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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile, Random, Software, Tech

G1,iPhone, Tube, Omnia, and Apple Updates

A lot of cool things developing today in the cellular world. Just thought I would mention a few of them.

Let’s start with a great and comprehensive article on Techradar.com that compares the iPhone, G1, and Tube. It really puts all aspects of these three handsets to the test. You can read it here, but for all you lazy people who just want to know the conclusion, it was a tie between the iPhone and G1.

He sums it all up by saying:

“Well, which one do we like the most? The iPhone is complete in most areas, the Nokia Tube has some nice touches and decent features, especially in the media and camera section, yet the G1’s Android interface is super-smashing-great.

It’s surprising, but it’s a tie between the G1 and the iPhone at three wins each, and that’s with the G1 not even being nearly at full potential just yet.

The Nokia Tube is good in most areas, but doesn’t quite cut the mustard, especially when it comes to the S60 interface.

So well done to the iPhone and the G1… if you get either of these in your stocking, you should feel pretty smug with yourself”.

Another piece of exciting news is that Cnet has a full review of one of my favorites, the Omnia, you can read it here. There conclusion is, to sum it up in my own words, they did not love it! Oh well.

The last piece of exciting news is that HTC now offers a full emulator of how the G1 is going to look and perform. You can access it here, but don’t forget to press the Emulator option and not just the 3D image of the G1.

That’s all folks! Nothing else to report now, besides of course that I spent some time in the new Israel Apple store and had a great afternoon looking at things I will probably never be able to afford. It just seemed more fun then spending the afternoon in the flea market!

Just to end off on a positive note, check out this hands-on video of the Nokia Tube…

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile, Random, Software, Tech

Nokia’s Going Down The Tubes

Nobody was surprised today when Nokia officially announced the release of the Tube or the 5800 XpressMusic handset. It is an OK looking handset, I guess. I think, like many other recent announcements, it would have been huge news prior to the launch of the iPhone. I am sure Nokia is kicking themselves now that they did not release this earlier. There is no avoiding the iPhone comparison, and from the short reviews that are out there, it looks like the Tube is just another touchscreen that will stay in the shadow of the iPhone.

It is true the specs on the Tube are not too shabby. It boasts a 3.2 inch display, 3.2 megapixel autofocus Carl Zeiss camera w/ dual-LED flash, a secondary front camera for video calling, stereo Bluetooth, WiFi 802.11 b/g, and integrated GPS. Those are not bad specs, but do they compare to those of the Omnia for example? Would this phone be generating so much hype without the Nokia branding on top? Not so sure!

Even with its decent specs, CrunchGear spent a few minutes with the phone and was not impressed. What was most unimpressive was the crowded UI and the Web browser. As I have said many times, in today’s market, with pretty much all the big players making amazingly impressive touchscreen devices, what separates the men from the boys is the user experience. Seems that Nokia has their work cut out for them if they want to maintain their market share for much longer.

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Random, Software, Tech

Nokia’s Jumping in The Ring, Apple’s Taking off The Gloves

In the never ending war between cellphone manufacturers, a lot has transpired over the last 24 hours. It looks like Nokia is going to be announcing their own iPhone Killer (I cannot tell you how much I hate that term, but it definitely says something about how revolutionary the iPhone really is). As I recall, the Tube (the name of the new Nokia, which leads me to my regular question: who comes up with these names?) was introduced (unofficially of course) before the release of the iPhone, so as opposed to the Omnia and others like it, it was not a response to the iPhone.

The Tube looks like a pretty nice phone, nothing we have never seen before, but as I have said many times, when it is being released by the market leader, Nokia, it does not matter what we have seen in the past from “small” players like Samsung or HTC.

In any case, Apple has no intention on sitting back and letting Nokia take over its touch screen market dominance. They have just begun to sell the first ever version of the unlocked iPhone in Hong Kong for $695. Worried, Apple? Maybe next time you should allow your users to replace their batteries or send an MMS!

