Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Features, iPhone
Most so-called iPhone alternatives are nothing of the sort
I think a lot of people are getting confused as to what expensive phones are actually designed for. Analysts are trying to compare the iPhone to efforts from other companies, or folks like Walt are touting the Nokia N95 and BlackBerry Curve as potential alternatives.
While I might be a little biased since I write for TUAW, I still think these are bad comparisons. Just because a phone costs north of $400 or $500, doesn't mean that phone is designed for the same purposes as any other phone in the general vicinity of its price. Take the Nokia N95, for example - it's an über-camera phone (which costs nearly $800, by the way). That's what it does. It has a freaking 5 megapixel camera that is making mobile photo geeks go nuts, and that's what it should do. It doesn't have any form of a full QWERTY keyboard, and it isn't designed to be a full-featured multimedia rollercoaster ride of music, movies, and podcasts. It's an über-camera phone. Period.
In this same vein of comparing apples and oranges (ha!), the BlackBerry Curve comparison also seems way off the mark to me. It's a BlackBerry, which means its heart and soul is still in business and the 'just-what-I-need' mobile web. Sure, the Pearl ushered in an era of a bolted-on MP3 player and media management to the BlackBerry OS, and that speaks to the heart of the Curve's problem here: the BlackBerry is about working with the enterprise for instant email and being ultra-secure for 007-class business users. Bolting on multimedia functionality isn't exactly winning over the folks who are looking for a rich on-the-go media experience.
If the iPhone - a device so potentially different and focused on bringing new things to the table - is going to be compared to anything, my vote would be for something like a Helio Ocean. With a full QWERTY keyboard, a similar focus on non-business communication (AIM, Gmail, video messaging) and a rich media experience including YouTube, it's the best thing I can think of on the market that comes anywhere close to the iPhone.
Substituting expensive phones to compare with the iPhone does a disservice to both devices, because the iPhone easily comes up short with missing features it might never be destined for (ultra-BlackBerry security, an industry-trumping digital camera, etc.) due to its target market, while something like the N95 gets bad marks for not being able to match up to the iPod features of the iPhone or even its full keyboard - features that Nokia's handset was never designed to have.
Perhaps more importantly, however, is the possibility that some of the iPhone's features might not be able to be compared to anything at all, at least for now. We've never really had a rich touch-screen media device, or "just the internet" on a 3.5-inch mobile phone. Heck, even voicemail hasn't really improved since quoting your favorite sitcom for an answering machine message was remotely funny. Only time will tell as to how far the iPhone can take us, as well as how revolutionary and all-around different of a device the public deems it to be. Until then, we might have to accept the possibility that there really isn't much to compare the iPhone to - and that's ok.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Aaargh! said 10:15AM on 6-25-2007
The N95 also has GPS and comes with navigation software.
Also, it has UMTS, which is the biggest problem with the iPhone. They better fix that before the european launch.
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Alex said 10:27AM on 6-25-2007
N95 has GPS and real Navigation (be it Nokia's maps or the ability to install TomTom and others).
N95 is marketed as a multi-media computer. It does do MP3/Video/Podcasts. Does it do them as well as an iPod/iPhone--no, but it does do them somewhat half decently.
N95 has WiFi and although the screen is 2.6" vs. 3.5" on the iPhone, it has a very good web browser (you know, the one built on the same Safari web kit).
5 megapixel cam has been mentioned.
Stereo speakers have not. TV-Video Out has not. Voice dialing (that works) and voice commands have not.
The ability to install a million 3rd party apps, has not.
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Alex said 10:28AM on 6-25-2007
Forgot to mention, N95 has 3G, although it wont work in the US.
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Audun said 10:32AM on 6-25-2007
I have UMTS on my phone (Sony Ericsson K800i), but I have turned it off because it drains the battery and Norway is so full of mountains that the reception varies a lot... But in the city it's ok.
An important feature that I think iPhone is missing, is the ability to install small Java-programs and games. And I hope it has a good alarm-function like the K800i, where I can set one alarm to only ring monday-thursday at 06.50 and another to ring fridays at 06.10.
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Thayne Miller said 10:33AM on 6-25-2007
So alex, are you saying that for $750, you'd rather have the N95 instead of the iPhone and save an additional $150? Haha, I bet you'll say yes to save your pride on this forum, but we both know you'd be lying.
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Nik Fletcher said 10:34AM on 6-25-2007
The one thing folks fail to realise is this: Having roughly the same feature set as an iPhone doesn't make [competitor] an iPhone, or an iPhone competitor. Whilst that could be interpreted as a fanboy-like comment, it's only true if the iPhone truly delivers on its promises. If it does, then having parity with the iPhones basic specs means nothing.
