A little off-topic today :-)
Smart Touch phones have taken the mobile phone world by storm. People find them easy to use than tapping some tiny buttons in the traiditonal phones. Phone experience is quicker and easier than before.
Recently I felt that it is time to change my 4 year old mobile phone which is a traditional candy-bar with numeric keypad and a good display. I searched for touch phones that are available in the market now and found almost every major manufacturer have a good portfolio of touch phones in their product lines. Intrigued by the recent advent of phone OS and apps, I started evaluating models on the following aspects :
1. Phone OS
2. Display Size & Resolution
3. Connectivity (WiFi, BT, EDGE, 3G)
4. Multimedia (Photo, Video, Music)
5. Performance
6. App support
Every manufacturer offers touch phones ranging from Budget to premium models. The budget phones runs on the the propreitary tweaked software to use "touch" as a primary interaction method. Some have features crippled to make them into budget phones. It is the mid-range models and premium models that truly appeals, and offers some value in terms of productivity. It all ties to the OS and its ability to support apps. So for me, OS is a major deciding factor.
Today there are 3 major OSs that takes the lion's share in the touch phone OS (with apps support) market. One is older, but does not have much app support. The second was a instant hit and currently leads that market with loads of apps. The third was introduced little recently and is gaining share, as well as coming up with apps. My first choice of OS, a leading touch phone and also a pioneer in touch, was good in the above 6 aspects, but the price factor is a hiccup also it is tied with regional service providers in India. The second choice of OS, seems to be the facing some hard-times, because only recently, major manufacturers started supporting it. One manufacturer recently introduced a mid-range model with this OS. Comparatively it is a much better model in terms of OS, Display, Apps and multimedia. But alas, the phone has not hit the shelves in Chennai. Might take a couple of weeks it seems. I've decided to wait and get this one.
When it comes to mobile phone and productivity, I must admit that I expect the phone to do everything. I want to read my mails, access facebook, tweet, access crm, set tasks and assign to my team, edit documents, use spreadsheets, and even watch movies and listen to music. Adding to the list are - photo and video shooting. In short, I want my phone to replace my desktop / laptop. The way the mobile phone market converges is very promising. The day is not too far away, where people spend more time with their mobile phone, than with their desktops / laptops.