Disqus
I’m sure most of you are aware that yesterday Apple launched the new iPhone Touch — basically a bit smaller and lighter iPhone without a phone radio, Bluetooth and a camera. I’m wondering will it affect the sales of the high end multimedia phones…
In a word – YES! While I do like the idea of having everything in a single device, no other device on the market can match the iPod Touch’s or iPhone’s music and video playback capability. Although there are many other phones on the market that promise to do the same thing, the quality of the user interface and the overall easiness of use remains on the side of the Apple’s products. In addition, the large 3.5″ screen makes both video playback and Web browsing more convenient. Not to mention the multi-touch functionality…
Finally, let’s not forget the price — for three (8GB) or four hundred (16GB) bucks you can get the best iPod ever and still save money to get a phone with a decent camera and even a GPS. A single device should be cheaper than two solid devices, but that apparently is not the case.
Are users going to switch back to carry two devices? Very, very possibly. I can easily envision using the iPod Touch for music, video and browsing the Web; and a handset for phone calls and taking quick photos — hack, I’m already using my Nokia N800 for most of the web browsing. It’s also worth mentioning that many users are already relying solely on iTunes for their song purchases, and with two devices they wouldn’t have to change their habits.
Not many devices on the market can do everything. There’s the Nokia E90 Communicator and the N95, as well as the HTC Advantage/Athena. Each of these three cost a fortune and for about the same amount users could get the new BlackBerry Curve 8310 or Nokia 6110 Navigator and still have a GPS capability if that’s what they want.
In the meantime, I’m still waiting to try out the Walkman 3.0 media player as well as the media player of the recently announced Nokia N81 and N95 8GB, though I doubt they can match the iPhone/iPod Touch’s usability level.
Hopefully, the major handset brands will also figure out that users can buy two powerful devices for the price of one, and reduce the price of that single device which should do all the work for us. Not to mention they’ll keep improving their UIs. What do you think?
About The Author
Dusan Belic
Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis.
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