Five Challengers to the iPhone
The iPhone looks like a great device, but it has its pros and cons and can't be all things to all people, despite the ads suggesting it might be. It's likely to be the best music-playing phone in the field and even great for Web browsing—within range of a WiFi hot spot. There are smartphones, however, that are better for consumers with other interests, be they shutterbugs or worker bees. The alternatives all have bright screens that are larger than a standard cellphone's, if not as wide as the iPhone's. For those with high prices, take note that they come without being chained to a two-year contract with AT&T. Or the prices will drop when U.S. carriers start offering the phones with contracts.
Fashionista: The LG Prada KE850 ($800) wins in style points and in price, offering bragging rights to something more exclusive than the iPhone. Prada's Italian designers crafted a phone that is smaller and lighter than the iPhone, and one with an elegant, simple look to its software that makes even the iPhone appear cluttered and a bit gaudy. It's designed as a good phone and media player, and it has a 2-megapixel camera. But it only has a touch-screen keypad that seems clumsy for messaging. Also, its smaller screen and less powerful browser can't match the iPhone for Web work. The phone isn't yet available from a U.S. carrier and must be bought on eBay or from an overseas supplier and then used with AT&T or T-Mobile. Verizon is said to be trying to get the phone here at subsidized prices, but that would sap its snooty status.
Social butterfly: The Helio Ocean ($300 with contract) is all about close connections with friends, whether through instant messaging, a client for posting directly to MySpace, or a "Buddy Beacon" that broadcasts your location using GPS pinpointing. A standard phone keypad slides out of one end of the oblong-shaped phone, and a full QWERTY keyboard slides out of the long side. And like the iPhone's, the screen rotates niftily, offering a wide screen for Web browsing on a high-speed, 3G network. The address book uses "presence" icons to indicate which friends are ready to chat, and the speakerphone kicks in automatically when the phone is held sideways for Web browsing or IM-ing. Packing in two keyboards makes it heavier than other smartphones, and the E-mail client is surprisingly basic—with no support for embedded images or attached documents. Helio is a wireless company that operates on Sprint's network.
Photo fanatic: The Nokia N95 ($750) packs a powerful camera, with 5 megapixels of resolution, that produces photos as good as those of many stand-alone cameras. It can even do tricks that some cameras can't, such as taking six quick shots in burst mode and editing frames while still in the device. It has a high-quality Carl Zeiss lens, autofocus, and several flash settings, and it can record good, full-motion video. Like a camera, and unlike the iPhone, the N95 also accepts memory cards to expand its capacity and combines its GPS chip with good mapping software. It isn't so good for typing an E-mail, and it isn't yet available from U.S. carriers, though Nokia is selling it from a couple of its stores and online for $750. Buyers can then use it with AT&T or T-Mobile.
Message maniac: The BlackBerry Curve 8300 ($200 with contract) proves once again that Research In Motion makes the best phones for E-mail and messaging. The full, hardware QWERTY keyboard can't be beat by iPhone's touch-screen for typing, and it works well with corporate E-mail systems. Unlike some BlackBerrys, the Curve 8300 isn't so large as to feel uncomfortable as a phone itself. But also unlike some of its corporate siblings, it is about more than messaging and voice, with a great media player for music, video, and photos, as well as a 2-megapixel camera, like the iPhone. Also like the Apple phone, the Curve works only on AT&T's slower data network, limiting its usefulness as a Web browser, and at 2 inches across, its screen is the smallest of this bunch. It's available now from AT&T.
Dedicated worker: The HTC Touch ($600) does the best job yet of putting a pretty face on Windows Mobile. Windows makes for a versatile and powerful device, particularly for serious business, but it can be a pain to use. The phone uses some of the same touch-screen abilities that the iPhone is making famous, and some are even nicer, such as sliding a finger across the screen to call up different menus. Big software buttons make it easy to find photos or play music, plus you get all the Windows productivity, like good support for Microsoft Office documents, calendars, and company E-mail. But once you get past the initial menus for the corporate stuff, the Touch loses its pretty face, and it's back to tiny Windows icons and a stylus. No U.S. wireless company is yet selling the HTC Touch, though it can be found through companies that specialize in overseas products, or for less on eBay, for use with either AT&T or T-Mobile.