The Real iPhone Killer?

[chrmjenkins]

Sorry, wanted to bring this back up to say that phones using this technology will start shipping H2 2009. Hopefully, by then, Apple has advanced what they are offering with the iPhone to include all the things users say are missing (flash, MMS, GPS) and other multimedia intense applications. The part in the current iPhone is 90nm, so with a process reduction to 45nm (or 32nm further out), they can pack some more capability in.

I think they should start looking at TI's OMAP series.

 

[one1]

I am very satisfied with at&t. What is the problem?

perhaps that 35% of iPhone users don't live in america? (and that number is rising quickly)

 

[Bernie-Mac]

It is a prototype showing the power of Nvidia's new mobile GPU. Although I still don't see how you can view this as a step backwards.



Ok, would we really call these new features? They were really just alternate ways of doing things other phones already had. Im not trying to take anything away from the iPhone (i had one), but it really just refined the features already out there. Nothing we haven not seen before.

1. Multi-touch movements - The ability to use an extra finger proved quite useful when viewing pictures and zooming in Safari.
However, there were plenty of touch sensitive (single touch) phones out there.
2. Accelerometer - Used to switch to landscape mode (other phones switched when you opened the keyboard)
3. Proven mp3/video player integration - I'd say Sony Erricson phones and some higher end Nokia phones had this down.
4. Full web browser - Very good web browser, but no flash support. That kind of takes away from the "full" part.
5. Youtube widget - huh? Other phones don't have "widgets" so I guess that counts. Although many phones can go to the
youtube.com (flash support)
6. Appealing package/easy ui - This is a preference. Again, I'd say Sony Erricson, Nokia, and LG had this down. Although the
iPhones was just as good/better.

And when we look at the things the iPhone lacks:

1. Picture/Video messages - Supposed to be this all-in-one media megaphone but no MMS?
2. 3G - With its wonderful browser, they neglected to use 3G (for battery reasons??).
3. Cut/Copy/Paste - A step back from normal smart-phones.
4. Flash - Supposed to be the "real internet" but no flash support?

Again, I had an iPhone but left because of poor coverage on AT&T's part, so I bought an iPod touch. I, personally, see this as some serious competition. Assuming they can cover the basics, that prototype could turn into something big.

Good points but the best thing about the iPhone, which is something a lot of people forget, is that essentially it is a prototype as well. Its the first version and Apple is still working things out and implementing new features into it and 3G is coming and im sure a lot more is with upcoming updates and the SDk. Ill bet that if this thing is made in a few years, by the time it is released the iphone will already have it beat.

 

[jimmer-uk]

It is a prototype showing the power of Nvidia's new mobile GPU. Although I still don't see how you can view this as a step backwards.



Ok, would we really call these new features? They were really just alternate ways of doing things other phones already had. Im not trying to take anything away from the iPhone (i had one), but it really just refined the features already out there. Nothing we haven not seen before.

1. Multi-touch movements - The ability to use an extra finger proved quite useful when viewing pictures and zooming in Safari.
However, there were plenty of touch sensitive (single touch) phones out there.
2. Accelerometer - Used to switch to landscape mode (other phones switched when you opened the keyboard)
3. Proven mp3/video player integration - I'd say Sony Erricson phones and some higher end Nokia phones had this down.
4. Full web browser - Very good web browser, but no flash support. That kind of takes away from the "full" part.
5. Youtube widget - huh? Other phones don't have "widgets" so I guess that counts. Although many phones can go to the
youtube.com (flash support)
6. Appealing package/easy ui - This is a preference. Again, I'd say Sony Erricson, Nokia, and LG had this down. Although the
iPhones was just as good/better.

And when we look at the things the iPhone lacks:

1. Picture/Video messages - Supposed to be this all-in-one media megaphone but no MMS?
2. 3G - With its wonderful browser, they neglected to use 3G (for battery reasons??).
3. Cut/Copy/Paste - A step back from normal smart-phones.
4. Flash - Supposed to be the "real internet" but no flash support?

Again, I had an iPhone but left because of poor coverage on AT&T's part, so I bought an iPod touch. I, personally, see this as some serious competition. Assuming they can cover the basics, that prototype could turn into something big.

