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iPhone's top competitions.

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Robby9279

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 3, 2008
239
1
Hey all,
I haven't seen many threads here like this so I decided I'd make a thread about the iPhone's top competition. Currently I don't have an iPhone, or Blackberry, or any type of smartphone (Sad I know). However, I wanted to make this thread to compile a list of phones that may come hand-in-hand with the iPhone, or possibly even better. What I want to know is, what phone do YOU (in your personal opinion) think out-performs the iPhone and its functionality, please list the phone name, and your reason as to why, but if your simply just feeling lazy go ahead and just post the phone name :p
Hopefully this will help people like me who are in the decision-making to foresee a few more options.

If this goes against any forum rules, go ahead and do what you have to mods
 
The iphone, I truly believe, is in a league of it's own.

All the so-called "iphone killers" should be placed in a comparison chart to one another because I don't think anything has come remotely close to iphone standards.

Even the new Nokia N97, it's just different, I don't look at it as an iphone competitor. :rolleyes:
 
Every year theres gonna be a better phone. Competition is between Apple, Blackberry and HTC.
 
Apple must have been working on the iphone concept for a decade because they came in and took over. Its insane how the iphone has blown up especially since the 3g. It was a popular phone when the original was out but then the subsidized it and BAM ! that was all she wrote. The future versions of the iphone will only get better. I dont see any company touching the iphones UI for at least 5 years. If RIM cant do it then I dont know who can.
 
iPhone's top competition is the same as iPod's top competition, which is Apple itself.
 
Nothing, not even the Storm can touch iPhone. But Apple will I'm sure have another addition to iPhone3G in January, probably just a storage bump but yes, with the likes of N97 coming up they must be caaarefffulll..
 
I can honestly say that I love my iphone to death but if there were no iPhone I think I would go with the N97 love the lok of that phone, may pick it up just as a backup hahaha, how selfish is that!?
 
iPhone is a great phone,i dont think there were a iphone killer. if there were, it must have some brilliant improves in the touchscreen or any other areas.:)
 
There are some decent devices out there, Omnia, Bold, etc, and all of the latest phones have (well documented) bigger feature sets than the iPhone.
The thing is, none of them have the ease of use, the UI(which is vitally important) and the straight up sexyness of the iPhone(1st or 2nd gen).
All the rivals have tried to 'sex up' their User interfaces, with Touch-Flo, Touch Whizz, Panels, etc and Android looks promising, but none are truly up to par.
They're all trying to jump on the App Store phenomenon too. Sure, 3rd party apps on phones has been done before, but not with the ease of use(there it is again) of how iPhone does it.

Just like with the Original iPod, and to quote Jony Ive at the time: "The big design story, is clearly the interface and I think the simplicity of the buttons and of the Jog wheel, completely bely how powerful and how effective the interface truly is".

It's basic common sense why iPhone is successful; If features are a no-brainer to use, like many on the iPhone, then people will simply enjoy using them, and will continue to use them.
If you have to trawl through a clunky UI to get to certain features, then you won't be that inclined to use them regularly.
 
Keep in mind you're asking this question on an iphone forum so the answers may be a bit biased. I bet if you went to crackberry.com you'd get a different response. :)

I love my iphone. The N97 looks like it could *possibly* compete--when its released in the U.S. However, by the time its out Apple will likely have updated the iphone to match the specs on the N97. You can't compare unreleased products to products on the market now.

There is nothing IMO that currently matches the total feature set of the iphone -- though there are competitors that beat the iphone in particular areas. The G1 is interesting but that's a work in progress really and I think people only buy it because they are either still under a T-mobile contract or just want to get something different--since everyone is buying up iphones.
 
From a technical standpoint, the iPhone UI is not five years ahead. It's twenty-five years old, harking back to the earliest days of one-task-at-a-time home computers with a simple launch matrix of icons.

Contrary to what non-programmers think, duplicating the UI is child's play. In fact, it was done using Safari within a week or two, for the first homebrew simulators. It's the whole point of the UI: that it's dirt simple.

It's almost as if Jobs said, simple worked for the first Mac, let's use it again. And he was right... many people want simplicity, not features or too many options.

