until 30 days ago I used HTC and Nokia. Always said that Nokia and Windows Mobile were unbeatable. But then Blackberry Bold came in my life tru (christmas present from my girl friend). This terminal is AWSOME. Everything is stable and perfect. Voice, Mail, GPS with online maps of Amaze. Documents to Go. the Only thing is that flash player is not there. This Palm pre is it on the market and available or do we talk about some preproduction model? And how will the market be when in 6 months Pre will be on the market? Ciao from the most beautiful country in the world.

Yes, everything is completely subjective

I am by no means an iPhone booster, but even I have to admit I think your numbers here are so subjective as to not even remotely reflect the market. The scoring seems more on the lines of “Who’s Line is it Anyway” then anything else, points given at random or on whim. Category 16, Web Browsing, for example…how did you get to giving Windows Mobile and a sight unseen Pre 7 points while the iPhone got 3?

Beyond that, considering that all any of us have seen are brief demos of key Pre features (save for a few lucky CES attendees who got a few minutes to watch someone use the device in person), I really think this entire idea is premature. Have you actually used a Blackberry or a G1? Lets wait and see what is actually released before we start looking for a “winner”.

Z

Zealot- in case you didn’t notice, those scores were the running tallies up to that point, not the points for that round. iPhone and Palm Pre got 1 point for the round, and as stated that’s based off of Gizmodo’s experience with them at CES.

Also the G1 does support multi-touch. It’s not integrated into the OS yet, but third party programs have demonstrated its usage. Which brings me to my next point- how does the open source OS not win at developer community and development platform?

All in all this wasn’t the best of tests- you’re pitting an unseen hardware and OS in the Palm Pre against just an OS (Windows Mobile) and an entire line of hardware (Blackberry). It would have been a better and more consistent test if you were to compare one phone from each OS like Giz did, adding a Windows Mobile phone and a Blackberry of your choice and using only those. Of course, it could be hard to justify picking just one- maybe that’s why Giz only used phones that are the only option with their respective operating systems.

Ah, I stand corrected…I hadn’t realised the scores were cumulative.

I really enjoyed this article. It’s difficult to find comparisons b/t the many OSs, and this one was written very well and provided needed insight. Great job!

While an enjoyable read, the article clearly shows the author’s bias towards WM. The problem is he is comparing a single device in all the other categories and taking a “best of” approach to WM. That would be fine if I could get the “best of” on one single device, but that isn’t the case. For example, you give points to WM for best camera and physical keyboard, but the WM device with the best camera doesn’t have a keyboard. You could throw 1-handed use into the equation as well. If the iPhone is unusable for you one handed, I doubt the Omnia TouchPro is either.

As far as battery is concerned, don’t believe everything you hear. I have an iPhone and with both 3g and WiFi on overnight, I lose at most 2-3% of a fully charged battery.

I also think you are giving points based upon a lot of assumptions to Palm. Yes, everything looks good today, but we don’t know functional add-on apps will be, or even how many we’ll get. We don’t know how good the browser will be. We do know that it’s limited to 8
GB and no add-on memory, so I’d deduct a point there.

Why did between 6. User Interface & 7. Development platform the iphone lose a point? not that it would help them win but a 4 overall at the end is better then a 3.

Also as for the network section, This would be a result of living in the USA, b/c here in Canada, I do think that Rogers is the best and even if we had a choice (Bell does not have the capability to run the iphone) I would still choose Rogers (fido)

How can you not say that the iphone has great Web Integration? And Single Hand Navigation, just b/c you can do it does not mean that it is not good. I mainly use one hand with the iphone and find it easier then using both hands.

I really do find this to be a bit skewed and think that maybe a rematch where everyone can vote on each feature would be better. I can see it now…….PalmPre vs. iPhone vs. WinMo vs. Android vs. BlackBerry – Fight 2! This time its personal…! LOL

I’d add a category – actually shipping – 1 point shared by all but Palm Pre. WM FTW!

Interesting article. I feel that the winner is subjective to who is using it. While each one has it’s strengths and weakenesses, all are very powerful products. I have handled an Iphone, the G1, various WM devices and blackberries(though not some of the later ones) and each has it’s loyal users. For me as of now I will stick to WM for it’s unmatched customizability(sp). May be and android or the palm pre later we will see.

The thing that got me was the following:

Based on what I’ve seen so far, and based on my personal experience with Palm Treo, I’m willing to bet the Pre will have the greatest single hand navigation.

Was there a demo of people using the Pre single-handed in almost all of the applications? If not, I think that’s a huge leap. (Of course, Windows Mobile Smartphones/Standard devices are almost all one-handed.)

I agree with others that comparing the “best of” Windows Mobile to single devices isn’t really fair (although BlackBerry probably got a “best of” boost, too, as they have several different models).

However, what are you supposed to do? If you pick one Windows Mobile device and ding it for a missing feature, somebody will say that another five devices have that feature. Also remember that WM beat everybody but the Pre by 3 points or more (if the iPhone should have had 4), so even if a single WM device didn’t have three features, it would still beat the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. :D

And I agree with doogald that “actually shipping” is worth something — for now.

It was an interesting read, though.

Steve

The WM issue is an easy fix – pick two – the most popular WM Standard model, the most popular WM Professional.

Oh, and while you are at it – add a category for value. If I am spending $399 for a WM uber-phone, it seems relevant to note that when you compare it with a $199 Blackberry or iPhone (or whatever the Pre will cost – which sounds north of $199 from what I read.)

