLL email.
> great navigations and VERY tweakable screens, thems & desktop home screen like no other.
> great WiFi surfing.

2> BlackBerry Pearl: same as above, and SUPPORT for Flash on websites (not all but more than ANYTHING on the market BAR NONE!). With STYLE.
NOTE: BLackBerry's are the ONLY yes ONLY phones that are FULLY supported by the manufacturer when you can UPGRADE or DOWNGRADE the firmware by the END user! THE ONLY to support BOTH uP/dOwn! I deal with BB's daily and if there is a known memory chip error or firmware code or hardware error > something that has been extensively tested & documented LONG before these models enter full public hands (you all have NO idea how well the documentation is available to the public on errors on the BB units & possible resolutions) something other manufacturers are criminal not to match. Error not documented but device doesn't perform as it should or expected then manufacturer replaces via the provider!

3> Nokia E61.
> Same as all above; except the browser flash support & incredible confidence in the firmware/hardware of the device (Not even the LARGEST manufacturer can match what RIM provides)

BEST Power you can get...

> HTC ATHENA
- To big, too heavy, too expensive > just buy a laptop.

> HTC TyTN
- Tri-Band 3G Yes it'll work worldwide (until TMobile launches their Bizarro 3G network)
- Flash with 2MP camar with auto focus & macro mode.
- Touch screen but with dedicated answer, hangup, scrollwheel, Camera shutter, Dpad, Email, Internet, soft screen buttons, and slide out keyboard
- Quadband GPRS/EDGE & WiFi 802.11b/g
> this or its baby quadband GPRS/EDGE


Wait till this weeks announcements from:
- SonyEricsson and UIQ3 (SYmbian based like S60 is) for product revisions!
E61i & E90 will have a working prototypes & production devices working.

- Nokia S60 devices (rumored besides the 6190/N95/75/76 mentioned already)

- HTC quite a few (17 including the Athena)

- Others/Provider partnerships on products from the manufactures getting branded.

 

[Stella]

The E90 looks like it could be an absolute killer phone. The E70 is a very good phone, but doesn't have enough memory in it and the form factor is good too.

The RIMs can't touch the Nokia E-Series, they can do everything that a RIM can and more ( especially its web browsing capabilities ). The Email and calendar client could be better ( but then, thanks to 3rd party software you can get replacements for both ).

E90 SHOULD be nice, but I want to SEE a working prototype before I rest my faith in it. They said the SAME thing about the 9500/9300 and BOTH SuCkeD EGGS! I love S60 so the E90 Communicator will delight some. I'm thinking the E61i with a 2MP camera will be the BEST option for UMA, WiFi or EDGE surfing and 3G roaming in Europe. FULL incredibly Stable BB COnnect that matches the RIM Blackberry devices the BEST of any 3rd party device! IMAP4 Push Email is already supported. And it has NO memory issues over heavy Browsing WITH or WITHOUT other apps running or ran like the beautiful but ****y N80 (i'm STILL made Nokia didn't give it more ram), the E70 suffers as well.

 

[3nm]

currently i have a sony ericsson p990i and am quite happy with it. while i can't say it's the "best iphone alternative," the features that i use are better/comparable - i.e. 2MP camera w/ flash + auto focus. the flash doubles as a flashlight and it's quite handy. in addition, i can use the P990i for navigation w/ BT GPS. furthermore, i find the keyboard very useful and practical when it comes to text messaging and email.

there's no doubt that the iphone will work well w/ my mac and will have a better UI than my P990i. however, i doubt i would sign a two-year contract w/ cingular just for the minor upgrades.

 

[bloodycape]

I kinda cant wait for the HTC VOX and Libra(a more powerful CDMA version) to come out. It is a mixture of the TyTN and the Dash(no touch screen sorta of a shame). Both look very impressive.

 

[Stella]

SE have released a firmware upgrade for the p990i - if you haven't already, upgrade it - it improves the stability plus other nice fixes.

currently i have a sony ericsson p990i and am quite happy with it. while i can't say it's the "best iphone alternative," the features that i use are better/comparable - i.e. 2MP camera w/ flash + auto focus. the flash doubles as a flashlight and it's quite handy. in addition, i can use the P990i for navigation w/ BT GPS. furthermore, i find the keyboard very useful and practical when it comes to text messaging and email.

there's no doubt that the iphone will work well w/ my mac and will have a better UI than my P990i. however, i doubt i would sign a two-year contract w/ cingular just for the minor upgrades.

 

[3nm]

thx for the info. if you are talking about the firmware (R4A13) released in late jan '07 / early feb, i have upgraded already.

personally i have never found the p990i unstable. but the firmware update does improve the overall menu speed.

SE have released a firmware upgrade for the p990i - if you haven't already, upgrade it - it improves the stability plus other nice fixes.

