There's no questioning that the iPhone is unmatched in terms of user interface and the app store. That's why I'm getting the 3GS. But how long do you think it'll be before Apple catches up with the hardware specs of the one year old Nokia N85? Why does it seem like most phone manufacters are so far behind Nokia when it comes to phone hardware? I would think Apple of all people would be able to match what Nokia was able to achieve a full year ago. Do you think Apple will finally match Nokia in time for next years iPhone 4G? Will the next iPhone feature a HD video recorder and Xenon flash like this year's Nokia phone is rumored to? PS: The next iPhone WILL be called the iPhone 4G. It just makes way too much sense not to. It's the fourth generation iPhone AND it will support AT&T's 4G network. So the name is pretty much a given. Actually here's the real competitors that make the iPhone look a generation behind in terms of hardware...
It's all about timing because of peoples contracts with AT&T. I bet that Apple could make something better or just as good right now, but that wouldnt be the best business move. Apple wants to maximize each time they come out with a new phone or model etc....If Apple made something that good right now, yes, most people would cancel their contracts to get that new iPhone with the same hardware as the N85. But Apple want to capitalize on each time they come out with a new phone/model. So they might come out with a new phone that's half as good as the N85. Then the next model will be as good as the N85. It's all about timing,pricing,andf a good business strategy imo.
So you're saying that instead of making and releasing the best product that they can, they're instead purposfully milking their customers out of every possible dollar. I guess it's good business, but that's bad for consumers. That's why I wish Apple had some solid competition from the Palm Pre or that Nokia came out with an interface as sharp as Apple's.
Have you ever compared an OLED screen to an LCD screen. It's breathtaking. The OLED's colors are insanely vibrant, they make LCD screens look a generation behind. OLEDs colors honestly look just as sharp and vibrant as colors look in the real world on a bright sunny day. And they allow the phone to be thinner and save battery life on top of that! And many phones even from 2008 offered OLED screens, why doesn't Apple. I demoed the Nokia N85. The camera is definately NOT subpar. I would go so far as to say that it's pictures are very comparable to standalone digital cameras, which I can't say about any other camera phone!! The 3GS is definately not a small bump over the 3G. It's a huge leap forward over the 2G/3G. And Apple definately dominates the software end of phone. But in terms of hardware, it's still no where close to using even mid-2008 (which is when the N85 was released) cutting edge cellphone technology.
You are right in wanting better camera and flash for photos. And OLED (maybe). And a front facing camera. However, in terms of raw power, the 3GS completely TROUNCES nokia´s current flagship, the n97, that has only 128mb of RAM and a dated 400mhz processor. Touch screen is also worse. Upcoming Sony Ericsson Satio, though, also running symbian, will bring a 12mp camera, with true xenon flash, and same processor/RAM of Iphone 3GS. And then there´s the best Symbian phone in the market, the Samsung Omnia HD: OLED screen, capacitive (like the iphone), 720p video recording, same processor/RAM of the iphone 3GS, 8mp camera with flash.
The Zune HD was just revealed to have the Tegron PPU/GPU!!! and an OLED screen. If I was a betting man, Apple is already hard at work making sure their next iphone matches those specs, and includes a 5 megapixel camera and maybe even a 720p videocamera to boot. I just hope they don't leave out flash this time.
Flash is really up to Adobe. Not Apple I think. And since Apple sells phones worldwide, do you think other network operators will support 4G by next year? If not, would their customers still buy the new iPhone? Apple has a lot of markets to think about.
Around 300 euro, I just got one for a development, but the screen has only 320x200 pixels and no touch screen, which is a great advantange on the iPhone of course. But yu can access the video camera and there are application using this for gesture recognition.
Does it really matter? Yes OLED-screens are better and I was somewhat surprised that Apple didn't go down this route with the 3GS. As for the other stuff... The actual specs isn't necessarily that important. Apple focused on the user experience. This is why they don't allow multitasking from 3rd. party developers for instance. A few power-users might find this handy, but for most people it would make their phone feel slower. And SONY with their 12 megapixel camera on a freaking phone, that's just ridiculous not to say completely pointless. There's simply no way they'll be able to include optics that can take advantage of that kind of resolution anyway. Let's face it the iPhone has been a huge success despite the fact that the only groundbreaking hardware-feature is multi-touch. Their success is well deserved though as I personally think the iPhone is the best Gizmo ever. It's an almost perfectly balanced product (there's no such thing as a "perfect" product). In my eyes the only real weakness is the battery...
