Side-by-side comparison of Windows Phone 7, iPhone 4 and Google Nexus One

This is a follow up blog to our Windows Phone 7 Review posted a few days ago.  Although Windows Phone 7 (WP7) is yet to launch, the videos below are an excellent side-by-side comparison of the user experience on your – soon to be – WP7 device, the Apple iPhone 4 running iOS and Google’s Nexus One running Android.  We look at the main operating system first and everything from answering calls to receiving text messages and pictures on the WP7, to a browser comparison video of the three platforms, followed by an early look at WP7’s email client and how it compares to Android and iOS.

Let’s start by getting you up to speed on Windows Phone 7. This first video is a quick overview of Windows Phone 7 Start Screen, Camera, and Settings.

Note, all of these videos were done on a pre-release Windows Phone 7 device, so some functionality and performance aren’t quite release ready.

Video 2 is a Windows Phone 7 Browser Comparison across the three devices – Windows Phone 7 device, iPhone 4 & Nexus One.

Video Number 3 is a great comparison of Windows Phone 7 Email Client vs. Apple’s iPhone 4 & Google Nexus One

Special thanks to our friends at Pocketnow.com for creating these awesome videos and sharing them with the community.

What do you think about Windows Phone 7?  Whatever you decide, make sure you compare your cellphone plan offers, side-by-side and get the best deal for yourself or business.

If only Microsoft continued to innovate from the days of the Pocket PC, when the mere act of having a mobile computer in your hands was cutting edge.  When using a stylus was cool, a PDA was just a PDA and Palm was king of the jungle.  If only.  The landscape has changed dramatically since then and the smart phone giants, Apple, RIM and Google have taken almost all of Microsoft’s market share, but alas Microsoft is back with Windows Phone 7, but can this new operating system bring back any glory.  With the new giants on the block and Apple, RIM and Google miles ahead, only time will tell, but in the meantime let’s see what Windows Phone 7 is all about.

What is Windows Phone 7?

Windows Phone 7 (WP7) is a totally new mobile operating system and platform from Microsoft.   Microsoft (MS) is hoping to repeat the success of Windows 7 for desktop computers , which earned a ton of respect from a host of naysayers and critics.  Windows Phone 7 is likely to do the same, despite the fact that the name itself causes confusion.

So what’s so special about Windows Phone 7?

Everything! No Joke, Everything.  My first impression of WP7 was – its slick, its fresh.

The first thing you will likely notice are the squares on the Start Screen.  Microsoft MS, refers to them as Live Tiles and they come alive to show real time social network status updates.  You can add as many tiles as you want and additional tiles can be accessed by scrolling down and then shifted around as you wish.  From the Start Screen as well, you have access to email, SMS, contacts, voicemail and pictures.  Also from the Start Screen you can click on the arrow on the top right to access your full list of Applications.  This way you don’t have an overcrowded Start Screen trying to be everything to everyone at the same time.  So from there you can launch MS Excel or PowerPoint or whatever application you desire.

Think of each Tile as a doorway into what MS now calls hubs.  It’s a really cool way of organizing the various activities of our lives and makes the experience that much more integrated.  So for instance, click on the People Tile and you gain access to all of your contacts with a really intuitive way to sort or filter.

Clicking on the Pictures Tile brings will bring up the main Gallery along with options for your albums, Camera roll and Favourites.  The mosaic option will show recent photos and under the What’s New menu option, WP7 will also bring in photos from Facebook friends  and other social media services.
Every windows phone will have a Search button and once clicked you will see Bing’s now infamous photo of the day.  Doing a search on your WP7 device with Bing, will show results based on the GPS location of the phone.  So you will get localized results, along with breaking news relevant to your search term and other more general info related to that topic.

If you are a One Note user, and if not, you should be, using One Note on WP7 is amazing.   For example, you can launch One Note and instantly create a document with pictures, notes and voice recordings and then email it to one of your contacts.  Once again WP7 has made the process intuitive and powerful, since you aren’t limited to a text note or a voice note or a pic. One Note on WP7 simply integrates everything.

Browsing the internet on your WP7, will utilize MS’s very own Internet Explorer.  The browser will have all the touch screen functionality common place today, thanks capacitive displays, which will be standard on all WP7 phones.  Functionality such as, multi-touch, pinch to zoom and double tap to zoom.  WP7 will also allow tabbing of web pages so you can have multiple tabs saved.  Addresses and phone numbers embedded on any web-page will also be clickable and you can initiate a phone call, map an address or leverage Bing’s decision engine to access reviews.  Another cool feature from the results of a search is WP7’s Nearby, which will provide various Points of Interest in close proximity.  WP7 also has a Pin to Start feature where you can save web pages you like to the start screen for future reference. Pinning a web page to the Start Screen will add a new Tile at the bottom of your Start Screen.  It’s still unclear at this time if WP7 will support other browsers like Firefox or Google Chrome.

