Smartphones compared: iPhone 3G Vs. BlackBerry Storm Vs. T-Mobile G1
Touch screen Smartphones have become all the rage. They’re pretty, offer a wide screen and pack enough high-speed connectivity to download content in a flash. Research In Motion (RIM) Ltd. has joined the touch-screen party with the BlackBerry Storm. But the Storm is in elite company, with the recently released Google Android-based T-Mobile G1 and the touch-screen trailblazer the Apple iPhone 3G. All of them have some similarities, but there are also some key differences.
Hardware Design Comparison
The design of iPhone is extraordinary, with its glossy black finish, curved back and not to forget its stunning 3.5 inch screen. The multi-touch interface makes the iPhone 3G even more appealing. As for T-Mobile G1, the design is not too bad but it just doesn’t seem to stand out. And, with thickness of 0.62 inches, it looks much bulkier than iPhone and BlackBerry Storm. Unlike T-Mobile G1, BlackBerry Storm “steals” the design and looks much like the iPhone 3G. However, it does not look as sleek as iPhone 3G. It’s a little bit thicker (0.14inches more) and heavier (22g more) than iPhone 3G.
BlackBerry Storm’s screen is a little bit smaller (3.2 inches) as compared to iPhone 3G (3.5 inches) but is same as G1 (3.2 inches), however it sports a slightly higher resolution (460×360 pixels) than iPhone 3G (460×360 pixels) and G1 (480×320 pixels).
Like the iPhone and the G1, the Storm has an accelerometer, but with an added twist: The screen can rotate “upside-down” as well as 90 degrees for landscape mode. That means that the phone’s physical buttons can appear to the left or the right of the virtual keyboard, so they’re comfortable to both lefties and righties.
Whether it’s for documents, text messages, emails or something else, smart phones must offer an easy way to get the message out and a good, easy-to-use keyboard is, well, key. But having a touch screen often throws a little bit of a stick in the spokes, not offering the best environment for firing off a quick message. The BlackBerry Storm and Apple iPhone 3G both offer touch screen-based QWERTY keypads. The Storm ups the ante by also offering a SureType mode. Both also support multi-touch input while the G1 does not. It also brings a “Clickable” screen into the fold. The screen depresses slightly when tapped and clicks to let the user know the command has gone through, making it feel like they’re really typing.
While the T-Mobile G1 lacks multi-touch on the screen, by far its biggest differentiator as compared to iPhone and Storm is that it has a physical keyboard, which is revealed by sliding open the screen. The keys are too flat and can be hard to see in bright light even though they are backlit, and with a bulge in the body on the right side that you have to reach over to type. But, for the many people who can’t stomach typing on glass, the G1 keyboard will be a welcome sight. It’s complemented by a BlackBerry-like trackball for navigation.
One of the improvements in iPhone 3G was the 3.5mm headset jack, which was a welcome change from the recessed headset jack on the original iPhone. So you can now select any headset for your iPhone 3G without the need of an adapter. The G1 also come with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack for its proprietary ExtUSB connector, which means you’ll need custom headphones or an adapter. The bad news doesn’t stop there, apparently the adapter wasn’t available immediately at launch, just a bundled headset. Storm in its first realease itself comes with a 3.5mm headset jack.
Memory Storage Comparison
With all of the multimedia capabilities being wrapped into smart phones these days, users require a good chunk of memory to store songs, music and data. All three touch screen titans offer an adequate amount, but the devil is in the details.
The Storm offers 1 GB of onboard memory storage and a microSD/SDHD memory card slot to support up to 16 GB of additional storage. The G1 comes to the table with a 1 GB preloaded microSD card, which is expandable up to 8 GB. The Apple iPhone 3G starts at a base 8 GB for the cheaper model, while for $100 more doubles that to 16 GB.
So iPhone is kind of limited to either 8 GB or 16 GB of storage, depending on which model you choose whereas with the Storm or the G1 users could purchase as many microSD cards as they wish and swap them out at will, meaning the Storm and G1 have virtually unlimited storage capacity.
Price Comparison
The T-Mobile G1 is available for pre-order for just $179 with a two-year service contract and the Apple iPhone 3G, touted for its affordability, comes in at $199 for the 8 GB model and $299 for the 16 GB, with a two-year contract, of course. Your out-of-pocket cost for the BalckBerry Storm will be $249.99 for the phone, plus activation fee and taxes. If you agree to a new two-year agreement with an email/data plan (which is mandatory), you’ll be eligible for a $50 mail-in rebate. The rebate drops the final cost of the device itself for $199.99 before taxes and fees.
