So let’s see. Who got sucked into the hype and like a million others went out and bought an iPhone? Oops… you did?
Well, if you *did* rush out and buy one I doubt you’ll be too happy reading the rest of this article.
To be honest I was considering rushing out with the rest of the herd to get my grubby little hands on a grubby little screen but after after a lot of reading round I decided to wait awhile and see what the reviews were like about the machine in use. I also wanted to wait out and see what the alternatives were because several stories made oblique references to ‘new touch phones’ that were coming onto the market, but mostly without any specifics.
I began reading around a wider circle and stopped short when I came to two new phones, one was the HTC Diamond which is a *beautiful* piece of kit with pretty good specs the other was the Samsung Omnia which is where I now am… drooling! The phone is good looking but the specs… ohhh… the specs!!!
For those of you with iPhones, compare what Apple has provided with your bright new offering, with the Samsung machine specs:
- 3.2-inch wide touch display
- GPS
- stereo Bluetooth,
- WiFi
- 8/16 GB internal memory
- memory card slot (accepts up to 16GB micro-sd card)
- 5 MP camera (with sports auto-focus, geo-tagging, auto-panorama, stabilizer, face detection, smile detection, and video editing)
- FM radio
- auto-rotation
- 12.5mm body
… well yes there’s more, but I’m sure you get the picture?
There’s a review at http://www.infosyncworld.com/news/n/9459.html if you’re interested.
For me the appeal of the Samsung lies in the radio, the GPS and the 5Mp camera. However, the Div-X support… and the ability to support 16Gb mini-SD cards *as well as* the inbuilt 8/16Gb will mean I could carry several full length movies to watch if I was ever anywhere where I (or the kids) could otherwise be bored rigid! 🙂
Currently, from the published specs, it seems to be really approaching the ‘all-in-one’ mobile computer, PDA. phone concept many of us have been looking for. Of course usability is something that only comes with hands-on experience.
Despite the fact that my iMate JasJam comes with a slide-out keyboard, I rarely use it.
For preference, I use the touch screen and have almost exclusively since purchase! So for me, character recognition is something else I’ve come to expect as a must have… and something else the iPhone seems to have ignored.
Of course *price* is an all-consuming sticking point for many, including myself, so no matter how good a device it is, if it simply costs too much when it is available in Australia, then no matter what it offers, it’ll just have to be put on the wish list and wait.
Right now tho I’m waiting for a test model to become available… and if it’s available on an affordable ‘plan. I’m sure I won’t have long to wait. 🙂
The Eclectic Interweb 
http://www.htc.com/www/product.aspx?id=46294
yum..!!!
🙂
Before you get all hot and sweaty… read this review!!
Thing is both the Omnia and Diamond are magic… but in different ways. Maybe for you the Diamond *would* be better but for me, for all the Omnia’s weaknesses (e.g. proprietary connection instead of min-usb port, no ‘hot-swap’ for the micro-sd cards etc) it seems best for what I need… well for what I want :)… on paper at least.
According to the review an issue with the Diamond is the shape of the back which makes it unusable if you want to lay it on a table to work on it. The edges also wear off making it look ‘old’ very quickly!! Also the highly polished finish (as gorgeous as it is) means you either spend all day polishing it… or it constantly looks filthy! 🙂
Also each of the implementations of the WinMobile 6.01 OS leaves a lot to be desired, but the reviews indicate the Omnia seems to come out ahead on points! Not least because of the flaws that have emerged with the Diamond as reported by users and the hurried release of upgrades and patches!
I’ve not seen either in the flesh (so to speak) but I’m tramping around the local shops on the off chance someone has a demo model! 🙂
Either way these two machines easily lead the pack when it comes to the pocket-PC range and are giving the iPhone a real run for it’s money! If only we could merge the best of the three machines!
iPhone – not very good and yet again fashion over function..!! hrmph..!!
Given that, I asked the wife what she would prefer and after all my wobbling on about SD cards, Windows, functionality etc.. etc.. she only really ‘cared’ about it answering her core requirements and her having what everyone else wants.
So what’s the issue here..?? Functionality.. nope as all she wants to do is make calls and play music, the rest is immaterial. She will only buy iTunes, she only wants i(media players), she only wants i(notebooks i.e. the MacBook Air) where will it end (sigh)….
Steve Jobs, are you becoming more like you nemesis everyday and releasing stuff that doesn’t quite make the grade and making money off us poor idiots. I thought this was the reason why you left Apple in the first place.!
I have my suspicions….
Sadly in the debate over ‘form versus function’ it looks like form is winning, at least as far as mobile communication devices are concerned.
Huge numbers of people don’t care what the iPhone does or doesn’t do, or how well it does (or doesn’t) do it, they just follow the dictum that if it looks good it must be.
Millions are buying the iPhone just because it’s released by Apple and called an ‘i’ something. At least if I bought the Samsung or Diamond I’d be going in with my eyes open understanding the limitations of the device.
Any progress on the Omnia – it’s in the UK now
🙂
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/10/13/review_smartphone_samsung_sgh_i900_omnia/
hmmmmmm……
Last week I finally gave up and bought the HTC Diamond. I’m writing a post on it to explain. 🙂