If the iPhone's price tag puts it too far out of your reach, two other serious contenders are waiting in the wings - and neither has anything to do with Microsoft.
The first phone, based on Google's Android platform, goes on sale in the US on Wednesday and Australian carriers are examining the device with interest following rave reviews from critics.
As well, Hutchison subsidiary Three is working on its own brand of smart phone called INQ, which will compete with the iPhone, Android and handsets from Nokia and Motorola.
Three's local spokeswoman Sarah Virtue said the company planned to launch INQ in Australia "prior to Christmas". She added that Google's Android was "an excellent platform" and that Three would be "keeping a close eye on it".
Optus declined to comment on its Android plans. Telstra said it was considering "how an Android phone might fit into our range" and Vodafone said it was following Android developments "with keen interest".
BusinessWeek reported that Hutchison's goal with INQ was to slash the price of phones that let people surf the net. The handsets were expected to cost consumers $US50 ($72) or less.
People buying an iPhone would pay carriers that amount or more every month over a two-year contract.
The move makes sense for Three because the more people there are who can afford phones capable of surfing the net, the more the company will make from the mobile plans and data bundles it sells to consumers.
"I need to hit the 90 per cent that don't buy [higher-priced phones]," Hutchison executive Frank Meehan told BusinessWeek.
The popularity of smartphones such as the iPhone, Android, INQ and BlackBerry handsets is growing rapidly in Australia.
Research released by Telesyte today revealed Australia's annual smartphone shipments have grown by almost 40 times from five years ago and that nearly three in ten mobile phones sold this year will be smartphones.
In addition to being cheap, the INQ phones, which like Android have been built from the ground up with new software, have been designed to hook directly into Facebook, eBay and Skype, with users able to monitor their Facebook news feed from the home screen.
Last year, Three launched its first branded handset, the Skypephone, which allowed Skype users to call each other without running down their monthly mobile cap.
The first handset based on Google's Android platform, the G1, will be sold by T-Mobile for $US179 on a two-year contract, which is also significantly cheaper than the iPhone.
Early reviews suggest the G1 is the first worthy competitor to Apple's much-vaunted smartphone. More Android-based devices are expected to be launched in the coming months.
Some analysts expect Apple to respond to this new competition by pushing its iPhone prices down.
"In 2009 we'll get a lower-priced iPhone - iPhone Nano - which will bring it to the masses," Shannon Cross of Cross Research told The New York Times.
Like the iPhone, the G1 includes a touch-screen but there is also a pull-out keyboard and a trackball that can be used like a mouse. It is completely integrated with Google's suite of online applications such as search, maps, calendar, email and instant messaging.
The G1, based on the Linux operating system, has built-in WiFi for more cost-effective web browsing and can play both music and videos, but managing track libraries isn't as elegant as the iPhone, which seamlessly integrates with iTunes.
Like Apple's iTunes App Store, G1 owners will be able to expand the functionality of the device by buying third-party applications from the "Android market".
David Pogue's review of the G1 in The New York Times said the device's software was sleek and intuitive but criticised the lack of an iTunes equivalent for managing songs and buying music, TV shows and movies.
Pogue noted that, unlike the iPhone, the G1 includes a slide-out keyboard, removable battery, voice dialling, picture messaging, built-in audio recording and the ability to turn any song into a ring tone.
Engadget's review noted the G1's lack of a standard headphone jack. The software "is thoroughly modern and attractive, but its high-contrast, almost cartoonish look might be a turn-off for some".
The Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg gave the G1 a good wrap but thought the keyboard and battery life could have been improved.
He said the tight integration with Google's services would be tedious for those who don't use them. The only way to get contacts and calendar items into the phone is to synchronise them with Google's online services and there is no way for it to synchronise with Microsoft Outlook.
"In my battery tests, the G1 lasted through the day, but I had to charge it every night," Mossberg wrote.
"That's better than the initial battery life on the current iPhone, though in fairness Apple has improved the iPhone's battery life through software updates, and I found them to be about the same for mixed use."
Source: smh.com.au
No comments:
Post a Comment