Then the data plan comes into play. The T-Mobile will offer two data plans for the G1, a $35 plan with unlimited Web email and messaging and a $25 that offers unlimited Web and email and limited messaging, on top of the monthly voice plan. For the iPhone, AT&T offers an unlimited voice, data and visual voicemail plan for about $130, with other customizable plans available that offer data for around $30.
For the Storm Verizon has announced its new Storm GlobalEmail plans, which for $69.99 ($5 less with a voice plan attached) covers you for unlimited web browsing, MMS, and visual voicemail in the United States AND in 150 countries around the world.
Based on the price of the device and service — and what you get for the money — the T-Mobile G1 is the clear victor.
Connectivity and Network Comparison
The trio of touch-screen smart phones — the BlackBerry Storm, T-Mobile G1 and Apple iPhone 3G — all utilize their carriers’ next-generation 3G networks. The Storm uses Verizon Wireless’, the G1 T-Mobile’s and the iPhone AT&T’s. Problem is, T-Mobile’s 3G network isn’t quite ready nationwide just yet, though the carrier vows to have more than 20 metropolitan areas up and running soon. While iPhone has an exclusive deal with AT&T, the iPhone 3G’s release was hindered by some 3G hiccups, with users complaining the data rates weren’t yet up to snuff. Word is that’s all been taken care of though. The iPhone supports UMTS/HSDPA/GSM/EDGE.
So far the Storm has yet to prove itself on the 3G network, so that’s a pretty easy elimination, though it promises support for UMTS/HSPA/GSM/GPRS and dual-band CDMA/EV-DO.
All-in-all, the network nod goes to the iPhone 3G. It started the 3G touch screen revolution and regardless of issues has remained on top. Since fixing some of the initial issues, complaints have dropped dramatically.
Both the T-Mobile G1 and Apple iPhone offer access to Wi-Fi, while the Storm does not. All three also have some form of GPS capabilities, though the T-Mobile G1 takes it one step further offering traffic, satellite and street-level views from anywhere.
The lack of Wi-Fi knocks the Storm out of the running, and while the iPhone and G1 are pretty much on par, the nod in this category goes to the G1 for its innovative use of GPS along with its Wi-Fi integration to supplement 3G connectivity.
Email And Messaging
BlackBerry set the gold standard for mobile email and messaging. Throughout its 10-year history, BlackBerry and mobile messaging have been synonymous. And with the Storm, BlackBerry continues its recent trend of giving not just corporate users, but consumers, access to their email and messaging applications on the go. The Storm works with BlackBerry Enterprise Server for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino and Novell GroupWise, and it also integrates with existing corporate and personal email accounts. On the instant messaging side, the Storm supports most major consumer and corporate IM applications.
The G1, for all of its functionality, falls a little short on the email side. The device features no native integration with Exchange, though application developers have worked around that problem. It does offer push access to Gmail and access to other POP3 and IMAP email accounts. It also supports many consumer instant messaging platforms.
And the iPhone, which promises to make email look and work just like it does on a computer, supports popular email servers and providers like MobileMe, Microsoft Exchange, Yahoo Mail, Google Gmail and AOL, along with most industry IMAP or POP mail systems.
Far and away, the BlackBerry Storm wins out the email category, with its legacy for corporate email excellence and its ability to access a host of other consumer-oriented email accounts.
Multimedia Comparison
Another key to survival in the ever-changing smart phone market is advanced multimedia capabilities, and the three latest touch screen chiefs are no exception. The BlackBerry Storm offers an advanced media player with support for pretty much every video and audio format out there; MPEG4 Part 2 Simple Profile, H.264, WMV for video and MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, WMA, WMA ProPlus. It also brings a 3.5 mm stereo headset jack and support for Bluetooth audio profile to the mix. Storm also allows you to sync iTunes music files via BlackBerry Media Sync and has its own media software to manage your music.
iPhone 3G is the best iPod Apple has ever created. The music and video playback experience is awesome. And, Apple continues to update features like Genius Playlist into iPhone makes iPhone’s multimedia support nearly unbeatable. With its seamless integration with iTunes Store, you can download songs wirelessly or sync it between desktop using iTunes. iPhone 3G also supports a wide range of music formats but only plays Quick Time video.