Ha… finally! A review that’s biased towards the values that WinMo adheres to! Not saying it’s fair, but it’s equally as unfair as the iPhone-centric reviews I see everywhere else.

So, this is kind of like the FoxNews of mobile device reviews — it’s certainly not mainstream, but it’s an insurgency around a minority opinion!

Believe it or not, I am a happy FUZE owner.

Apparently Microsoft is still willing to pay off bloggers for good reviews…

Seriously, this is a joke, right?

This is a parody, right?

Only when read with sarcasm is this deserving with the bytes of data it takes to host. This is so totally inconsistent and incoherent it looks like you just randomly shouted out numbers and assigned them randomly to a phone.

Look, I’m no fan of android, but it’s obvious you guys are just hating on it.

“5. Multitasking:

iPhone – out.

Android – almost, but not quite there yet.”

So how the hell do you give iPhone 1 point, and android 0 points? A similar situation is found in the section for “Physical Keyboard” (a category where the iPhone gets 1 point without having a physical keyboard, where android gets 0).

If you ever hope to have anybody take you seriously, you have to show some impartiality here. You guys clearly wanted to show that you hate Android – which is great, theres plenty of reasons to hate Google’s phone OS, but do it in a more convincing, not-so-transparent way.

You’re like the guy who nobody wants on their side of the issue because your arguments and points are so terrible and idiotic that it makes their side of the argument look bad.

Ah, I do agree finally an article that is not supremely iPhone centric. However most of the points are simply wrong … If we are comparing current devices the Pre doesn’t come into play at all. Several of the questions are platform related rather than physical and especially the section about development platforms. Android has the far superior platform. Keyboard? If you’d used one you would realize that it’s function is superior to anything else currently on the market. One handed navigation is 90% NON keyboard use, so your justification is simply mistaken. I would agree that android in it’s initial release state is not superior in every way, but as a clear microsoft fanboy you’ve done nothing here but spread the usual FUD. Good job.

Is this the Windows Mobile fan boy site? I finally dumped that platform for Android, and I’m super happy. None of my Windows Mobile devices had decent batteries, or enough CPU or RAM. The iPhone is sexy enough, but you have to use AT&T? And how can a phone that isn’t out yet, regardless of their pretty videos, win anything? Years from now when 1/2 the phones are running Android and they come in every conceivable shape and size, you’ll wonder why you hated it so much…

@Jeff – There is a problem with your insinuation. The author of this opinion piece has no affiliation with Microsoft. I do, but he does not and I let the authors here speak their own mind.

PS. Based on todays comments, I assume this was linked in some Android forums recently. Am I right?

To answer the question, yes… this site has evolved from Aximsite a Pocket PC website. Many of the readers and contributors of the site are Windows Mobile Fans and users. Myself, I am a Microsoft MVP, Mobile Devices. I have used Palm, Android, Windows Mobile, and RIM devices. I have most of my experience with Windows Mobile. I am comfortable with Windows Mobile. Windows Mobile does what I need it to do. Until Exchange Server support was introduced to the iPhone, I didn’t use my iPhone, today… I do sometimes, but mainly I use Windows Mobile devices. Right now, I am using the HTC Fuze and love it.

Remember, the article we are commenting on is an opinion piece. I have read the article and agree with his points on much of it.

Feedback is welcome here. Thanks for reading.

I liked WM when I had my Dash. It’s not as bad as some places make it out to be.

However, you obviously have no real knowledge other than some YouTube video and other releases about the Pre. If you haven’t used it, you can’t honestly review it. I can’t review any usability about the iPhone as I haven’t used it.

You really need to decide if you’re comparing OS or device. If it’s OS, then Android should have at LEAST 2 or 3 more points. If it’s device, then WM would have less as you jumped from device to device.

I hope nobody reads this and uses it as a benchmark for what phone they should get. It’s beyond subjective. It’s dellusional.

@Chris,

I don’t really care if his opinion is that WM is the victor. It’s just that he doesn’t use a fair base for evaluation. Either compare the OS’s or compare the devices.

I’m a huge supporter of MS as I’m a MCSD and SharePoint/VS pays the bills, but he forces his facts to support WM.

“I tried the android, and the navigation was not smooth.”

Are you bloody serious? I own a G1 and I understand it’s not the perfect phone (yet), but the browser is one of the best parts about it. I can’t even conceive how you would come to the conclusion that the browser was not smooth. Hell, even the speeds at which pages load up is faster than the iPhone…

http://news.cnet.com/3g-speed-test-iphone-3g-vs-t-mobile-g1/

And another thing… how the HELL did Android not win a development community point? Because it doesn’t have as many apps as the iPhone? Is that seriously a factor in your test? Let’s completely forget that Apple uses a draconian method of regulating their apps or that BlackBerry/WinMo users must buy their apps from third party sources.

I’m sorry, but the open source nature of Android should automatically score it a point.

Finally, how is it fair to compare the million WinMo phone designs and utilizations to the 1 iPhone, 1 Android, and 5-6 BlackBerry phones? You can’t pick and choose what’s best about the greatest WinMo phones because there isn’t a single WinMo device out there that is able to do everything you praise so much about it.

