When Apple released iPhone, it was exciting and only the start of the touchpad revolution. Of course, it was not the first touchpad, but it was certainly the most commercially available and marketed. Apple and the rest of the world knew it was only a matter of time before the competition revealed their own take on the iPhone technology, and now that time has come.
The iPhone may have been the first mainstream phone on the market with the high end combination of touchpad and media capabilities, but it will most certainly not be the last. Already concept phones from major manufacturers are making waves, and some are arriving on the market. With the holiday season fast approaching manufacturers are starting to push to get their newest concepts out for retail as quickly as possible.
Samsung F700
Samsung recently announced the F700 which puts the competition game into overdrive. This is Samsung’s first touch pad phone, and they have done an outstanding job. The phone features a 5 megapixel camera, download speeds up to 7.2 Mbps, the essential touch pad and a full slide out QWERTY keypad.
This keypad is the prime feature of competition as the iPhone does not have one and many iPhone users are annoyed with trying to use the touchpad keyboard. The QWERTY keyboard may be a welcome relief for those that like a little give when they type.
When closed the phone very closely resembles the iPhone making many call the F700 a rip-off. But it’s not. The phone has a powerful camera and for serious users, it can support High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA.) The color display is 2.78 inches and the phone is Bluetooth equipped. The touch screen is large and has drag and drop features. This is the first direct hit at Apple, and it’s a solid one.
OpenMoko Neo1973
The Neo 1973 has been nicknamed the iPhone killer. Not only does it already have awesome features including a large, touch-sensitive VGA display, Assisted GPS, GPRS data and Bluetooth technology, it is an open source project so anyone can add features to the phone.
The OpenMoko phone has a unique look. It is white and rounded with a bright band of color around the edges. It looks a bit like a toy phone, but with the features it includes, it is obvious that this is not for play – at least for children. The phone is still in development and anyone can contribute via the OpenMoko Wiki.
New products are always open to cloning and competition. While there are some clones of iPhone already in the market, these newer phones are introducing true competition. A cloned phone is essentially identical to the original using reverse engineering or reproduction. But the Samsung, OpenMoko and many others that are still in development or in the brainstorming phases will give Apple a good dose of competition.