The G1, which integrates with Amazon’s MP3 store, also supports a host of music and video formats and features native support to view mobile YouTube videos.
When it comes to multimedia, Apple takes the cake. The iPhone evolved out of the iPod, which garnered a great deal of success, and as Steve Jobs continues to update the portable music player, there’s no telling what he has in store for the next generation of iPhones.
Camera and Video capabilities
Camera and video capabilities are becoming more and more important for smart phone buyers, especially as they become more consumer-focused devices. The Storm, G1 and iPhone 3G all offer cameras. But one device does it better than the others.
The Storm ties in a 3.2-megapixel camera with video capabilities, variable zoom, auto focus and a flash that also provides continuous lighting while recording video. The T-Mobile G1’s camera is also 3 megapixels. The G1 offers auto focus, but lacks zoom and video capabilities. And the iPhone 3G, clocks in with a puny 2 megapixel camera that also doesn’t capture video.
When it comes to the camera, the BlackBerry Storm takes the win, and it wasn’t a photo finish.
Third Party Applications
The Apple iPhone has the AppStore, a marketplace where developers can build and sell apps for users to download, for a fee, to their device. They range from the useful ” world clocks ” to the absurd ” a cowbell that dings with a screen tap. Apple, however, likes to have its hands in the cookie jar and takes a fee from the developers and has control over which applications make it into the AppStore to be consumed by the general public.
The G1 takes a more hands-off approach through the Android Market, the open source Linux Google Androids own application depository where third-party developers can create applications and offer them to users ” for free or for a fee ” without Google taking a cut or even limiting which apps get in and which don’t.
RIM, at the same time the Storm was announced, also announced the availability of new developer tools for creating and testing mobile-savvy applications for the Storm, the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Pearl Flip. The tools include new versions of the BlackBerry Java Development Environment that enable development of mobile application that work both in touch-screen and keyboard environments.
So far, the G1 leads the pack when it comes to third-party application integration, with Android’s hands-off approach and freedom for developers, allowing them to unleash creative and innovative apps on the masses with little to no hindrance.
Internet
Another staple of the touch-screen revolution has become high quality browsers that give users the feel of the true Web on their mobile device. Users are looking for the same Internet experience they’d get on a desktop, so device makers are pulling out all of the stops to help that translate to smart phones.
The iPhone 3G ties in a Safari browser that works via EDGE, Wi-Fi or 3G. Users can zoom in and out with a tap or a pinch and view Web sites in both portrait or landscape mode. A quick rotation of the device and the Web site being viewed rotates too. The iPhone’s browser also lets users create a home screen icon, called a Web clip, for their favorite Web sites so they can be accessed with just a tap.
The G1 has a full HTML browser with onscreen controls to zoom in and out, which is a different from the iPhone’s pinch method. It allows users to open multiple pages at once. Both iPhone’s Safari and the G1’s browser, which is similar to a mobile version of Google Chrome, are based on Webkit, an open source browser. The G1 also offers one-click Google search.
The BlackBerry Storm’s HTML browser is also expected to support flip functions to move the screen, cut and paste and copying with the slide of a finger. It’s also expected to let users click through URL links and a host of other functions.
Right now, the G1 promises the best mobile internet experience, despite its close similarities to the iPhone. Time will tell if it stands up, but if it’s loosely based on Chrome, it has the potential to be the more dominant touch screen browser.
Battery Life
The whole point of a mobile device is to have access to information on the go. If the battery conks out, a smart phone is nothing more than an expensive paperweight in your pocket.
Almost all other smartphones have removable batteries. The Apple iPhone doesn’t. To this day it causes frustration for some users, especially since the battery life of the iPhone 3G isn’t exactly superlative. Being able to swap in a spare would be great.
In terms of the battery life, the BlackBerry storm offers 15 days of standby time and about 5.5 hours of talk time, though that doesn’t account for time spent surfing the Web, sending emails or listening to music. T-Mobile’s G1 promises up to 130 hours — a little more than 5 days — of standby time and up to 5 hours of talk time. And the iPhone 3G goes above and beyond, offering up to 5 hours talk time on 3G or up to 10 hours on 2G with standby time of up to 300 hours, or 12.5 days. For Internet use, the iPhone 3G offers up to 5 hours on the 3G network and up to 6 hours on Wi-Fi. It also promises up to 7 hours of battery life for video playback and up to 24 hours for audio playback.
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