Seriously, this is probably one of the worst comparison articles I have ever read. Android may not be the perfect phone OS just yet but it’s far more impressive at launch than anything else has been at launch. Do you even remember the horrible shamble that was WinMo at launch, or the crummy BlackBerry OS at launch? Even the iPhone was less fleshed out than Android was at launch…

P.S. The inclusion of the Pre here was entirely subjective. The phone isn’t out yet and what was shown off at CES was a prototype. Everything that’s in there may or may not make it to the retail version… thats why it’s not released yet. They still have work to do on it…

http://phandroid.com/2009/01/15/how-to-instantly-ruin-your-credibility/

Completely agree with the linked post, definitely won’t be visiting this site again.

Nonsensical comparison.

iPhone: Are you referring to the original 2G iPhone here, or the iPhone OS?

Palm Pre: Hasn’t really been out yet. Extremely little to base a comparison on.

Windows Mobile: Is not a handset. It’s an operating system. It should be compared with other mobile operating systems.

Android: Android does not have a physical keyboard, a battery, a camera or a screen… Android is software.

BlackBerry: Blackberry what? The Blackberry storm? The Blackberry OS? What is being compared here?

@Chris

I agree with the post “Cryptic79″ a bit – the point isn’t what his opinion is, it’s that the comparisons he gives here are lacking supporting arguments or any kind of evidence.

You guys can go back and forth about whether WinMo or iPhone OS is sleeker, that will be subjective to a large degree.

But where this piece really loses all credibility is with the way he just arbitrarily assigns 0 to things he doesn’t like and gives no reason for doing so. In some cases, he even says “iPhone is the worse, Android is a bit better, but Android gets 0, iPhone gets 1.”

The opinion/subjectivity will always be there and you really can’t fault somebody for stating that “something is a bit subjective, so heres my opinion.” There are several obvious points where the poster simply prefers WinMo. Thats life.

But what you can fault people for is pretending to break things down by evidence/support based points and then letting their opinion assign out-of-the-blue scores. It really appears as though the author has either never seen or heard of an Android phone or taken the explicit position that it gets 0 because he doesn’t like it (for whatever reason).

Again, the problem isn’t his preference or how clearly it does or doesn’t show through. It’s that this is just whole piece is baseless and effortless.

Actually, I stand to correct my earlier comments, as I’ve given the author & post too much credit.

What the hell is even being compared here?

See the post from someoneother above: http://mobilitysite.com/2009/01/palmpre-vs-iphone-vs-winmo-vs-android-vs-blackberry-fight/comment-page-1/#comment-14779

Operating systems? No, cause he includes cameras and batteries.
Individual phones? No, because “blackberry,” “android,” and “windows mobile” aren’t individual phones.

Again, total nonsense. Oh well. Everything has a downside, even freedom of speech.

@Hahha – Yes. I can see your point and upon reading it again, I see that. I hope that Gil gets time later (He’s not in the US) to field some comments.

All I can do is take it on the chin for my guy here. We are very WinMo centric here and our opinions are based much on our likes.

Personally, I don’t like the G1 at all. The keyboard is all I really liked about it. I used it for about a month and unfamiliarity with the OS and some of the limitations of the OS turned me off. I have high hopes for the Android platform though. The G1 is a very nice 1st go at a phone with a new OS. It all comes down to preference in the end. I really hope Microsoft steps up with Windows Mobile though. WinMo isn’t broken really, it’s just that the bar has been raised by the iPhone, by the Android OS, and from what I saw at CES, Palm’s WebOS. The Pre’s form factor and feel is nice too. I actually held one for 8-10 seconds in my 1on1 with Palm.

Like I said, I can understand the commenters reaction to Gil’s comparison here. For the most part, expect for the 2 comments I just deleted, the comments are welcome. I am sure they won’t change his opinion, but as long as it’s not just a pissing match, debate is healthy.

ps. To the poster that said they will never be back. Sorry to hear that. Is this your 1st visit in 6 years?

pps. We just added Palm WebOS and Android subs in our forums the other day and I added Blackberry and iPhone not too long ago as well. We are very WinMo centric though so I don’t think they will get much use, but hey…

horrible review. way too subjective =/
i guess i just have different views

Thank you for this .. this was the worst post ever comparing mobile phones…

To find someone who was so in love with WinMo .. is astonishing..

I’m guessing you also love Vista and think that isn’t flawed either..

Subjective… not even the word…

but thank you for the laugh..

@Chris

Thanks for addressing some of the comments, even though some (cough, like mine) have come off with a bit of indignant hostility.

My responses and negative opinions are coming mainly from the fact that I expect comparisons like these to at least attempt to be fair and impartial.

Anybody can just write their random thoughts and opinions down. That’s rarely very useful or readable except to those who agree with the opinion.

If the individual “feature” comparisons are going to be so unsupported and so devoid of reasonable arguments and consistency, the author may as well just state: “I like X better” as every reason.

Also, a few tips: compare apples with apples and oranges with oranges. Compare specific things, either just operating systems or individual phones. Without knowing it, by comparing “Windows Mobile,” the author is comparing the “battery” and the “touch screen” and “camera” on every single WinMo phone ever made. Did he intend to do that?

Also: I would re-write the way the scoring is assigned. I had to read it several times, which was difficult, to realize that the score repeated in each individual section is actually a cumulative score. Realizing this, some of my earlier comments, and that of other comments, isn’t accurate because we didn’t understand the content. In each section, simply state the winner and assign it your “one point.” Then at the end, give the final tally.