Good post that, everything you've put is spot on. Apple has done nothing new at all but package a product very well. I have used WM based devices and nokia nseries for years and have just swapped to a 16gn iphone. It does ALOT less than my others could do but wow, i'm blown away by the interface. It's a joy to use, and this comes from a sceptic!!

As for the comment made above about using a ti omap processor, unless they have got that much better in recent times, i'd hate to have one in any device I ever use again, in fact i'd steer clear. I had an imate jam years ago, running an intel xscale. I then changed to an imate kjam, the newer version but with a ti omap and it absolutely murdered the device and many after it.

All imo of course

 

[chrmjenkins]

The OMAP 3xxx series is extremely powerful, and I've monitored a group of developers who is working to build an open source device around it and have nothing but positive things to say about it. In fact, it's powerful enough to emulate the nintendo 64 with some smart coding. However, I can't speak to the history of the chips as you can because I've never owned one. I suppose the success of the pandora (pandora.org) will be a good indication.

 

[jav6454]

Mobile e-mail is the future. I don't miss the lack of MMS.


My iPhone (on EDGE) loads web pages just as fast or faster than my 3G RAZR V3x. And I don't have to charge my phone every 3 hours.


I'll give you this one.


Another feature I don't miss. The only site I really used that used flash was YouTube and Apple solved that. I would rather have better battery life than flash ads in my face all the time. But that's just me.

I am fully behind you in all this you said. Flash and MMS are the past, e-mail and videos on a widget are even better.

Copy/Paste, so far haven't needed something I never used in my old phone. And quite frankly don't ever use it or need it.

3G? EDGE right now beats my friend's 3G Blackberry to a web page even though the Blackberry is "faster" due to 3G, take into account that the iPhone loads the FULL page not the "baby-internet" the blackberry shows, so EDGE, yeah does all I need for me. Besides, can the Blackberry go to Wi-Fi hotspots seemingly?

my $0.02

 

[echeck]

Ok, would we really call these new features? They were really just alternate ways of doing things other phones already had. Im not trying to take anything away from the iPhone (i had one), but it really just refined the features already out there. Nothing we haven not seen before.

I think you're grossly underestimating the interface aspect. The interface is what made the iPhone what it is!

I had a Treo 700p before my iPhone and the internet was so bad that it wasn't even useable! The "Mobile Web" was the biggest pile of dung I have ever experienced "online". Just terrible.

Now we have the iPhone. "Nothing new" you say, but the interface is what has taken these "old" features and made them useable and practical! EDGE works beautifully for me so I have no complaints whatsoever on that subject. I just took a two-hour car ride through Southern Idaho as a passenger (I'm usually the one driving so it was weird) and I was on the real internet the entire time. It was wonderful!

I think the interface is just as, if not more important than the features themselves. You can have a bunch of fancy features but if your interface is horrible then they don't matter anyway.

I honestly doubt there will ever be a real iPhone Killer. The iPhone will continue to adapt and gain ground while the xerox machines will continue to be a step behind.

 

[Pattycerts]

The XPERIA will be the only device anytime soon to be considered for that title.

The iPhone claims to be years ahead n technology. And it looks like that may hold true (until another phone comes out with multitouch, an accelerometer, memory capacity, etc)

 

[Jayrod]

This phone will never see the light of day. Notice how they said that no one has picked this phone up to put into production. Probably the reason being is that Apple has over 200 patents for the iPhone, up to and including the touch interface. This prototype will never hit store shelves - if it does, it will be quickly removed after Apple sues the pants off of whoever decided to make it.

 

[jimmer-uk]

The OMAP 3xxx series is extremely powerful, and I've monitored a group of developers who is working to build an open source device around it and have nothing but positive things to say about it. In fact, it's powerful enough to emulate the nintendo 64 with some smart coding. However, I can't speak to the history of the chips as you can because I've never owned one. I suppose the success of the pandora (pandora.org) will be a good indication.

Like I said, unless they've got much better I'd still be wary, just becasue of the way omap mullered my old devices

 

[victry1]

THE REAL IPHONE KILLER IS AT&T

How true1

 

[kdarling]

The market has plenty of room for simple-usage, business oriented, professional units, and so forth. Just as with desktops and notebooks, there will be fans or just plain users of all types.

So there is no such thing as a "killer", except for what a manufacturer does to itself.

