Palm Pre vs iPhone 3.0 vs Blackberry Storm 2 vs. Nokia N97 vs. HTC Touch Pro2

Yesterday, an interesting article was written by Kit Eaton over at Fast Company comparing the Palm Pre to the upcoming iPhone. Being a former iPhone owner and getting an early hands on with the Palm Pre, I can say that there were some problems with this review.

First and foremost there is NO mention of Palm Pre's multi-tasking capabilities. Apple's iPhone, although a nice and user friendly device, lacks true multi-tasking capabilities which most closely resembles a computer. WinMo (Windows Mobile) has had the ability to Multi-Task for years, but until recently, with  new builds by SE's Xperia and HTC's Touch and Pro, the user interface were nowhere near as nice, easy to use and compelling as Palm's WebOS.

Second, it is well rumored at several different sources, that the new iPhone will have 32gb of storage. That is fine and dandy if you are into downloading music and videos. The Pre only has 8gb of storage, which frankly suits me fine. That gives me enough space for a decent amount of music and some videos if needed. If I really want more space for storage or for work related items, I would (or couldn't) load it onto a proprietary system like iTunes (in which case I would rather use WinAmp's built in software to load my music), I would just get myself any large USB key chain drive with an even higher storage capacity than the iPhone like this example.

Third, Palm has not really allowed anyone to play with the full WebOS and has not announced any applications except for the few that we have seen. This could play a central role in Palm's attempt to showing that the Pre is truly a smart phone while keeping it's OS goodies a secret from the other manufactures.

No one can discount that the iPhone was a huge success and has pushed ALL cell phone manufactures into the next phases of mobile evolution; A micro-computing in your pocket that doubles as a phone. iPhone may have set the bar, but Palm raised it with the WebOS. Linux based phones have been around for a while, but Palm's UI has taken it to a whole new level.

Furthermore, the article quoted Sprint's pricing with $100 mail in rebate (which only 50% of consumers average turning in) but the article failed to mention Best Buy's pricing with $100 instant rebate, making the phone the least expensive new 'smart phone' device on the market.

As I am writing this and researching information, I see a new article comparing Palm Pre, iPhone 3.0, Blackberry Storm 2 and Nokia N97 on the blogs at PC World.

Nokia's N97 wins hands down in the storage department because it comes standard with 32gb standard, which is also expandable. The Nokia also has the best camera by far with a 5 mega pixel, autofocus with LED flash - although I have NO CLUE as to why White and Brown are the chosen colors. That's a deal killer right there!

Blackberry Storm 2 we are being told will not have RIM's annoying SurePress click-screen and  decided to join the traditional fixed capacitive display for the part deux version. It also has 3.2 megapixel auto focus camera, a 3.5 mm jack and a USB charger.

HTC's Touch Pro2 was left off of the list but should have been added because it is a smart phone. The TP2 will come with a Slide-out 5-row QWERTY, 3.6-inch touch-sensitive screen with WVGA (480 X 800 pixel) resolution, Dual microphone/speaker with conference call capability, Wi-Fi®, Bluetooth® 2.1 A2DP for wireless stereo headsets, HTC ExtUSB^TM 1-pin mini-USB 2.0, audio jack, and TV Out* in one, Adjustable tilt screen, Micro SD storage and Zoom bar.

Questions about the five phones:

1. What will the next gen iPhone really have and will current 3G owners think it's worth the upgrade?
2. Will consumers in this cash strapped economy pay unsubsidized price of $695 for the Nokia N97?
3. Will Blackberry users (and bitter Storm owners) upgrade to a capacitive display model?
4. Unsubsidized pricing has not been determined, but is by far the most expensive unlocked phone at $750.
5. How many fans will Palm Pre and WebOS draw?

Those answers remain to be seen this summer.

Comments

[Ari]

My thought, i just don't see the Storm 2 being that successful. Most blackberry users need the keyboard all the time, and the virtual keyboard cannot compare to a physical one, i tried the original Storm and couldnt use it. The Touch Pro 2 looks really cool, but no matter what you do to it, its still running WM and thats just doesn't work for me. I have tried so many WM phones over the years and am just over it. I take all these Ipohne rumors with a grain of salt. They always restricted multi tasking etc due to lack of battery power so i cant imagine them going too crazy now. And finally, the Pre is awesome haha

[oneAwake]

Regarding the cameras, to my understanding the Pre does not need autofocus. It uses advanced image correction software designed by Canon, which allows the camera to have great depth of field (DOF), rendering sharp, excellent photos.

[Tony Peric]

The new Palm Pre smartphone uses the latest imaging correction software from DxO Labs: http://www.dxo.com/us/photo makes of the same software that Cannon and Nikon for image processing and correction. This will give it the ability to produce excellent photos.

[loocas]

That image from pcworld is spreading misinformation. it's comparing the $69 Everything Data Sprint monthly plan (which includes voice, data, and text msgs) with the $30 AT&T data plan (which is ON TOP of the standard AT&T monthly plan). I don't have an account on pcworld to make comments but someone should correct them.

[John]

It also lists the Pre as quad GSM... that is incorrect, it's CDMA with dual band GSM for international roaming right? So it is quadband but not GSM Quad...

[ajigga]

i just beat out my buddies palm camera with my touch pro.... we went shot for shot and the palm couldnt handle it. i think the pre is great but with only 8 gb its pretty wack. you better be able to multi task because you wont be able to save jack!