smartphone competition

PREVIOUSLY cell phones were used for simple communication, such as phone calls and Short Message Service (SMS) only. However, as the technology develops, they are also being used for listening to music, taking photographs, saving pictures and browsing the Internet.

Along with such technological development operators are offering fast access to the Internet at affordable rates, while cell phone manufacturers or vendors are launching sophisticated cell phones that feature fast access to the Internet as well. This year major makers, such as Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Samsung and LG are competing in the launch of smartphones with fast access to the Internet. It will certainly be a tough competition.

Sony Ericsson, for example, has already released such smartphones recently, such as Sony Ericsson W995, which was launched in the second quarter of 2009. This smartphone has the following features for its fast Internet and data access: 3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 2 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, DLNA and Bluetooth.

Earlier Motorola also launched its latest model, the Motorola A3100. Although small in size the A3100 also has a fast Internet and data connection based on the following features: 3G HSDPA, 7.2 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, Bluetooth and A-GPS. This smart phone, which uses American technology, uses the Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional system with a CPU made by Qualcomm MSM 7201A 528 MHz CPU.

Meanwhile Samsung's products are not to be underestimated. This South Korean vendor has launched Samsung i8910 Omnia HD, with a large 3.7 inch screen (OLED type with 16 million colors). It has a faster internet and data connection based on the following features: 3G HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, HSUPA 5.76 Mbps, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, DLNA, Bluetooth, A-GPS support. It also has an excellent camera (8 megapixel, autofocus and LED flash).

Two other smartphones launched by Samsung this year are Samsung S5600 and Samsung S8300 Ultra TOUCH, both of which have features that are similar to Samsung i8910 Omnia HD.

LG, another South Korean vendor that does not want to lose out in the competition, has released a sophisticated smartphone this year. The first model is LG KM900 Arena with a TFT capacitive touchscreen with 16 million colors and Flash UI. The second smartphone is LG KM730, which has similar features to LG KM900 Arena, plus the following features: 3G HSDPA 7.2 Mbps and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g.

Indeed many users in Indonesia love BlackBerry and iPhone 3G, but this does not mean that other manufacturers are sitting idle.

Nokia, which is the world's most popular cellphone manufacturer, has launched a number of sophisticated smartphones this year, such as the Nokia E75 and Nokia N86 as well as three musical cell phones, the Nokia 5730 XpressMusic, Nokia 5330 XpressMusic, and Nokia 5030 XpressMusic. However, the most exclusive is Nokia N97, which is the first NSeries with a 3.5 inch touchscreen.

Through N97 Nokia shows the supremacy of its NSeries as the king of multimedia cell phones. If the earlier Nokia 5800 XpressMusic appeared less prestigious due to its standard features, the N97 has features that will make delight everyone.

N97 is the first cellphone with an 32GB internal memory, which is larger than an SSD netbook and it is also the first one with a social location concept using the A-GPS censor and electronic compass. This concept is very useful for updating your social networks.

Its 3.5 inch 16:9 format touchscreen makes it an entertaining cell phone. For those who like to type it has a sliding QWERTY keyboard (similar to Windows Mobile based cell phone). Virtual touch input is also available. To save space there are only three lines of buttons. The viewing angle of the screen can be adjusted and at a glance looks like HTC TyTN II.

The battery of N97 can be used to play music for 1.5 days nonstop. It has a 5 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens. One can make a video recording with a 16:9 aspect ratio of DVD quality.

The competition is getting tougher not only among cell phone manufacturers, but also with the computer makers who are now producing sophisticated cell phones. After Apple with its phenomenal product, iPhone, Acer is also trying its luck in the smart phone business.

After acquiring E-TEN, the smart phone maker, this year Acer is crowding the market with no less than nine variants. "The launch is to demonstrate our position as the leader in the fast moving mobility products," said Director of Acer Smart Handheld Asia Pacific, Kamarudin Bin Abdul Kahar, at the launching program of Acer's smartphones in Jakarta on Aug. 4, 2009.

The nine smartphones released by Acer in the Indonesian market are targeted for the business segment and those who prefer the latest technology. Until now four have been officially marketed here.

The first is Acer DX900, which has a dual sim card feature. The second is X960, a compact and slim smart phone that has numerous high-tech features. Its Intuitive Widget-based User Interface feature makes it possible to quickly access emails, messages and contact numbers. The third is F900, which has been created to give a unique browsing experience of the Internet. Its 3.8 WVGA inch touchscreen provides a lot of information. And, the last one is Smartphone M900, which is aimed at businesspeople. M900 has a qwerty keyboard, synchronization to computers and fingerprint sensor to safeguard work.

All four smartphones use Windows Mobile 6.1 for its operation system, but soon Acer will change the 6.1 version to 6.5. Another operation system will also be installed in the future, Android which has a nickname, "Donut". "We will launch our smartphones with the Android operation system next year," said Kamarudin. (Reyhan Fabiano)

The Jakarta Post, October 20, 2009

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/10/20/tough-competition-smartphone-business.html