Smartphone picks
The ongoing global recession has taken a bite out of mobile phone sales around the world with sales declining more than 5% in the second quarter of 2009 according to Gartner analysts. At the same time, however, mobile phone makers with smartphones in their lineup are starting to look positive in the long run as many consumers look to upgrade their phones to ones with smartphone features such as touchscreens and QWERTY keyboards.
Gartner research director Carolina Milanesi says that the recession pressure has meant that many consumers who “would usually have purchased standard midrange devices either cut back to less expensive handsets or moved up the range to get more features for their money.”
With a wide range of smartphones already on the local market, we look at three stand-out models already available and two phones that are worth waiting for.
iPhone 3Gs
It’s hard to list the best smartphones without listing the an iPhone. It may enjoy the best hype of the phones listed here but the iPhone is also a phone with great class. While many other smartphones may have better features and often cost a lot less the iPhone dominates when it comes to sheer design and bling.
Now available locally through Vodacom the iPhone 3Gs is the latest edition of the iPhone and sports a better camera than the 3G version as well as video recording. There are other phones on the market that have better cameras – think Nokia – and also better HSDPA capabilities, but for sheer enjoyment value the iPhone 3GS is up with the best.
HTC Magic
In a similar vein as the iPhone, the HTC Magic phone is also touchscreen but, unlike the iPhone, uses the open source Android operating system from Google. The HTC Magic is the second phone released by HTC running the Android operating system and, running an updated version of Android, fixes many of the bugs in the earlier release.
The two big advantages of the HTC Magic is its excellent HSDPA support – full 7.2Mbps – and its open source operating system which is evolving rapidly into being one of the best mobile operating systems around.
HTC Snap
The HTC Snap doesn’t run Android, it doesn’t have a touchscreen, and it isn’t as glossy as the iPhone but it is a real contender in the smartphone market. The Snap, which has just been released locally, is a full-featured smartphone running Windows Mobile 6.1 with one of the better QWERTY keyboards around.
The camera on the Snap is a disappointing 2 megapixel one which is well behind the 3.1 megapixel one of the HTC Magic and the 3 megapixel one of the iPhone 3GS. But anyone in the market for a good camera phone shouldn’t really be looking at any of these phones but rather something like a Nokia phone which regularly rolls out excellent cameras. Aside from the camera the Snap is lightweight, easy to use and includes Direct Push for email users running an Exchange server.
These three phones are already available locally but for using looking to upgrade their phones later in the year, there are two phones worth consideration.
Palm Pre
Users keen on something a little more exotic might consider holding out for a Palm Pre. The Pre, from the company that first made its name with the Palm Pilot, is expected to surface later this year in South Africa. With its glossy exterior the Pre looks every bit the iPhone-killer that many were expecting. With its slideout keyboard in retracted mode the Pre looks more like a glossy stone than a phone with its extreme round edges.
The slideout QWERTY keyboard adds a whole new dimension to the phone. The multi-touch screen and its associated operating system, however, are what will impress most users. Palm has a long history of touchscreen interfaces and has used this to make an OS that looks to be every bit the iPhone rival. Palm has also introduced new features such as ripple response when the screen is touched which is an interesting invention to improve touchscreen feedback.
HTC Hero
HTC is producing better and better phones all the time and the one to watch out for in the near future is the HTC Hero, a full touchscreen phone running Android that has all the polish of the iPhone and yet is not really aiming to be a smartphone. Some observers have labeled the Hero an anti-smartphone device, in part because of its approach of making the phone as easy to use as possible.
It’s something that HTC calls “Sense” which hopefully means that the Hero is as easy to use for grandmothers as it is for their tech-savvy grandchildren. The Hero is also no mean performer and sports a 5 megapixel camera which is a big leap up on other smartphones with their 3 megapixel versions, as well as being fully 7.2Mbps HSDPA capable. The Hero is expected to be in the country later this year.
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