Jun 17, 2009 6:43 pm US/Central
Smart Phone War Means Consumers Win
Apple Vs Palm Vs Google In Fight For Smart Phone Users
They are not your teenager's cellphones. Smart phones are mini computers that fit in the pocket. With the new iPhone hitting shelves, a battle is heating up between the three Silicon Valley tech giants behind the most popular devices, CBS station KPIX-TV reports.
Tech giants Apple, Palm and Google are trying to squeeze out the Blackberry. CNET Sr. Editor Kent German "dials up" the features that stand out.
First the new iPhone 3GS: "This is for someone who loves gadgets and likes Apple and wants a phone that takes a media player video, audio and internet device and puts on one phone. It's a compass as well. So, on the screen you point to North and it interacts with the mapping feature so when you're in the map you can turn around and see which way you need to go," said German.
The iPhone offers the most downloadable applications and has a video editing feature. But German said, it's not the best smart phone when it comes to business use.
For that, he recommends the Palm Pre: "It's great at synchronizing email and it's compatible with work applications," said German. "You can look at files that are not available on iPhone. This phone also multitasks and what that means is this can keep several applications open at once. You can go between them by tapping the screen."
And finally, Google's Android G1 which Kent likes for it's operating system is open for any developers to create tools.
"It's like a PC, you take it and change the screen, change how it runs and change what you put on it. It's exciting. It really changes the way people think of phones and makes them like personal computers," said German.
Billshrink.com compares the prices. With a 2 year minimum contract: $199 for the iPhone 3GS and Palm Pre... and $149 for the Android G1. Add that to the the cost of unlimited voice, data, and messaging and to own the new iPhone is $3,799. The Palm Pre is the cheapest at $2,599. Google's Android G1 rings in at $3,149.
They are prices more are willing to pay for their phone to be smart.
The Blackberry is still the best selling smart phone in the U.S. with 55 percent of the users, KPIX-TV reported.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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