iPhone 4 vs Droid X vs EVO 4G

With yesterday's announcement of the Motorola Droid X on Verizon and the Apple iPhone 4 on AT&T joining the HTC EVO 4G on Sprint, three of the four big U.S. carriers now have new flagship high-end smartphones.

Some things are constant among these phones. First, all run 1GHz processors: The iPhone runs Apple's A4, the Evo runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon, and the Droid X runs on a TI OMAP processor. All add much better cameras: A 5-megapixel one on the iPhone 4 and 8-megapixel ones on the Droid X and the Evo 4G. And all have bigger or higher-resolution displays and a large selection of applications. But while there are a lot of similarities, what interests me most are the differences.

The iPhone 4 runs Apple's operating environment, now called iOS 4, and AT&T is the only U.S. carrier to offer it. The new phone looks great and is very thin, and its 3.5-inch LCD has the highest resolution at 960-by-480, though the screen is physically smaller than that on the other two devices.

Although the hardware looks great, the biggest benefit the iPhone has is still its integrated ecosystem, with hardware, software, and the App Store all working together. There are more applications in total - and more good ones - in the App Store than for other mobile platforms. The iPhone 4 adds a front-facing camera, and FaceTime video calling looks easier to use than other choices, though I want to try it more.

The downsides: It's a closed environment, so Apple controls what goes into the App Store, sometimes with unpredictable results; AT&T's known issues with dropped calls; the iPhone's lack of expandability - neither a removable battery or an additional memory card; and its lack of support for Flash, which means that some Web sites don't work.

The other flagship phones all run Google's Android operating environment, which is notably more open: You can choose from multiple handset makers and carriers, and the Android Market is notably less restrictive than Apple's store. There aren't quite as many applications there, but there are tens of thousands, and most of what you want is available.

But a downside here is that these phones tend to be a bit more complex. The user interfaces aren't as consistent, and most of the hardware makers add their own enhancements that may or may not conflict with those offered by the OS and the carrier. You have more control, but you have to work at it more.

The Evo 4G has a large 4.3-inch display, with an 800-by-480 resolution, and as a result, the phone is a lot larger than the iPhone 4. It has a variety of very nice features, including a front-facing camera for video conferencing and the ability to be used as a mobile hot-spot, sharing its Sprint connection with multiple computers over Wi-Fi. It also has an 8-megapixel camera, HDMI out, and a kickstand. But the standout feature is its support for the Wimax network, which is now available in a number of markets and coming to a lot more this fall.

The downsides include size - the flipside of the big screen is that it is notably bigger than the iPhone and feels heavier than the Droid X - and for me, at least, battery life and a number of little bugs I'm waiting to get resolved. Currently, Flash doesn't work, but Andorid 2.2 with support for Flash 10.1 is likely coming.

The Droid X, like the Evo, has a 4.3-inch LCD but with a slightly higher resolution of 854-by-480, and ships with Android 2.1, with the 2.2 update and Flash promised for later this summer. It too has a wireless hotspot feature, removable battery and expandable store.

A couple of things make it different, including its own set of Motorola widgets that go on top of Android and an optional larger battery that makes it a little thicker. But what really stood out to me was Motorola's focus on voice quality, with additional antennas and three microphones for improved noise cancellation. Of all these phones, it is the biggest, slightly longer than the Evo 4G. I haven't been able to use one yet.

These phones will be soon joined by the Samsung Galaxy S, originally with the Captivate model on AT&T, but rumored to be on other carriers as well. This too runs Android 2.1 initially, but has Samsung's own 1 GHz processor and a 4-inch 800-by-480 "Super AMOLED" display.

One thing I've noticed is how much lighter it feels than the other big Android phones, but we'll have to see what that means for battery life. And I really want to see how this OLED display really stacks up to the others.

Also note that T-Mobile has a number of interesting phones, including the HTC HD2, which runs Windows Mobile 6.5 and a number of Android-based models, although I'm not sure I'd describe these as flagship phones in the same way.

I can't say any one phone is perfect for everyone. Some people will prefer smaller phones, and others will insist on physical keyboards, as on the BlackBerry. Some will balk at the data plans. And everyone will have to choose not just a phone, but also a carrier, which offer different levels of service, coverage, and plans.

Verizon to sell Droid X smart phone

Verizon Wireless has announced that it will begin selling the Droid X, the follow-up to Motorola Inc.'s popular Droid smart phone, on July 15.

Verizon, which made its announcement the day before Apple is set to start selling its latest iPhone, said the phone will cost $200 with a rebate and two-year wireless service contract.

The Droid X runs Google Inc.'s Android software and has a touch screen that is 4.3 inches diagonally and an 8-megapixel camera with a dual flash that can also record high-definition videos. It will also have an HDMI port so you can connect it to a TV and watch content stored on the phone on a bigger screen.