We’ve all used a computer running Windows and certainly used MS Outlook.  For millions of business professionals MS Outlook is such an integral part of ones day that Windows Mobile still does the job for many.  With WP7 the Calendar is so smartly designed it makes accessing the information you want seem simple to find.  You can sort the calendar by day, month or agenda view. Agenda view gives you a short snippet of your daily appointments and you can double click on any appointment and get all the details along with links to any maps or search capabilities leveraging Bing. Another cool feature of WP7 is that you can integrate multiple email accounts and designate them in your calendar by colour as personal or professional.

So what about my music?  The Music & Video Tile on WP7 looks and feels like Zune. If you are unfamiliar with Zune, it’s MS’s entertainment software platform. Once you click on your Music & Video Tile, you will see Zune’s main menu of options to access your, music, videos, podcasts, radio and marketplace.  If you are a Zune subscriber you will gain access to an infinite library of music without doing any work, which is simply amazing.

Checking email on your WP7, will feel a whole lot cleaner. The clutter has been removed and the information most relevant to the email is given prominence.  Specifically, the sender is shown, the date and the first sentence or so of the email.  You can also sort or filter your inbox in a number of pre-defined ways. For instance, you can sort your email by unread messages, highest importance, flagged messages, etc.

If you took a look at Start Screen closely you may have noticed something very exciting in the image.  An Xbox Live Tile or put differently, your Games hub.  With WP7 you will be able to play Xbox LIVE games on your cell phone.   And we aren’t talking about childish feeling games, we are talking about high intensity action games with the full Xbox gameplay experience.  Games like Assassins Creed or Halo Waypoint.  There will be two types of games, Xbox LIVE games and non-regulated device games, which don’t have to be designed for XBox alone.  With more than 23 million people on Xbox live, however, this is sure to be a hit with the gamer community and MS will have several games available in the marketplace at launch.  Lastly, many of the XBox Live tokens will be present on the WP7 experience, such as avatars, gamer scores and achievements and credits.

For an early side-by-side comparison of Windows Phone 7 versus iPhone 4 versus Google Nexus One, this video blog is a must see.

WP7 Lock Screen

Who will make Windows 7 Phones?

HTC, Samsung and LG Electronics continue to be the principal Windows Phone 7 device vendors being mentioned at this time.   We know HTC has had a long standing relationship with MS and the HTC HD2 has been rumored to be the first device to run WP7 for some time.

As reported at the Windows Mobile Congress, Dell has communicated quite openly their  plans to work with MS and support Windows Phone 7 phones.   The Dell Lightning has been one such rumoured device and images can be found on the internet. Whether or not this device will make it to production is left to be seen, but we are confident Dell will have its selection of Windows Phone 7 phones in time for the holidays.

Are you sold yet?

With Windows Phone 7 it’s clear that Microsoft has focused a ton of a attention on the user experience and more specifically the consumer experience versus the business user.  By integrating the Zune design elements in the overall theme of Windows Phone 7 , Microsoft has demonstrated their commitment to making a product that feels polished.  With Windows Mobile it always felt as though you were using a desktop computer shrinked to fit on a mobile device but MS has made some key decisions to ensure performance and experience aren’t compromised in WP7.  For instance, Microsoft is not allowing custom skins on their device at this time and they have also communicated more stringent hardware requirements to improve controls and ensure a more consistent experience and performance.  With Windows Phone 7, Microsoft has given themselves a fighting chance to remain relevant in the mobile space and reclaim some respectability in the mobile race.

So when and where can I get a Windows Phone 7 phone?

Early indications are that Windows Phone 7 phones will hit the market in mid October in the US and Canada as MS has committed to a simultaneous North America wide launch.  We believe that pricing will be fairly standard ($99 – $199 on  3yr contract) for smart phones as MS doesn’t want to price their devices out of the reach of the larger smart phone market.  The other good news is that Windows Phone 7 phones will be available with all of the carriers.

So what do you think? Are you impressed?

Can Microsoft, take a bite out of Apple, squeeze a Berry or take the steroids away from Android?

Can Android cell phone growth continue with this blistering pace?

Research firm Gartner this month published reports which indicated that the Android platform has overtaken Apple’s iPhone as the world’s 3rd most popular smartphone operating system (OS) with 17.2% of the global smartphone market behind BlackBerry and Symbian (Nokia).  In the US the Android OS was the number 1 smartphone OS in the US for the last quarter (Q2 2010).  Worldwide sales of Android cell phones passed 10.5 million in the last quarter – that’s an astonishing 1300% increase over last year when sales were below 1 million. In 2 months, Android sales have risen from 100K per day to 200K per day, according to Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt.

