iPhone vs Sony Walkman W960i – Clash of the Titans

Two of the biggest brands in the mobile music industry – Apple's iPhone and Sony's Walkman branded W960i, finally clash for the same spot – the best music mobile phone. Both these brands have their own cults. While the brand name 'Walkman' is associated with revolutionizing the concept of 'mobile music', the iPhone represents the digitized version of the revolution. Finally, these two giants face each other in one common ground – the ever booming music mobile phone market.

The iPhone is Apple's first take on mobile phone, and its launch has been one of the most closely watched event in mobile phone history! The handset is largely successful in delivering everything that was promised, earning rave reviews from hardcore iPod fans to critics. On the other hand, the Sony Ericsson W960i is an upgraded version of the W950i – the former leader of the Walkman series. This latest Walkman phone has been launched with many new additions including a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus.

Music playing capability wise, there is nothing much to differentiate between the iPod and Walkman Series. Both of them play a variety of media file formats and produce the most clear sounds. Except for a few cosmetic differences in their touch sensitive user interface, both the iPhone and W960i matches eye to eye in terms of musical talents.

However, because of Apple's inexperience in mobile technology, the W960i has an edge over the iPhone in terms of connectivity. The biggest advantage of the W960i over the iPhone is its embedded 3G technology – an important feature for the present crop of high end mobile phone users. Another area where W960i can boast of its superiority is its integrated camera module.

Despite these minor disadvantages, one can not outrightly dismiss the iPhone as anything lesser. Afterall, it is a music solution, and with so much of expertise in digital media, the iPhone is not likely to step down to the W960i without a fight.

The iPhone battle in UK - Did O2 hit the jackpot?

The furore for iPhone never seems to die. And even before people start queuing in the UK stores, rumours and speculations 'elevates' the status of this much awaited phone. The latest buzz being, O2 will be exclusively selling Apple’s iconic iPhone, this Christmas.

Does it mean that the big players like Vodafone and T-mobile lost the deal? Well there is no support to second the thought, but with print heavyweights such as The Times and The Guardian making statements about O2's so called achievements, it seems like Apple already made its mind.

However, with Apple and O2 refusing to comment (and neither did any other operator reveal the status-quo), its difficult to validate the statement. According to sources, at the same time negotiations are still going on about who can sell the iPhone, once O2’s exclusivity contract expires - Carphone Warehouse being one of the strong contender.

If O2 intends to make it big, it has to make some network changes as well, to take full advantage of the handset. Since, EDGE - the type of data connection used by the iPhone, is only operated by carrier Orange in the UK. However, industry experts say that unlike the move to 3G, the change would be a relatively simple software upgrade rather than a full hardware roll-out.

The launch of iPhone will be a crucial marker of the sales chart in the UK market, as here phones are normally free with a new contract. The UK iPhone is expected to be made available at around 300 pounds (speculations again!)

Seems like the stage is all set... Mobi will keep you tuned!

The Apple iPhone - Bite the forbidden fruit!

The most anticipated and much hyped Apple iPhone has finally been made available for consumers in the UK and US mobile market.

The Apple iPhone has been designed, based on the latest multi-touch display combined with new software applications – enabling you to keep track of all the features at your fingertips. Apple has incorporated three products in its slim profile: a mobile phone, an iPod and an Internet communicator, all squeezed into one.

The iPhone offers a unique OS X, that allows you to create new applications for the mobile phone unlike limited versions of other phone applications. Its a complete touch screen mobile phone without any keypad or stylus. The eye-catchy 3.5 cm widescreen is simply irresistible.

With its multi-touch screen, you can use QWERTY keypad that are displayed on it, similar to Windows mobile or Symbian rich OS Smartphones. Its easier to use and typing mistakes are automatically eliminated.

As far as phone size is concerned, its somewhat larger in the hands, but with slim dimensions of only 11.6mm (much thinner than the most popular RAZR slim phones from Motorola). The device also comes with a 3.5 mm stereo headphones jack and in-built speaker. The iPod connector is used to sync with iTunes on the PC or Mac.

The phone supports quad-band GSM with EDGE. The main drawback of this device is the absence of 3G/WCDMA compared to other phones in the same level like Nokia N series and Smartphones. The Apple iPhone comes with 4GB or 8GB of space – room enough for almost everything you would want to carry on the move. It also supports Safari, the Web browser, built-in Google maps, Wi-Fi and more.

The temptation is there...can you resist it?