What is left to be seen is, will the S60 full Touch UI compete with the iPhone’s interface? Because we all know that the user experience is what is going to be the deal maker or breaker for Nokia. Check out the first demo of the Tube’s UI in the video below.

-Hillel


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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Random, Software, Tech

HTC Touch HD Video Review- The King?

There is a new in-depth video review of the HTC Touch HD circulating the Web this morning. The screen looks absolutely stunning and the OS looks very responsive. However, we know there really is no perfect phone (yet) so I knew there had to be a catch. Fortunately, the catch is not something I cannot handle (that means I can handle it). The 5mp camera has no flash. Not the end of the world, there could be worse things, like no WiFi or GPS. I will never understand cellphone manufacturers and why they do these kinds of things. How hard can it be for HTC to offer a flash? My old Nokia 6288 had a flash!!

In any case, for me, this topic of cellphones might actually become a practical one in the near future. I am now using a CDMA phone (ouch!), and  I was just notified that my cellular carrier will be joining the 21st century by year’s end and switching to GSM. You know what that means? It means that it is time to decide what phone to get.

As of now, I am leaning toward the Omnia (I can’t help it, I am shallow and it is so pretty), but a lot can happen until the end of the year, so let’s wait and see.

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile, Random, Software, Tech

Mobile Battle

The mobile world has come a really long way in an extremely short period of time. With new innovative handsets being released every day, and features such as 3G, WiFi, and 5 mp cameras becoming standard, the question is, what phone, in the current market, is the real king?

I am going to list a few that really stand out in my head, feel free to vote in the comments:

Apple iPhone 3G: There is no doubt that the iPhone changed the mobile world more than any other single handset. Whether you are a fan of the iPhone or believe it to be mostly hype, you cannot deny the outstanding job Apple has done with its revolutionary interface. Yes, it lacks MMS capabilities and a video camera, but with that amazing screen and unprecedented user experience, does it really matter?

HTC Touch HD: I do not remember the last time I was this excited about a phone. The Touch HD is the only phone out there that might actually have a nicer screen (3.8 inches vs. the iPhone’s 3.5) than the iPhone. It definitely packs in more features with its 5mp camera and full multimedia capabilities, but it is yet to be seen, will the interface really compete with that of the iPhone or will it be another HTC Touch Diamond-like disaster?

Nokia N96: When it was announced, it was huge news, but will its dual slide design and 16GB memory compete with current phones out there? Not feeling it!

Samsung INNOV8: Now this is one sexy phone. I think one of the nicest phones on the market, but will the 8mp camera make it good enough to play with the big boys?

Samsung Omnia: I know I just wrote this about five lines up, but I do not remember the last time I was this excited about a phone.  I recently handled this phone, and I have to say, it is the nicest phone I have ever personally held in my hand. Instead of talking about what the Omnia has, why don’t I just ask, what does it NOT have?

I think that is enough selection for you to make your choice. I purposely left out the new Google phone i.e the HTC Dream or G1, because I do not feel, even with Android, that this phone is in the same league as the others. Its lack of Bluetooth options (no file transfer or stereo Bluetooth), 3.5mm headphones jack, and its older 3G just prevent it from being able to play in the major leagues. Knowing Google, I am sure their G2 will be a different story.

So, which one of the above handsets (or did I leave out a phone that is the real king? E71 perhaps? Maybe some boldness?), is the current king of the mobile world?

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on Mobile, Software, Tech

HTC G1: My Dreams Are A Lot Better

So yesterday was a pretty important day in the mobile world. The “Google Phone” was announced. After all the rumors surrounding Google’s first handset,  T-Mobile announced the HTC G1 (Dream, hence the title), running Google’s Android OS.

Although, Android is an impressive and exciting concept, the phone on which they chose  to implement this new OS is far from exciting. In today’s day and age there really is no reason HTC should be releasing a phone that can not transfer files via Bluetooth. That is just one of the many disadvantages of the new G1.

The G1 does not support stereo Bluetooth, making it difficult to listen to music wirelessly. Well, no biggie, right? I can just use my regular headphone, right? Wrong! The phone has no 3.5 mm headphones jack. That means, if I want to listen to music from my phone, I need to buy some ugly adapter and plug it into the phone, and only then can I use my headphones. Does that sound like a state of the art, high-end phone to you?

