iPhone is the best selling consumer mobile phone in the US in the third quarter 2008
According to NPD group, the market research leader for the wireless industry, iPhone 3G beat the top ranked Motorola RAZR and becomes the best selling cell phone in the third quarter of 2008 in the country. Never the less, the consumer mobile phone sales fell 10% in the third quarter.
The shift of the top selling handset from Motorola RAZR to iPhone indicates that the more consumer move into the multifunctional smart phones. Also, American love the nice designed iPhone 3G verse other smart phones.
The top five cellphones sold in US are
1. iPhone 3G, 2. Motorola RAZR (all models), 3. Blackberry Curve (all models) 4. LG Rumor, 5. LG enV2
Related posts on iPhone:
Police speed trap and red light camera alerts from iPhone
Trapster is available in App store for free. Trapster uses the GPS capability of your iPhone 3G to alert you when you approach police speed traps, read light cameras.
iPhone 3G is the best selling smartphone in the US
According to a report by NPD, a market research firm, iPhone 3G is the best selling smart-phone from June through August, outselling the Blackberry Curve and Blackberry Pearl.
Of those customers who bought an iPhone 3G during those months, 30 percent switched from other mobile carriers to join AT&T comparing with 23 percent of consumers who switched carriers during the same time period for other reasons.
Almost half of iPhone buyers switched from (47 percent) Verizon Wireless, 24 percent switched from T-Mobile. Another 19 percent are reported to have switched from Sprint.
I switched from T-mobile to AT &T on July 11 just for the iPhone 3G. iPhone 3G is not cheap although it is labeled as $199 for 8G and $299 for 16G. The plan is expensive: with a $69 month call and data plan, and a minimum of 200 messages ($5), will give a monthly bill over $80. But so far I really love it. It is so convenient to check weather, stock, e-mail etc on iPhone. There are many excellent Apps on iPhone such as now playing, pageonce, white pages etc. You can even use Skype on iPhone. It will not be long before we can get video recorder Apps on iPhone since a number of companies are working on it.
iPhone has potential security flaws
iPhone’s e-mail has potential security problems according to a researcher. The iPhone e-mail application downloads images in an e-mail automatically. These images could refer back to a server-side script. When the images downloaded, it will show to the sender that the e-mail is opened and the address is validated. This e-mail address will be spammed. To avoid this problem, it is advisable not to open any links within the untrusted sources. The second problem is the URL displays in the e-mail due to the limitation of the iPhone display. The attackers can use websites to fool users to reveal their personal information. For more details, read here.
Google Android phone to be available in China
China Mobile, may offer Android phone which based on the Google open source operating system next year, reported at digitimes. The phone will be made by HTC, the same maker of T-mobile G1, which will be available in the US this month. Although there is no indication the China Android phone will be same as T-mobile G1 or not. HTC plans to establish a subsidiary in mainland China to promote the cooperation with China Mobile. China Mobile is the largest cell phone provider in China.
Unlocked iPhone 3G sold in Hong Kong’s apple store
HTC T-mobile G1 and iPhone 3G comparison with video
The first phone based on google Android operating system, HTC T-mobile G1 was announced today. It will be available in store at Oct 22 for $179 with a two year contract. What are the key differences of T-mobile G1with iPhone 3G? There is a head to head comparison on wired.com and here are the key major points:
- iPhone 3G uses a multi-touch screen and T-mobile G1 use touch screen, QWERTY keyboard and trackball
- iPhone use internal memory of 8G and 16G, while T-mobile G1 has 1G pro-loaded microSD with expendable to 8G
- iPhone has much better battery life (10 h on 2G) than T-mobile phone (5 h). But G1 has a removable battery.
- T-mobile G1 has a 3 megapixel camera and iPhone has a 2 megapixel camera.
- iPhone 3G has support for Microsoft Exchange, while G1 doesn’t.
- T-mobile G1 supports multimedia message, voice dialing, all of these are missing on iPhone 3G.
- G1 does not play video except youtube.
