Alternatives to the iPhone 4
Written on 7/10/2010 03:34:00 PM by poison_ivy
Okay so this iPhone 4 stock waiting game is getting ridiculous. For those of you who think the iPhone 4 is overrated and are looking for alternatives, here are some decent mobile phones that you might fancy.
Sony Ericsson Vivaz
The Sony Ericsson Vivaz is not so much as a smartphone like the iPhone 4 but it has an 8 megapixel camera and can do 720p video recording so if you're thinking of getting the iPhone 4 just for its camera and video, you can save yourself time and money by getting the Sony Ericsson Vivaz. The downside? The applications available for the Sony Ericsson Vivaz isn't as sophisticated as those on the Apple app store but there are a lot of java games available for it, and some of them free.
HTC Desire
Like the iPhone 4, the HTC Desire is a smartphone and runs the Android OS. The phone has the same smooth transitions like the iPhone and can even do multi touch. The browser can evenly compete the the Safari browser on the iPhone 4 and best of all, it supports flash. Like the iPhone, Android OS has an app store though not as many as the Apple's 100,000 plus apps but still, it's growing and most apps are free on the Android marketplace. Most stores carry the HTC Desire unlock, even Amazon has the HTC Desire and carriers like Vodafone, Orange, and T-Mobile has this on contract as well so you can be sure that it's not out of stock. The downside? It currently doesn't have 720p video recording capability like the iPhone 4 but rumors have it that a software update in the future will make this feature available. You can read my HTC Desire Review for more info.
Sony Ericsson Xperia X10
Like the HTC Desire, the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 also sports the Android OS although a very old version of it. Though it has an old version of Android, there are still a lot of apps available for it on the Android marketplace and it has a large 4 inch screen and also somewhat thin and stylish like the iPhone. The good news is that it has a bigger camera resolution at 8 megapixels though it doesn't support 720p video recording. The bad news? It doesn't have multitouch and the browser is not as good as the one on the HTC Desire. Check My Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Review for more info.
Samsung Galaxy S
Right now, this Android phone is the closest competitor to the iPhone 4. Like the X10 and the HTC Desire, it sports a 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM so it's fast and snappy. It has Samsung's latest Super AMOLED screen which somehow competes with the iPhone 4's retina display. Another similar feature to the iPhone 4 is the 720p video recording capability of the Samsung Galaxy S plus its 5 megapixel camera. A bonus feature is that it can playback 720p DivX and Xvid videos, a feature that is lacking on the iPhone 4, HTC Desire and Xperia X10. The downside? The massive 4 inch screen makes this a bit larger and bulky than the iPhone 4.