For instance, there was no specific RAZR killer, but Motorola is hurting anyway because their lineup is getting old. The iPhone is really nice, but Apple is losing buyers with their control-freak attitude towards carriers and software. Microsoft platform manufacturers have had to do their own touch oriented additions. RIM is actually doing very well, but has to fight its own uptime demons.

All in all, just the usual device arena

 

[beeh]

It is a prototype showing the power of Nvidia's new mobile GPU. Although I still don't see how you can view this as a step backwards.

Ok, would we really call these new features? They were really just alternate ways of doing things other phones already had. Im not trying to take anything away from the iPhone (i had one), but it really just refined the features already out there. Nothing we haven not seen before.

It's a step backwards, because it offers nothing ( that I noticed ) useful over the iPhone ( from what we saw in the video - which probably doesn't do it justice - it is basically a copy of many of the features ). If you're standing still, then you're moving backwards when it comes to technology.

I don't know how it shows off their new GPU, I mean, the iPhone doesn't have an NVIDIA GPU and it does the same stuff that we saw in the video, right? ( so how can we even judge if it is an iPhone killer? )

I wish they would have shown someone playing a very graphics-instensive game, that would have been cool. Although, I'm not a gamer, so I don't know if the games on the Sony PSP are just as graphical as the regular Playstation or XBox? ( So maybe showing off a game wouldn't even be a big deal ).

Oh well, it's not an iPhone killer, I bet many companies are sick of having their products labeled as such by the media.

 

[rjohnstone]

perhaps that 35% of iPhone users don't live in america? (and that number is rising quickly)

And what affect does AT&T have on iPhones outside the US?
None last time I checked.

The real iPhone killer is Steve and his insane desire to control EVERY aspect of iPhone right down to which service provider you can use.

Blame Apple, not AT&T.

And for the record, I'm happy with my AT&T service.
Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile (although not as bad as the previous two) suck majorly where I live.

 

[beeh]

And for the record, I'm happy with my AT&T service.
Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile (although not as bad as the previous two) suck majorly where I live.

I've heard nothing but good things from many people that use AT&T in this area, same with Verizon. So, I think it just depends on the area. As far as iPhone not carrying iPhone, I think that's Verizon's fault, right? Aren't they the only major US carrier to not use SIM cards?

 

[lilnyc]

unlikely! wait until the SDK based apps begin flooding the market.

I suspect Apple has several more generations of iPhone in the pipeline which will counter moves by other vendors.


THE REAL IPHONE KILLER IS AT&T

Exactly. It seems that people are always trying to catch up. I am so over iPhone dupes. I love having the real thing.

 

[jimmer-uk]

I wouldn't call any other handset an "iphone dupe". Other manufacturers like Nokia and SE have been creating handsets with mp3 etc for years, it's just they've not mastered the smartness and slickness of the iphones software. If anything the iphone is duping everything else on the market. But there's no point saying that as it's blowing them all out the water at their supposed own game

 

[Syrus28]

It's a step backwards, because it offers nothing ( that I noticed ) useful over the iPhone ( from what we saw in the video - which probably doesn't do it justice - it is basically a copy of many of the features ). If you're standing still, then you're moving backwards when it comes to technology.

By your definition, the iPhone is a step backwards because it has LESS features than many phones out there.

It showed graphical prowess on a level better than the iPhone. So if the phone makers give it a good interface and cover the basics (which LG, Nokia, and Sony Erricson are plenty good at), you have a great phone.

Also, how is it copying any of the features? Explain please.

I wish they would have shown someone playing a very graphics-instensive game, that would have been cool. Although, I'm not a gamer, so I don't know if the games on the Sony PSP are just as graphical as the regular Playstation or XBox? ( So maybe showing off a game wouldn't even be a big deal ).

Well its not about the games. What other phone (besides the iPhone) has slick movements on par with this prototype? Believe it or not, the iPhone sells a lot of phones based on how "pretty" it is and how it looks (software and hardware). Phone makers aren't behind in features, looks, or anything like that. They are behind in the interface. So buying this prototype kinda propels them on a level already on par with the iPhone (IMO).

Oh well, it's not an iPhone killer, I bet many companies are sick of having their products labeled as such by the media.

Its a prototype... Im willing to bet Nvidia appreciates all the publicity it can get about it, so a phone maker picks it up.