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Even though we all knew that smartphones were going to be winners, not many envisaged that as consumers, we would be literally bombarded with so many different variants of these increasingly ubiqitous devices.
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Furthermore, this is not just a matter of choice- it is a matter of getting the proper functionality. And if price is not the main tipping point when as often it is not, looking at the latest two offerings makes one wonder whether we are being put into the position of choosing between two different variants of vanilla.
Take a look at the latest two smartphones that will be released in Australia within months- the Apple iPhone and the HTC Touch Diamond.
Both are portable, sleek, light, and assuming Apple goes with the 3G connection choice, are able to connect anywhere and download a tantalizing amount of data.
But wait there’res more. Both the iPhone and Touch Diamond are similar in size, weight and feel; they both have similar standby times and when it comes to talk times, although Apple quotes a figures of 8 hours and HTC 4 hours, but to be fair, Apple’s figure quotes the iPhone being “on dock” or in other words, recharging.
So what’s the differentiator? What would make a consumer choose the Touch Diamond over the iPhone of vice versa?
Well according to HTC, the Touch Diamond’s TouchFlo 3D interface, provides “animated access” to messaging, e-mail, photos, and more.
And there is also a touch pad alongside the screen.
However the iPhone too has a neat touchpad, and also provides what I would call animated access. So its still looking like a draw.
Perhaps the main difference then, is with the operating systems? The Touch Diamond has under the hood the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional operating system; the iPhone Mac OS X.
According to a couple of well-known IT journalists, the issue cleanly cuts across the Apple- Microsoft divide.
Basically, the issue, according to my fellow IT scribes, is if users want a jazzy, funky well-made phone that will seamlessly integrate with all Apple devices as well as provide the usual phone and entertainment functions, the iPhone should be top of their shopping list.
However, those preferring a Windows OS environment, who stick third-party apps on their smartphone like there is no tomorrow and prefer the emotional security of using a Microsoft-based product should steer towards the Touch Diamond.
So after all that, it seems, like most things in life, whether you buy the iPhone or opt for another device, such as HTC’s Touch Diamond, it’s all up to individual choice.