Verizon said that later this summer Droid X buyers will get the newest Android software, version 2.2. They will also get Adobe's Flash Player 10.1 for watching flash videos, something the iPhone cannot do.

Verizon added that the Droid will be the first of its smart phones to come with an application from movie chain Blockbuster Inc. that lets users rent or purchase movies on their phones. Movies will cost $4 to rent and start at $10 and up to buy.

The Droid X is part of Motorola Inc.'s cell phone comeback plan - the beleaguered handset maker had struggled for several years, failing to put out a successful follow-up to its popular Razr cell phone. More recently, the Schaumburg, Ill., company has focused its turnaround efforts on phones that run the Android software.

Verizon's announcement comes as Apple is preparing to start selling its newest iPhone, which has already seen a surge of interest, on Thursday. Apple and its partner companies started taking iPhone 4 orders on June 15, and the next day Apple said they received more than 600,000 orders in 24 hours - the highest number it has ever seen.

Demand was so high that the companies quickly stopped taking orders for shipment by June 24.

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New Apple iPhone expects crowd

Apple's latest-generation iPhone is expected to make a rock star entrance, drawing crowds that quickly empty shelves at the firm's shops.

"Initial demand for the new iPhone is incredibly robust," Deutsche Bank market analysts Chris Whitmore and Joakim Mahlberg said.

"We anticipate another Apple event? with long lines, heavy store traffic and stock outs."
Apple set a single-day record for iPhone orders when advanced sales launched last week, receiving 600,000 in 24 hours.

AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the United States, said pre-order sales for the iPhone 4 were "10-times higher than the first day of pre-ordering for the iPhone 3GS last year."
AT&T suspended a troubled early ordering process because of the heavy demand.

Deutsche Bank analysts have raised their projections for iPhone 4 sales, estimating that Apple would sell 44 million this year and 55 million next year.

Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services rated Apple stock a "strong buy" based on the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Macintosh computer maker's hot products.

"Apple has transformed from the hip iPod maker to a leading-edge technology giant with a hand in some of the fastest-growing technology hardware markets," said Equity Research information technology analyst Clyde Montevirgen.

"By competing in the smartphone, laptop, tablet, and retail markets, and outperforming formidable competitors along the way, Apple has effectively expanded its total available market size and renewed its long-term high-growth potential."

The iPhone 4 goes on sale in Britain, France, Germany, Japan and the United States on June 24.
Some people began queuing outside the Apple Store in downtown San Francisco on Monday to be among the first to get their hands on an iPhone 4.

In Japan, Japanese mobile phone carrier Softbank also faced a deluge of pre-orders for the latest iPhone, with queues snaking around outlets and its online store overwhelmed by demand.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPhone earlier this month. It features video chat, can shoot and edit high-definition quality video and has a crisper resolution screen.

The iPhone 4 costs 199 dollars (US) for the 16 gigabyte model and 299 dollars for the 32GB version.

"Right now, Apple is leading the industry," said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley. "Every indication is that the iPhone 4 launch will be successful unless AT&T really screws it up. AT&T remains Apple's Achilles heel in this endeavor; the product looks fine."

The smartphone, which comes in black and white versions, will be available in 18 other countries in July and 24 more in August.

Cupertino, California-based Apple has sold more than 50 million iPhones since it launched the device in 2007.

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Nokia launches three cheaper smart phones

The world's top cellphone maker Nokia Corp has launched three less-expensive smart phones, including its first model expected to sell for under euro100 ($135) - in a strong move to grab new customers in emerging markets.

The world's largest mobile phone maker said it wants "to put better messaging and social networking tools in the hands of more people around the world at affordable prices."

The new Nokia C3, Nokia E5 and Nokia C6 handsets have full QWERTY keyboards, enable instant messaging and give access to e-mails. Their expected selling prices respectively are euro90, euro180 and euro220 before taxes and subsidies.

The handsets will be available during the second and third quarters of this year.

"Nokia's strategic focus is clearly on emerging markets now and taking higher feature devices to the masses and these three devices do that quite nicely," said Neil Mawston, analyst at Strategy Analytics in London.

Finland-based Nokia, which is increasingly turning to providing applications and services for handset users, said in December it will focus on the smart phone sector, including providing cheaper handsets in emerging markets.

Despite strong competition from Blackberry and iPhone, Nokia's market share in smart phones grew from 35 percent to 40 percent in the last quarter of 2009.

The cheapest of the new models, the C3, with an estimated price tag of euro90, includes a two megapixel camera, a 2.4 inch screen and will include access to Nokia's Ovi Mail and Ovi Chat that allow first-time users to set up e-mail and chat accounts straight from the device without the need for a computer.

