Top 10 iPhone "killers"

iPhone is a very interesting device. It was a big sensation on the cell phone market when it appeared. Apart from being the long-awaited phone from Apple, it also introduced many features that were anticipated by community. People wanted multimedia phone with huge and bright screen, and, of course, as it is from Apple, it must have Apple's iTunes integrated perfectly. All these features were implemented correctly, and in result customers obtained one of the best smartphones on the market. However, other companies did not want to miss this opportunity, and hurried to make their own iPhone rivals. It is hard to compete with such a strong opponent, but some of the models apperaed to be quite interesting. In this top we wanted to choose top 10 iPhone killers, or so-called ones.

10. Meizu M8

Chinese company Meizu was one of the first companies who dared to come up versus iPhone. Their smartphone, called M8, tries to be better then iPhone and in some aspects it succeeds. It has 4 or 8 GB of built-in flash memory, digital camera, and Windows Mobile instead of ripped down Mac OS X in iPhone. Manufacturer claims that their phone is really a tool for work and not only beautiful toy like iPhone is. Of course, Windows Mobile has huge software base, it constantly grows and is far bigger than iPhone's. Meizu M8 is an attractive tool indeed, it is fully chromed and looks beautiful. Full support for Bluetooth devices, voice dial... It costs 310$ for 4GB model and 400 for 8GB. If you want to strip out camera, it will cost less: only 195$ for 4GB and 285$ for 8GB. Attractive enough to kill the iPhone? Maybe it will not kill (how can be easily killed such device as iPhone?), but for some people it will be more a reasonable purchase than Apple's smartphone.


9. Nokia N800

This device from Nokia, famous Finnish cellphone manufacturer, cannot be directly compared to iPhone, but it has similar parameters and form-factor. Although Nokia N800 lacks cellphone functions, it has VoIP capabilities, and can call and receive calls via WiFi using Skype. One of the biggest advantages over iPhone is that N800 is Linux-based, an Open OS, which means that there is huge software base and you can freely write your own applications for it. It also can do many things iPhone can't – participate in video chats, use Debian/Maemo software packages and listen to FM radio. However, it can't call without using VoIP, so comparison isn't fair enough. In any case, it is a very interesting device, even without comparing it to Apple's iPhone.


8. OpenMoko Neo1973

This device, like Nokia N800, is Linux-based. It is a part of OpenMoko project, which is a open source project dedicated to delivering open software on mobile platforms. It is capable of sending and receiving calls in GSM networks, has Samsung 266 MHz processor inside, and 128 MB of RAM. It is often compared to iPhone, because they have similar form-factor and both has Unix-based OS's. This is only a matter of taste, which type do you like most: open and free operating system of Neo1973 or closed but polished MacOS X from iPhone. Unfortunately, device from Apple is more powerfull in terms of hardware, but closed operating system reduces usability of this resources, while on Neo1973 you have full access to whole resources that this device has. This is a big difference for developers, but will it be so noticeable for simple customers?


7. Garmin Nuvifone

Garmin International Inc, leading GPS manufacturer, decided to produce its own iPhone killer. Garmin Nuvifone is a very interesting device, which combines widescreen GPS with a multimedia cell phone. Unlike so-called "GPS" that iPhone 1G had, Nuvifone has a real GPS module that can tell your position and velocity very precisely. In iPhone 3G Apple has already fixed this, so modern iPhones have already got GPS module inside. Apart from GPS, Nuvifone can play music and video files, can make photos with built-in camera and have many other interesting functions. One of the most curious features Nuvifone has is tracking abilities: if you are worried where your cellphone is, it can send you it's coordinates via SMS. All images, captured by Nuvifone will have GPS coordinates written inside the image, so you will know where exactly you took them. 3.5 inch display of Nuvifone is clear and colourful, and is the same size as in iPhone, so now the competition is tough. Biggest disadvantage of Garmin's device is that it is not a smartphone, it runs on a proprietary firmware and does not permit installation of any third-party application. iPhone is a closed platform, but it can be unlocked to allow third-party applications to be installed, Nuvifone cannot. So it is a comparison between smartphone and a cellphone, which is not fair by default. But will this disadvantage matter for customers, that does not care what OS their device is running, and just want it to operate smoothly?