So other phones are obviously not trying to exactly duplicate the iPhone (with the exception of the Meizu, perhaps). That would be pretty easy (leaving out Safari). Instead, they continue to try to cram in lots of features and options, which is difficult to do without getting complicated again... or they select a set of features and leave out the expandability.

The iPhone is going to struggle with more options in the future as well. Already it's clear that it was a mistake to put application options all in the same Settings page. Nothing more ridiculous than to have to quit your app, go find Settings, open and wait, scroll to your app's logo and click it, then do the actual setting (and only Apple is allowed to have active ones like deleting cache), then go back and start your app again.
 
I posted this response in another thread, but I think it really belongs here:

Well, I don't know if these iPhone killers have been total busts. Sure, they are inferior phones (as judged by us), but people are buying them - and lots of them. For example, the Samsung Instinct is a very bad phone, but people bought them up at a record pace. It was the fastest selling phone in Sprint's history. Also, the Instinct is Best Buy's best selling cellphone over the last 2 year period.

I really think the concept of an "iPhone Killer" is just a perception held by Apple, the media, and cellphone enthusiasts. I don't think average people really care about what's going to be the next "iPhone Killer." Most people usually just buy the "hottest," "most fashionable" phone on their current carrier. And what's "hot" is usually decided by the store's salesman - and people listen to this hype.

The strongest iPhone that will likely never be killed by any other phone has yet to come out. This iPhone will just have average features (dumbed down for the average consumer and will include MMS), it will have an average price (say $99), there will be superficial changes - like it coming in many different colors, and it will be available on every carrier. If this phone was to come out, nothing would come close to touching it.
 
kdarling said:
From a technical standpoint, the iPhone UI is not five years ahead. It's twenty-five years old, harking back to the earliest days of one-task-at-a-time home computers with a simple launch matrix of icons.

Contrary to what non-programmers think, duplicating the UI is child's play. In fact, it was done using Safari within a week or two, for the first homebrew simulators. It's the whole point of the UI: that it's dirt simple.

It's almost as if Jobs said, simple worked for the first Mac, let's use it again. And he was right... many people want simplicity, not features or too many options.

So other phones are obviously not trying to exactly duplicate the iPhone (with the exception of the Meizu, perhaps). That would be pretty easy (leaving out Safari). Instead, they continue to try to cram in lots of features and options, which is difficult to do without getting complicated again... or they select a set of features and leave out the expandability.

The iPhone is going to struggle with more options in the future as well. Already it's clear that it was a mistake to put application options all in the same Settings page. Nothing more ridiculous than to have to quit your app, go find Settings, open and wait, scroll to your app's logo and click it, then do the actual setting (and only Apple is allowed to have active ones like deleting cache), then go back and start your app again.
Click to expand...

finally, someone who isn't a useless fanboy who just goes on and on about how the iphones UI is so amazing and revolutionary. its just a SET OF ICONS spread over multiple pages! from a programmers/designers/any person with common sense/ point of view this is definitely NOT efficient/optimized in any way whatsoever. extremely simple? yes. revolutionary? hell no.
 
deadsouls said:
finally, someone who isn't a useless fanboy who just goes on and on about how the iphones UI is so amazing and revolutionary. its just a SET OF ICONS spread over multiple pages! from a programmers/designers/any person with common sense/ point of view this is definitely NOT efficient/optimized in any way whatsoever. extremely simple? yes. revolutionary? hell no.
Click to expand...

So obvious it's overlooked? I mean, Apple certainly isn't the first to use "icons on a page," nor did they invent touchscreen/multi-touch, or CoverFlow. Have they implemented it better than anyone else at this point? I would say so. People that uselessly point out the iPhone's lack of innovation are as bad as the ones who defend it.
 
I agree with everyone that nothing comes close to the Iphone, but if you are really into texting, I'm not sure if you would like the Iphone keyboard. Apple really needs to allow the keyboard to go landscape for texting and email. I am just a lite texter and I have found nothing that can come close to the Iphone. It kills me because I want an excuse to get a new toy and I can't find one. There is nothing that can compare to the browsing in the Iphone. That is my major use.
 
I think the problem is that everyone keeps trying to shove round pegs into square holes. You can't put a phone that is designed 100% around iTunes integration, multimedia, and a simple UI against a blackberry or a windows mobile phone. There's feature overlap but they appeal to different users.