@ Hahha – It’s no problem. I don’t mind criticism or blasting if warranted. The only thing I don’t appreciate are the crude replies with foul language. Those didn’t make it to print though :)

You had me for a while. The multitasking section was too outrageously brain-dead to keep the joke going though…

-g

Seriously? Have you ever used the G1? Ever heard of Android? It should get a point in many of those categories. This article is a JOKE if you think Windows Mobile wins. This SITE is a joke if you think Windows Mobile wins. Have you ever used Windows Mobile? It was the most sluggish, ugly, most complicated user interface ever. I give it -10 for that.

Seriously though. Here we go :

Multitouch? The Android touchscreen is great even if it isn’t multitouch…kicks resistive Windows Mobile’s @$$.

Screen gestures? Ok, Android doesn’t win.

Design? Ok, the G1 may not be the prettiest. But the trackball goes a LONG way when trying to use the phone with gloves on, something that’s impossible to do with an iPhone.

Single Hand Navigation? I believe you said navigation, not typing. So I “guess” the G1 is back in. Especially since it’s getting an on-screen keyboard in about a week. Single handed navigation on the phone is amazing.

Multitasking? I love how no one gives the G1 credit. HOLD THE HOME KEY AND IT DISPLAYS THE LAST 6 APPLICATIONS THAT YOU’VE OPENED, AND IT HAS KEPT THEM RUNNING. This keeps the phone from slowing down, but also leaves 6 apps open for “multitasking”

User Interface? How do you not give Android a point? The notification bar is the best design feature in the history of smartphones. Also, it is very fluid and usable. Again, HAVE YOU USED THIS PHONE EVER?

Development platform? OPEN SOURCE. Enough said. Java is the one of the most known and most widely used programming language out there.

Office Tools? They’re coming.

Web Integration? Well, obviously Android has none, because…you know…it was made by the biggest online corp around…GMAIL, PUSH NOTIFICATIONS, CONTACTS SYNC WITH GMAIL, CALENDAR SYNC, IM. Seriously, do your research.

App Store? Android has a great Marketplace. I guess you just didn’t give it a point because it’s not called App Store or Developer Community.

The Network? Same story as a lot of other features. More phones will be released on more networks very soon. So I guess I could justify this not getting a point (yet).

Physical Keyboard? THE G1 HAS ONE. AND ITS GOOD. You are so biased.

Camera? I agree, not the best.

Battery? Bad. Wow you got a section correct!

Copy & Paste? Oh crap. You decided to give Android a point. OH WAIT. You can’t do that. On this section, you have to SPLIT the point, which you didn’t do on any other section, because you were forced to give Android a point. Poor you.

Browser? Gizmodo and Engadget have only repeatedly rated it second only to the iPhone’s browser…so I guess we go back to you never using the phone again…it’s fantastic. Nice try though.

Please, get out more. Or stay in and read up on Android so you can actually write credible comparison articles.

FAILURE.

Wow!
I just finished reading the entire list of comments and it made me understand a few things.

1. Too many comments can really make your finger hurt while using the mouse scroll wheel…
2. I am never going to use a cumulative score ever again in any of my posts.
3. Chris, next time we meet I owe you a beer for messing MobilitySite up with the entire Android community…
4. True, I mixed between devices and OS, I take it back. It affected mostly WinMo and BlackBerry as all the others currently have only one device to talk about…
5. Palm Pre was not released yet (thanks for reminding me – that gives me more time to save money for it).
6. Believe it or not (as sick as it sounds) I actually am using WinMo(s), iPhone and BlackBerry – and DEVELOP for mobile phones as well so I think that blaming me in not knowing what I’m talking about is a bit of a mistake. You can, however, blame me for preferring Windows Mobile – which is actually… true… but as far as I remember – still allowed.
7. I don’t like Vista (as someone suggested). But I LOVE office 2007.
8. I’m completely impressed by the Palm Pre and webOS although it can change dramatically based on the quality of the 3rd party apps.
9. I still don’t like Android (at least the first phone running it).
I was in a mobile event today, got some time to play around with it AGAIN, and I’m sorry, I don’t like the hardware design of it, I think it cannot compete with the design of the iPhone, Touch Pro, Samsung Omnia or even BlackBerry Bold.
The user interface is OK but considering it was made AFTER so many amazing UI’s (iPhone, TouchFlo, SPB, etc.) – It’s not as thrilling as it could have been (i.e. as the webOS looks like in demos).
10. Based on the great things Google is developing (I’m using many of their tools actually) I’m pretty sure Android will soon become a leading mobile platform – I totally agree with that statement. But, at the moment, I am not buying and Android phone.

And one last comment.
I thought blogging is all about writing opinions. I read many blogs and comment a lot, but I never use such terms as used here.

@Gil

Honestly, it appears to me that you put twice as much effort and thought into your comment than you did your original post!

Blogging isn’t “all about opinions,” though certainly thats a big part of it. If you’re just going to state your opinion and make no effort at objective analysis, that is your choice, but don’t expect to be taken seriously. Half of the categories you really don’t even make an attempt to legitimately justify your choice, so you must expect this kind of reaction from some people.

And yes, the particular format the text in your “cumulative scoring” was an absolute disaster ;-) It may be a good idea to score from 0 to 3, or 0 to 5, for each device in each category. Binary scoring is not very descriptive and ends up with insane results in what are sometimes very close competitions.

@Gil,

I think if you addressed #4 on your comment, things would be better. I could still see how someone would back WM. It’s been around to work out most of the kinks.

I do think that splitting the only point that Android received any credit for seems a little suspect. If the point was important enough to list, then a full point could be attributed to all receiving credit.

