Nokia is going to officially announce its first touchscreen handset next week. Nokia 5800 a.k.a Nokia Tube has created some buzz in the last few weeks and we’re definitely looking forward to seeing it. According to sources cited by Reuters, the handset will be launched at a special event on 2 October in London.

Codenamed Tube, the handset will be the first touch-screen model from Nokia and will compete in the high-end market alongside the Apple iPhone and the latest models from Samsung and HTC.

Since it was first announced in early August, details on the Tube project have been few and far between.

In addition to the touch-screen capabilities, the Tube is said to feature a Wi-Fi connection and support for Java as well as DVB-H mobile TV broadcasts.

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Okay, I own an iPhone but I am interested in Google’s Android OS and the phones that will come out with that operating system on it… Just thought I’d take a look feature by feature and see how we stand…

2.Apps

Both platforms promise tons of applications, both platforms promise to deliver them wirelessly via online stores. The difference here lies in the “open” system versus the moderated system that Apple currently has, where they supposedly hand-review each item before approving it for Apple store use. Also, Apple is renowned for helping developers improve their code before release date. Some would say that an open environment is better, but I have to beg to differ. There is already so much crap on the iTunes App store and it is getting in the way of finding the gems that are there. Apple also tries to make sure that no malicious code makes it into any app store application, and also apparently has a fail safe to remotely stop malicious apps in their tracks. Time will tell on this point, and we will see whether the “free for all” Google store will be better than the moderated Apple app store… so since it is unfair to judge Google’s store before its release, I have to give this one a tie.

Winner: As of right now, Apple. But I am calling it a TIE to give Google a chance to release the store before we judge it. It might kick ass!

3.Keyboard

This one is a toughie, I was annoyed at the iPhone’s onscreen keyboard until I actually used it. Now I realize that the auto correct feature actually works pretty well and I can type almost as fast as I can on my laptop. The Android phones featured so far have pull out keyboards, which in my own personal experience are just another plastic made in China piece of hardware that will eventually break on you. This one is personal preference, and my own personal preference before using the multi-touch keyboard WAS a physical keyboard and I changed my mind quite quickly. I have to give this one a tie as it lies in personal preference, and even then… my own preference leaned towards the onscreen keyboard as it removed a lot of little plastic pieces and hardware that could fuck up… the iPhone has no keyboard and therefore no keyboard failures are possible. I split coffee on a crackberry once, no more keyboard functioning… did it on my iPhone too… keyboard still works…

Winner: Tie.

4.Flash

Although Android fanboys claim Android will have flash, I don’t see it mentioned ANYWHERE as being a reality. Neither platform has flash, and Steve Jobs himself said there was no flash on the iphone because the hardware couldn’t handle full flash and they did’t want a crippled flash that might or might not play flash correctly.

Winner: Tie (Neither)

5. Format Support

The iPhone supports viewing of many document formats, the Android will probably be restricted by the same licensing issues that plague iPhone, so who knows when you will be able to open and edit excel and word files on either?

Winner: Tie

6. PUSH Apps

Apps that can “push” information to your phone. As of currently, the iPhone doesn’t have any 3rd party apps that push info to your phone (My Facebook app wont automatically update it’s Messages in your inbox number on the icon until I actually open it and connect)… Soon though many apps will be able to do this on the iPhone. Nothing is promised yet for Android. As of now, Email, Contacts and Bookmarks from my Safari are pushed directly to my phone within 15 minutes or less of me typing them into my home computer (and vice versa)… Within 5 minutes of activating my new iPhone, I had all my contacts, email and bookmarks wirelessly synced to my iPhone before I left the shopping mall.

Winner: iPhone.

7.Variety Of Phones

Google Android will be available on many phones. Though variety is nice, the lack of standards for hardware makes it impossible for an app developer to count on the fact that a phone has a joystick, or an accelerometer,, or even bluetooth…which will probably make app developers make apps geared towards the lowest common denominator.. I mean, would you make an app that was usable by only 20% of Android phones (which had an acceleromoter or multitouch) or for 100% of Android phones? The iPhone’s standard hardware makes it so that all apps work on all iPhones. At the same time, Apple is known for adding more and more features and I’m sure the 3rd Generation iPhones will have hardware that will make some of the newer apps not compatible with the first 2 iterations of the iPhone. At the same time,the fact that there are multiple manufacturers making different Android phones with different hardware (hopefully a good mp3 player and a headphone jack will appear in future models) gives the advantage clearly to Android…more competition, more variety is good.

Winner: Android

Source and credit: supermanred.com

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Google’s Android OS powered phones were in most of the tech blogs since the past few days with first the sneak peak, and then the hands-on reviews of the phone which first came with T-Mobile. It is said to be one of the best phones around and competitor for the World’s dominating mobile company Nokia, and to the best gadget of the year Apple iPhone.

And am sure its going to beat the Apple iPhone sales and would be really loved, except the design which does not seem so sleek to me. Here are a few reasons why one would love the Android phone when compared to the Apple iPhone

1. The open operating system

The Android OS powered by Google is an open system, which can be played with by the developers and many cool apps and games would be coming in, and there would be everything available for free, unlike the paid apps as in the App store by Apple. And being a Google product, developers would get really handy with Android.