5 reasons for Android’s phenomenal growth

If you are like me you may be wondering what’s driving this growth. Well there are several reasons behind this, but here are my top 5 reasons for Android’s phenomenal growth:

1. Multiple Corporate Interests – While Google may be credited with anything Android, the truth is that Android is being developed by an Open Handset Alliance made up of a business alliance of 78 firms that came together to create open standards for mobile handsets. Some of the key members include Google, HTC, Dell, Intel, Motorola, Samsung, LG, T-Mobile, Sony Ericsson and eBay to name a few.  Many of these firms have a financial interest to see Android succeed and together they are making this happen.
2. Open source means lower cost – The fact that Android is open source based (Linux OS) means that there are no licensing fees to pay to any one company (e.g. Microsoft) and in return Android based smartphones are cheaper to build and can be more affordable for customers.
3. iPhone exclusivity – When Apple decided to take the exclusivity route with carriers, it created a major imbalance in the market for the other carriers. Take Verizon for example, with no iPhone to sell to customers it must find an iPhone alternative for its 90+ million subscribers. And that alternative is……you guessed it….Android. Android has been successfully marketed as an iPhone replacement/killer and pushed by all the other carriers that didn’t have it. Here in Canada Bell and Telus were forced to adopt the same strategy when the iPhone was exclusive to Rogers over the last 2 years.
4. Google support – All things web and online related goes through Google or so they would like. So in order to support this initiative Google has made sure that its most popular applications integrate seamlessly into the Android operating system. I am talking about Gmail, Google Maps, Google Search, Google Calender and Google talk to name a few. It has also supported the apps ecosystem to ensure that there is an endless supply of good applications for Android based devices. So much so that Android apps are now rivaling the iPhone.  Only time will tell who will end up with the top application environment. Given Android’s rapid growth, guess where I’m placing my bet.
5. It includes Flash Support – Have you tried to surf the web without flash? Its a horrible experience. Froyo, Android’s latest version is integrating Flash 10 support. Apple’s position not support Flash is helping Android in this department. This means that Android mobile users will be able to experience a very similar experience on there mobile devices as they on their desktop computers.

Conclusion

While Android has shot through the stratosphere, I don’t expect it continue,  because the same reasons that made Android great will cause  it  to return to  ground. Google’s support and apps will be made available to all mobile operating systems, the iPhone exclusivity will eventually disappear and Verizon will get the iPhone. In addition, Apple will eventually embrace Flash and Microsoft will innovate and include enough incentives to allow some of the manufacturers that are part of the Open Handset Alliance  movement to also adopt Windows operating systems. So while nothing lasts forever, Android is on a nice high right now and will likely milk this for all its worth!

Looking for the best Android cell phones then get it on your terms.

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Why you should care about Net neutrality?

So what exactly is net (Network) neutrality and what is all the fuss about? Well, in its most simple definition, it simply means that all internet traffic should be treated equally.  So if you send me an email and  I was surfing the web then your email won’t be treated any differently than my request for pages from the Globe and Mail for example. All traffic is treated the same way.

Net Neutrality no way!

Opponents of net neutrality, typically the carriers, provide a different argument – essentially, there are cases where it makes sense to discriminate against traffic on their networks. For example, if Health Canada is using the Internet to transfer data over the network that could potentially save someone else’s life then that data should be treated with a higher priority than the email you sent to me asking about my vacation.  Makes sense. The argument also includes P2P or peer to peer traffic which degrades the network at the expense of all other traffic – currently providers do impose restrictions on peer to peer traffic as part of bandwidth shaping polices (we’ve heard about Bell, Telus and Rogers throttling their network to limit the effects of peer to peer traffic).  Even with the growing popularity of VoIP protocols and services, their is an argument that says 911 calls should be prioritized over the network after all these are emergency calls.

Yes for Net Neutrality!

Proponents of net neutrality see things different – in terms of freedoms. In fact, Google has been one of the strongest supporters of net neutrality because of their need to protect their search and affiliated sites. While these examples listed above would lead you to agree to some form of a network priority system, it comes down to trust. Do we trust the Telcos and Cablecos to act responsible in this manner?  Given their financial bias if they are given the keys to network priority we can easily make a case that it would be in their best interest to limit VoIP calls on their network and degrade it to such an extent that it makes sense for each customer to purchase their more expensive home phone solutions. Or they may limit your access to a competitor’s website because it would be in their best interest to do so.

With the advent of fibre optics Internet connection speeds have jumped to as high as 100 MBps or more. Carriers have upgraded their networks to keep up with the demand for high speed internet in customers’ homes. As a result, there is enough bandwidth to accommodate all forms of traffic without degradation of traffic. Verizon recently came out in support of Net Neutrality on broadband lines because of this reason.  But what about wireless networks?

On Wireless – Yes or No?