A little battle of semantics (I’ll stay more plesant this time…sorry for the first post):

Multitouch: If you are addressing Android, then it should get a point. If you’re using the G1, then your result is fair.

One-handed navigation: Other than email/text, Android/G1 is very one-hand friendly. The Cupcake update should solve the last 2 issues as well.

Camera: Thankfully, I’ve never relied on a phone’s camera. The G1’s is pretty bad.

Network: Technically, the G1 is not the only Android phone. The Kogan Agora Pro is in production (I believe Australia). WM is definitely the winner at this point in time, though, since any of the 4 major US carriers have at least one WM device.

My biggest beef really is the lack of comparison point (#4 again). If you are going to re-address that, I would hope that you give Android a better chance at 1-hand and multi-touch should you decide to compare OS’s.

Oh, Dev environment. I have to back the .NET framework. If I don’t, I think MS will revoke my MCSD. :P That said, I’m going to try to relearn Java to write some stuff for my G1.

I want to thank Gil, Hahha, and Cryptic79 for discuss this nicely. :) I like nice.
Ps. Hahha… You have mail.

@Gil:

I don’t think cumulative scoring was that bad. You usually said you gave “a point” to a device/platform, so once somebody sees a device or platform with more than one point, it should be fairly obvious that it’s a running tally.

When I tune into a football game, I want to see the total score when I get there, not a score-by-score breakdown where I have to add the scores up to see who’s winning.

Of course, you could use a tabular format to get the best of both worlds (I can’t do tables here, so here’s my simulation):

Palm Pre: +1 4 pts total
Windows Mobile: +1 3 pts total
iPhone: +0 2 pts total
BlackBerry: +0 1 pt total
Android: +0 0 pts total

Steve

I think you are lying about Google Android platform.
Multi touch is supported but not activated for now, web integration is the best of all…

Do you know what is the best on the open solaris? The size of storage and the diagonal size of the LCD. Do you know, what is the worst on Windows Seven? Neither me, but I suppose it cannot boot to GUI – I saw it on YouTube. Do you know why FreeBSD has the best multitasking? Because it is very easy to switch to many text mode sessions – while in Windows you cannot.

This is how you did your research…

First of all, very unfair to Android! Coz its still a baby now.

Ok, now talk about prefrence, It all depends on personal preference.I dont like to use anything that is right out of the factory, I like customization. I customized my house, my car(even just the muffler and bodykit),my bike, my gaming rig, and my phone.

Besides the love for better RAM/CPU,I hated a phone that looks like everybody else, I like customization, and put some character into the phone while at it. My iphone look just like everybody else,besides the skin! But my X7510 is tweak and customized right into the bone!Tons of apps/craps for almost anything you can think of.

However, Android is definite on my watch-list,Plenty of room to grow! Just like WInMO,but maybe even better, coz the Dev enviroment is looking very promising! Extremely excited to see what else it can do.

The hardware aspect of Android will definitely change after HTC and Samsung come seriously into the game, so expect crazy spec like WinMo.

Palm and Iphone will have to work harder to keep its fans on the hardware front, coz they are the only one that are producing their phone!Unlike winMo and Android.

So, for me Android and WinMo will have the upperhand in the longer run.

WinMo is a decent OS. I have used a version of it off and on since it came out on the Philips Nino? I bought years ago.

I have (not for long) a Blackberry Storm. I have to say that it is quite nice as a device, but it has one real big disadvantage compared to the other devices/OS. RIM.

I recently had an bad experience with the Blackberry Storm (unlocked, received as a gift). I made the mistake of registering it in the US and then went overseas thinking that I could insert a local SIM and connect to my email/internet as I did with my WinMo device (an E-Ten Glofiish running 6.1 Pro) by configuring my account consistent with the country/carrier I was in. Much to my shock and surprise, the Blackberry will not connect to the Internet (the browser actaully disappears with a different SIM on an unknown network)nor would it send/receive email. You are forced to pay exhorbitant roaming data rates using the SIM/carrier you originally registered the BB with. So, with the local SIM (even with a data package)it became a simple voice only cellphone. Oh, and once the Blackberry is registered/assigned to a carrier, you cannot re-register with another carrier as a BB unless the first carrier “releases” it! I am amazed that they can actually sell the things to private parties with such restrictions.

Terrible for heavy travellers with multiple carrier contracts and/or pre-pay SIMs in other countries.

This alone disqualifies the Blackberry OS for most people who travel often.

I am, however, interested in developments of the Android OS, which like WinMo will have many manufacturers designing phones for it and SW developers writing programs for it. The Iphones I have played with are amazing, but I don’t think they will be able to keep up with developments of so many independent companies working on WinMo and Android devices and SW. Same for Palm I suspect. But they have a chance. Blackberry is the odd man out I think.

I have to note a few things g1 has, voice activated google search, and the chomp sms app. (sms with an onscreen keyboard) I honestly don’t have any problem using this phone one handed.

Here’s my breakdown for Blackberry based on your criteria. I’ve skipped the sections I don’t have any beef with.

2. The Storm has screen gestures. One more point for BB.
3. Blackberry has a huge variety of form factors as well. The only one I know of that it doesn’t have is a slider format like the Pre or Android.
5. Blackberry has multi-task. One more point for BB.
6. Text-only interface on most Blackberrys?!? What are you talking about? Have you even used one? One more point.
8. Work-arounds for office documents? Documents to go does just fine. One more point.
9. I have my contacts synced with Google Apps, and the Facebook 1.5 app will sync contacts and calendar. (And Facebook 1.5 has been leaked for some devices, so it has a step up on the Pre.) One more point.
10. We have an app store now, so we get a point.
11. You can get a Blackberry on any network. Point.
14. Battery life is great, but the wireless charging on the Pre is pretty cool. I won’t take a point for that reason.
15. What’s so inconvenient about holding shift and scrolling the trackball? Point for BB.

