And the iPhone Killer is..The Next iPhone.

android, iphone, iphone 3, iphone killer, next iphone, samsung i7500, samsung omnia HD

2 May, 2009 by New York Herald in Uncategorized

With mobile phone technology, consumers are spoiled.  The Blackberry Storm, The Palm Pre, the Samsung Omnia HD, Nokia N97, so many innovative, top notch devices have come onto the market that it is astounding that iPhone is still the King.  But like Labron James dunking over an All Star Team, the next iPhone killer is none of the above, but the still rumoured third iPhone.  We have alot of beef with the iPhone, things like the lack of flash really get our goat around here, but after a couple of tough spills on the sidewalks of Brooknam, the shiny fella is still ticking, cracked glass, exposed chip board but absolutely no dents.  It’s not just an iPhone, its a Mercedes Benz, at least when it comes to taking a hit.

The next iPhone is expected to be announced June 8th.  How do we know?  Their most ambitious rival, the Palm Pre, is expected to launch June 7th.  There are alot of rumours that are being put out there by corporate operatives, in our opinion, for example, the rumour that iPhone is going to Verizon in 2010.  While possible (Verizon gets a new network and the iPhone would be a perfect way to launch), more likely represents the two parties talking — the potential scenario is then played out in the blogosphere as a sort of focus group marketing.  We love the idea, AT&T’s signal isn’t quite up to par, here in New York City, and Verizion is famous for occasionally letting you talk all the way down in the subways.

There are also wild rumours of the iPhone having super video capabilities (shoot video, edit it then text somebody with it attached, etc).  To that we say, Apple needs to prove itself in this area with the basics first.  The iPhone still camera sucks, and a rumoured upgraded to 3 megapixels isn’t a good sign.  If there’s still no xenon flash, you know’ll that the imaging portion of the iPhone is still its soft spot.

In terms of video, if its not 720 HD, it’s behind the curve for a high end product that’s just coming out.  The other area is its steadfast refusal of a QWERTY keyboard.  Frankly we don’t get it, if margins decrease due to complexity and cost of additional keyboard hardware, why not just have a more premium ‘netpad’ type product?  The missing ability that embarrasses an executive who dares to rely on an iPhone, is long-form typing.

Yes, real office work – the kind where memos and reports are created and exchanged.  The iPhone is no joy when it comes to more than paragraph of typing.  Besides speculative renders of an iPhone with a keyboard, many other manufacturers have come out with hardware that combines both beautifully.  To Steve Jobs, this is the beauty of the iPhone – “no compromises”, and the formula’s worked well so far.   There is perhaps one real challenge to the iPhone, a properly bespoke touch screen Android.  We’re not talking the G1 or even the upcoming HTC Magic.  More along the lines of the gorgeous (but said to be unavailable in the US) Samsung i7500 (pictured).  Once Samsung is in the game, iPhone will be properly challenged.  Their Omnia HD is a mega powerhouse of a device (its camcorder shoots 720 HD video), and combined with Android, it would be hard to deny on feature set alone.  Yet the window opens June 8th, and iPhone will once again be the newest toys to have.