 

[3nm]

actually, i see my smartphone as a swiss army knife. almost always your phone is with you, and it's there for the unexpected. in addition, you don't have to be lost to use navigation. for example, after clubbing this past fri night, buddies and i decided to get hangover food in thai town - a place that we seldom go, and no nav in our friend's car. could we have used google sms to get directions? definitely. but was tomtom more helpful? you bet.

tomtom 6 works by storing maps and POIs on your mobile device, meaning that an internet connection is not required for navigation. with an internet connection; however, you can use extra features such as TT traffic and TT plus.

Sat Navigation I find expensive and overrated. Where are you going to get lost with such a delicate & expensive & nice device hmm?!!!! Exactly. But great phone non the less. Question Sat Nav & TomTom will it ONLY update/DL maps over the provider wireless data connection (GSM/GPRS/EDGE)??!!

 

[DeepIn2U]

The E90 looks like it could be an absolute killer phone. The E70 is a very good phone, but doesn't have enough memory in it and the form factor is good too.

The RIMs can't touch the Nokia E-Series, they can do everything that a RIM can and more ( especially its web browsing capabilities ). The Email and calendar client could be better ( but then, thanks to 3rd party software you can get replacements for both ).[/QUOTE}

Web browsing FEATURES (ALT Tabbing like feature wasn't done by NOkia alone as I'm sure you already know Stella, - I'm an S60 child too hehe) but you are WRONG on the webbrowsing NO imbedded FLASH support! and the security over web browsing is superiour on the BB sorry (SSL, SSH, WSTL, etc) and I'm NOT talking about flash lite that is now part of the OS in newer S60s.

E90, again I'll wait until a working prototype with video/spyshots debuts; until then its heresay. The form-factor has been around WAY too long about as long as SE's or sorry Ericsson R lineup (the first Symbian smartphone ever). But SE's P990 has a slight evolution, the Nokia Communicator hasn't as far as we know. Tomorrow we'll know.

 

[Stella]

Thanks for saying about the web browsing.


E90 info:
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/4891_Welcome_to_the_future-the_Noki.php

The E90 looks like it could be an absolute killer phone. The E70 is a very good phone, but doesn't have enough memory in it and the form factor is good too.

The RIMs can't touch the Nokia E-Series, they can do everything that a RIM can and more ( especially its web browsing capabilities ). The Email and calendar client could be better ( but then, thanks to 3rd party software you can get replacements for both ).[/QUOTE}

Web browsing FEATURES (ALT Tabbing like feature wasn't done by NOkia alone as I'm sure you already know Stella, - I'm an S60 child too hehe) but you are WRONG on the webbrowsing NO imbedded FLASH support! and the security over web browsing is superiour on the BB sorry (SSL, SSH, WSTL, etc) and I'm NOT talking about flash lite that is now part of the OS in newer S60s.

E90, again I'll wait until a working prototype with video/spyshots debuts; until then its heresay. The form-factor has been around WAY too long about as long as SE's or sorry Ericsson R lineup (the first Symbian smartphone ever). But SE's P990 has a slight evolution, the Nokia Communicator hasn't as far as we know. Tomorrow we'll know.

 

[superted666]

I used the symbian OS on a N70 and while to use its not too bad i found it slow.
Slow to do pretty much anything and i was at times waiting for a button press to get through its system. I now have a samsung d900 which is fast and easy.

Not as capable but battery life is way better.

Im tempted by the o2 xda thingy with GPS allthough i wudnt use it much its a windows version of the iphone and being in the uk available much earlier

 

[Stella]

N70 was infamous for being slow. Fortunately Nokia have impressed performance a lot since then.

Slider phones like the D900 et al are pretty nice, IMO. The sliding keyboard just appeals to me for some reason!

I used the symbian OS on a N70 and while to use its not too bad i found it slow.
Slow to do pretty much anything and i was at times waiting for a button press to get through its system. I now have a samsung d900 which is fast and easy.

Not as capable but battery life is way better.

Im tempted by the o2 xda thingy with GPS allthough i wudnt use it much its a windows version of the iphone and being in the uk available much earlier

 

[DeepIn2U]

Thanks for saying about the web browsing.


E90 info:
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/4891_Welcome_to_the_future-the_Noki.php


Great phone that E90 is ... actually considering by it in September (when its expected to be mass available) however that entire link of the preview mentions the features of the web browsing that the new Nokia browser has but NOTHING in regards to "Flash" or "SVG" support. I've even read the entire brief over the Nokia Browser, but it cannot do what the RIM browser is specific for security - some of the security levels it cannot support. Each has its own benefits & I will wager that the Nokia browser is best suited to almost everybody here BUT there is no SVG or Flash support (And I'm not talking about Flash Lite 2.0).

http://www.mobile-review.com/review/nokia-webbrowser-en.shtml

USe the search function on the link above for "flash" and you'll see that only stated ...

Flash. The OSS browser carries support for FlashLite 2.0 onboard, which is one of the highlights of FeaturePack 1 and seemingly one of the reasons why this browser hasn’t been adapted for usage with older devices.

Impressive yes but still laking what I want in a browser

So, do you also plan on getting this E90 or something else? Me I still have to get a RIM 8820 (when Tmobile launches the WiFi edition) for work/training purposes but I prefer the multimedia functions of that E90.