Blackberry had two from you, plus the eight more from the inaccuracies I pointed out. That gives it ten points, which makes it the winner.

Man, you are such a liar. Your evaluation of Android is so off it doesn't warrant comment. Go use one and then write a fresh post.

There's an error in your post, they are talking about Javascript which is completely different than Java. Actually Javascript is the language used by most online apps like Google Docs, Maps, GMail, and others.

Javascript is just starting to get better development tools and debugging platforms. Since it's used so widely, I think writing applications will be a piece of cake. You can, however, also write Javascript apps using Java with Google GWT tool or Python, Perl, etc. with similar tools. Yet, at the end of the day, Java is very different than Javascript.

See: http://www.woodger.ca/jvjs.htm

You are all so short-sighted. Apple will sue Palm so hard over multi-touch that it will be reduced to just a Thumb. I know this article is old, but it is also oblivious to the future. Winblows mobile is simply an oxymoron, as is anyone who uses it. It has what, 1-2% internet-usage market share? Android doesn't exist there. Palm is email only. Once iPhoneOS 3.0 hits, there will be no competitors.

android g1 has multitouch however you have to unlock it due to legal probs with apple.

This is a pretty terrible “fight”. You can't compare a lot of these features at an OS level…at least, not the way YOU compared them.

You were way off base–seems to me you're an android hater, pretty arbitrarily.

Not to mention you kept talking about “taking away points.” Don't be an idiot–that's now how reviews are supposed to work.

android has won just about every one of these the poster should more about this system before posting

1.g1 has very sensitive touch screen and if you have root access you have multi touch

2.g1 has long touch and a sliding gesture that looks much better and is much easier to use than any of the other smart phones (i have had my hands on all of these smart phones)

3.the g1 may be a tad thick but thats becasue its the only one with a full querty keyboard ( the palm pre is about a third the size so i don't count it) and the other android devices look more beautiful than any of the other phones (other phones including htc magic and i7500)

4.the g1 has one hand handling, all u have to do is use the virtual keyboard instead of the physical keyboard (the virtual keyboard is better and more responsive than iphone's)

5.the g1 can do multi tasking amazingly it can be running up to fifty applications and games at once, and you can access this from a slide down notification bar, genius!!!!!!

6.the android interface is beautiful and getting better and better as it grows

7. i give the author credit on that one

8.android has an app to run anything under microsoft office just fine and it is supporting 97-09

9.android's built in web interface is okay, but there are other internet browser's you can download, like steel and opera, that are beautiful

10.currently android has about 5,000 apps, good enough for anybody, and is by far the fastest growing os

11.android is on tmobile with the g1 mytouch 3g (coming soon), and i7500 (comning in a few months), is on vodafone with the htc magic, and is coming to at&t as the htc hero, quite a few networks to choose from

12.the g1 has a very nice full qwerty keyboard, a virtual one in landscape mode and portrait mode, as well as at-9 keyboard, all with auto cap auto punctuate and auto fix mispellings and many other nice features, i think it wins

13.there is an okay camera on the g1 (3.2 megapixels) and on thei7500 there is a decent camera with 5.2 megapixels magic has 3.2 megapixels and mytouch has 3.2 megapixels

14.the palm pre wins if there really is a wireless charger, but the all of the above mentioned devices can last the entire day while surfing the internet and using the gps, or any other battery eaters,

15.author has this correct

16.the navigation on android is just fine and the phones are quite fast at loading web pages adn again you are not stuck with the default browser

summary

android wins!!!!

@spence:

android has won just about every one of these the poster should more about this system before posting

You're apparently criticizing an article written four months ago based on what's available today. See below.

3.the g1 may be a tad thick but thats becasue its the only one with a full querty keyboard ( the palm pre is about a third the size so i don't count it) and the other android devices look more beautiful than any of the other phones (other phones including htc magic and i7500)

There are at least two things wrong with your claim.

First, many Windows Mobile devices have QWERTY keyboards, so your claim that the G1 is the only one that had one is false.

Second, the Pre's counts because it's a physical QWERTY keyboard. You can discount it if you want, but the author apparently thought it was good enough.'

Third, if you're going to nitpick on “full”, I'd say that no mobile phones have “full” QWERTY keyboards. Many don't have numeric rows, most have non-standard placement of symbols, almost none have a full set of cursor movement keys like real PC keyboards have, none are truly “full” size (obviously not practical on a phone, but “full” can be taken many ways), etc.

4.the g1 has one hand handling, all u have to do is use the virtual keyboard instead of the physical keyboard (the virtual keyboard is better and more responsive than iphone's)

Did the G1 have the virtual keyboard four months ago? I thought the virtual keyboard was part of Cupcake (or at least a later release of the original software).

6.the android interface is beautiful and getting better and better as it grows

Eye of the beholder, I'd say.

8.android has an app to run anything under microsoft office just fine and it is supporting 97-09

Did it have it four months ago? Do you have to pay for it? Windows Mobile includes Office support for free.

9.android's built in web interface is okay, but there are other internet browser's you can download, like steel and opera, that are beautiful

And other browsers exist for Windows Mobile, too — Skyfire, Opera Mobile, Iris (Webkit-based), etc.

