So what’s the next great new smartphone going to be?
We mobile tech junkies are never satisfied, we freely admit it and won’t argue that point. That means that we spend weeks and weeks waiting for the Next Big Thing (NBT) to come along. Once it’s released we can’t rest until we get to play with it and we ooh and aah with the rest of geekdom and life is good.
The problem is that in a very short time we are soon over the buzz and we’re ready for the NBT once again. We went through this process with the iPhone 3G, the G1 Android phone and then the Blackberry Storm. Sure there were a bunch of other phones alongside of the big three but nothing floated our boat. We played with those three big smartphones and were all agiggle with them until reality set in.
They’re all great phones but we’re fickle geeks and now we’re ready for the NBT to appear. So what’s it going to be? That Palm Pre looks pretty darn special but lets face it, so did the last three. The luster fades so fast when you’re like us and we need new gadgets. So what will catch our fancy this time? What phone are you waiting impatiently to get to touch?
I don’t know what the next greatest smartphone will be, but if the Palm Pre hits before an iPhone with a higher resolution camera I may nab it. Also AT&T connectivity issues (EDGE) have been driving me batty. I really enjoy my iPhone… on WiFi.
It’s the HTC Touch HD. Far better than any of those three phones.
Unfortunately only available in Europe.
The Palm Pre looks promising.
James. You’re forgetting the Nokia N97. I think that phone will come to the market, and do quite well. It has everything that the Pre has, as well as the iPhone. Only in a slightly better form factor. I’m rather excited for the N97 to come out.
Its loaded, with features. Touch screen, integrated directly into the social, as well as the cloud. Sliding keyboard. GPS, 3.5mm headphone jack. Its got it all! Plus its in a way, open, unlike the iPhone.
Interesting, as I was asked by a friend “what’s the next great phone coming out,” and I didn’t really have an answer.
I’m sure we’ll have more info after Mobile World Congress, but it looks like the Palm Pre and the HTC Touch HD are the main contenders right now.
The NBT for me is whatever unannounced NVIDIA APX 2500-powered phone will combine Windows 6.5, phenomenal cosmic power, a 4″ WVGA screen, gigs of internal memory and a slide-n-tilt screen. There’s no proof someone like HTC is working on it, but why wouldn’t they be?
I’m with Al, my NBT would have to be the N97. From some of the pics it does lack a little bit of aesthetics but I hope that by the time they start pumping these babies out it will be a sexy beast to complement all its strengths.
I’m awaiting the next generation Google phone. Not the G2 slated for this summer, but the true next generation where Goggle addresses the G1’s issues and shortcomings
I would like to see the people behind the htc touch HD, the Palm Pre, the Apple iPhone, and Blackberry storm get together and combine (the best of) all 4 together. One good piece of hardware, efficient, long-lasting battery, good phone and internet reception, good sound and video quality,combine the best OS features and apps with full third-party applications compatibility from all four, and perhaps call the model: Sweet. Now for a brand name….
It’s the Palm Pre, you unfaithful tech dogs!
I even started a frikkin blog for it. Yes, my first DEVICE blog.
http://prepoint.wordpress.com/
I really want the Touch HD and would have been willing to scrap the idea of the physical keyboard on my Touch Pro had the HD been available for Sprint, but the Diamond’s screen and lack of MicroSD card reader made it a no-brainer to get the Pro.
nokia n97 or the htc hd definetly one of these! i had a chance to hold the HD in my hand on my last trip to europe. the screen was nothing short than amazing! if they could turn that into the old XDA EXEC (omni) by adding a keyboard i would freak!
Same reason I got the Touch Pro was for the ability to add a 16gb MicroSD. The screen resolution is phenomenal. I didn’t need the physical keyboard. The Touch HD would have been my first choice had it been available.
I think it “might” be a big year for Nokia. I don’t think the N97 is the phone to win the smartphone war – I think we’ll have to wait until Q4 to really see up their sleeves – but it will help be v.competitive vs the G1/Pre/Storm/HTC (take your pic). Apple still stand along because their hardware, software package is so good but the relative success of the “others” shows that there is still a pretty big market for the more enterprise focussed phone. I also think it will be a big year for SE – I would be surprised if they haven’t learned the lessons of their joint HTC X1 venture and have a fresh SE take on the smart phone – They are still to release a true successor to the “P” phones.
My vote falls on the HTC Touch HD. Too bad no US carriers offer it. I’m not too keen on shelling out $730 for one on mobileplanet.com
The Palm Pre (along with Palm) may be dead now that Apple has been award a patent on a number of touch screen common-sense heuristics:
http://news.worldofapple.com/archives/2009/01/26/apple-awarded-multi-touch-patent/
“A computer-implemented method for use in conjunction with a computing device with a touch screen display comprises: detecting one or more finger contacts with the touch screen display, applying one or more heuristics to the one or more finger contacts to determine a command for the device, and processing the command. The one or more heuristics comprise: a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a one-dimensional vertical screen scrolling command, a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a two-dimensional screen translation command, and a heuristic for determining that the one or more finger contacts correspond to a command to transition from displaying a respective item in a set of items to displaying a next item in the set of items.”
The current generation of Smartphones lack processing power IMHO; and aside the eye candy that makes them more fun to use, there hasn’t been serious progress in making them more useful. So I’m interested by Palm’s Pre, its Cortex 8 processor and its attempts at integrating GPS, calendar and contacts to make it a more useful device. Yet, I suspect the small screen and the 8G memory will prove to be limiting factors; I suspect 4.3″ or 4.8″ with microSDHC support would provide it greater usability and longer life expectancy.
2009/2010 promise to be years of innovation and transformation for smartphones.
I have had a first generation MacBook Air for over one year now, and every time I use it, I really enjoy using it. Its luster has not faded. Hence, I don’t so easily buy into the NBT per this post.
By the way, to give you an idea of how absurdly hyper people can be, I spoke with an iPhone app developer who said “you better get on the iPhone app bandwagon now because if you don’t you’ll miss the boat” and he said “this is like a gold rush that will only last 2 or 3 years”. This contrasts starkly with Apple’s announcement of the iPhone a few years ago in which Apple and Steve Jobs referred to the iPhone as the dawn of the Next 30 Years. You guys should keep that in mind as you’re freak out about the NBT. How about the next 30 years???