NYT: Worthy Rivals for the Crown in Smartphones

[RockdaMan]

Limiting the original iPhone to AT&T subscribers brought Apple lucrative payments from AT&T and heightened the device’s aura of exclusivity.

But I wondered: had Apple waited too long, given the pace of change in the industry, allowing Android and RIM devices to catch up, or even move ahead? I decided to compare three rival mobile devices: the iPhone 4, and Android and BlackBerry models.

My two-week trial period over, I wrestled over the iPhone versus the Charge. Then my decision crystallized: I’d close my eyes to the Droid packaging and buy the Charge, because of the bigger touch keyboard, the large size and quality of the screen, and, to a lesser extent, the 4G download speed.

Apple says it welcomes competition. “Well, now they have it,” said Mr. Jackson, the CSS Insight analyst. “Samsung and HTC are both ascendant. They’ve bet big, on larger screens, great user experiences and 4G.”

I too have the curse of the big fingers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/23/bu...tech&seid=auto