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Samsung Instinct takes on Apple 3G iPhone for $130

All the phone talk recently has been on the upcoming release of the Apple 3G iPhone and it is no doubt that it will turn out to be a huge success in the industry. But it appears that Samsung might have developed a good marketing strategy of their own as they prepare to release their own product, the Instinct at a significantly cheaper price than the Apple 3G.

Samsung intends to release their product and have it compete with Apple’s device, The Instinct has looks and size comparable to the Iphone but it’s also got various features that the 3G iPhone does not. An important price point for a product is vital, so it will be interesting to find out if the Instinct’s price tag will be enough to tempt consumers into purchasing it rather than the iPhone.
Not everything is straight forward though, as it seems that the Samsung Instinct is offered, only with a $100 mail-in rebate, which would actually mean the Instinct costing $30 more expensive than the iPhone at the time of purchase.

In terms of monthly costs, and contractual agreements, the iPhone and Instinct are fairly similar; Sprint requires you to sign to a 2 year service agreement, with costs identical to that of AT&T. 450 voice minutes are offered at the price of $70 a month, but there is also an option to choose a plan which will allow you to share between two phones, giving you 1500 minutes at the price of $129 a month.

Here is a lowdown of some of the specifications for the Instinct:

- GPS enabled audio and visual turn-by-turn driving directions

- One-click traffic re-routing

- Microsoft Live Search access

- Visual Voicemail, with support for POP3 and IMAP email

- 2MP camera

-Bluetooth

-2GB Storage space (micro SD slot)

- 1000mAh batteries offering up to 5.75 hours of continuous talk time.

The Instinct is shaping up to be a nice alternative to the iPhone, it will be interesting to find out how many of you are going to opt for Samsung’s product, or splash out a bit more money for Apple’s 3G iPhone.

Source: Read

iPhone 3G on Apple Store: twice the speed, half the price

Earlier we reported that all the Apple stores around the world went down and we all guessed that it was for new products that included the 3G Apple iPhone, we can now confirm, that the iPhone 3G is on the Apple Store right now.

From the Apple Store “Introducing iPhone 3G. With fast 3G wireless technology, GPS, support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, and the new App Store, iPhone 3G puts even more amazing features in your hands and just like the original iPhone, it combines three products in one —a revolutionary phone, a widescreen iPod, and a breakthrough Internet device”.

The iPhone will be available in 8GB (black) and 16GB (black or white) models1 at Apple Retail Stores and in the US AT&T Stores. Features will include 3G Speed, gives you fast access to the Internet and email over your cellular network. And 3G makes it easier to multitask: When connected via 3G, you can surf the web even while you’re on a call.

iPhone in Enterprise - With support for Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, iPhone delivers push email, calendar, and contacts right to your pocket.

Maps with GPS - adds a new dimension to mobile phone mapping. Find your location, get directions, and track your progress along a route.

In the 3G iPhone box you will get an SIM ejector tool, cleaning / polishing cloth, documentation, dock connector to USB cable, USB power adapter, Stereo headset with mic and of course the 3G iPhone.

The specs include Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz), Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz), 8GB and 16GB, Multi-Touch, 480 by 320 pixels (163 ppi), 3.5 inches (diagonal), Assisted-GPS, 2.0 megapixel camera, 4.7 ounces (133 grams), 115.5 by 62.1 by 12.3 mm, Audio playback: Up to 24 hours, Video playback: Up to 7 hours, Internet use: Up to 5 hours on 3G and up to 6 hours on Wi-Fi, Up to 300 hours Standby time, Up to 5 hours Talk time on 3G and up to 10 hours on 2G.

Visit the Apple Store and see yourself.

Apple 3G iPhone to increase sales of Palm and RIM BlackBerry smartphones

You could easily think that the immediate launch of the 3G iPhone would mean that other major phone brands like Palm and RIM BlackBerry would see a decline in sales, this looks to be the complete opposite. After the iPhone was first released the sales of the BlackBerry smartphone increased by 38 percent over the following year.

While many brands and product review sites try and claim different phones as “iPhone Killers”, it seems that Apple’s device increases sales of similar phones. This may be down to all the increased awareness of next generation phones and as the iPhone brings millions of phone users looking for information, some users look for alternatives to the iPhone.

With 1.2 billion cellphones out there and the phone companies saying we have not even scratched the surface, I think we have room for a few more models to get buyers. Palm and BlackBerry are surely rubbing their hands right now and thinking of all the extra sales the iPhone will help bring them…the phone business has never been so good, especially when some users want Windows phones and not Mac based phones.

