Serious Iphone Competition on the Way?

[barkomatic]

So far, most of the newer touchscreen phones which have been compared to the iphone have lacked much of what the iphone offers. However, I came across this article on Gizmodo about the HTC Touch HD which at least on paper seems to be a more formidable match. It seems that it may even include flash, and a slightly larger screen. Of course it runs on windows mobile, which is a downfall--but its also entertainment oriented and seems to have some of what the iphone lacks. We'll see I guess--but despite being an iphone owner I kinda hope this one gets released on AT&T's network. . .

http://gizmodo.com/5049914/htc-touch-hd-gets-beautifully-confirmed-in-official-shots-specs

 

[mcdj]

You lost me at Windows Mobile.

 

[barkomatic]

lol--well nobody's perfect.

Still, if I can watch hulu in HD its a tempting proposition. Sure beats paying $1.99 for an episode on Itunes right?

 

[Loonytik]

You lost me at Windows Mobile.

Me too....

 

[kkat69]

You lost me at Windows Mobile.

I agree, and I write WM programs and own a Treo and I can't wait until Oct 10 when I'm ready for the discounted price for the iPhone. I want to toss my Treo in the toilet I'm that sick of owning WM devices. I'll still write programs for them if that's what the customer wants, but as for my personal life, I prefer the iPhone. All these similar devices that come out just seem like Rocky 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.... just bad sequels. (ok some of the rocky sequels were pretty good but you get the point)

Don't get me wrong, I like my treo, but I like the iPhone better.

 

[deimos256]

nice, but is it.......SNAPPY?!?!

 

[rsk137]

The touch HD is definitely a stunning device, there's no doubting that (looks wise). The specs are alright for a smart phone by today's standards. (check out the full list of spec here). It also doesn't have U.S. 3G bands either, which is a bummer.

It's too bad that such a great looking device is more than likely going to be crippled by Windows Mobile IMO, the only thing that it has over the iPhone is bluetooth and a front facing camera.

 

[Kaitlyn2004]

This has a powerful processor, an AMAZING screen, and the only "pitfall" I can see is the software - Windows Mobile ... you love it or you hate it. I'm in the middle even.

Even so, people get Android working on latest HTC devices, which takes away that whole WM argument. So what you got to say NOW?

 

[rsk137]

This has a powerful processor, an AMAZING screen, and the only "pitfall" I can see is the software - Windows Mobile ... you love it or you hate it. I'm in the middle even.

Even so, people get Android working on latest HTC devices, which takes away that whole WM argument. So what you got to say NOW?

The iPhone's processor is better, so is the BB Bold. I wonder how much better it's going to be than, say, the Tilt. That has had one of the fastest processors in an HTC product for quite some time (i know, not anymore) but even that was quite laggy most of the time.

If someone slaps android on there, that would definitely be worth picking up or at least looking at.

 

[samiwas]

lol--well nobody's perfect.

Still, if I can watch hulu in HD its a tempting proposition. Sure beats paying $1.99 for an episode on Itunes right?

The resolution of that phone is 800x480...hardly HD. and really, once you account for 3.5" (iPhone) and 3.8" (Touch) screens, the higher resolution is barely going to matter. As it is, I can barely see pixels on the iPhone, so whatever.

The Touch does sound like a pretty cool device, although I don't give two flying sh*ts about keeping up with the newest coolest cellphone, so I don't really care.

 

[Kaitlyn2004]

The resolution of that phone is 800x480...hardly HD. and really, once you account for 3.5" (iPhone) and 3.8" (Touch) screens, the higher resolution is barely going to matter. As it is, I can barely see pixels on the iPhone, so whatever.

The Touch does sound like a pretty cool device, although I don't give two flying sh*ts about keeping up with the newest coolest cellphone, so I don't really care.

The Touch HD has 230,000 more pixels than the iPhone, so it will be just as sharp/sharper

And this added resolution will definitely be welcome for things like web browsing. You can tilt it can get 800 pixels across - a dimension web designers were designing for just a couple years ago.

 

[samiwas]

The Touch HD has 230,000 more pixels than the iPhone, so it will be just as sharp/sharper

And this added resolution will definitely be welcome for things like web browsing. You can tilt it can get 800 pixels across - a dimension web designers were designing for just a couple years ago.

I didn't say it wouldn't be as sharp, and it's obvious it might be a *little* sharper. But at that size, it's barely enough to matter that much...certainly not to be the only factor in choice. The iPhone's screen is pretty damn sharp at 163ppi.

And even if you can have a full 800 pixel wide website on a 3.8" screen, do you think you'd be able to read a single word on it? Not likely, so that point also doesn't matter.

I'm not saying anything against the Touch. Looks like a nice device, but I think HD is getting slung around quite liberally these days. I've even seen countertop laminate labeled as HD...really?

