With all the hype over Apple products lately, one would think that they have taken control over the market, at least in the handheld electronics spectrum-they've got the iPod, for starters, which revolutionized portable music. Now there is the iPhone, which seems to be in every other person's hand. However, a new competitor has breached the phone market and while the iPhone is getting all the hype for its 3G smartphone-ness, the Motorola Droid has some statistics that cannot be ignored. So, which is better? Well it all boils down to 3 things: What do you want to use the phone for, what user functionalities best suit you, and also how much you are willing to pay for the actual cell phone service. Let's start by examining the phones themselves, and comparing their technical specs.
iPhone-The basic layout, pros and cons.
Overview:
For this review's purposes, I will be reviewing the iPhone 3GS, because it is the newer, superior version of the iPhone. From
http://www.apple.com/ and
http://www.billshrink.com/ , I have found some important specs for the comparison. The Apple iPhone weighs in at a mere 4.8 ounces, and is 4.5" tall by 2.4" wide, with a depth of .48". This makes it very slim and easy to carry in a pocket. You have two choices of storage capacity: 16 or 32GB, and also can choose black or white for your phone color. (Although, here is where you could invite Michael Jackson to start singing that old hit, because quite honestly in the end... does color matter? I suppose to an extent...) Okay. That's the boring stuff. Now let's talk about what REALLY matters.
Screen Resolution: 480x320 pixel resolution. Not bad for a little beast.
Camera Resolution: 3.0 Megapixel (Better than some... yes) However, the iPhone has onboard video editing. Something nifty for those vloggers out there. And like always the Apple product does beat out the others when it comes to multimedia tools.
Wifi?: Yes. Well of course.
Battery Life (by continuous 3G talk time): 5 hours. This is definitely decent.
GPS: Yes-turn by turn and digital compass. Useful, needless to say.
Number of Apps: iTunes App Store with 93,200 Apps. The LARGEST market of Apps. This is a plus for the iPhone.
Multitasking: NO. That, my friends, is disappointing. Even for Apple. (Not. That. I'm partial. To PCs.)
So overall, the iPhone seems to be a decent phone. Some advantages it has over the Droid, which we will comment on next, are definitely the Apps. This selection is over 9 times what the Android Market has. Also, compatible video and audio formats---the iPhone has several more formats that are compatible... however it is still incapable of using WMAs. Then again, they have their own Apple formats, such as MOV video files, that are not compatible with the Droid. Not shocking though, as this is definitely Mac vs. PC to an extent. Macs don't like to share, and Microsoft is nice and picky.
Motorola Droid: The Powerhouse of pros and cons
Overview:
The Motorola Droid is a strong, versatile phone. Information comes from
http://www.motorola.com/ and
http://www.billshrink.com/ . The droid weighs in a 6 ounces, which is significantly heavier than the iPhone, when considering that their size is nearly identical. 2.4" wide x 4.6" high and .5" deep. It only comes in one color, which may be complainable for many (meaning those who go "Ooh shiny!" over "Wow that thing is crap...") But there is a significant difference between these two phones: while the iPhone is completely touch screen, the Droid is a slider-it has both touch screen capabilities AND a QWERTY keyboard. This all comes down to preference, but honestly, what is really easier in the long run. Typing on a keyboard as you're walking down the street, using your two thumbs and not worrying about navigating away from the keyboard by mistake? Or fumbling with a touch screen, looking down because you keep missing the letters since there's no terrain difference like with keys, and the occasional "@#$#! I lost it cuz i pressed blah blah blah!" (This exclamation is frequent in college settings. Just saying.) So. Onto the tech comparison.
Screen Resolution: 480x854 pixels. Hate to say it (...no I don't) but the Droid kicks the iPhone in this category. However, on a teeny tiny screen, there comes a point where this stat only matters so much.
Camera Resolution: 5.0 megapixels. This is an epic number when it comes to phones. Some would consider using this as their actual digital camera (says the one who has a 2.0 digital camera that is ducttaped together)
Wifi?: Yes, but does that shock you?
Battery Life (Talk Time): 6.4 hours. This is VERY useful to those on-the-go individuals. However I would like to point out (just to be fair) that its standby time is actually 30 hours less than that of the iPhone, weighing in at 270 hours instead of the iPhone's 300. So if you aren't one to do the charge at night method, the iPhone may be important.
GPS: Yes, turn by turn and digital compass, just like the iPhone. However we'll get to an important difference very soon.
Number of Apps: 10,000 through the Android market. A slim selection in comparison to the App Store, which can be disappointing for those who really like loading up there phones and making them multimedia/entertainment/business/websurfing/gaming/etc. tools.
Multitasking: Ahem. YES. And THIS is where it gets interesting. The iPhone is actually the only smart phone out of the main competitors (such as Palm Pre and MyTouch) that cannot multitask! This can be dangerous for those of us who cannot stay focused on one thing at a time. Or, if you're like me, and get lost very easily while driving and an important phone call comes in and you were currently streaming music from your phone through your radio from Pandora. Okay, I haven't encountered that situation but be realistic-it could happen. And multitasking could be very very important.
In the end there are some obvious variations between the phones, and many people would have no idea where to go from here with these specs. That is why Tech Wars Episode 2 will focus on the user preference: I will try to cover the functionalities and why certain people would like one phone over the other better. Thanks for reading, hope to see you back for part 2!
Acer computers. The Olympic officials declined upgrading to Windows 7, saying it was just too new. These computers are running on Windows XP, which, at least in my opinion, is outdated but still a quality OS. However, hopefully in two years the Olympics move on up to Windows 7-it's superior. Really, it is. We'll discuss that a different day.
So, why buy Acer? I'm not saying dump your computer and run straight out for an Acer; it's very true that they are NOT the best, and this company is competing in an industry with names such as Dell, HP... yeah, you get it. But what if you need a small, cheap addition to your tech collection? Go with the Acer Aspire One. This is what I have (in blue), and while it isn't great for running several high-memory things, it cruises for internet browsing (especially with Google Chrome), instant messaging (Windows Live works GREAT), and word processing. It's a get-down-to-basics computer in a sense, but isn't that the original purpose of a netbook?
