Jonathan Richards
Click here for a slideshow of these phones The next battleground for mobile phones was mapped out in Barcelona this week and two words rang out more frequently than an" />
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Click here for a slideshow of these phones
The next battleground for mobile phones was mapped out in Barcelona this week and two words rang out more frequently than any others: internet services.
Various manufacturers were demonstrating prototypes of phones that run Google's new Android operating system, which puts ease of accessing web-based services on a handset at the forefront of the user experience. Vodafone, meanwhile, was rapping operators over the knuckles, saying they had to "raise their game" in the mobile internet or risk losing out to the likes of Google and other companies.
So - how did the handset manufacturers' new offerings rise to the challenge of beating the iPhone (which was what many observers saw the theme of the week as being)? Some better than others, it seems.
Nokia N96
Nokia's new N96 handset - the latest in its N-series - is, predictably enough, a blend of elegance and functionality. The 2.8-inch screen makes content viewing a joy, and there's also a whopping 16GB of internet memory - enough for about 12,000 songs or 40 hours of video - as well as a stand on the back so that you can set it up like a mini TV. The device also supports DVB-H, meaning it receives broadcast-quality television. (And the signal is impressive - the snowflakes falling during a Eurosport skiing event were clearly and individually visible.)
As much as the staff on the Nokia were bigging up this feature, it's still unclear what value live TV will have on mobiles - especially as many of the moves in TV are towards on-demand content either streamed or downloaded over the internet.
Of greater interest were the demonstrations of Share on Ovi, Nokia's web-based platform for uploading, managing and sharing media. Share on Ovi has a highly intuitive interface, with scope to upload content directly to the web from your phone, and share it through a variety of channels. It also syncs with other sites, like Flickr, though not Facebook, yet. (Nokia said more partnerships may be announced.)
The bigger picture, of course, is that once it launches Ovi - a broader platform for accessing content such as videos, games and music through the web - Nokia will have a formidable platform linking phone owners with any type of content - professional or their own - via their phone. And from everything that was said at Mobile World Congress this week, that suggests it is highly attuned to the future of mobile.
Out: third quarter of 2008
LG Viewty KU990
LG, meanwhile, is still very camera-focused. It was showing off its KU990, otherwise known as the Viewty, which has a video recorder that shoots at an impressive 120 frames per second (fps). Playback is at 15 fps, meaning that you get a very clear, slow motion picture - perfect if you're filming high-speed action (however often that might be.) The five-megapixel camera has a lot of additional controls, including manual focus, which will appeal to the camera nuts who want that bit more control when they've left their digital camera at home, and a 16x zoom.
LG continues to make highly elegant devices, but if is going to stay relevant in a world where the internet comes to your mobile, it will need to focus more attention on the way its devices allow people to interact with one another and other services over the web.
Out: now
Samsung Soul
The same might be said of Samsung. Its new 'Soul' series of handsets have the principal benefit of a revamped keypad. Samsung's traditional up/down/right/left pad is now a touchscreen, which means the buttons change depending on the mode you're in. (Play/pause/stop for the music player, another combination for the camera etc.) The phone also has a HSPDA (3G) connection which allows downloads at up to 7.2 megabits per second, and audio components from Bang & Olufsen.
Samsung's slogan for Soul - 'Your memories can live on with vivacious brilliance' - shows just how much the focus remains on 'the kit' (ie. the five-megapixel camera) rather than the connectivity and services highlighted by Nokia's Share. Samsung has the advantage, however, od being a member of the Open Handset Alliance, meaning that it is likely to be one of the first manufacturers to release an Android-powered handset, which should provide a welcome boost.
Out: April
Sony Ericsson Xperia X1
Perhaps the real wowser of the week was Sony Ericsson's new Xperia X1. This is one covetable device. Housed in an elegant, arc-shaped sliding phone is an interface that really brings the web to the fore. The massive three-inch screen divides into nine panels - some will probably call them widgets - which are arranged at the owner's discretion. They can either be simple applications, like a calculator, or full web pages - e-mail, YouTube, Google and so on. Unlike many phone menus with icons, however, the Xperia's panels aren't just pictures; they're the full page - in miniature, and they glisten before you, updating in real time.
