Are Cell Phones Outsmarting Us

Are Cell Phones Outsmarting Us? By Alexander Belyi and Roy Guzman (.doc, .xls, .ppt, .pdf) microSC card Wi-Fi 802.11b/g Phone model polyphonic Motorola RIZR Z6 Apple iPhone LG KE850 Prada Samsung F500 Samsung F700 RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8100 RIM BlackBerry 8800 Nokia E90 Sony Ericsson K810 105 135 85 n/a n/a - - √ √ √ √ - - √ √ √ - - √ 64 MB 4/8 GB 8 MB √ - √ √ - Linux Mac OS X - - - - √ √ 400MB √ √ √ - √ √ - √ - √ √ - √ - √ √ - √ - √ √ - - - √ √ n/a √ √ √ √ √ WAP 2.0 xHTML HTML Safari WAP 2.0 xHTML WAP 2.0 xHTML WAP 2.0 xHTML, HTML HTML 7 5 n/a n/a n/a $499 $499/ $599 €600 n/a n/a 89.5 64MB 3.5 $449 134 64MB HTML WAP 2.0 xHTML, HTML WAP 2.0 xHTML, RSS 5 $349 210 128MB √ √ 64MB 5 €750 115 √ - 10 n/a Compiled from: http://www.gsmarena.com The thorny reality of purchasing a cell phone is the promptness with which novel, technologically upgraded models grace the market. The camera feature, which once may have been considered the furthest possible extent of our cellular phones’ capabilities, is now implicit in almost every service plan available. But that is not all. During the past few years, cell phone features have amassed the advantages of video recording, accessing the Internet with even higher definition and accuracy, and, of course, servicing from music shufflers and TV stations. In this same horizon, we can almost discern the markings of the new iPhone and its nextgeneration cell phone counterparts, and the impact they may have on the market in the coming months and years. Before addressing the debuts planned for later this year, however, it is worth mentioning other big hits of late 2006 and early 2007. Back in September 2006, RIM released their new BlackBerry Pearl 8100. The Pearl, with its at the time unique QWERTY keyboard feature, quickly sprawled all over the business world, and document viewer/editor ringtone touchscreen keyboard AAC MP3 weight (g) memory talk hours browser price OS √ √ √ √ √ - has yet to be beaten by competitors. Though BlackBerry is primarily a business-only device, it nevertheless crossed Apple’s path by including a powerful media player as an application on the Pearl. Other applications include a number of the programs found on Windows, Microsoft Suite, and an HTML browser. RIM followed the Pearl's stunning success in late February with their new Blackberry 8800 Smartphone. In addition to the alluring Pearl navigation system, BlackBerry 8800 also has a full QWERTY keyboard. Another significant feature setting it apart from its competitors is the built-in GPS navigation and maps with which the BlackBerry 8800 is equipped. With Smartphone, RIM is hoping to stay ahead of their rivals, including Samsung, Palm, and Motorola. The first worthy contender to RIM’s latest phones to appear soon on the market is the brand new slidephone Motorola RIZR Z6. This model’s most significant innovation is, of course, its new operating system. RIZR Z6 will be running open source Linux, allowing users to write their own programs, almost infinitely expanding the capabilities of the phone. If a user wishes to be able solve differential equations with her fingertips, she can write a program and upload it to her phone via Bluetooth or USB port. Other notable improvements are increased battery life (from five to seven hours of talk time), the addition of AAC ringtone format, as well as a boost to the camera’s resolution (from 1.3 to 2 megapixels). The inclusion of AAC is significant as this file type is one of the most effective ways to compress music files. Compared to MP3, AAC takes up half the space with very little noticeable loss of quality, making this format preferable for mobile phones [1]. The improved media player feature will likely make RIZR Z6 fair competition for Apple. Apple introduced its iPhone with a highly-touted screen wide enough to display a vast array of icons ranging from music, videos, TV shows, audiobooks, movies, and the like. Aesthetically, Apple’s bubble-like graphics and the design of the phone itself have a very user-friendly feel. The iPhone’s clean organizational characteristics and its chic shape make it unlike anything currently on the market. The four main menus are divided amongst the phone, mail, web-browsing, and iPod capabilities. Apple promises the revolutionary, the innovative, and defines that promise with the iPhone’s touch-screen navigation, in and of itself a technological landmark. The Visual Voicemail guarantees to be the shoeshine of this definition. Now, users can skip straight to a certain voice message without becoming impeded by any other messages. Along these same lines, instant messages will enjoy increased efficiency, as they will be composed through the on-screen keyboard. A more enhanced HTML e-mail will be offered, as well as access to the web browser Safari, enabling a user