Net neutrality arguments have moved feverishly to wireless networks. Given the limited bandwidth available to the large number of cell phones and on Internet access hungry smartphones these arguments have started to resurface.  A priority system is being recommended for wireless traffic.  The biggest surprise in all of this has been Google which supports Verizon’s position of some form of limitation on wireless traffic. Go figure! Now that Google has Android and a closer relationship with the carriers, it seems that once its interest is protected so be it. So much for “do no evil” mantra that Google supposedly lives by.

My Thoughts

Again it comes down to trust! Do we trust the carriers to act in our best interest.  Our do we believe they will act in THEIR best interest. Take a look at Skype – allowing the Skype app on phones will mean that customers will not likely use their long distance plans and reduce their dependence on voice and move to a data only option on their cell phones. This will mean millions of dollars in lost revenue for the carriers while putting more money in your pocket. Given Verizon’s behavior on the use of the Skype application I will certainly push for net neutrality on my cell phone – won’t you?

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Nokia’s N8 Cellphone Review

As the world’s leading handset maker, Nokia has yet to make any really strides in Canada and the U.S. At least as far as smartphones are concerned. Looking to capitalize on a recent string of impressive devices, Nokia hopes the N8 will be able to capture the attention of North American users with its’ latest smart phone.

The Nokia N8 is a multimedia beast with smart phone functionality capable of handling multimedia, from photos to video to social networking but that can’t be all. What makes it different?

Why I like the Nokia N8?

• The phone comes with a Carl Zeiss/Tessar camera with 12 megapixels. 12 MEGAPIXELS? Wow!!
• The ability to record in High definition which can be played on HD TVs by using its HDMI port
• A 3.5 inch display with a full QWERTY keyboard with a multi-touch screen
• Dolby Digital Plus surround sound along with 16GB of built in storage.
• View Facebook and Twitter status, share photos and more on  a single app on the home screen

As far as software goes, the Symbian 3 OS  offers some new advancements such as mulit-touch screen, pinch zooming, single touch scrolling along with three customizable home screens ready for the latest apps and widget.

Why I don’t like it ?

This device does have what it takes to compete, esthetically and multimedia wise. However, for heavy phone users, all recent reports suggest that the battery life is not at all impressive. Also, the Symbian OS 3 may be its biggest downfall. Right now, it strongly lacks the community of apps that is present with Apple or the Android. Big time negative! Ease of use and efficiency. Pundits profess that the functionality and the speed of use is lagging. For app and data rich users, this is a no no. If they can hurdle this important obstacle, is there any reasons why users won’t rush to get this device?

The Verdict?

The Nokia N8 is scheduled to be available towards the end of September in the US. Nokia is also taking pre-orders on the device. In Canada, reports or rumours suggest that Rogers will offer the device and, possibly, Wind. We should know the answers to the question within the next 3 to 4 weeks.

But will it fly in North America? As we all know, Apple, Blackberry and Android dominate the North American  Does the Nokia N8 have enough to push into this market? Probably not, just yet – it doesn’t have the momentum of Android, the market recognition of BlackBerry or the cool factor of the iPhone, but I would suggest that the N8 is a step in the right direction.

Leverage the one stop shop for all your cell phone deals to get the Nokia N8 when it launches in Canada.

Battle of the smart phone giants?

The race for smart phone market share and the hearts of the consumer has never been this heated, with Apple and RIM recently launching new devices – iPhone 4 and Torch 9800 respectively – and Android seemingly releasing a new smart phone every day. For customers there has never been a better time, competition in Canada appears to be heading in the right direction – albeit still early times – but smart phone penetration is increasing and innovation is rampant. With the enterprise market tapped out the name of the game is consumers and we are FICKLE. Yeah, I said it. So the reason for this post and the question we have been discussing in the office today is, is there room in the cell phone market for three giants the size of Google, RIM and Apple? It’s a valid question, because yesterday’s poster child of cell phones was Motorola with the Razr V3. Remember how hot, how revolutionary that phone was in terms of design and sheer sex appeal?

So can all 3 of these giants co-exist or will someone get the boot?

In Corner #1: Apple

Unstoppable since its launch of the iPhone in 2007, Apple appeared incapable of doing anything wrong until the recent antenna issue with the iPhone 4. Despite this setback, Apple’s iPhone 4 has been impossible to keep in stock and if the number of proposal requests at mycellmyterms is any indication – there’s no stopping it. Bumper case or not, people want the iPhone 4 no matter what. With the rest of the industry busy trying to manufacturer thinner, smaller devices, Apple innovated and set a whole new trail. While the iPhone was revolutionary on its launch and the iPhone 4 continues to improve Apple’s credibility in the enterprise market the gap is certainly closing. None the less the iPad frenzy a few weeks prior is a reminder that Apple continues to innovate and trend in the right direction.