The phone supports 3G speeds, but only an older generation, UMTS and no HSDPA, which is significantlty faster. It offers push Gmail, which is kinda cool, I guess, but no exchange support. It has a 3 MP camera, not too shabby, but no video capabilities (the iPhone might be able to get away with that because it makes up for it in other areas, but cmon HTC).

Like with many other phones that were recently announced, my conclusion is that if this phone had been released in the pre-iPhone era, maybe it would have impressed me more, but all that is left is to quote GSMArena.com when they say:

“So we waited a whole year now just to see a poor iPhone replica with a QWERTY keyboard that doesn’t even look half as good. It seems HTC have not put any effort in the design – and even the functionality is flawed. So thanks, but no thanks! Let’s see the next one, please!”

On the marketing side of things, I guess this ad is OK, in a Microsoft kinda way.

-Hillel


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by hilzfuld on Mobile, Software, Tech

Android is A Reality

Looks like Google is taking Nokia’s route, as opposed to Apple’s known secrecy policy. The new T-Mobile Dream, or G1, is not even released yet, or for that matter, has not even been officially announced, and there are already leaked pictures and specs on the Web.

I personally am not as excited by the hardware of the HTC Dream as I am with Android. The phone looks kind of big and bulky, and I am not a huge fan of the whole Sidekick, slideout keyboard form factor. As for the specs, there really is nothing too exciting about this handset’s capabilities. It has the standard 65k display, 3.1 MP camera, and 5 hours of talk time. It lacks stereo Bluetooth (ouch), video capture (um, why?), and corporate push mail. The phone requires a Gmail account to access your email, and from what I understand, does not have any built-in memory.

I think Google could have done better when choosing the first Android handset. For example, if Google would have chosen the HTC Touch HD to introduce their new OS, I am pretty sure they would have many more interested customers. Having said that, I am not worried about Google, Android is appealing enough by itself, that it does not need a fancy shiny phone to make it attractive. On the contrary, it might have distracted the user from the beauty of the Android interface.

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile, Random, Software, Tech

Nokia Outdoes Itself with the E72 & E75

There is a new video that was just leaked of the not-yet-announced Nokia E72 and E75 handsets. I have two things to say about that.

  1. That would never happen with Apple’s products. I am not sure if this is a good thing on Nokia’s part or a bad thing, but Apple somehow manages to keep the leaked information about their new products to a minimum, until they are officially announced. Judging by the amount of hype surrounding Apple releases, Apple is doing something right.
  2. These phones both look pretty amazing, but nothing we have never seen before outside of Nokia. Then again, Nokia is a big enough player that when they release a new concept phone, it does not matter who has done it before, theirs is bound to be all that much better.

 You can watch the video here (watch it fast, Nokia has taken it off of Youtube 5 times, after it was posted by 5 different users. They are really not interested in people seeing this video.)

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile, Random, Software, Tech

Android’s Release

To shake things up a little, I thought I would write about the marketing aspect of this blog, an area that is usually more Aryeh’s thing, not mine.

I was just wondering if Google is really doing everything they can, to effectively market Android’s official release. Next Tuesday, Androidwill be introduced to the cellular world for the first time. A pretty big thing, no? I mean Google, that company that created a search engine for the Web, have now decided that they are entering the mobile industry with a revolutionary mobile operating system. You would think every tech news site would be overflowing with scoops about the Android event. 

Let’s review what we know about it. We know T-Mobile will be releasing the first Android phone, the Dream, next Tuesday, the 23rd. We know Android is supposed to be a huge deal, and present a true iPhone OS killer. Do we know why? What makes it so great? Yes, it is open source. Anything else?

Personally, I think if Google wants to really make a difference and have an impact on companies like Nokia/Symbian, Apple, and Microsoft, they are going to have to do a little more. How about some Web ads, YouTube demonstrations, or at least some impressive spy pics?
-Hillel

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