The iPhone's biggest competition is itself, but not in a "nothing can touch the iPhone" sort of way. The iPhone's biggest competition is that someone (Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry) is going to start courting people who have been using iPhones. They're going to be showing off better UIs, great hardware, and more bells and whistles. By then, the iPhone will as well, but it needs to keep up with the sophistication of its user base. As people who didn't have smartphones before learn with the iPhone, they're going to want more. And Apple needs to be waiting with a shinier, more powerful iPhone, or with an "iPhone pro" or something like that. What Apple does not want is the casual iPhone owner being empowered by using a smartphone and discovering Android does x, y, z better than the iPhone.
 
barkomatic said:
Keep in mind you're asking this question on an iphone forum so the answers may be a bit biased. I bet if you went to crackberry.com you'd get a different response. :)
Click to expand...

Yes I realized that :p
And thank you all for the responses, they're of great use!
 
Except for the keyboard, no one has even come close to the Iphone for web browsing. I don't understand why.
 
phaggard said:
Except for the keyboard, no one has even come close to the Iphone for web browsing. I don't understand why.
Click to expand...

It's like everything else about the iPhone. This is what distinguishes Apple from the rest.

1) Apple makes thing easy and less cluttered. (A huge reason why we probably haven't see copy and paste implemented.)
2) It works.
3) The phone isn't some plastic POS. It has a great design. The other phones don't.
4) The iPhone keyboard is fantastic. Great for a touch screen, and yes it isn't a plastic crappy keyboard that would be better, all touch screen is the future.
5) They will always be ahead. The iPhone 2.5G was leaps ahead of any other phone that was affordable. Then the competitors came up, and they really didn't beat the iPhone. Then the iPhone 3G came out. It just keeps getting better while RIM, Samsung, etc are still in the dust.

The closest phone to the iPhone i would say is Nokia and their N series phones. But hey, for $800, that is ridonkulas.
 
nickspohn said:
The closest phone to the iPhone i would say is Nokia and their N series phones. But hey, for $800, that is ridonkulas.
Click to expand...
I agree with this, however 16G iPhones sell for just under the $800 margin for unlocked.
Not to mention they aren't sold in America yet either :p
 
That all depends on what you would use a smartphone for. I find nothing even close because I use the iPod capabilities on my iPhone. I gave up a larger iPod for the convenience and better UI of the iPhone's iPod app.

I really just wanted an iPod that was also a phone, so everything else has been gravy. I like having e-mail available anywhere I have a signal. From what I have been told, BlackBerry devices rival (even beat) the iPhone. But I couldn't figure out how to do the first thing on the first BlackBerry I saw about 3 years ago. The Storm takes that part away, so I would perhaps rate it the closest competitor.

But the Storm and G1 still don't have iPod players built in. Two-thirds of all digital audio players sold are iPods, so it's not a minor deal that you have an iPod versus another media player. Every other DMP I have had was crap compared to even the iPod shuffle.

So I'd say nobody has a real iPhone rival yet and nobody will until the browsers and media players are better. You also can't screw the friggin' pooch by not adding WiFi on the Storm (how stupid was that???).
 
Despite what people think, manufacturers are catching up with Apple in terms of the technology being put into mobile devices. Even though Apple may do a better job of marketing their device, not to mention the strong followers of other Apple products (every manufacturer has their diehard fans). However, I don't think it is anything to get angry and defensive about. Competition is the absolute best thing in an industry. I think RIM and HTC are the top competitors for Apple

As for a few of the iPod feature with the iPhone comments, RIM has integrated media sync with new builds of their desktop management software. While the media functionality may not live up to Apple standards, it still plays media and now has the ability to sync with your local iTunes library (minus your iTunes purchased media). Not saying RIM is making Apple shake it their boots, but the competition is stepping up it's game.

Regardless of what manufacturer you prefer, we are in for a wild ride with mobile devices.
 
OneComment said:
Regardless of what manufacturer you prefer, we are in for a wild ride with mobile devices.
Click to expand...

Agreed! I think Android is going to be an awesome OS and when HTC puts it a better phone it will really take off. Which makes us, the consumers, the winners as everyone will make better products.
 
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