first you try to give the impression that the iphone is $299 (and doesn't start at $99) and of course you don't forget to mention "issues" that never affected any amount of people in the real world (iphone's churn rate is the lowest of any smartphone, and only 0.7% have complained about reception or sensor problems to apple).
but of course you forget to mention all the issues that the other phones have: the gps problems of the captivate, the screen separation and battery problems of the evo, the software problems of the bold, the screen problems of the droid x, the random reboot and screen responsiveness problems of the incredible etc. etc.
why don't you mention these as well? oh wait, i already know the answer. i am at zdnet, where FUD is the middle name of most of the bloggers.
We just saw the latest Gartner data on smartphones which shows huge smartphone growth over the last year. Smartphones have also dropped in price so that most of the highest end super smartphones launch at $199 with a two-year contract. The smartphone world has been pretty active this summer and my May top smartphones article is already outdated. In this smartphones and BlackBerry shopping guide I will present my top two picks for smartphones and a top BlackBerry device for each of the four major nationwide carriers.
Most of the top smartphones today are centered around large touchscreen interfaces, but there are still some with QWERTY keyboards as you will see in the guide. I know that BlackBerry devices are smartphones, but often when someone gets hooked into the world of RIM and BlackBerry Messenger they do not want to look at other choices and since RIM also still leads in the enterprise I wanted to make sure to include one from each carrier in case that device is not one of my top smartphone picks. Let’s walk alphabetically through each of the four carriers now.
AT&T
If you are already an AT&T customer, then the top choice for a smartphone is most likely the Apple iPhone 4. If I was an AT&T customer this is the smartphone that I would personally purchase and use too. The iPhone 4 has a fabulous high resolution 960×640 pixel resolution display, incredible camera performance, and thousands of applications to meet your every need.
There are a few issues with the iPhone design and software (including reception problems, proximity sensor performance issues, and continued dropped calls), but most have said that a bumper case and future update will fix the issues. This is the first iPhone I did not buy and I have no regrets since there are very capable alternatives out there without these QC issues.
AT&T made some major changes to their pricing plans after the release of the iPhone 4 so that now there is a 2GB cap on data with the ability to also tether for another $20 per month. Each additional GB of data cost $10/month. There are additional charges for text messaging and AT&T Navigator GPS service.
Price: $299 for 32GB and $199 for 16GB with 2-year contract
[Check out the iPhone 4 ZDNet Reviews page]
AT&T was the last carrier to finally get a Google Android device, but the HTC Aria was more of an entry level device so was not that great of an alternative to the Apple iPhone 4. Samsung is in the process of bringing their Galaxy S line of smartphones with 4″ Super AMOLED display to each of the four major US wireless carriers. The Captivate is a powerful Android smartphone with a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor, 16GB internal memory, microSD card slot for up to 32GB additional memory, 5 megapixel camera, and more.
It comes with the Swype soft input keyboard and a few other keyboard options with support for the Android Market and thousands of applications. The display is beautiful and the device feels great in your hand. Like the Samsung Vibrant that I tested on T-Mobile, the Galaxy S series appears to be suffering from a GPS lock issue and Samsung has stated an update for this is coming in September.
Price: $199.99 with 2-year contract
[Check out the Samsung Captivate ZDNet Reviews page]
The RIM BlackBerry Torch is the newest BB smartphone from RIM that sports both a capacitive touchscreen display and full hardware QWERTY keyboard. It brings the best of RIM’s QWERTY legacy with the fresh perspective of the touch display world together. The Torch also runs the latest BlackBerry 6 operating system with a focus on improved usability, customization, and significant web browser improvements.
The Torch has a 3.2 inch 480×360 pixel resolution display, 5 megapixel camera, 4GB internal memory and microSD card slot, and 802.11 b/g/n WiFi support. It is powered by a Marvell 624 MHz processor and is a bit on the heavy side at 5.7 ounces.
Price: $199.99 with 2-year contract
[Check out the my first impressions article and the RIM BB Torch ZDNet Reviews page]
