hmm…choices choices. There are 4 possible phones that I’d choose between. The HTC Touch Diamond, HTC Touch Pro, iPhone and the Palm Treo Pro.
I think the HTC Diamond is the closest competitor to the iPhone, but, the Touch Pro and Treo Pro have something the other two don’t; a keyboard.
Specs, lets take a look.
- iPhone images
- Size: 4.5″ x 2.4″ x 0.46″, Weight: 4.8oz
- ATT only , 3g
- $200 w/ 2year contract
- HTC Touch Diamond- images
- Size: 4.01″ x 2″ x .45″, Weight: 3.8oz
- No one is sure what carrier..there was a spy shot that showed Sprint, but most are betting on it being GSM so tmobile/att
- It’s not technically out in the US yet..but I imagine it’ll be at least 450 with contract.
- HTC Touch Pro- images
- 4.01″ x 2″ x .71″, Weight: 5.82oz
- Like the Diamond, there’s “confirmed” reports of all 4 US carriers..who knows until it comes out.
- It’ll probably cost similar to the Diamond, 450ish with a contract.
- Palm Tro Pro- images
- 4.22″, Width: 2.11″, Depth: 0.73″, Weight: 4.2 oz
- Unlocked GSM, no carrier, no contract
- $550, costly but no contract or carrier specific.
Personally, I think the HTC Diamond looks the best, both hardware and design; it’s also the smallest. Hardware wise, I think it’s the most advanced also. My only concern with it is all the 3d gimicks take too much resources to use..although, I read that you can turn it off. If that’s the case, then I think the HTC Diamond is the top choice. Now I just need to see what carrier it goes with; I won’t be going tmobile or Verizon, I’m with ATT right now but I wouldn’t mind switching to sprint.
The Palm Treo Pro is also not too bad looking, my biggest concern with it is the hardware. Palm is never progressive, hardware wise. They’re always a generation or two behind its competitors. I don’t know why this is..but it’s true. My cellphone I have now has equal hardware specs..it’s over a year old, but it came out at least 2 years ago. In cellphone years..that’s like 10. The one good thing that it does have, is that it’s non-carrier specific, although that’s a double-bladed sword as that also means there’s no subsidy, and I’d have to pay the 550 bucks..
The HTC Touch Pro is another interesting choice..it’s the largest, but that’s because of the foldout keyboard. Anyone who thinks that the foldout keyboard isn’t as nice as a regular 3″x3″ keypad, hasn’t used one longterm. I absolutely HATE typing on treo keypads..how anyone has a decent typing speed is beyond me. So..the question is: is the foldout keyboard enough to justify the extra size/weight? hmmm
Lastly, the iPhone..in reality, it’s no better then the competition, but because it’s apple it has a halo around it. You hear angelic singing when you pick it up. People who use it say its nice, I’ve heard from both users and non-users how awesome the typing is too..it actually knows when you typo. And now that it’s able to synch with exchange, it’s actually viable in the business world (which I need this phone for). One of the biggest gripes I’d have with the iphone, is the fact that it doesn’t have a SD card slot. People don’t realize who cool an external SD slot is unless they use one. When you have to wipe your phone (which happes to anyone), it’s nice knowing that all of your important data is eithere stored or backed up on the SD card, so when it wipes, you’ll still have that data. If the phone breaks, you’ll still have that data.
In conclusion, I’m not sure..right now I’m leaning towards the Diamond or the iphone. But I’ll definately look at the treo. I’m not so sure I’m willing to go with the larger Touch Pro, but I figure I’ll keep it in the running till I can see it in person at the store. Maybe it’s not really that big..