 

[docprego]

These HTC devices are nice pieces of hardware for sure. However, and this is a big however-they lack the iPhone OS. That alone is what makes the iPhone so impressive. They can put a 1080p screen in your pocket, at the end of the day it is about the user experience and Windows Mobile is just pathetic in this regard.

BTW I am a recent switcher to the iPhone from the HTC Touch on Sprint so I know first hand what I am talking about.

 

[Aznsensation45]

??

You lost me at competition....

 

[SFStateStudent]

You lost me at "serious!" It's these sort of posts that make me upchuck on a regular basis...

 

[kdarling]

The iPhone's processor is better, so is the BB Bold.

In what way do you think the iPhone's cpu is better? Speed? It's only being run at ~411 MHz.

A lot of people are more curious to find out if the HD will include good gfx acceleration to move all those pixels around.

 

[Mr. Giver '94]

You lost me at "serious!" It's these sort of posts that make me upchuck on a regular basis...

+1 These threads are sooooooo annoying. If you want to talk about some other, lamer phone in an APPLE/IPHONE forum, good luck getting any positive feedback. I'm sure the loosers in the Sprint or Verizon forums would love to hear more about a device that may be bad enough to run on their networks.

 

[Mr. Giver '94]

Oops

 

[Bye Bye Baby]

short memories

Here we go again. Everyone forgets that Apple went through the exact same thing with the ipod. Every bloody day there was 'the next ipod killer' announced to the market. Never happened. Everyone concentrates on the hardware and absolutely doesn't understand what Apple has achieved. It's about the total iphone experience.

The iphone has had some dull moments- but you tell me who has a better experience on their phone? The itunes ease of updating, syncing, keeping tabs on what your phone does and how it does it. The app store, wireless itunes, and now the mobileme link up, now that it is working, is pretty extraordinary.

Stop trying to compare a piece of hardware with the iphone experience that apple has created.

Apple's approach is basically right. People use an iphone but just don't understand what it means. That's also why they don't want any bozo messing with the system. If you don't get it, you sure as hell can't mess with it.

 

[Hudzilla]

Yeah........but it just isn't an iPhone.

 

[vibribbon]

I have a Nokia N810 with an 800x480 display, and while I love my iPhone 3G, the displays cannot be compared. The iPhone is even more functional in many ways and I use it 10 times more, but I am always shocked when I go from the N810 to the 3G in direct succession. The browser doesn't do the zoomy trick because you can see an entire page at readable size always. The text is so crisp and pixel density is so high it is just a joy to read off of.

I would pay considerable $$ for a v3 iPhone with a higher resolution screen.

 

[nimda0]

I used to be a windows mobile fan. Now, as long as the iphone stays as sweet as it is (after the 2.1 update) then i'll never go back....ever.

HTC + Windows mobile = buggy phones with VERY POOR SCREENS that do 1,000 things "ok" and NOTHING "great"!

 

[Phil A.]

If (and it's a big if, given HTC's past record) they put a decent driver in for the screen, it could be a good phone. Even then, WM6 is not the most usable piece of software in the world and whilst it may have more functionality than the iPhone, the interface is 10 years behind. Even on the current flagship HTC Touch Diamond, WM rears it's (very) ugly head once you get past the flashy front interface.
Now, if this had Android on it, it would be more interesting: From what I've seen of Android so far, Google are going to be serious competition for the iPhone as long as they get ActiveSync on there...

 

[Tosser]

I used to be a windows mobile fan. Now, as long as the iphone stays as sweet as it is (after the 2.1 update) then i'll never go back....ever.

HTC + Windows mobile = buggy phones with VERY POOR SCREENS that do 1,000 things "ok" and NOTHING "great"!

LOL, are you inferring that the iPhone to date have been less buggy?

 

[Anuba]

So far, most of the newer touchscreen phones which have been compared to the iphone have lacked much of what the iphone offers. However, I came across this article on Gizmodo about the HTC Touch HD which at least on paper seems to be a more formidable match. It seems that it may even include flash, and a slightly larger screen. Of course it runs on windows mobile, which is a downfall--but its also entertainment oriented and seems to have some of what the iphone lacks. We'll see I guess--but despite being an iphone owner I kinda hope this one gets released on AT&T's network. . .

http://gizmodo.com/5049914/htc-touch-hd-gets-beautifully-confirmed-in-official-shots-specs

In order for it to rival the iPhone it would have to rival its software. That's all the iPhone is, really, great software in a somewhat unimportant and unassuming vessel.

Unlike most web pundits (particularly around these parts), I'm not all that blown away by OS X as such (I'm talking computers now, not the iPhone). Its supposed vast superiority over Windows is more myth than truth. No really, don't start lecturing me on the subject... I've used both platforms since the early 90's, so spare me the "but Windows has like millions of viruses and uhh crashes all the time!". Windows Mobile, on the other hand, is very much inferior to the iPhone OS. Perhaps this will have changed in 5 years' time, but as of today, no Windows Mobile or Symbian based phone has anything on the iPhone except better potentially better hardware specs.