I Don't Want To Wait - The I-Phone Asia Launch

My cellphone is a Nokia 6085. It's a clam shell phone which takes very bad pictures. Why did I buy it then? It comes with my Globe postpaid plan, it has big keypads, and it has an FM radio. I love the services of Globe, but man, their phone packages suck. I checked Smart's packages - they have decent phones ... I just wonder why Globe could not come up with packages like that.

Anyway, as I was saying in the previous blog, Christmas is near (and so is my birthday). I'm not really into the expensive stuff but when I know some fairy (Hi MOM!) can grant me something ... the first thing that come to mind is to upgrade my phone.

This country is cellphone crazy. Everyone has a cellphone. It's the one of the easiest gadget one can acquire as there are a lot of cellphone sellers catering to all classes. However, the problem is how to sort out the good from the bad.

I want an I-phone .... it's got to be out of the finest phone that ever came out. But for some strange reason, Apple decided to launch it in Asia on 2008 - which is crazy. After all the hype and promotion, they expect the people here to wait that long. I don't think so! Everyday, I'd visit the Apple site and drool over the thing. I must have it! But the drooling does not stop here. The Apple site's one of my favorite sites. I love all their products. (Anyone seen the I-Mac? Wow wow wow!!! White is not my favorite noncolor, but the immaculateness and sleekness of the I-Mac makes her beautiful. And then don't get me started with the MacPro .... mark my words, when I become filthy rich all tech stuff I have will all be Mac-based. My only precious right now is my I-Pod 80 GB video --> mwah mwah mwah. )

There's this feedback from my pal that the I-Phone does not have 3G. It's not a big deal really, since I'm not a fan of seeing who I'm talking to (I dunno, it's a phone ... you place it near your ear). But then, just the idea that it lacks something bugs me. (Ever the perfectionist). Then there's the wait ... I don't want to wait ... but I still want it. Argh, let's see where this mental tug of war will end in the next few months.

I can't have an I-Phone now, so I decided to search for alternatives.

I went to www.nokia-asia.com. They have this comparator, where you can compare all different models side by side, and it will show you their specs.

I'm a fan of the slide phones ever since Keanu used one in The Matrix. That's why I don't like my clam shell phone and my other former phone, a Nokia 7650 (the one which looks like a leaf, with hellishly designed keypads) ... it lacks the oomph that a slider has. My second choice would be any touch screen phone. As much I would like a smart phone, I don't like the QWERTY keypads. It makes the phone look like a mutated calculator or remote control.

Anyway, so I narrowed down the search for slider phones, and I've come up with some choices.

The N95 and N95 8 GB looks tempting. My mom has one and I've seen what it can do. But I find it kinda bulky. I prefer slim and sleek phones. So it goes down at the bottom of the list.

There is also the Nokia 6110 Navigator. The one equipped with GPS. It promises that you will never get lost again with that phone. It looks nice and there are pretty impressive features. But then, I don't see myself using the GPS too much - nobody to stalk. So, it goes down again at the bottom pile.

Two phones that caught my eye were the Nokia 6288 and Nokia 5610 Xpress Music. Both have all the basic specs I want (FM radio, music player, camera, blue tooth, WAP, USB connection). I love the sleek look of the 6288. It's not bulky and not too slim. I've read user reviews from CNET-asia.com, and the only complaint is that the slider is kinda loose. The price is also reasonable.

The Nokia 5610 Xpress Music is one of the newer models. It boasts a 2.2 inch qvga scratch-resistant window (reaally now?), crystal clear hi-fi audio (reaally now?) with a camera with autofocus and dual LED flash. Unlike the 6288 which is Triband, the 5610 is quadband in gsm 850/900/1800/1900 mhz. It also has a macroshot, landscape mode ... which is the main attraction for me. The thing I don't like is that it doesn't have IR and I dunno what's with the red/blue side design.


Just for looks alone I would probably go for the 6288, but for features sake ... the 5610 is better. It promises to "rock your world in more ways than one." Well, let's see. So in this round, I would say it is a tie between the two.

I went over the fence to check out Sony Ericsson phones. Just like the nokia site, they also have a searcher and comparator.

The only slider phone that caught my attention is the SE W850i. This is a handsome looking phone (specially the black one). It has the basic things I want but I noticed that its camera is just 2.0 megapixels without autofocus. I've read reviews and the editors at CNET complained of "unintuitive controls" and limited memory. But one user attests to its durability. It's worth checking out ... though not too convincing for me to jump over the fence.

The other phone is the SE W960i. It's not a slider but a candy bar phone, which is a minus. But it's sleek block black looks appeals to me. It's one of the "coming soon" phones and it promises to be an I-Phone killer (this I have to see). It has a 9 rating, so I am intrigued on what it can offer. One user comments that there is no CONs to this phone. I checked the specs and discovered it has no infrared, no media player, no wall paper animation --> too minor details to bother with. It has a touch screen feature so, like it CNET people said, it can rival the I-Phone.

I will still have to see this phone in actuality to pass my judgement. The I-Phone still holds my heart ... but then with the long wait, any of the phones above might veer me away from it.