In Corner #2: Google

One major plus for Android as a whole is the fact that by being an Open Handset Alliance (OHA), several vendors are currently developing on the Android Operating System. For that reason, Android devices over the last few months have been fast and furious and innovation has been rapid. From the HTC Magic, to the HTC Hero, and more recently the first 4G phone the HTC Evo to Motorola’s Backflip or Milestone and Samsung’s Gravity S to name a few. Google entered the market this year as well with its very own device the – Nexus One – with a direct to consumer strategy. While the strategy failed and the Nexus One has been discontinued one thing for sure is that Google really put Android on the map and customers continue to anticipate the next Android offering and a growing apps market.

In Corner #3: Research In Motion (RIM)

The darling of Canada’s telecommunications space, RIM still owns the enterprise market and has more worldwide market share than Apple and RIM combined.  However, with growth limited to emerging markets – Asia – and reviews of the Torch 9800 mixed, the way forward seems a little rockier for this giant. Early sales figures for the Torch are reportedly disappointing and the importance of this device for market buzz and overall BlackBerry excitement is critical. Many BlackBerry loyalist are jumping ship in favour of the iPhone and Android more recently. The release of BlackBerry OS 6 is suppose to put RIM right back in the thick of things, but only time will tell if the new OS and hopefully a host of new products can stem the tide.

So what do you think?

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The HTC Desire has received positive reviews by Industry experts and those looking to get the latest HTC Smartphone will not be disappointed. Coming off the heels of the HTC Legend, the Desire looks to impress users with its improved ease of use and the new Sense UI. Strikingly similar to the Google Nexus One, with the exception of the trackball, the Desire looks to build on what has been a recent line of impressive smartphones. This can’t be too much of a surprise given that HTC is behind the Google branded smartphone.

Key Differences Between the HTC Desire and Google Nexus One

• Optical trackball that registers finger motion as opposed to the traditional trackball
• No active noise cancellation filter on the Desire, but available on the Nexus One
• Slightly more RAM(576MB-512MB) in the Desire
• 8GB microSD card vs 4GB microSD
• Platform: Android 2.1 with Sense UI vs. Android 2.1

Why I like the Desire

Reason number 1: The latest Sense UI on top of Android 2.1. Also, the following features and functionality make it more attractive to those looking for the latest smartphone.

So let’s run some of these features down:

• A slim Smartphone with a large 3.7 inch OLED touch screen
• Optical trackpad, instead of trackball, that registers finger motion over the sensor
• 7 Home screens that can be customized with applications, widgets and icons
• Micro USB slot along with a microSD card slot
• Leap View – the ability to pinch zoom from screen to screen-very cool
• Optical trackball and FM radio
• Large display clock that also displays the weather based on your location. Very cool feature

Why I don’t like the HTC Desire

No active noise cancellation. Let’s face it. How many times have you been on the phone when the person on the other end says there is too much background noise. Advantage Nexus One

So Who in Canada will carry the HTC Desire?

At this time, this device is exclusive to TELUS but I’m sure that it will be avialable on all major networks by Christmas. The HTC Desire was built to work on the GSM/HSPA network so compatibility should not be an issue with the major carriers. So the real decision for the Canadian consumer and business looking for the HTC Desire is which carrier will offer the right plan that meets the needs of the user. The bottom line is the best deal only makes sense when cellphone companies compete for your business.

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A review of the new Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant

The Samsung Galaxy is now available to be explored in Canada. It was launched on Bell’s network on Aug 6 and it is likely to be exclusive to Bell until the end of Q3. This device is an impressive cell phone and it begs the question – is this the best Android phone in the market today? Let’s review the features and specs on this phone to answer that question.

What’s cool?

Samsung launched this smartphone with a lot of fan fare and its the best cell phone Samsung has produced to-date. Here are some of the key features which make this phone one of the top Androids in the market:

1. Clearly the most distinguishable feature on this device is the exclusive SUPER AMOLED Touch screen. This enhances the overall experience of this cell phone because images are crisp and super clear. And it comes packaged in an ultra slim 4 inch 800 x 480 display.  Not only is this screen 20% better than traditional AMOLED displays but it reflects sunlight allowing you to use the phone outside in the Sun! While this is very impressive, I must stop short of saying this is the best screen display ever on a smartphone – this distinction I have to give to the retina display of the iPhone but second in this department is not bad.
2. This phone comes with a 1GHz Hummingbird processor which uses 20 – 30% less battery than traditional processors and is built to handle mobile gaming,  enhanced video and camera support. Great for the multi-media user!
3. Of course this phone comes with the Android 2.1 operating system, packed with many enhancements and upgrades which further improves the user experience on this phone.
4. Its 5 MP back camera and 1 MP front facing camera, makes it ideal for video calls. The camera also allows users to record in startling 720p HD along with 3D surround sound capabilities
5. Samsung also loaded this phone up with some key enhancements like Social Hub which is an app that integrates Facebook, Twitter, Flickr and other social networks into one integrated display that allows you to keep track of multiple social networks at once. This cell phone also comes preloaded with Qik video and  Swype (an alternative input method which allows you type without lifting your fingers) .
6. Overall you won’t be disappointed by the multimedia experience on this phone, Samsung got a lot of things right with this phone. The other cool thing about this phone is that it has a nice look to it (surprisingly similar to the iPhone 3Gs don’t you think?).