6. Samsung AnyCall Haptic

AnyCall Haptic is one of the first devices, which is equipped with haptic feedback function, which iPhone lacks. It is a very interesting feature that enables feedback from pressing virtual buttons just like they were real. This gadget looks very familiar to Apple's iPhone, with several changes of course. When it is so similar on the outside, it is very different from the inside. It has Digital TV receiver in the T-DMB format, Bluetooth 2.0 with file transfer ability and its screen is 0.3 inches smaller – 3.2 opposed to 3.5 in iPhone. While it certainly isn't smartphone, it had a chance of being a serious rival to the iPhone. But it never will, because it is sold only in South Korea for 700-800$. What a pitty.


5. Samsung Glyde

Samsung company has strong chances of overcoming iPhone, if not by quality, then by quantity of so-called "killers". So, here we go – another interesting device which strongly reminds famous Apple iPhone. This cellphone operates in CDMA networks and have EV-DO data transfering speeds, so it will be quite fast compared to iPhone's EDGE. Even iPhone 3G cannot compete with EV-DO in speeds, so Glyde will be the winner in this competition. It has haptic feedback enabled 2.8-inched touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard which slides down when needed. It certainly has all multimedia functions that any modern cellphone has, and it is more suitable for text messaging than iPhone is because of built-in keyboard. Not certainly a killer, but an interesting device for sure.


4. SonyEricsson Xperia X1

This interesting cellphone is, maybe, first real pretender on the iPhone's crown. First Windows Mobile smartphone from famous cellphone manufacturer, it will incorporate design and power in one case. Made in slider form, it has full QWERTY keyboard under bright and big WVGA display. Its 800 x 480 resolution really beats iPhone's 480 x 320, images on Xperia X1 look much more crisp and clear. It does not have such amount of built-in flash memory as iPhone does, but it supports microSD flash cards, so you will be able to buy additional storage if needed. Open Windows Mobile platform already has huge software base, and it is more business-related, so Xperia will be much more useful for work than iPhone. Good for SonyEricsson designers, they didn't copy iPhone's design and made Xperia X1 look different, which makes it recognizeable, smartphone has its own face. Apart from display, X1 has 3.1 megapixel camera with video recording ability, which iPhone lacks. When it will hit the stores, this long-awaited device from SonyEricsson can be a strong rival to iPhone. Let us hope price won't be sky-high.


3. Nokia Tube

Second answer from Finnish company to iPhone mania is even more similar to Apple's smartphone than previous ones. Device is only in concept mode, but manufacturer claims that it will be released in the end of 2008. It looks a lot like iPhone, very similar, same no-button touchscreen interface. It will run on redesigned Symbian OS, specially optimized for sensor navigation. It will have 640 x 360 widescreen display, 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus feature, TV-out, Bluetooth 2.0, WiFi... While Tube beats iPhone in features, will it beat iPhone in usability? Question that can be answered only after release.


2. HTC Diamond

HTC, well-known communicator manufacturer from Taiwan, tried to overcome iPhone many times. First it was HTC Touch, first HTC communicator based only on finger navigation. It had success, but it paled compared with iPhone's. However, HTC decided not to give up this course and released other models in Touch family. Touch Cruise, Touch Dual... They were almost the same, only with minor differences. However, with Diamond, HTC wanted to release smartphone that is completely able to compete with Apple's iPhone. This time it is almost a masterpiece. 2.8-inched touchscreen, 3.2 megapixel camera and HSDPA internet connectivity. It runs on Windows Mobile, which wasn't amazing for HTC products. All interface was rebuilt, so now it is truly amazing and fast. However, Windows Mobile is not very finger-friendly OS, so in any case you will need stylus for many applications, while on iPhone you don't need stylus at all. While iPhone cannot be easuly beaten, this device from HTC make competition much more interesting.


1. Samsung Instinct

If there were prizes for quantity of iPhone rivals from one company, Samsung may be the winner, sharing its place only with HTC. Latest try from Korean company was, arguably, most successful one. Release of Instinct attracted huge attention, and there really are reasons why. Instinct is a Sprint version of AnyCall Haptic, it looks very similar both to iPhone and AnyCall. However, there is a feeling that it was carefully redesigned to look even more sexy than iPhone. It uses haptic feedback, so every virtual button will feel like real. Many multimedia functions, TV service from Sprint and bright screen make this device a portable multimedia center. While it lacks iTunes connectivity, Sprint offers its own music and video download service, so you won't feel yourself deprived. Instinct has real working GPS, like iPhone 3G, and preinstalled navigational software. But considering closed platform of iPhone, Instinct has good chances to compete with Apple cellphone.