Navigation is via a optical joystick at the side - a bit like a mini mouse pad, with your finger as the mouse - or full touschscreen, like the iPhone. (Though whether it has all the iPhone's screen wizardry is unclear - we couldn't play with it.) The partnership with Microsoft - Sony Ericsson's first - also brings with it the benefit of Windows Mobile, which should make it attractive to the professional market too. Other specs: 3.2-megapixel camera,7.2 megabit per second HSDPA, and ARM's latest series 11 processor, meaning it will be, well, ultraswift.
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Nokia N96 has "whopping 16GB of internet memory"? Well, 16GB may not be enough to make a backup of the whole Internet ;->
zat4ra, Wroclaw, Poland
I wouldn't give so much credit to iPhone as to say it has "full internet". Right off the bat, it's got no flash, which many leading websites use.
And as to SMS, to anyone whos texted a lot in the past, isn't it much easier and faster with the standard num-pad? Rather than a small screen?
David, Glasgow, United States
No. I think he just thinks it's rubbish. I bought the new iPod touch to replace my wonderful 15GB mark III pod and it is brilliant. 16GB is plenty room for me as I'm not a big video fan and with the compression software Apple use, the whole of my photo galley for the last 5 years is now in my pocket, along with hundreds of albums. The wifi is fun but why stick a phone onto this? I reckon those who claim to love the iPhone in it's current form, have fallen for the user interface, as I have with the iPod, and are happy to ignore that 2G phones are a let down. Sadly, this was forced on Apple by the slow progress of the US Cell firms. I have Apple everything (laptop, home computer, iPod, etc) and love that they get thigs right most times, but I'm not blind to the fact that they can make mistakes too. The iPhone is just that.
I have a Nokia N series in my pocket.
Rick , Dubai, UAE
John, do I sense jealousy? The iPhone is a revolution in mobile technology, Apple as ever focuses on user functionality and does the simple things yes; but really, really well. SMS for instance, looks beautiful, the internet hardly ever crashes and you can have full web pages. Even better is the fact that it is getting better all the time. Four year old phone? Only if you include the fact that what Apple have done now just entering the market is what other manufacturers should have done four years ago. If anything though, with Google maps, full internet and a beautiful interface, it's more like four years ahead of its time
Jake, Wales,
Brett, do you work for Apple?
"...Then I got the iPhone and wow ! It is by a very long way the best phone I've had ..."
Are you joking? They've taken an excellent iPod and stuck a 4 year old phone on it. 2Mpixel camera? No SMS. No Video. Internet access is horrendous if you can't get wi-fi. It's a nice looking gimick that you seem to have fallen for.
I'm sure the second generation will be a big improvement, but it can't really be any worse can it?
John Ottaway, Glasgow,
I've had all the Sony smartphones till they made me wait for 18 months for the final upgrade to the horrible p990 . Dont believe a word they say anymore ...Dont like nokias smartphones , dont need another serious camera ... Then I got the iPhone and wow ! It is by a very long way the best phone I've had .they worked out EVERYTHING I need . Software upgrades are genius and by the time Sony get there sad act together I'll upgrade to the 2nd generation iPhone which will be another league again .
Brett schlesinger, London , uk
Why is it that what's the best of the future is all about more and more features? All this encourages is constant upgrade and more wasted resources. Surely the star of the show was in Hall 2 - the JCB Toughphone (www.jcbtoughphone.com). It's a no-nonsense phone that does what most of want from a phone - voice and text - and if you treat it as badly as we all treat our phones it just won't break. Here's a handset that seems to be built to last. That's the future!
Matthew Conrad, London,
It seems to me like the sonyericsson is going to be in the lead.....although the camera isnt that clear but on general its good
I love the fact that it has a keyboard with a mouse pad
Hussain al-asfoor, Muscat, Oman