to to download files while controlling e-mails. Widgets provide immediate access to stock, weather, and news reports. In the end, the iPhone will leave a user’s fingers feeling more in command than a mouse ever could. Now for the iPhone’s effect on pocketbooks: the iPhone, consisting of four or eight gigabytes, will go for $499 to $599, an outrageous price for a cell phone. With a product as as technologically advanced and charmingly marketed as the iPhone, however, Apple has made a cell phone competitor that is difficult to turn down. Motorola and Apple, however, are not alone in introducing new high-tech cell phone options. Among the many other competitors in this market is the next big thing from LG. Days before Apple’s iPhone announcement, LG announced their “LGPhone” KE850 Prada, a very light, touchscreen phone with an FM radio, a document viewer supporting Microsoft as well as PDF files, and a number of other features. The iPhone does not include a radio feature, a nice touch for LG to counter the iPhone’s eight gigabytes of memory for music files. In the U.S., LG’s price might make it unable to compete with Apple, but in Europe, going for €600 (US $776), this phone most likely will be more popular. Just as with the iPhone, the touchscreen feature certainly makes Prada an attractive and fashionable gadget. FM radio makes it unique, while the external memory option is easily upgradeable. Samsung is yet another company poised to release a music player simultaneously functioning as a phone. Their F500 model has 400MB internal memory and capacity for microSD flash memory cards. The F500 plays music as well as video files in most of the standard formats (mp3, wma, avi, divx, mpeg4, wmv), and it is the first phone in the mobile world to support DivX codec, allowing users to view high quality videos [2]. These features become even more useful given the phone’s new dual face, allowing you to listen to music while using the phone, and the sweeping touch button at the bottom of the 2.4-inch screen adds convenience to utility. The next generation of the F model is the F700, which Samsung announced in early February. While not as diverse a multimedia device as the F500, the F700 has a TFT touch screen, a full QWERTY keyboard, as well as videocall capabilities, pushing it up in ranks to compare with RIM’s BlackBerry. A strong rival to all the firms on the market now, Nokia, has just announced its Nokia E90 phone. Comparable to BlackBerry Smartphone in for its business capabilities, such as a document viewer, full QWERTY keyboard, the convenient shape of a moleskin, an external display, as well as HTML and Java software, Nokia also competes with iPhone and Motorola as a multimedia device. Nokia plays many formats of music, has an FM radio, build-in secondary camera for videocalls, as well as photo and video editor. Another company worth mentioning is Sony Ericsson with their new K and W models. Some features not included in some of the other phones include picture editing and blogging, RSS reader, FM radio with RDS, and longer talk time (from 6 to 10 hours depending on the model). Both K and W models include powerful cameras and video cameras, including a 3.2 MP, autofocus video, xenon flash camera on the K810. Around a year ago, a 60 GB iPod was selling for more than the 80 GB iPod today, a phenomenon also seen in the rapid price drop in Motorola’s popular RAZR phones. The marvel of this scenario is that as products become more depreciated, everyone has more access to them. In a perfect scenario, this would mean that the income gap between consumers has become less significant of a factor when purchasing a product: people can afford to stay up to date with technological novelty. Therefore, the question to pose is not whether cell phones are outsmarting us, but whether we are outsmarting the handlings of our own savings plans. In the end, whether or not you decide to invest in an iPhone, Pearl, RIZR Z6, or another enticingly multifunctional phone, be sure to do your research so that you can leave the store satisfied. Bibliography [1] “MP3 vs. AAC,” http://www.coolutils.com/MusicForMobilePhones [2] http://www.popularelect.com/product_info.php?products_id=174 “MOTORIZR Z6,” http://direct.motorola.com/hellomoto/motorizrz6/ “LG Press Releases,” http://www.lge.com/about/press_release/list/PRE|MENU.jhtml “Apple - iPhone,” http://www.apple.com/iphone/ “SAMSUNG’s Digital World – Press Release,” http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/PressRelease/PressRelease.asp?seq=20061204_0000304769 “BlackBerry Pearl,” http://www.blackberrypearl.com/ “BlackBerry 8800 Smartphone,” http://www.blackberry8800.com/ “GSMArena.com,” http://www.gsmarena.com/ Taylor, Paul, “RIM set to unveil new Blackberry,” Financial Times, http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4d7b36ba-ba3111db-89c8-0000779e2340.html