What’s not so cool about the Samsung Galaxy?

Well its difficult to build a phone of this caliber and not have a few items which require work.  This list in my opinion highlight the key “uncool” features:

1. I know this might be a bit trivial but the phone feels “cheap” like it was made with throw away plastic, even though it “looks” great it has a poor feel to it. Maybe its just me.  But the plastic should be upgraded with a stronger casing.
2. Limited hardware controls – it looks cool, but this doesn’t function so well. For example, there are no camera buttons to take a photo – and the location of the power button at the side feels like the camera button, so there is tendency to turn off the device by pressing that button. This should be moved to the top or bottom of the cell phone.
3. No flash for the camera. While the phone comes with an amazing autofocus feature, there is no flash for the camera! What gives?
4. The phone freezes and stutters every now and then despite the ultra fast 1 GHz processor – maybe its the integration of Samsung goodies with the operating system – not sure
5. And finally I would have loved to have Froyo (Android 2.2) on this device since this is the current operating system – though I understand that you can upgrade the phone to 2.2 – however I would have loved to have a tested version right out of the gate.

Conclusion

The Samsung Galaxy S is an impressive cell phone and I give it high marks for social media and multi-media features.  I certainly would place this phone in the top 5 Android phones in the market.  I won’t put this phone on the top just yet, as Samsung still has some work to do before it can become a top tier phone.

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With Apple launching its iPhone 4 on July 30th in Canada and BlackBerry announcing the launch of the BlackBerry Torch 9800 last week, we have already received hundreds of questions about which device is better.  One key thing to note, is that both devices showcase new operating systems – Apple’s iOS 4 and BlackBerry’s OS 6.0 – and off course there is the new hardware.

So here is the ultimate showdown – a side-by-side comparison – of Apple’s iPhone 4 versus BlackBerry’s Torch 9800.

	iPhone 4	BlackBerry Torch 9800	The Winner
Images			-
Look & Feel	Height: 4.5 inches Width: 2.31 inches Depth: 0.37 inch Weight: 4.8 ounces (137 grams)	Height: 4.37in & 5.83 inches open Width 2.44 inches Depth 0.57 inches Weight 5.68 ounces (161 grams)	Winner: iPhone 4 With it’s sleeker design and overall look and feel we give Apple the edge in this area .
Display	3.5-inch wide screen multi-touch Retina display	3.2” HVGA+ multi-touch display allowing the user to apply multiple finger gestures simultaneously.	Winner: iPhone 4 The iPhone 4’s bigger screen is a bonus for most and the clarity of the Retina Display is phenomenal.
Resolution	960×640-pixel resolution at 326 ppi (pixels per inch) Fingerprint-resistant oleo-phobic coating on front and back	480×360 pixel resolution at 188 ppi (pixels per inch)Light-sensing and proximity detecting screen Font size (user selectable) Capacitive resistive touch screen	Winner: iPhone 4 iPhone 4’s Retina display and 326 ppi make it a clear cut winner.
Processor	1GHz CPU with 512MB RAM	624MHZ with 512MB RAM	Winner: Torch 9800 BlackBerry memory management is better than the iPhone, so despite the slower processor it gets the nod.
Capacity	Internal flash drive of 16GB or 32GB No expandable memory	512 MB flash memory / 512 MB SDRAM 8GB of Storage – 4 GB eMMC + 4 GB media card included Expandable memory – support for microSD card up to 32 GB	Winner: Torch 9800 Having the flexibility to add additional Flash memory is a benefit worth having.
Camera	5-MP Camera Tap to focus video or still images LED flash VGA-quality photos and video at up to 30 frames per second with the front camera 5x digital zoom HD Video recording, (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio *Photo and video geotagging	5-MP Camera Continuous auto-focus Image stabilization & Flash 11 scene modes 2X digital zoom VGA (640×480) video recording *Geotagging	Winner: iPhone 4 With its front facing camera, HD Video recording and film editing the iPhone 4 gets the edge.
Battery & Battery Life	Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery 1420 mAh Talk time: Up to 7 hours on 3G Up to 14 hours on 2G Standby time: Up to 300 hours Video playback: Up to 10 hours Audio playback: Up to 40 hours Internet use: Up to 6 hours on 3G Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi	Removable/rechargeable lithium-ion battery (1300 mAHr) Talk Time: up to 5.5 hours on 3G UMTS – up to 5.8 hours Standby Time: GSM® – up to 400 hours, UMTS – up to 14 days Video Playback: up to 6 hours Music Playback: up to 30 hours	Winner: Torch 9800 BlackBerry has always been exceptional in this area so we have to nod to BlackBerry given how efficient the OS is.
WiFi & Bluetooth	802.11 b/g/n support Bluetooth v2.1 VPN for WPA2 Enterprise	802.11 b/g/n Bluetooth WPA / WPA2 Personal and Enterprise Cisco CCX certified Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Wi-Fi access to BlackBerry Internet Bundle Support for UMA (carrier-dependent) Built-in GPS functionality Includes BlackBerry® Maps	Winner: Torch 9800
Applications	With 200,000 apps and counting – lol – the creativity available in iPhone’s app store make owning an iPhone feel like infinite discovery. Anything you can imagine at this stage is likely in the iPhone app store and with that many apps the world is yours.	While BlackBerry argues that quantity is not quality the reality is that the apps in the BlackBerry store typically cost more and the selection is limited.	Winner: iPhone 4

