Apple iPhone 3G S vs. Palm Pre, Nokia N97, BlackBerry BoldAll the major smartphone makers (read Apple, RIM, Palm, Nokia) in the world have rolled out their latest smartphones giving a pause to the speculations and rumors. Nokia just launched N97, Palm came out with its Pre, RIM's Blackberry Bold has been around for a while and next version Storm 2 is all set for a September launch. The next obvious question is who's the winner among all of them? To be fair they all have some strengths over each other. Let's compare the smartness of these smartphones - Security BlackBerry's in-built security features gave it an edge over Apple iPhone which was better looking however lacked basic security features. With the latest iPhone 3G S, Apple seems to have addressed that concern. However, experts believe iPhone is still behind BlackBerry here. Security is of paramount importance to business users. It's not hard to lose a phone. If lost, one can have an extremely easy access to any sensitive data you may have on the device. BlackBerry, having enterprise users as its target customers, have been doing a great job in ensuring the data security. In their recent avtaars iPhone and Pre too offer remote erase, backup and restore features. Apple went a step ahead by integrating Google Maps to display the exact location of your lost iPhone - this feature will work only if the device is on. Nokia is just starting out in this space so let's give it a little more time to catch up. Applications Apple App Store is clearly the leader and one of the biggest factors, many think, in iPhone's success. Apple's app store offers a whopping 50,000 applications that users can download. The downside however is that you can use the apps available only at the Apple's store. Nokia re-launched Ovi Store but the store doesn't have many star applications to drive users towards it. There are only about 500 applications to choose from. Palm Pre is just getting started with apps. Offers less than 50 applications, therefore has a long way to go. But one thing that holds promise for Palm is its WebOS operating system which is built upon commonly used technologies like Html and javascript. The app developers will find it much easier to write new apps for Pre but let's wait and watch how the Palm store grows. Photography / Video One of the drawbacks of iPhone was the absense of an inbuilt camera. In iPhone 3G, Apple offered 2 megapixel camera and in 3G S it shot it up to 3 mega pixel. But the Apple camera still lacks the much wanted LED flash. Palm Pre too offers 3 megapixel camera. But Apple iPhone wins by offering various on-screen photo and video editing features that make alterning your shoots and sharing them over the web a breeze. BlackBerry's camera hasn't earned much admiration. But the new BlackBerry models like Storm 2 and BlackBerry 9000 that are rumored to be coming in September might offer 5 megapixel cameras beating both Palm Pre and Apple iPhone. Nokia N97 comes with 5 mega-pixel camera with dual LED flash so going by just camera Nokia is ahead of the competitors. Apple is managing to catch more eyes due to its easy photo and video editing and sharing features. Memory Apple iPhone 3G S comes in two flavours - 16GB and 31 GB. Palm Pre offers just 8GB. Nokia N97 floors you by 32 GB which is expandable to 48GB. Memory too is an important factor when comparing the value of a handheld especially when the price range is not too far apart. More at lesser price is better. Messaging Apple has been lacking MMS feature which it has added in iPhone 3G S however the users might have to wait for it. Palm Pre and Nokia N97 both support MMS, SMS, and IM features. Design Apple iPhone has always been an eye candy smartphone. The exterior look of the phone has not changed in 3G S model. Palm Pre's curvy sleek design is drawing good appreciation. Some people are complaining about its cramped keyboard but I don't have any complains about it. To me, it's a nice alternative to screen tapping. Nokia N97 design does not have a major sex appeal when make it stands next to its competitors. Let's hope Nokia brings that element into its next smartphone. The qwerty side out keyboard is surely a good feature of Nokia N97. Conclusion Apple iPhone and RIM BlackBerry have been the frontrunners among smart phones. They control the major share of smartphone market in the world. Palm Pre has recently emerged as a strong challenger. Nokia N97 too is set for a good start. Apple iPhone and RIM BlackBerry enjoy an excellent brand power and fanfare. They have in their nature to come up with a feature so strong that their weak areas are overlooked. The biggest advantage, in the end, might turn out to be who has the largest pool of supported applications. People switch to smartphones to do much more with their phones than just make calls, manage contacts, or listen to music. And, more apps give them this added power.
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