However, you completely misunderstood point #9. It wasn't about the device's Web browser; it was about Web integration, in other words, how well the OS was integrated with online services (what some people call the “cloud”).

10.currently android has about 5,000 apps, good enough for anybody, and is by far the fastest growing os

Can you cite a reference for that claim? I suppose if you go from introduction with zero applications to 5000, it wins on a percentage basis (infinity is a big number).

However, Apple just claimed they had 50,000 iPhone apps available at the WWDC (that's debatable, but it's over 48,000 according to an app counter). It wasn't that long ago that they passed the 25,000 mark (and Windows Mobile). Even if it was 6 months ago, that means there are now 23,000 more apps in 6 months, far more than Android's 4,900 or so in the 7-8 months since Android shipped.

Second, your claim that 5000 apps is “good enough for anybody” is laughable — whether it's really “good enough” depends on whether an app is available for everything you want to do. That's an individual decision, not yours to make.

I realize that your point was more likely saying that lots of the iPhone apps are duplicates or stupid apps, but the sheer number means there's probably a better chance that some app important to a niche market is available, too. That's certainly true of Windows Mobile.

11.android is on tmobile with the g1 mytouch 3g (coming soon), and i7500 (comning in a few months), is on vodafone with the htc magic, and is coming to at&t as the htc hero, quite a few networks to choose from

“Coming soon” is different than “available”. And, again, how many networks was an Android device available on four months ago?

12.the g1 has a very nice full qwerty keyboard, a virtual one in landscape mode and portrait mode, as well as at-9 keyboard, all with auto cap auto punctuate and auto fix mispellings and many other nice features, i think it wins

I'm not sure why you're mentioning virtual keyboards or T9 here. The point was about physical keyboards and which phone had the best one (not just “had one”). Windows Mobile didn't get any points here, either; the author's opinion was that BlackBerrys had the best keyboards.

If you want to drag virtual keyboards in here, many Windows Mobile devices have had QWERTY keyboards and virtual keyboards for years (at least since the HP iPAQ 4300 back in June 2003). The Palm OS Treos also had them years ago. So what?

Finally, do you think the other platforms are standing still? Apple just announced its latest iPhone OS which finally adds copy/paste, video recording, voice command, etc. WM 6.5 is adding lots of Web service integration (MyPhone) and an app store. I'm sure RIM and Palm won't be sitting idly by, either.

Anyway, attacking the piece based on what Android has now is almost like criticizing stories that said the U.S. auto makers were doing great now that things have changed.

Steve

Check this comparison showdown.

http://www.taranfx.com/blog/?p=1330
Palm Pre vs. iPhone 3.0 3G S vs. Windows Mobile 6.5 – Feature Comparison Showdown

Dude, the Dash 3G (windows mobile) kicks androids' ass. I wanted G1 badly man, but then the Dash 3G came out…. it's the best phone. Look it up.

Terrible comaprison. It makes as much sense, as cooking with motor oil. You are comparing OSs with Devices. And I was surprised to see that in App Store section, Apple received one of the lowest scores! Really?

Anyway, this post makes no sense at all.

No, the article covered all devices running a specific OS. The fact that Apple, Google and Palm only had one or two real devices (discounting things like memory size) at the time isn't the fault of the reviewer. :D

It was pointing out features you could or could not get on one platform. Yes, not all devices on some platforms had those features (not every Windows Mobile device has a hardware QWERTY keyboard, but a lot do), but whose problem is that, really?

Anyway, I'm not sure what your point is in attacking an article that's over 6 months old. As I've said before, things have changed, so let's let this article go, OK?

Steve

No, the article covered all devices running a specific OS. The fact that Apple, Google and Palm only had one or two real devices (discounting things like memory size) at the time isn't the fault of the reviewer. :D

It was pointing out features you could or could not get on one platform. Yes, not all devices on some platforms had those features (not every Windows Mobile device has a hardware QWERTY keyboard, but a lot do), but whose problem is that, really?

But what's the point of attacking an older article like this when things have changed?

Steve

I think this post is slightly biased (favoring Pre). Otherwise, the article is pretty close to reality even if the article is old.

Sorry dude, Windows Mobile is clunky, glitchy and slow. Fail.

Sorry, dude, your comment is like a total fail. You haven't established any basis for the validity of your comment.

Steve

Hello and good work. Here, our top mobile phone provider announced its bring HTC Android OS. I thought maybe I would switch to Andriod after using Palm since USR Palm1000 12+ years back.

Now, I am happily dropping Android option and awaiting the Unlocked GSM Pre. May top priority in a PDA is single hand use which the Pre tops.