The OS Duo – iOS 4 versus OS 6 (Let’s talk features)

iOS 4 has a number of new bells and whistles but here is a summary of the key features:

• Multi-tasking for third party applications
• Folders for Apps
• Spotlight search for all content including apps, music, mail, notes, contacts and now SMS/MMS along with the option to search the web
• FaceTime allows video calling from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 – over Wi-Fi only
• Home screen wall paper and spell checker
• Support for external Bluetooth keyboards
• Turn on or off cellular data completely
• Greater control over location services, allows you to specify which applications can access your current location.
• Edit in search results and create and edit playlists on the device.
• Resize Photos when sending to friends to reduce the size of messages
• Unified Inbox for multiple email accounts and Threaded Messaging for organizing conversations.
• Multiple Exchange accounts to be created on the same device. Prior versions only supported a single MS Exchange Activesync account
• Support for Opening Attachments
• Direct support for Google Calendar
• SSL VPN support
• Email and attachment encryption through the device passcode

BlackBerry’s OS 6 is laden with features as well, including

• Multi-tasking which has been part of the BlackBerry experience for ages
• WebKit browser makes the BlackBerry web browsing experience on par with the competition.
  Other highlights of the WebKit browser include, tabbed browsing and an auto-wrap text zoom feature that re-formats articles to fit the size of the screen. Multi-touch for photos, music and of course pinch to zoom along with tabbing and support for Flash
• Notification Previews on the Home Screen
• Home screen allows pages of applications
• Integrated Social Feeds ties in all Social Media apps saving you time (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• Universal Search allows you to search all feeds, email, contacts, pictures, notes, text messages, calendar events and search the web as well
• Universal inbox pulls together both email and feeds from social networks such as Twitter and Facebook into one place
• A rejigged media player makes the navigation and experience akin to – dear I say – using iTunes
• Modal popups with gestures making interaction with the device that much more intuitive

BlackBerry’s goal with OS 6 was really about closing the gap and improving the overall BlackBerry user experience.  With iOS 4, Apple’s focus was to add a few key enhancements to better serve the business professional (i.e. unified inbox and multiple exchange accounts , SSL VPN support and passcode data encryption) with a new product design to re-energize its fan base.  BlackBerry is still a powerhouse in the enterprise segment for several reasons (security, exchange support, productivity, etc.) but in order for Apple to chip away at their lead better support for enterprise clients was essential.

So, who takes the prize?

I declare this duo a Draw.  YES  A DRAW.  The BlackBerry Torch 9800 is great engineering itself and with a Touch Qwerty Slider in a package the same thickness as the BlackBerry Bold 9700 (o.56 inches in Depth) it really is impressive.  However, I don’t feel this device is revolutionary in anyway and the really story is the debut of OS 6, which really makes BlackBerry users feel less inferior to other smart phone users.  For Apple, choosing form over function proved to be a serious flaw that threatened the success of the iPhone 4 launch.  Given the number of proposals generated since its launch from people across Canada on myCELLmyTERMS, the antennae issue doesn’t seem to be slowing things down, but for that reason I can’t give a phone that you must have a bumper case for an award in order to make a phone call.  So in short, BlackBerry closed the gap with OS 6 to appease Canadian evangelists and the iPhone fans appear to be willing to support Apple no matter what they do at this stage.

Get your iPhone 4 or Torch 9800 at myCELLmyTERMS – Canada. Make the cell phone companies compete for your business and like this duo, compare your cell phone plans side by side.

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Does the BlackBerry Torch satisfy?

In grand style, the BlackBerry Torch 9800 was unveiled in New York city on Aug 3 at the press conference that RIM hosted. And I can tell you everyone was excited to learn more about RIM’s latest cell phone. There were many questions, and these questions had a lot to do with user experience and BlackBerry’s lost ground to Apple and Android cell phones.  Will this phone bring the BlackBerry Smartphone back info the conversation of the best smartphone on the market? Did the BlackBerry Torch redeem the BlackBerry…..the short answer is…….