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Alex said 10:37AM on 6-25-2007
Not going to lie or try to save any pride. I don't have the N95. I have the N73 (similar phone: 3megapixel cam, 2.4" vs. 2.6" screen, no WiFi, no double-slide revealing play/stop/ff/rev buttons).
And yes I do want the iPhone. But to do so, I would have to switch to ATT--i'd rather not, let's leave it at that--having my bill double for the sake of the iPhone and fewer min/features--isn't that appealing.
More importantly, I can't give up my navigation on my phone. I am a photography nut, and the N73 is always in my pocket, unlike my DSLR Nikon. There are a few other 3rd party apps that I could not imagine living without on a daily basis.
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Seb Payne said 10:38AM on 6-25-2007
I was considering an iPhone but I got the Curve instead. Why? It's small, the keyboard is top notch, it syncs perfectly with my Mac, I can install apps on it and it is rock solid. I plan on getting an iPhone in the future once the kinks have been sorted and any other issues have been discovered :)
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Adrian said 10:40AM on 6-25-2007
I think the iPhone is going to be something different to the competition because Apple isn't going after MS Office users / Win Mobile (basically that says they think doing 'productivity' on a phone is stupid - and I would agree with them). Secondly, although the N95 has a better camera the iPhone should provide a better all-round media experience because of the larger screen and enhanced navigation. Although I guess people can use Wifi to connect to the web, i think the problem for mass consumer appeal (for its extra features such as google maps) doesn't take into account the crazy price networks (well, in the UK, at least) charge per MB of wireless data. In some ways Nokia's internet tablet offers better like-for-like features but that's not even a phone!
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Gavin said 10:50AM on 6-25-2007
Yes, yes, the N95 is impressive feature wise. Too bad every Nokia smartphone i've owned, inlcuding a recent S60v3 device has been buggy as hell. Nokia make great smartphones on paper, but the implementation is always a let down.
Random out of memory error messages, cryptic "error codes" and software that seems to get slower and slower the more you use it... Nokia truly is the Microsoft of the mobile phone industry. :p
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tim said 10:53AM on 6-25-2007
You must get paid by the word.
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Aaargh! said 10:55AM on 6-25-2007
Yes, the actual software on a series60 device sucks donkey balls.
However, a lot of people will compare phones solely on the specs. And while they are buggy, you can do a lot of cool stuff using the native and j2me API's.
Web2.0 apps are nice and all, but you can't build TomTom in web2.0,you'll need access to the bluetooth stack to connect to a GPS, you need the raw processing power of a native compiled application, etc. etc.
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NNTPgrip said 11:08AM on 6-25-2007
HTC Mogul with WM6? Then download and use Opera that has flash support. EVDO. Open AND edit office apps w/ graphs even. Pop, Imap, or DirectPush with MS Exchange.
You don't get the eye candy with WM6 though.
I think its lame they advertise/demo iphone with wi-fi. When people use it on edge they will be pissed.
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Fabio Pigagnelli said 11:08AM on 6-25-2007
these über-iphone-optimism slowly begins to suck.
everybody here thinks its gonna be the best phone ever.
well i like it too, i have apple stocks (bought at 68.44), but i dont think its gonna be an über-phone.
for me, the only thing thats greate about the iPhone is the screen. not that it has touchscreen, but it is big. it has a resolution that not many devices have, although its only slightly bigger than a PSP (screen resolution 480*272PSP, 480*320 iphone).
on other concern i have is the internet capability. its gonna be great when you have WiFi.
but as soon as you are on mobile i wont like it.
the thing is, i really like surfing with opera mini on my K750i. why? well the sites i surf on mostly have a mobile-phone detection. if your browsing full version, you see the whole webpage. but if your browsing with a mobile client the page shows a slimed down version of that page.
and that excludes the stuff i dont need.
see, i use the train schedule from switzerland (www.sbb.ch) and a phonebook (tel.search.ch).
these sites are most time less then 1kb in size, so they load quite fast.
but if i have to see the whole page it will take longer to load, it will show more (the information i need are only like 20% of the whole page).
i really like the idea of having a mobile device that can display the "real internet"(-flash) but as long as the device has not a connection fast enough for the "real internet" (edge over 3G/HSDPA) it wont be so greate.
i also see the costs. you'll need a unlimited data plan, which also gonna cost you much.
