There are a wide variety of smartphones out there that allow us to connect and interact with the world on an entirely new level; from iPhones, BlackBerrys and Androids to Nokias, Samsungs, and Motorolas – the choice is really up to you. We just plan to make it easier.
iPhone 3GS
Think Apple Macbooks and Apple iMacs with their dazzling good looks and great performance all crammed into a touch screen device that fits into your hand. The most popular smartphone in the world has definitely earned its right at the top of the food chain.
The phone comes in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB options, so basically an iPod in a phone backed up with a camera, 3G, GPS and, more importantly, access to the App Store which gives you access to over 100 000 applications which gives your iPhone even more freedom, especially with applications that link into your phone’s features like the GPS and camera.
BlackBerry Bold 9700
BlackBerry phones have been around for a while but BlackBerry themselves did not really feature much in South Africa. Not until the last year or so, that is. The phone itself is pretty high-quality. It looks good, has full multimedia features with a three mega-pixel camera, GPS and easy syncing between Macs and PCs.
With a feature set like that the phones already stands in good stead, but it is not the defining factor of the BlackBerry’s popularity. As with the iPhone there are BlackBerry applications which give the phone extra functionality. The distinguishing application is the BlackBerry Messenger which allows you to send messages to other BlackBerry users for free, making the move to BlackBerry a smart one, especially if you have contacts you own a BlackBerry, be it a Bold 9700 or any other BlackBerry currently on the market.
HTC Hero
The last of our recommended phones uses something called Android as the operating system. With full backing from the Open Source community and a HTC backing the hardware development, we get the perfect recipe for a great phone.
Unfortunately the hardware does let the Hero down with an average camera, sluggish processor and small amount of built-in memory which is the main reason why Android has not taken off as yet. The highly customisable interface makes up for it though, with access to a number of free and paid for applications, and the ability to fine tune the way the phone works. The Hero is definitely a phone that can take the iPhone head on.
