Rivals: Samsung i8910 HD versus iPhone 3G versus iPhone 3G S
Samsung recently launched its latest touchscreen mobile phone, the i8910 HD. The title hints at one of its main features - the ability to view, shoot, and output high definition video.
How does it shape up against the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S? Read on to find out.
Look & Feel
The Samsung i8910 HD has a look not dissimilar to the LG Viewty Smart II, with slightly more curves in the screen than the iPhone 3G/iPhone 3G S, and with physical buttons underneath the screen.
The iPhone 3G and iPhone 3G S are slightly thinner and smaller than the Samsung i8910 HD, at 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3mm versus 123 x 59 x 12.9mm.
The i8910 HD is quite a heavy beast, at 671g compared to the iPhone 3G at 133g and iPhone 3G S at 135g.
Screen
The Samsung i8910 HD has a stunning 3.7-inch AMOLED widescreen with a resolution of 640 x 360 pixels. That compares with the iPhone 3G / iPhone 3G S 3.5-inch screen and 480 x 320 resolution.
Camera
Both iPhone cameras pale into insignificance when up against the i8910 HD's 8-megapixel affair. Even the iPhone 3G S only musters a 3-megapixel lens with auto focus.
The featureless iPhone 3G camera is no match for the plethora of features including 4x digital zoom, power LED, autofocus, various shot modes and photo effects, plus video recording in MPEG4 / 3GPP format at up to 720p/30fps.
Even the addition of autofocus and VGA 30fps filming on the iPhone 3G S doesn't really cut it.
Multimedia
The iPhone 3G / iPhone 3G S handles AAC, Protected AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, and 4), Apple Lossless, AIFF, and WAV audio and H.264 video.
The i8910 HD handles MP3 / AMR-NB/I-Melody / SMAF / XMF / MIDI / SP MIDI / AAC / AAC+ / Enhaced AAC+ / WMA audio, and MPEG4 / H.263 / H.264 / WMV / Dvix / Xvid video formats.
Navigation
All three units have A-GPS built in, while the iPhone 3G S and i8910 HD also feature an electronic compass.
The i8910 has its own built-in dedicated turn-by-turn sat-nav software. This is coming to the iPhone with the OS 3.0 upgrade but turn-by-turn directions won't be available directly in Google Maps due to licensing issues. You'll need third-party software that imports its own maps to do that - bit of a waste.
Communications
Both phones operate on 3G networks and have built in Wi-Fi. The i8910 HD has full Bluetooth 2.1 and A2DP support - this will be added to the iPhone 3G / iPhone 3G S with this summer's software update.
The i8910 HD handles SMS, EMS and MMS. The iPhone 3G will handle photos via MMS once upgraded with OS 3.0, while the iPhone 3G S will include both photo and video MMS.
The i8910 has built-in FM radio.
Web Browsing
The i8910 HD has Pocket Internet Explorer and Opera 9.5 browsers built in, while the iPhone 3G /iPhone 3G S uses the Safari web browser.
Operating System
The iPhone 3G / iPhone 3G S uses Apple's OS X operating system. The i8910 HD uses Symbian S60.
Storage
The iPhone 3G comes in 8GB and 16GB capacities (16GB capacity to be discontinued).
The iPhone 3G S comes in 16GB and 32GB capacities.
The i8910 HD also has either 8GB or 16GB of internal storage and is also expandable using up to 16GB microSD cards.
Sensors
Both handsets feature an accelerometer. The iPhone also has proximity sensor.
Applications
The i8910 HD should be able to handle any third-party applications available for the Symbian S60 platform, while the iPhone 3G can obtain applications via the iTunes App Store.
Pricing & Networks
In the UK, the Samsung i8910 HD will be available in June. Exact pricing and networks to be confirmed.
The iPhone 3G / iPhone 3G S is currently locked in to the O2 network. Pricing from free on 24 month contracts, also available from £342.50 on Pay & Go.
Conclusions
The Samsung i8910 HD is a highly capable cameraphone that's great for those wanting to dabble with high definition video as well as have access to a range of applications on the Symbian S60 platform.
Purely on specs, it rivals the iPhone 3G / iPhone 3G S on a number of aspects, but at the end of the day it still comes down to usability, and I can't help feeling the iPhones will win on that one.
A great effort from Samsung nonetheless.
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