i pay monthly about 4-5$ for the mobile connections, we pay for the data transfered. so while using these slimmed down pages, i really can safe money, and dont need an unlimited dataplan.
i often use the phonebook, the trainschedule, and the LEO-dictionaire.
anyway, i'm going to buy the SonyEricsson K850i as soon as it's coming out.
it wont have such a big screen, it wont have an animated interface, but it will have a really good camera with xenon flash. it will have 3G, videocall, 3rd party apps, and many featres i miss on the iphone.
oh, and it has "NetFront" which is a greate browser as well
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Dave Chartier said 11:09AM on 6-25-2007
I wasn't bashing the N95 at all, I'm simply trying to make the case that different devices from different manufacturers are designed with different purposes in mind, no more no less. It isn't a bad thing for either device, but these differences in features certainly can make a difference for users with specific uses in mind. Camera nuts probably aren't going to be very excited by the iPhone's 2 megapixel camera; I had a phone that was 1/2 the price of the iPhone - without a contract - over a year ago that had a 2 megapixel camera. Does that mean the iPhone sucks? No - just that it isn't the right device for said camera nut.
I'm not bashing the N95 - I simply wanted to get it across that just because the N95 is roughly as expensive as an iPhone, it doesn't mean they were built with the same purposes or users in mind.
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Liam said 11:12AM on 6-25-2007
I agree that it's hard to compare apples with oranges. But at the moment, the problem is that it's hard to compare the apple iPhone with *anything.* Not because the product is so evolutionary, but because every comparison is dismissed with a 'but that's not what it is designed for' moniker.
Let's face it - the iphone is a phone. It should be able to be compared with any phone, and then the advantages and disadvantages can determine who it would be best for, not the other way around.
Also - it would be great if TUAW would stop this N95 bashing that's been cropping up recently - I mean I know the N95 is a competitor to the iphone and this is TUAW, but let's keep the facts straight:
1)Youtube mobile is available from Nokia's video centre, along with other video streaming services,
2)The N95 is touted as a full-featured multimedia computer, not as a camera-phone, and as such plays back movies and songs - albeit currently limited to a 4GB SDHC card (do the research, they're compatible) - and can connect to external audio amplifiers, speakers and to a tv to facilitate viewing (I suspect this will be introduced into the iphone like in the 5G video ipods, but it as not yet been demonstrated).
Oh by the way - itunes and iphoto syncing is not only possible, but relatively easy on the N95 via Nokia's new Mobile media transfer software for OS X - only DRM music is not accepted, and we all know how much of a problem that is, and will be in the future if steve himself gets his way.
3)The N95 allows visual voicemail (subject to service provider availability) - and before you comment saying this is not the case, people need to understand this is not a new invention by apple - I have been receiving emails from 3mobile (my provider) with my voicemails attached, with the details of the caller and duration of call easily accessible for over 2 years. Sure not all providers allow this, but it is NOT a unique feature of the iphone. speaking of which:
4)The N95 contains a browser similar in ability to the iPhone - while currently plagued with early firmware bugs, the N95 browser is able to render full size webpages on it's admittedly smaller screen, allowing one to surf the web, just not really as beautifully as the iphone - meaning all web2.0 'apps' for the iphone ought to work on the n95 also - with a probable loss of 'nice' formatting...
5)GPS - its already been commented on, so I'll move on.
6) fully featured apps - I'm sorry, but I don't buy this 'web 2.0' carp - you simply will not (on a 2G radio, no less) be able to efficiently run a memory intensive app like a 3rd party video editor without some tradeoffs. If you think this is an isolated problem, what about a 3rd party office suite? or voip software to run on the iphone's lack of wifi?
What I will say about the iphone is this - it is a beautiful, convenient, useful, fashionable, desirable device, and most probably much more stable than any other phone currently on the market. But I'm sick of people claiming it is more than it is.
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Conall said 11:22AM on 6-25-2007
David,
I think you’re way off the mark on this one.
First of all, I wouldn’t be so biased as to refer to the competition as “efforts from other companies”. I’m an apple fan myself and read this blog daily, but I’m managing to maintain a level of perspective.
Personally, I see only 2 phones to compare today in the consumer space, the iPhone and the Nokia N95.
The iPhone is clearly going to be streets ahead in the UI polish stakes, but there is a lot more to the N95 than just the camera. The camera is really just the icing on the cake.