The second version of iPhone could be the one that many buyers have been holding out for, iPhone 2 is expected to be cheaper, slicker and boast many more features like carrier subsidies, Exchange support, fast 3G networking, a better camera and maybe even GPS. In around nine hours we will hear Steve Jobs keynote speech at the annual Worldwide Developer’s Conference and this is what millions are waiting for, what will Steve give us this year?

Can Apple 3G iPhone beat Blackberry Bold and HTC Touch Diamond?

We have three phones and three good ones at that and call this a debate or just a general what is the best model one way or another surely there must be a clear winner, the only people that will let us all know is you the people who will buy them. You will read below all about the Apple 3G iPhone, the Blackberry Bold and the HTC Touch Diamond where I will talk a little about each phone with specs and pictures and I will put across what I feel is the best, although you may agree or disagree with my review, feel free to leave your opinion.

Let me start with the much talked about Apple 3G iPhone, we all know by now that this device will be launching in June sometime and apparently is launching at the WWDC conference but is this the phone of all phones? The Apple 3G iPhone will come in three sizes which start with 8GB for $399 then there is the 16GB version for $499 and the one I would choose which is the 32GB version for $599, you must remember that the 32GB Apple 3G iPhone has not yet been confirmed as far as we can tell. So far what we know is that Apple are going to trim off a stunning 2.5mm off the current iPhone’s case which will give the 3G iPhone a very slim advantage over most phones similar to this one, the casings material may be different as well. The Apple 3G iPhone will boast an Infineon-based S-GOLD3H 3G chip which will be able to get HSDPA speeds up to 7.2Mbps (Not in America though), there were talks of a front facing video-call camera which may be supported by the supported by the Infineon S-GOLD3H 3G chip and speculated by Kevin Rose but this is just a rumor at the moment. We all know the main specs of the Apple 3G iPhone so I will move onto the next phone. Possible photos of the Apple 3G iPhone.

The next muck talked about phone is the Blackberry 9000 also known as the Blackberry Bold which is out now, this is a brand new messaging smartphone which will deliver so much more than any other smartphone messenger. I will talk a little about the specs but you can see the full specifications below this information, The all new BlackBerry Bold features a stunning and yes large TFT display with the same half-VGA resolution as the Apple iPhone’s (480 x 320 pixels) plus has a cool full QWERTY keyboard. The Blackberry Bold will run on the latest Blackberry OS 4.6, it has 1GB built in memory plus a microSD memory card slot which supports 8GB microSDHC cards plus there is promise of 16GB support. The 624MHz processor will run smoothly we have been told, just so you get an idea of the size it is the same size as the Blackberry 8830. The Blackberry Bold is apparently the first Blackberry smartphone to feature tri-band HSDPA support besides the quad-band GSM/EDGE one and with integrated GPS receiver and Wi-Fi you know you are getting something special. Check out the main specifications of the Blackberry Bold below.

Blackberry Bold Specifications -
2G Network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900, 3G Network UMTS 850 / 1900 / 2100, Full QWERTY keyboard, Trackball navigation, Wallpapers, MP3 & Polyphonic Ringtones, Vibration, 3.5 mm stereo headset jack, Photocall & Phonebook, Call records, 128 MB built in memory plus microSD (TransFlash), microSDHC, up to 8 GB Card slot, 1 GB storage memory, 624 MHz processor, GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots), 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Class 10, 236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA 3.6 Mbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, USB v2.0, BlackBerry OS, SMS, MMS, Email, Instant Messaging, HTML Browser, Games, 2 MP Camera - 1600×1200 pixels, video, flash, Built-in GPS, BlackBerry maps, Media player MP3/WMA/AAC+, Video player DivX/WMV/XviD/3gp, DataViz document viewer/editor, Java, Organizer, Calculator, Voice dial, Built-in handsfree, Voice memo, Stand-by Up to 310 hours plus Talk time Up to 5 hours, 114 x 66 x 14 mm and 133 grams in weight with battery.

Last but not least we have the HTC Touch Diamond which is without a doubt a stunning cell phone and features the impressive HTC Touch 3D interface (aka HTC Manila), HTC Diamond is truly touch-optimized which will be favored by the masses. The HTC Touch Diamond is powered by Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro and has a stunning 2.8-inch VGA display and with a size of only 11.5mm thin this will be the phone we can see many people choosing, it also has the built in accelerometer which is basically the same as the Apple iPhone, just a re-cap of what the built in accelerometer is. Basically it allows screen auto rotation, so turn the phone and you get landscape and then turn it back and you get portrait. You will get a 3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus plus Wi-Fi and a GPS receiver.

