Today, July 11th, saw the release of one of the most eagerly awaited and hotly debated
mobile phones in history, the
Apple iPhone 3G. But how is it going to affect everybody else? The likes of Nokia,
Sony Ericsson, Samsung... what
mobile phones will they bring out to rival the
Apple iPhone 3G.
Apple iPhone 3G - fixing the problems
In 2007, when the first iPhone was unleashed on the world, the response was... well, mixed at best. Some hailed it as the greatest mobile phone ever made, while others said that it couldn't compete with other
mobile phones, due to the lack of crucial features and the astronomically high price. Sales figures of this supposed saviour of
mobile phones were low, all things considered, and it's undoubtedly due mostly to the price, and the fact that the original iPhone lacked (the most crucial oversight of all) 3G. That meant that all it had a wonderful web browser, it couldn't connect to the internet at anything like a decent speed.
Fast forward a year, and now there's a brand new version, the
Apple iPhone 3G. And as the name suggests, this one DOES have 3G. So, is THIS new version the king of
mobile phones that Apple fans say it is? Is it the perfect mobile phone, that the original should've been?
Well... no. There's no doubt that it is better. The 3G on the
Apple iPhone 3G is very fast, and it finally means that an iPhone can compete on a level playing field with other
mobile phones, in terms of internet access. And, of course, it has built-in GPS, which is rapidly becoming a must-have feature. But it's what it hasn't got that is disturbing. There's still no back button. There's still no copy/paste. You still can't send or receive MMS messages. And worst of all, the camera is still a measly 2 megapixels, WITHOUT flash, autofocus or video recording. Considering that 47% of people say a 'better than 2 megapixel camera 'is a must have' in their
mobile phones, the absence of a great camera from the
Apple iPhone 3G is truly worrying. Apple fans will, of course, deny that
mobile phones need top-end cameras, and call people who disagree with 'unbelievers' (I speak from personal experience of Apple fans, here!), but the fact is, the
Apple iPhone 3G simply cannot compete with other
mobile phones on camera quality.
When you factor in some of the rumoured
mobile phones due out this year, it's becoming increasingly likely that Apple are in for a massive shock when the likes of Nokia and
Sony Ericsson unleash their iPhone Killers.
Sony Ericsson Hecaro - the iPhone's going down!
Let's take a look at how the Swedish/Japanese joint venture,
Sony Ericsson, is going to counter the threat of the
Apple iPhone 3G. To be honest, though, we don't know yet what they have up their sleeve. We do, though, have an idea of what it might be like, based on a leaked video and a prototype codename: 'Hecaro'. But what, exactly is the
Sony Ericsson Hecaro? Well, if rumours are correct, it's going to go straight to the top of the pile of smart
mobile phones, dominating everything round it. It's rumoured to have as big a touchscreen as the
Apple iPhone 3G, internet access just as fast, but with a 5 megapixel camera, and all the things the iPhone's missing. If the rumours of this
Sony Ericsson wonderphone are true, then it's not just going to beat the iPhone... it's going to beat all
mobile phones in the history of the world, ever!