I want a phone that can play music. Both can. The N95 actually sounds better through headphones that a 5G iPod. (I’m sure that won’t win my popularity here, but it really is true. Check for yourself) I’m sure the iPhone will have a better user experience in this area, but I can fit a lot of music into a 4 Gig sd card. Which incidentally can be removed and replaced with a spare that you can take with you.. Can the iPhone do that? There’s even Artwork in the N95 music player..
You mention the N95’s lack of full querty?? The iPhone doesn’t have any keyboard! It has a touchscreen keyboard. I guarantee that the text input is easier with the N95. Hardware will ALWAYS be better in the area.
As has already been mentioned, the N95 has a very good web browser, but if you want even more power in a browser, you can download Opera’s S60 offering.
Google maps seems to be touted as a great feature of the iPhone; it’s already on the N95! And it even has GPS support! Which one would you prefer?
Again, as has already been mentioned, the N95 can be plugged straight into the TV or HiFi for audio and video playback, “Real” applications can be installed on the N95. I wouldn’t go anywhere without my Spanish/English dictionary! I don’t see that being possible on the iPhone this time round.
Will Skype, or any other VoIP solution of your choosing be installable on the iPhone? On the N95 it is..
Don’t get me wrong, I’m as susceptible to the hype as the next guy, and I really want an iPhone, but realistically, away from all the hype, if you do compare the iPhone with the N95 (which you most certainly should do), you’ll be left with a pretty easy decision.
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abes said 11:25AM on 6-25-2007
Okay, it's a fair point that the Blackberry is made specifically for business people and the Nokia N95 requires a wireless keyboard, but I think it's still fair to compare these. Just about every smartphone out there has its own unique feature set, so you're either left not being able to compare anything, or allowing that different people will be okay with the differences.
Butt those are only two phones out there. You don't give any reasons why the Helio Ocean isn't better. If you do a search in google for 'iPhone contender' you get a bunch of hits, including the Samsung F700 and the Meizu M8.
Gizmodo has a comparison of the iPhone with the F700, and for two untested phones, it's a decent comparison.
What's still missing, however, are the two main points of the iPhone:
1. It's the software. Apple always provides decent hardware, but they certainly don't sell units because of the great performance. I've had the misfortune to use a Blackberry before. You can get used to using it, but it's not a great UI.
Apple has a history of making things, to use their words, just work. It's true. It's their selling point. Especially for a mobile device, it's essential (to me, anyways).
2. Multi-touch. Unfortunately this technology is completely unproven. It could in theory put the iPhone in a new category, but .. it might not.
The worse case scenerio is that multi-touch ends up being a poor man's keyboard. In which case the Helio Ocean and Samsung F700 will come out on top.
One last point, is that if Apple ever does release an SDK (or even a scripting language like Newton .. oops, shoudln't have used that word) then it will once again elevate the iPhone because:
(a) I believe that the true potential of multi-touch probably won't get realized until 3rd party developers get a crack at creative uses of it.
(b) XCode is a well developed full IDE. If they provide the iPhone as a development target, it will much easier to develop apps for the iPhone than for any other mobile out there (assuming you have a mac).
Oh, and one last thing -- I'm still on the fence about the iPhone. I want one, but I'm worried it won't be all it's cracked up to be. However, I do remain optimistic as Jobs is a perfectionist. On one previous occasion he scrapped another attempt of an Apple PDA right before its release. I suspect there's a good chance that if the iPhone didn't work he would do the same thing.
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Sean Flanagan said 11:26AM on 6-25-2007
I am truly getting sick of these comparisons, criticisms, and "reviews" of the iPhone. Not one article that I have read even mentions the truly killer feature of the iPhone: the interface. The combination of multi-touch technology with clear graphics and intuitive function is what makes the iPhone without peer. In fact, the function alone is worth the price of admission. Like Steve said in the introduction at the MWSF keynote: the killer app is making calls.
Sure, some of these phones may have more features than the iPhone, but how easy is it to simply call someone? My friend has a Motorola Q, and that comes the closest to the iPhone in terms of calling people, as it is organized in basically the same way. But he still uses the "recent calls" the majority of the time because usng the scroll wheel to find someone in the list of contacts is such a pain, and there is no "favorites" equivalent, my favorite feature of the phone app.
Another point everyone seems to be missing is the comparison of the iPhone just to other phones, simply because cell phones are trying to add more and more features. I'd like to see someone compare the iPhone to every other internet communicator on the market (i.e. Sony Mylo, Nokia 770, etc), or every other portable media player on the market. Something tells me that the major functions of the iPhone are exponentially better than the same functions on dedicated devices.
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Fabio P said 11:27AM on 6-25-2007
@liam
exactly what i'm talking about.
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