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Is iPhone 3GS “winning”? Mobile makers respond

It’s evolution not revolution, says Nokia boss

Steve Jobs’ return to Apple HQ after his six month hiatus didn’t disappoint. Within moment His Jobsness was already changing the iPhone 3GS’ name and smack-talking Apple’s competitors.

In a ballsy statement, Jobs crowned iPhone 3GS the victor, stating “Customers are voting and the iPhone is winning.” “With over 50,000 applications available from Apple’s revolutionary App Store, iPhone momentum is stronger than ever.”

The iPhone 3G wasn’t the only smartphone handset to launch in late June – the Nokia N97 and the Palm Pre hit shelves at around the same time (the same day for N97, in fact) and new announcements such as the HTC Hero prove that Apple’s certainly not the only one fighting for smartphone dominance.

So how does Jobs’ competitive tone sit with other mobile makers? We dropped Samsung, Nokia, HTC and Palm a line to see what they thought.

Mark Loughran, Nokia’s UK Managing Director wasn’t afraid to take on Steve’s statements. Here’s how he described the iPhone 3GS: “The new iPhone is an evolution rather than a revolution and for people trying to decide whether to get a Nokia N97 or an iPhone, it comes down to a decision on performance and value for money. Anyone looking for the latest innovation, with industry leading product specs and the ultimate combination of touch screen and QWERTY keyboard will opt for the Nokia N97.”

Loughran doesn’t hold much faith in the one-size-fits-all approach either, nor Apple’s declaration of victory, describing the smartphone wars thus: “The UK is a great place to be for anyone looking for a new mobile and we’re thrilled with the demand we’ve seen for the N97 already. Nokia continues to launch great devices with great services on board and the Nokia N97 is definitely one of those. But we don’t believe that one device is right for everyone so in June we also launched the Nokia N86 - our 8 megapixel slide Nseries device and the Nokia 6700 which is an update of best selling mobile in the UK for the last 10 years, the Nokia 6300. Ultimately, there are over one billion people using Nokia’s all around the world so winning is relative really!”

Samsung didn’t have the misfortune of releasing a rival handset at the same time, but was happy to put Jobs’ statement into perspective: “We always encourage competition in the market and acknowledge that Apple is a competitor in the smartphone field,” said Derek Williamson, General Manager – Mobile, Samsung Electronics (UK). “However, our own successes in smartphones cannot be ignored with the widest range of smartphones supporting a variety of open system platforms including Windows Mobile, Symbian and Android.”

“We don’t just drive huge sales, we also pioneer new technologies in our devices. Recently we released the world’s first HD video recorder in a smartphone with the i8910, meaning that for the first time you can record and play back video in high definition, watch it on the huge AMOLED screen (another Samsung first) or stream it to your TV over DLNA. In addition to this we had huge success with our Omnia smartphone and we will be extending the Omnia family and our range of Android devices later in the year,” Williamson added.

Palm, whose shiny new Pre smartphone is just out in the US, declined to comment, but we were steered in the direction of some statistics carried out by mobile analytics outfit Medilets. It was revealed that the Pre is off to a healthy start, with 150,000 units sold so far and 1m downloads already snapped up at the Palm App Catalog. Obviously Palm’s not ready to deliver a verbal smackdown, but give it time. Give it time.

HTC unfortunately declined to comment.

[Thanks: http://www.t3.com]

Smartphone OS Smackdown: iPhone OS 3.0 vs. WebOS vs. the World (2)

Google Android 1.5

What it is: The Android phone OS is an ambitious open-source platform that Google invites companies to customize to their liking for an array of handsets. So far, it’s available on just one model in the United States, the T-Mobile G1. Another 18 Android phones are expected by year’s end, however, and expectations for its long-term success remain high.

How it works: On the G1 and on its follow-up, the MyTouch 3G (due in August), Android’s interface feels like an iPhone/BlackBerry mashup: It relies heavily on the touchscreen, but you get a trackball plus Menu, Home, and Back buttons, too. The highly customizable desktop is a plus, and T-Mobile says that the MyTouch will introduce additional features for tweaking the OS’s look and feel. Overall, it compares well to older platforms but isn’t as effortless as iPhone OS 3.0.

How it looks: Android isn’t an aesthetic masterpiece like iPhone OS 3.0, but it’s clean and appealing, and it makes good use of the high-resolution screens on the G1 and its successor.

Built-in applications: They’re tightly integrated with Google services such as Gmail and Google Calendar–and when you turn on the phone for the first time, the first thing you do is give it your Google account info. (The MyTouch adds support for Microsoft Exchange, a notable omission from the G1.) Android’s browser lacks the iPhone’s multitouch navigation but closely rivals it in most other respects. Its best music feature is its ability to download DRM-free songs from Amazon. The only videos it can play are YouTube clips, alas.

Third-party stuff: Android hasn’t taken off as an app platfom as quickly as the iPhone OS did, but its iPhone-like Market store is rapidly filling up with good stuff, including intriguing apps (such as the Glympse location-sharing service) that aren’t yet available on the iPhone. As more Android phones appear, more developers are likely to get excited about writing iPhone-style apps for it.

Bottom line: Android 1.5 remains a promising work in progress, but its current incarnation is less inventive and elegant than either iPhone OS 3.0 or WebOS.

Microsoft Windows Mobile

What it is: Microsoft’s mobile edition of Windows, of course. Version 6.1 ships on phones from manufacturers such as HTC (with its Touch Diamond2 and Touch Pro2), Motorola, Palm, and Samsung.

How it works: Windows Mobile mimics full-strength Windows, complete with a Start menu and a system tray. This is not a virtue: Who wants to squint at tiny icons on devices meant for on-the-go use? Manufacturers such as HTC and Samsung supplement Windows Mobile with their own software layer or with tweaks to the underlying Windows Mobile OS. For instance, several HTC devices cover up part of Microsoft’s stylus-oriented interface with a fingertip-driven system called TouchFLO; it’s nowhere near as elegant and intuitive as the iPhone interface, however.

How it looks: It’s workmanlike, but it falls far short of iPhone OS 3.0’s surface gloss.

Built-in applications: The version of Internet Explorer on current phones is so profoundly archaic that HTC provides Opera Mobile on some of its models. On the other hand, the productivity apps–basic versions of Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint–are useful.

Third-party stuff: The best thing about this OS is the range of available applications in every category. Utilities such as Lakeridge Software’s WisBar Advance let you tweak the interface’s look, feel, and functionality, thereby compensating for some of its deficiencies. But Windows 6.1 still has no built-in application store.

Bottom line: Windows Mobile has fallen way behind the times on multiple fronts. Windows Mobile 6.5–which delivers a more modern, touch-driven interface, a better browser, and a download store–is unlikely to show up on phones until September, and in any case it doesn’t close the slickness gap between Windows Mobile and iPhone OS 3.0, Android 1.5, and WebOS.

[Thanks:  http://www.pcworld.com]