The HTC Touch Diamond has 192MB DDR SDRAM, runs on a Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 MHz processor, FM radio with RDS plus 4GB of storage memory (no memory card slot). I really do like this phone but there are downsides, shame really because this is a sexy phone but in reality there has to be downsides to everything. The downside is the tri-band-only GSM support, yes there will be two versions one for Asia and Europe plus another for America, the other downside has to be the small 900 mAh battery. The HTC Touch Diamond will be available in June 2008 in Europe and Asia, and other regions at the end of the year. Please do check out the full specifications below.

HTC Touch Diamond Specifications -
2G Network GSM 900 / 1800 / 1900 for Europe/Asia - GSM 850 / 1800 / 1900 for Americas - 3G Network HSDPA 2100 / 900 for Europe/Asia - HSDPA 850 / 1900 for Americas, 2.8 Inch TFT Touchscreen Display with 65K colors & 480 x 640 pixels, TouchFLO 3D finger swipe navigation, Accelerometer sensor for auto-rotate, Touch-sensitive navigation control, Handwriting recognition, Vibration, MP3, WAV, WMA & Polyphonic (40 channels) Ringtones, Phonebook & Photocall plus Call records, No Card slot but does have 4 GB user available memory, 192 MB DDR SDRAM, 256 MB ROM, Qualcomm MSM7201A 528 Mhz processor, GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2 slots) 32 - 48 kbps, EDGE Class 10 - 236.8 kbps, 3G HSDPA - 7.2 Mbps, WLAN Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP, miniUSB, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional OS, SMS, MMS, Email & Instant Messaging, HTML & WAP 2.0/xHTML Browser, Games, 3.2 MP Camera with autofocus, video plus secondary VGA videocall camera, Built-in GPS with A-GPS, Voice memo, Java MIDP 2.0, Pocket Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PDF viewer), Stereo FM radio with RDS, Built-in handsfree, MP3 player, Up to 285 hours standby time, Up to 5 hours 30 minutes talk time, 102 x 51 x 11.5 mm and 110 grams in weight with battery

My personal opinion – This is a difficult one really, at the moment I am personally using the Apple iPhone and swear by it so sometimes when you love using something so much you become biast, personally the best looking phone without any doubt in my mind has to be the HTC Touch Diamond but it is the hope of a 32GB Apple 3G iPhone which sways me towards that. I do not have a lot of experience with any BlackBerry device but this Blackberry Bold seems like a very good business phone. The tri-band HSDPA support and Wi-Fi makes this a good contender, personally just going on the looks the BlackBerry Bold is off my list.

So that leaves me with the Apple 3G iPhone and the HTC Touch Diamond, I do love the look of the HTC Touch Diamond much more than the iPhone but it is the iPhone I would personally go for because I know how it works, how it acts and how easy it is to use and the fact 32GB storage within.

Please let us know what you would choose out of the Apple 3G iPhone, Blackberry Bold and HTC Touch Diamond. Can the Apple 3G iPhone beat Blackberry Bold and HTC Touch Diamond?

Where has the UK Apple iPhone gone? 3G is knocking at the door

We have been hearing the words “3G Apple iPhone” almost since the release of the first generation iPhone, but it now looks like things are starting to happen, as many phone buyers are asking where the UK Apple iPhone has gone? It looks like the 3G iPhone is knocking at the door and is about to say hello. O2 have just made an announcement that the “iPhone is not currently available anywhere in the UK”. Although Carphone Warehouse has not responded to O2’s statement, they did say that they might have stock of the 16GB iPhone towards the end of May.

If you do not own an iPhone but want one, you may have no choice but to buy a 3G iPhone soon. It was only in April when the 8GB Apple iPhone had its priced cut to £169, that change was obviously in preparation for a 3G-iPhone release. The rumors have it that the new cell phone will be launched in San Francisco, at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference on June 9. This also ties in with AT&T sending out a memo telling employees not to take a vacation between June 15 and July 12.

The combination of a price cut, intense marketing and an excellent product, have made the stock of 16GB and 8GB Apple iPhones in the UK disappear. The rumored June 9 launch of the 3G iPhone will only be in the United States, if it happens the UK still has no definite release date. Last time we looked, the Carphone Warehouse website had no iPhone stock as well. It’s a waiting game now.

Source: Read

Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X1 debuts after Apple’s 3G iPhone: Windows Mobile vs Mac OS

Sony Ericsson will be shipping their Xperia X1 after Apple’s 3G iPhone; with this in mind it does not seem to be much hassle for the iPhone…or is it.

While the Xperia X1 certainly resembles the Apple iPhone in looks and X1’s initial display seems a lot more like Apple’s software than Windows Mobile, but there could be a big advantage to the Xperia X1 with its OS Read more