It has WiFi connectivity and support for up to an 8GB memory card, allowing users to update their status and share pictures on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter.

"The C3 stands out the most at a very competitive price with a very effective feature set that goes squarely after the lower-tier mass market in India, Africa, China," Mawston said. "It's going to be one of their star devices over the next two quarters."

The Nokia C6, with an estimated price of euro220, has a 3.2-inch touch screen with full slide-out keyboard and a five megapixel camera featuring autofocus and flash.

The E5, expected to sell for some euro180, is targeted at corporate customers with numerous productivity applications available in Nokia's Ovi Store. It has direct access to over 90 percent of the world's corporate e-mails through Mail for Exchange and IBM Lotus Notes Traveler.

Nokia brings mobile music to China

Top mobile phone maker Nokia brought its music download service to the key Chinese market and said it would also launch the service, which competes with Apple's iTunes, in India.

"Globally, we have expanded the reach of our music service to 30 markets in just 18 months," Liz Schimel, global head of music at the Finnish company said in a statement.

China is the world's biggest cellphone market and analysts said Nokia's "Comes with Music" service launch there was important but added the service had seen slow pickup elsewhere and remained far behing Apple's iTunes in popularity.

"Comes with Music has not been a success in any market. Volumes have been small," said Martti Larjo, an analyst with Nordea Markets.

Nokia said buyers of eight of its phone models across China would get "unlimited music downloads" of song catalogues from global lables Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group and EMI Music, and local independent labels, including Huayi Brothers Media Group and Taihe Rye.

The phone models included in the service have a starting retail price of 140 euros (186 dollars), excluding local taxes and subsidies, Nokia said, adding local artists featured prominently in the Chinese version of the service.

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Microsoft to launch social networking phone

Software giant Microsoft is to launch its own mobile phones in the US later this year as it aims to challenge the growing smartphone dominance of its main rivals Apple and Google.

The phones will be made available in July exclusively on Verizon, the largest cellphone carrier in the US, and will be aimed at heavy users of social networks. It is reported that initially Microsoft will launch two phones. The two phones are codenamed 'Pink' and 'Pure', and will be manufactured for the software giant by Sharp.

Last month Microsoft unveiled a new mobile operating system that was widely praised by technology pundits.

Microsoft used to enjoy a leading position in the smartphone arena but has seen its position severely eroded by Apple's iPhone, by the Blackberry and by numerous devices running Google's Android operating system.

Nokia develops self-charging cellphone

Experts have come up with a cellphone that can recharge its own battery by harvesting energy from the owner's motion.

The self-charging handset by Nokia, who has already filed for a US patent, was predicted to work with heavier components, such as the radio transmitter circuit and battery, supported on a sturdy frame.

According to a report by New Scientist, “The frame apparently could shift along two sets of rails, allowing it travel up and down and side to side”.

Each rail apparently hosted strips of piezoelectric crystals at its end, capable of generating a current when compressed by the frame such that motion, by the user or the movement of the phone, generates electricity.

That in turn charged a capacitor and subsequently the battery, boosting the charge.

JooJoo Tablet PC in consumer hands by End of February

Fusion Garage's JooJoo tablet PC is expected to be in consumer hands by the end of February, when it will likely give some indication as to the public's interest in tablets such as the Apple iPod.

Fusion Garage CEO Chandra Rathakrishnan says that not only have the preorders for the JooJoo tablet exceeded expectations, but there has been an increase in inquiries since the debut of the iPad -so it looks like the public may be ready for tablet computers after all.

The JooJoo Tablet, which began its life as the TechCrunch CrunchPad, was announced in December 2009. The 2.4-pound touch screen tablet has a 12-inch, 1366-by-768-pixel display, 1GB of memory, and a 4GB Solid State Drive (used to store the OS and cache data). It also features a USB 2.0 port, Bluetooth support, built-in speakers, Wi-Fi, and a Webcam with a mic. The JooJoo tablet also features a fun color-tinted screen-but don't worry, the color can be changed.

Instead of custom-built apps, the JooJoo tablet uses the web as its primary platform. It also supports Flash and reportedly plays 1080p Youtube streaming videos fairly well. The JooJoo tablet's price point is close to that of the iPad's, at $499.

While the JooJoo tablet beats the iPad in a few ways (notably, multitasking, Flash support, and the webcam/mic combo), it also falls short in some pretty major areas. It has a 4GB SSD, but users cannot directly save files to said drive -it's purely an internet tablet. The problem with this is that the JooJoo has Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi only -there is no 3G option, though Fusion Garage is "not ruling out the possibility of 3G in the near future."

Because the JooJoo tablet uses the Internet as its platform, the lack of an "App Store" is another downside.

The JooJoo tablet is just, quite literally, the internet in your hands. Of course, the iPad is just, quite literally, a giant iPod Touch in your hands.

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