Take 1: Sony Ericsson w960

Could it be an early iPhone-killer? Yes, it most certainly can. I’ll show you why!

On paper, it already stacks up quite evenly with the iPhone (err…actually, the specs seem to be leaning towards w960 superiority): unlike it’s predecessor the w950, the w960 sports a 3.2 megapixel camera, as opposed to the now-seemingly meazly 2.0 offered by the iPhone. It possesses a keypad and touchscreen capabilities. It functions on the UIQ symbian operating system; but, after reading about UIQ vs. the stripped down OS X, I can’t really tell which one is better. The w960i does feature java support however, whereas the iPhone unfortunately has only the “sweet” way to use apps (to see more on this, click this link: http://curmi.com/blog/2007/06/17/iphone-development-not-so-sweet/).

But, enough with the comparisons. The w960 also features a menu similar to the k850 which is a definitely plus (to me).

It’s also a Sony Ericsson, so I personally believe that you can expect a standard of good quality. And I’ll admit it, I’ve got a bit biased in favour of Sony Ericsson, but can you blame me? My phone, the w600i, has served me well (and is still serving me very well).It functions on the Walkman 2.0 player, featuring Album Art (oops, I almost drooled). It has wi-fi functions AND 3g, which definitely is a plus especially when compared to iPhone’s lack of 3g. It has a 320×240 screen, which is plenty big (I’m still using good ol’ 174×220). It has 8gb of built-in memory, which stacks evenly with the iPhone.

Unfortunately, it’s expected to be released in the fourth-quarter of 2007! So, we can definitely expect the iPhone to have its own share of sales before it comes out. Ironically, doesn’t this situation seem similar to the Vista-Leopard situation?

Who knows, maybe the iPhone’s next firmware will feature more functions that can popularize it. Until then, it will almost definitely succumb to the w960 (then again, the iPod has always beaten many more competent players). Later days!