Thanks.

first of all…this definitly was a bias article here.as if your not trying to give points to your palm pre and windows devices.oh and for next time you do this.try to use a constant device running whatever platforms your comparing…different experices with different phones even if using the same platform.but um…. anyways i have personally owned at least one device from each platform.1 original iphone,an Iphone 3G,a list of blackberry's and 2 window mobile devices and my first Google Android phone which im currently using with t-mobile, the My touch 3G. I've owned all except a palm.maybe because everyone i've ever known has been f*@#ed by Sprint.but thats a whole different argument.but honestly i've never been impressed by Palm.Ever.as far as windows mobile is too glitchy,slow,clunky and not user friendly and def. not enjoyable.i always was left shakin my head and sayin WTF!?!?!?not a big fan of blackberry's RIM but i will take it over the palm and probably over a windows mobile ran device.As for the iphone,its a great phone and a lot of fun and def. the bully on the block when it comes to touch screen phones.as staed earlier…i'm currently using an android phone.other than not having multi-touch…which i can learn to live without. i really enjoy the android platform as it runs pretty smoothly and is easy on the eyes as well…the market place ,which is like apples app store needs time to grow.even when the app store came out for the iphone,it took a little time to start rolling in apps that everybody would love.and in time when developers figure what works and what dosent.this platfor can rival the iphone.but untill then…its a little to soon to call it an iphone killer.BUT….i think in time as the android developes.Apple and Google will be going toe to toe with the Iphone and Android…

In my personal opinion, I feel this was very biased. But, everyone has their own preference with phones. My only beef with this list is the fact that [a] Android has a physical keyboard, [b] iPhone DOES NOT and yet [c] points were given to the IPHONE for PHYSICAL KEYBOARD. It really makes me feel like absolutely ZERO research was done on any of the phones you rated.

The original post is pretty old now, and I wonder if I should bother replying but actually the iPhone did get 0 points for a physical keyboard. The points that are listed in each category were cumulative, rather than the points earned for each category.

Wow this was made when the g1 was new. Look how far android got since the g1. I counted at LEAST 10 points for android which would make it the winner here. Now there is no doubt that android is the best os out now and has the best phones for 3 of the 4 major carriers (with at&t getting one of the best phones soon). I have used at least one phone from each of these (excluding palm and if an ipod touch counts) and the 2 best were android and apple. But since android has triple the phones and is on most carriers now it wins :)

Yeah, it's an old post (almost a year old), so obviously things have changed. In fact, Gil posted a [url=http://www.mobilitysite.com/2009/11/iphone-vs-android-vs-winmo-vs-webos-vs-blackberry-fight/]revised smart phone fight[/url] article that you should probably check out.

Steve

i just want to say that that was absolutely stupid to even waste your time on this, you used words like “this is better,” and obviously its completely opinionated and biased

i just want to say that that was absolutely stupid to even waste your time on this, you used words like “this is better,” and obviously its completely opinionated and biased

The apple branded 'multi-touch' screen used on the Ipod is a capacitive screen!

The apple branded 'multi-touch' screen used on the Ipod is a capacitive screen!

Everything has changed so much, so this article is absolutely not true

Everything has changed so much, so this article is absolutely not true

Your point is? A lot of stuff on the Web is old and no longer true. That's why there's the following disclaimer (in bright yellow) at the top of the page:

This post was published 1 year 2 months 30 days ago which may make its actuality or expire date not be valid anymore. This site is not responsible for any misunderstanding.

So after being told that the article was old and may not be valid any longer, why did you feel the need to tell us that?

Plus, if your read the comments, you would have seen that I linked to the follow-up article that Gil wrote because he wanted to update the piece.

Steve

Everything has changed so much, so this article is absolutely not true

Your point is? A lot of stuff on the Web is old and no longer true. That's why there's the following disclaimer (in bright yellow) at the top of the page:

This post was published 1 year 2 months 30 days ago which may make its actuality or expire date not be valid anymore. This site is not responsible for any misunderstanding.

So after being told that the article was old and may not be valid any longer, why did you feel the need to tell us that?

Plus, if your read the comments, you would have seen that I linked to the follow-up article that Gil wrote because he wanted to update the piece.

Steve

I have had all these phones exept Sprint yuk, I think you are out of your mind with your scoring process, the android smokes all of these, I had to get mine on Tmobile, which I wish they had droid for att at the time, I dont like tmobile either, but the android has changed my feelings towards tmobile, I give the android 3 thumbs up out of 3 and iphone 2 thumbs down etc…

So let's check my scorecard.

First, you apparently haven't read the comments, including those where I pointed out that there was a revised article (where Android came in a close second, by the way).

Second, “Sprint” is not a phone; it's a carrier.

Third, you apparently have three thumbs. (Mutant?)

Three stirkes, you're OUT!

Steve

OMG this is the WORST review ever…can you say BIAS!

First, it wasn't a “review”; it was a comparison of certain features.

Second, you're commenting on an article that's over one year old. Do you go to old articles on other news sites and complain about them?

Third, you apparently haven't read the comments, including those where I pointed out that there was a revised article.

Steve

First, it wasn't a “review”; it was a comparison of certain features.

Second, you're commenting on an article that's over one year old. Do you go to old articles on other news sites and complain about them?

Third, you apparently haven't read the comments, including those where I pointed out that there was a revised article.

Steve

Bad review much…we could tell that u preferred some over the others. Every time Iphone got a point it ended up disappearing… for example at six it had 2 points, at 7 it was back at one…-.- i have to say that iphone and android really take the win

OK, BAD review, I'll say almost exactly what I said to the last genius who posted similar comments.

First, it wasn't a “review”; it was a comparison of certain features.

Second, you're commenting on an article that's over 1.5 years old. Do you go to old articles on other news sites and complain about them?

Third, you apparently haven't read the comments, including those where I pointed out that there was a revised article.

Steve

OK, BAD review, I'll say almost exactly what I said to the last genius who posted similar comments.

First, it wasn't a “review”; it was a comparison of certain features.

Second, you're commenting on an article that's over 1.5 years old. Do you go to old articles on other news sites and complain about them?

Third, you apparently haven't read the comments, including those where I pointed out that there was a revised article.

Steve