Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the iPhone Killers season, and we join the action today as the iPhone’s (and to clarify, I mean the O2 iPhone 3G, not the old version, just in case anyone hadn’t spotted that’s the one that’s doing the fighting…) recovering from a beating at the hands of the phenomenal Nokia N97. Oh it was an epic battle, that, with the N97 coming out as being 400% as good as the iPhone, using my gives-pointlessly-funny-yet-accurate-results scoring method.
Frankly, it’s going to need all its strength, today, because it’s taking on an old rival…
In the rematch of the century, the iPhone’s taking on a phone that’s already beaten it in the past, when we did a serious look at the two enemies. Yep, it’s that phone that my compadre Matthew swears by and can tell you about in loads of detail (whether you want him to or not). It’s going to be a helluva fight, because today, the iPhone takes on the awesome HTC Touch HD.
1. How useful is it for doing actual work on?
On paper, both phones should be good in this category. And, indeed, they are, since both will do emails brilliantly, both have big onscreen keyboards to make typing easier, and both have a superb web browser (Safari on the iPhone, Opera on the Touch HD). Of course, you can get Office software for the iPhone, from the App Store, which makes it stronger in this round. But the HTC Touch HD comes with the full version of Pocket Office straight out the box. And it syncs up with a PC much, much easier. So, there’s not really any competition, when it comes down to it…
Winner: HTC Touch HD
2. How good is the phone for mucking around and not doing any work on?
Hmmm, now here’s a tough one to call. On the one hand, you’ve got the Youtube player and multitouch gaming of the iPhone, along with the iTunes player. On the other, though, you’ve got the HTC Touch HD’s immense screen (which is absolutely perfect for watching movies on), a music player that can rival the one on the iPhone, and a Youtube player that is just as good as its rival. What it doesn’t have is as wide a selection of games as the iPhone, but the ones you can get (and there are still a lot) look awesome on that massive, massive screen, which kinda trumps anything the iPhone can do. So, on that basis, the Touch HD wins again!
Winner: HTC Touch HD
3. How many opportunities for showing off to my mates will the phone give me?
It has to be said, this category’s always been anybody’s game, and it’s come down to some weird things the winners have won on in the past, like the stereo speakers on the N97, or the TV-Out socket that makes the Samsung Pixon into a home cinema system. And it’s no different today, because one of the most pointless things the HTC Touch HD is also one of the things everyone wants to see it do in the flesh. The iPhone may have multitouch gaming, but the Touch HD has a weather app, with a 3D windscreen wiper that comes across the screen when it forecasts rain. However, even that’s not enough to beat the magic bubble-wrap-bursting game on the iPhone, which is infuriatingly addictive, so I’m afraid the iPhone just sneaks a win this round.
Winner: iPhone
4. How easy is it to use the phone to cheat at pub quizzes?
There’s a clear winner here, for much the same reason that the Nokia 5800 won this round in its match-up. Yes, both mobile phones have fast internet access, and a super slick, finger friendly browser, but when it comes down to it, the virtual keyboard on the HTC Touch HD is bigger, and therefore easier to type cheaty searches into Google with. Which means less time spent furtively typing under the table in the pub, and less chance of getting found out, lynched by the other patrons and thrown out into the street. So, for protecting your dignity and safety when you cheat at pub quizzes, the HTC Touch HD wins.
Winner: HTC Touch HD
5. How good will I feel using it, and how GOOD will I look using it?
So, can the iPhone make a triumphant comeback in this round, or is it going to be a 4-1 drubbing by the Touch HD? Well, having used both, I can categorically say that the nicest one to use is… the HTC Touch HD. Yes, people mither about Windows Mobile (constantly, as if they have nothing better to do), but the fact is, it does far more than the iPhone can, and that gives you a nice warm, tingly feeling inside. Add to that the fact that it has the whizzy, spangly TouchFLO 3D interface on top, which makes it so much more user friendly, and there’s really no contest. It may not have multitouch, but I honestly reckon the Touch HD is nicer to use. Oh and of course, you won’t have the downside of everyone except Apple fans thinking you’re overly smug…
Winner: HTC Touch HD
And the winner is…
Ooh, it’s turned out badly for the Cupertino Kid again, as the HTC Touch HD has given it another serious kicking, coming in as being 400% as good as the iPhone. And unfortunately for iPhone lovers, things don’t look to promising for its next match-up either, because it’s going to be taking on another phone that’s already beaten once in the past: the stunning Samsung Omnia.
Join us for the next incredible instalment, where the iPhone faces ANOTHER phone it’s already lost to: the sexy Samsung Omnia! Subscribe today, to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the action as the iPhone Killers go to war!