Yes. This phone makes the BlackBerry relevant again. Does this release put the Torch in the elite class of the iPhone 4, the HTC Desire  and Samsung Galaxy S? Well, let’s review the phone in some detail before jumping to any conclusions at this stage.

What do I like?

One of the most significant upgrades that separates the Torch 9800 from all other BlackBerry models is the new operating system OS 6. This drives the user experience and everything associated with the Torch. So let’s take a closer look at Blackberry’s  latest:

• Full slide out keyboard! Full QWERTY keys for typing those long emails, and if you prefer the touch screen there is an on-screen keyboard with  SureType®, Multi-tap and QWERTY, and landscape QWERTY. I like these options.
• 512 MB of RAM, 4GB of on-board storage, with a Micro-SD slot for storage up to 32GB
• The camera experience has been greatly enhanced on this version of the BlackBerry and it is inline with other top cell phones in the market – its single shot mode does an excellent job in capturing an image – it looks like s screen capture – what’s on the screen is what you get. Good stuff!
• Great call quality on this device, and with the familiar BlackBerry menu options, it is easy to get to the call menu and start making calls. No antennagate issues here!
• 100% better browser experience with the new web kit rendering – easy to zoom, stretch to zoom on this phone and up until now surfing the web on a BlackBerry was like changing a tire on a highway, painful and dangerous.  And it includes an actual cursor so you get that desktop type experience
• A superior media player and interaction. You can easily slide songs up and down and change views for album view, and this OS allows you to sync your music with your phone from your desktop with WiFi syncing. Wireless music updates to your cell phone. Now that’s cool.
• Universal Search! Yipee. This is one feature that BlackBerry just got right. You can find almost any piece of content on your phone with the universal search feature – this includes, apps, music, contacts, notes, emails etc. It’s easy to use, simple and even Ish (who is a big BlackBerry fan but not too tech savvy) can use it.
• Other goodies. There are a host of other good features built into the operating system – contextual poups, hold down on the screen for 3 seconds and you get the options related to what you are currently doing. Options to view usage on the device, memory usage and storage memory for each app. Enhanced social networking functionality including posting to several social media at the same time: for example you can send a message to FaceBook, Twitter and BlackBerry’s messager all at the same time. And you have the option to send one meesage to several contacts all in one key stroke. Switching from Wifi to 3G is automatic and seemless. Getting notifications is similar to the Android drop down experience.

Wow, that was a mouthful. The other surprising fact about this device is that the phone is only 0.57 inches thick compared to the Bold 9700 which is 0.56 inches thick, practically the same size. So BlackBerry does a great job of making the phone compact.

What don’t I like?

Well with all this good stuff is there anything about this phone that I won’t like. Well yes unfortunately, there are few items I didn’t quite like about this phone which you should be aware of:

• Display – a 480 x 360 capacitive display is ok, but not up to the level of today’s smartphones like the iPhone, HTC Desire (Nexus one), Samsung Galaxy S’ super AMOLED screen. Most of the smartphones in the market today come with a far sharper screen display and resolution. This is something the next hardware ve rsion will certainly have to address.
• Form factor – we argue about form factor over and over again, and my position has always been that it doesn’t matter that much. Well I’m wrong. It does matter. I don’t like the BlackBerry Storm look of the Torch. Let’s make it more sexy. Streamlined. Different. Don’t you think?
• Slow engine – I expected at least a 1GHz processor in this phone, given that this is becoming standard in most smartphones today. The 624MHz Marvell CPU isn’t up to scratch for a phone of this caliber. The net result is that in some cases the UI sticks and stutters when there are apps working. Seems like the phone needs more horsepower in order to really leverage OS 6.
• No Flash Support! I’m disappointed that the new browser doesn’t support flash. I hope like Android that BlackBerry will incorporate Flash into its browser, hopefully in the next upgrade of its operating system
• Backward Compatibility issues – it seems as though this operating system doesn’t work with all the existing apps from early OS versions.  So be aware that some of your  applications may not work on this phone and you may need to wait for the new OS 6 app version.

What’s the Verdict?

So whats the verdict here! Essentially this is the best blackberry phone ever. Hands down in my opinion largely due to a wicked operating system. Earlier I had posed the question, does this phone compare with the iPhones,  Samsung Galaxy S’ and HTC Evos of the world? Well not quite! It is a step in the right direction. It needs to upgrade its hardware with more firepower – the screen display (resolution) is still circa 2008 – the form factor can be revamped a bit to make it look and feel more sleak – and finally the OS 6 still has some quirks that needs to be fixed before it can reach the league of these phones.