The iPhone Killers

We finally have phones that kick the iPhone out of the picture

Finally, after almost a year and half of the launch of the iPhone, I am ecstatic to see a couple of phones that do have the right to be termed iPhone killers. Catching upto the iPhone was hard, especially cause of the beautiful touch screen and the multitouch interface that took everyone by storm. Where the iPhone failed was in terms of performance and high end features. The price of the iPhone in India just made it a more niche device. It gave the iPhone a demand in the India market as it is in human nature to want something that they cannot have. Being into Technology i loved the iPhone and hated it for my own reasons. After playing with my fair share of phones till date, i personally believe that currently there are two phones that can be termed as iPhone killers as of now. 

1. Samsung Omnia - The Omnia i900 from Samsung is a great device. It looks like a modified, upgraded iPhone and has a great finish. The phone has a 624Mhz processor with 128MB RAM. It comes loaded with Windows mobile 6.1 and samsung has integrated there own touch interface onto it too. The Samsung interface has larger icons that add to the user friendliness a lot. It has a beautiful 3.2" display which is great for browsing the net or watching DivX videos onto it. The phone doesn’t have a 3.5m audio jack, but the bundled hands free takes care of that issue. The sound output is above average, not too loud. What’s impressive is the sound clarity of the sound. The phone runs fast, but if too many programs are open it tends to become somewhat sluggish. An issue is that it doesn’t have a stylus slot, the stylus has to be kept hanging on the side and this could lead to scratches on the phone. The auto rotation feature of the phone also has an issue. It rotates with an animation, this gets irritating in a while, thankfully you can switch it off. It comes with a5MP autofocus camera with flash which takes good quality snaps. Thanks to the image stabilizer that images are not blurry. The camera gives lot of setting options also. It records video in 640 x 480 pixels resolution too. It comes with 8/16GB onboard memory and Samsung has bundled a 16GB microSDHC card along with the phone. The phone is loaded with features - It has Bluetooth with A2DP, WiFi, 3G, GPS, TV-out and even FM Radio. It doesn’t use a standard microUSB port, rather Samsung’s proprietary port for charging and hands free .Selling in the market currently at a price of 33,000 for the 8GB Variant, the Omnia is an amazing device, much better than the iPhone in terms of looks and functionality. For those looking at a plain touch screen device that gives more power in their hands, the Omnia is simply a great phone. 

2 . Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 - The Sony Ericsson Xperia is the true iPhone killer in all respects. Other than its weight and larger dimension, the Xperia has no other drawback compared to the iPhone. In my opinion it even surpasses the Omnia in terms of performance. Even thought the Xperia comes only with a 528 MHz processor, the 256MB RAM makes it run faster than the Omnia. It runs the same Windows Mobile 6.1 OS, though it features a unique new thing called X panels. These are more or less skins for the main screen with different themes, but they are interesting. The phone’s main plus point is its Arc Slider keyboard. The keyboard is great, though it takes a while to get used to. The phone comes with a stunning 3” display which has better resolution that the iPhone’s screen. Like the Omnia the Xperia is also loaded with features to the brim, it has 3G, WiFi, Bluetooth with A2DP, GPS, FM Radio and even comes with a 3.5mm audio jack.  The phone comes with a 3.2MP camera which takes great images, though some people might feel that now with phones coming with 8MP camera, 3.2MP is passé. The sound output is great and the use of metal on the body makes the phone feel great in hand. Expected at a price point of Rs 36,000, the Xperia comes with 400MB onboard memory and is expected to come with a 8GB card bundled in the package


Nokia has also announced their first touch screen phone the Nokia 5800 Xpressmusic. It features a 3.2” touch screen display, a 369Mhz processor with 128MB RAM, 81MB internal memory and 8GB card included,3G, WiFi, Bluetooth with A2DP, GPS, FM ,TVout and even a 3.5mm audio jack. Sad to a certain extent that even it comes with a 3.2MP camera, but it would have symbian series 60 OS and a microUSB slot. The price point is expected to be between 25 – 30k. The initial reviews and videos make the 5800 seem like an impressive phone, so perhaps Nokia also has an iPhone killer in their hands.