2. Faster than iPhone

iPhone was already fast, but the reviews of Android phone already state that the phone is faster than the Apple iPhones. Speed always counts, and Android beats iPhone.

3. No Jailbreaking needed

Its an open operating system, so there will be no hacking in or jailbreaking needed for its OS. It will be easy to customize too.

4. Online applications integration

Google products like Docs, calender and maps with Street view, everything would be just a small work to integrate into the Android mobile. Apple does not have those kind of apps, so no integration needed.

5. QWERTY Sliding keyboard

The phone does not look too bulky but it still has a QWERTY keyboard, sliding out when u need it. This is not in iPhone, there is a touch-screen there, which is not so user-friendly for people not good at touching the screens.

6. Format supporting better than Apple

Apple OS is something which does not become easily compatible with many file formats which Windows and Linux does. So Google is working well with this, trying to make the Android phone support almost all file formats.

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After over two weeks of using the iPhone 3G, I can fairly say I have become familiar with this mobile device to share some insights on how it fares as a primary mobile phone.

First let me say that Apple has revolutionized the way we use our mobile phones. Before that, we are used to a lot of great phones that do a ton of tricks but often fail us when it?s time to connect to the net. In a way, I regard the iPhone 3G primarily as an internet device and media player that has the cute feature allowing you to make calls and send SMS.

That being said, if you are a heavy SMS user, then the iPhone is not for you. That?s because you will have to unlearn everything you know about text-typing all these years ? and that is a hard thing to do for most phone users. So if you belong to that crowd, you can stop here and move on to the next page.

However, if you are open to trying out a new interface, I?m sure you?ll enjoy the intuitive touch screen of the iPhone.

The Killer Feature: iPhone App Store
With the new iPhone 2.0 software and the recent introduction of the iPhone App Store, extending the features of your iPhone 3G becomes almost limitless. Thousands of applications and games were developed and available for free or a fee (as low as $0.99 each). The wealth of games found in the iPhone via the App Store makes gaming on the mobile phone like the second coming of Snakes on the Nokia phone over a decade ago.

The Good

• The real estate is in the screen and you get 3.5? of that. The large and crisp display is what makes internet surfing and watching videos enjoyable on the iPhone.
• The built-in Safari browser that allows zooming in and out of objects and webpages is a great feature that almost mimics the full browsing experience (minus Flash & Java apps).
• Full-featured connectivity ? WiFi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth, 3G and GPS. You can?t ask for anything more.
• Push and Fetch Data allows you to set the phone to receive email and other data from the server (MobileMe) as well as a fetch options (in intervals of 15 mins, 30 mins,hourly or manually) for other emails that do not support the Push function.
• Ample storage for photos, videos and music the new iPhone 3G comes in 8GB and 16GB.
• Synchronized email, contacts and calendar management. Works best with a MobileMe account.

The Bad

• It?s a battery hog. You can easily drain it up in a single day with all the music, video, WiFi and 3G use. My average is one and a half days so I charge it up almost every day. Always bring your chargers with you.
• It?s close to impossible text-typing with a single hand. I think 90+% of all iPhone owners use both hands when text-typing. You need full concentration and all eyes to use it (unlike the regular phone keypads where people can type without even looking).
• Does not support Flash and Java reliant websites and there are tons of websites that heavily use them.
• Comes with a hefty price.

• Predictive text input is a nice feature. It?s available on almost all phones. Problem is, you can?t turn it off on the iPhone so if you?re texting in a different language, it will suck big time.
• No built-in copy & paste function. Them Nokia phones have it, why not the iPhone?
• Unlike what Steve Jobs said in his announcement, the iPhone 3G is not any thinner than the old iPhone. The curvy design of the back panel gives that illusion but it?s actually thicker.
• The built-in speakers ain?t that loud enough and they?re placed at the bottom end of the iPhone. It works but it?s just regular speakers.
• The 2MP camera takes decent pictures but there?s no flash or autofocus function. You can?t use this on low light.
• In iPod mode, the iPhone makes it a little hard to navigate between songs as controls are done via touchscreen. That means you need to unlock the iPhone from sleep mode everytime you want to skip or move on to the next song. There should be some physical button to do this simple job (just like the regular iPods) but I think a shake control using the accelerometer should do the trick. Apple tried to solve this by using the headphone as the physical control using single or double clicks to navigate songs forward.
• Smudge magnet. Makes you wanna wipe the screen every other minute.

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Yes its true Nokia is answering back to iPhone with its Nokia Tube.Nokia tube will face direct competition Apple iPhone.

Nokia Tube runs on the Nokia’s next generation S60.It has a touch user interface.It has 16M TFT display with 360 x 640 pixels resolution with a 16:9 aspect ratio.The screen would measure something around 3 to 3.5 inches.It does not provide a multi touch interface like that of iPhone.A stylus is also provided for hand writing recognition.No info about the camera and its megapixel count.

Video of Nokia Tube:

It supports all the major comunication options like EDGE,GPRS,HSDPA with uPnP support,WiFi,bluetooth with A2DP support.It has a built in GPS with A-GPS.

It will not come with a N-Series tag and will release in the first quarter of 2009.

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