Which is the iPhone's main rival now? The Hero, Dext, 9700 or X6?

Only the most die-hard Apple fan boys/girls could deny that in the last few months the gap between the iPhone and some rival products in terms of their hardware has significantly closed. The Google Android operating system has been very cleverly executed on some intelligent touch screen handsets and now they are beginning to look like real rivals to the iPhone.

Of course what rival handsets don't have is the whole Apple eco system that means better integration with hardware, killer software like iTunes and of course the incredible app store. Still the gauntlet has been thrown down and I expect we will some significant revisions to the iPhone next year.

In the mean time which of the new breed of handsets has impressed you most. Here's our take on some key ones

Posted by Ashley Norris on November 27, 2009 3:26 PM in iPhone killers (or not)
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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.

Posted by Andy Merrett on June 15, 2009 11:32 AM in iPhone 3G| iPhone 3GS| iPhone killers (or not)
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Rivals: Samsung i8910 HD versus iPhone 3G

Check out the extended comparison, including the 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? 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, and with physical buttons underneath the screen.

The iPhone 3G is 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 at 133g.

Posted by Andy Merrett on June 1, 2009 12:04 PM in iPhone 3G| iPhone killers (or not)
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Rivals: LG Viewty Smart versus iPhone 3G

The LG Viewty II (Smart) - also labelled the LG GC900 - is due out in the UK next month. How does it stack up against the iPhone 3G? Read on for a comparison...

Look & Feel

Not a dissimilar look between the two phones though in my opinion the iPhone 3G still has the edge in terms of sleekness.

There's not much to choose between them in terms of dimensions. The iPhone is very slightly larger, at 115.5 x 62.1 x 12.3mm versus the Viewty Smart's 108.9 x 56.1 x 12.4mm.

The iPhone 3G is very slightly heavier, at 133g compared to 102g.

Posted by Andy Merrett on May 26, 2009 2:18 PM in iPhone 3G| iPhone killers (or not)
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Rivals: LG Arena (KM900) versus iPhone 3G

The LG Arena is the latest handset to stand up to the iPhone 3G. Has LG pulled off a decent alternative to Apple's wonder phone? Read on for the full specification low down and scroll to the end for Lucy's video review, then make up your own mind.

Look & Feel

The LG Arena phone measures 105.9 x 55.3 x 11.95mm, compared to the iPhone 3G's 115.5 x 62.1mm x 9.9mm, so it's a little thicker (not much) and slightly smaller.

Weight of the LG Arena isn't known yet.

Screen

The LG Arena features a three-inch (diagonal) colour WVGA touchscreen sporting 480 x 800 resolution (like the Toshiba TG01). That's a rather interesting 3:5 (or 5:3) aspect ratio compared to the iPhone's 320 x 480 (2:3 / 3:2) aspect ratio. Neither offers "true" widescreen TV format.

The LG Arena's screen appears to be much glossier than that of the iPhone (not sure if this is the glass or the underlying display itself) which means on bright, sunny days it can be more difficult to use.

Posted by Andy Merrett on April 16, 2009 12:07 PM in iPhone 3G| iPhone killers (or not)
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Rivals: Toshiba TG01 versus iPhone 3G

We're a couple of days behind the times here at iPhonic with regards to Toshiba's new TG01 mobile phone announcement. That's partly because no-one from Toshiba wanted to invite us to the launch party on Tuesday, or even send out a press release and images, and also because the lack of anything official on any of Toshiba's web sites implies that the company really isn't that bothered about the phone.

Well, OK, that's probably just sour grapes on my part, but it does seem odd that there's not more official noise about a handset that could be destined for great things.

(Apart from the fact that Toshiba made the terrible decision to stick Windows Mobile on it)

Let's take a look at what we do know so far, thanks to Daniel from Tech Digest who did get a look at the TG01.

Posted by Andy Merrett on February 5, 2009 8:56 AM in iPhone killers (or not)
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Rivals: Palm Pre versus iPhone 3G

Palm announced its new Palm Pre handset running Web OS at this year's CES. Based on initial specifications, here's how it stacks up against the iPhone 3G.

Look & Feel

The Palm Pre measures 100.5 (H) x 59.5 (W) x 16.95mm (D) compared to the Phone 3G's 115.5 (H) x 62.1 (W) x 12.3mm (D); the Palm Pre weighs 135g compared to the iPhone 3G's 133g. The iPhone 3G's about a centimetre-and-a-half taller, with the units weighing about the same.

The Palm Pre has a slide out QWERTY keyboard for easing text entry.

Screen

The Palm Pre has a 3.1-inch touchscreen with 24-bit colour 320x480 resolution display - the same resolution as the iPhone 3G.

Posted by Andy Merrett on January 13, 2009 12:26 PM in iPhone 3G| iPhone killers (or not)
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