- G1 can be unlocked after 90 days.
Data plan T-mobile G1 is better:
G1: $35 a month for unlimited internet, messages and T-Mobile HotSpot access; $25 a month for unlimited internet, unlimited IM on Google Talk, 400 total messages (text, picture messages, non-Google Talk IM), and T-Mobile HotSpot access. Note that you’re limited to 1GB per billing cycle.
iPhone: $30 a month for unlimited consumer data plan, $45 a month for unlimited business data plan, $5 a month for 200 text messages, $15 a month for 1500 text messages, $20 a month for unlimited text messages
G1 is $15 cheaper per month with unlimited data and messages PLUS HOTSPOT access.
But the problem with T-mobile is that they have very little 3G coverage comparing with AT&T, although G1 supports 3G network.
Over all, G1 is cheaper, but iPhone is better overall in my opinion.
For a video to compare G1 and iPhone, see here.
Canon EOS 5D Mark II preview and comparison with Nikon D700
Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Vincent Laforet reviewed Canon EOS 5D Mark II at his blog. According to him, “The 5D MKII camera produces the best stills in low light that I’ve ever seen” and “the best video in low light that I’ve ever seen – at 1080p”. There are a few very impressive low light photos in his blog.
Dpreview has a very detailed preview of Canon 5D Mark II. There are also some sample images of Canon 5D Mark II.
The key features of Canon 5D Mark II are:
- 21.1 Megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor, 14-bit A/D conversion and wide range ISO setting of 100-6400 (expandable L: 50, H1: 12800 and H2: 25600).
- Full HD Video capture at 1920 x 1080 resolution for up to 4GB per clip with HDMI output for HD viewing
- DIGIC 4 Image Processor for faster processing of fine detail and color reproduction as well as reduced image noise.
- 3.9 fps continuous shooting, new shutter with 150,000 cycles and improved weather-resistant body.
- Live View Function for stills (Quick, Live and Face Detection AF modes) and video.
- 3.0-inch LCD (920,000 dots/VGA) monitor with anti-reflective and scratch-resistant coatings
- Updated EOS Integrated Cleaning System
Comparison of Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Nikon D700
Comparing with Nikon D700, Canon 5D Mark II has the HD movie function which can take 1080 videos. For many, this will be the main reason to buy Canon 5D Mark II. Canon 5D Mark II has a much higher resolution 21.1 Megapixels verse 12.1 Megapixels on Nikon D700. Canon 5D Mark II also has the greater coverage of viewfinder (98%) than Nikon 700 (95%).
Nikon D700 has a faster continuous shooting speed (5fps and up to 8 with the optional battery grip) than Canon 5D Mark II (3.9 fps) and has a better 51-point AF system.
Nikon D700 has a built-in flash while Canon 5D Mark II does not.
With $2599 price tag, Canon 5D Mark II is one of the best full frame digital SLRs.
For related posts:
Canon 5D Mark II, best lenses and essential accessories
Google’s $199 phone to compete with the iPhone
The price of the new Google smart phone would put the device head-to-head with Apple
’s $199 iPhone. The Google phone, which features a touchscreen and is made by Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, faces some stiff competition. The iPhone 3G has generated significant interest among consumers for redefining touch-screen technology,popularizing mobile apps
Which is better? BlackBerry Pearl 8220 or iPhone 3G
Two months after iPhone 3G was available at AT&T, T-mobile announces BlackBerry Pearl 8220, which is available only at T-mobile in the US. This is the first flip smart phone of BlackBerry. The features are very impressive comparing with iPhone 3G.
- 2-megapixel camera with zoom, flash and video recording
- External microSD/SDHC card
- Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing
- The DataViz® Documents to Go® software suite is also preloaded, allowing users to edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint files directly on the handset
All these features are not available at iPhone 3G, at least not yet. Does this make Pearl 8220 a better smart phone than iPhone 3G? It might be at present time. But what really make iPhone 3G a super smart phone is the availability of iPhone Apps. Video recording is coming soon.