Gizmodo: iphone killer

BlackBerry Storm Priced at $200, Delay Caused by Software

Jesus Diaz — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:47:00 EST

According to the deep throats at Verizon, we will have to wait a little bit longer to buy the BlackBerry Storm. The original November 14 launch date has been delayed as we'd heard because of a "software glitch." It also looks like it's now headed on direct collision course against the iPhone, specially for businesses: "The price may be lower then $99.99 for companies," with a 2 year contract. Seems like Research In Motion and Verizon are feeling the heat as the iPhone keeps pushing up in the enterprise. But how much would it be for the rest of us and what is the "final" release date?

It will be available for $199.99 with a two year contract. For companies the price may be lower then $99.99 also with a 2 year contract.

So there you have it. The Storm is arriving at the end of the month, but I can already smell the napalm in the air. [Thanks tipsters]

T-Mobile Probably Did Not Sell 1.5 Million G1 Pre-Orders

Elaine Chow — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 02:45:00 EDT

Did the announcement that T-Mobile sold 1.5 million G1 pre-orders sound a little too fantastic to be true? Information Week thought so and talked to the guy behind the astronomical number—a mathematician at The Motley Fool. Turns out that some iffy multiplication may have been involved and the number of pre-orders sold is probably closer to 200,000 to 300,000. Big, but not crazy big.

I contacted Anders Bylund, the author of the original Motley Fool article that hundreds of stories are citing. I was curious as to how he got these figures and he gave me his rationale.
He cited a Cens.com article that said, "according to industry insiders, T-Mobile is planning to order a total of between 1.5 million and 2 million units of G1 with HTC in the near future, including 400,000 to 500,000 to be sold in the fourth quarter of this year."
Then, Bylund cited T-Mobile selling out of pre-order units, and tripling the number of phones initially available. He then tripled the 500,000 number to get 1.5 million.

Considering the iPhone, which launched in 20 different countries, only hit a million during its first weekend, we all probably should have been a little more suspicious of one phone in one country on one carrier surpassing that. The G1 looks to be a spectacular competitor, but we ought not to lose our heads rooting for its success. [Infoweek]

Meizu M8 iPhone Clone Hitting China, India In December

Kit Eaton — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 05:04:00 EDT

Meizu's iPhone copycatting M8 cellphone is to be vaporware no longer thanks to GeekITstores, who will be launching it in China then India from December onwards. The 8GB model is apparently due to cost somewhere between $380 and $470, and will be launched with "complete fanfare"...presumably because it's the "iPhone killer," or so says the press release. In fact, GeekITStores really seem to love the device, saying it was looking for a "better, cheaper alternative" to the iPhone for Indian customers. Read on for the press release.

Mumbai, Maharastra, IND, 2008-09-28 19:28:50 (IndiaPRwire.com)

Geek manufacturer of entertainment electronics, announced channel distribution for Meizu M8 phone, dubbed as "IPhone Killer", the much awaited M8 will be initially launched with complete fanfare in Chinese markets.

Geek will distribute M8 through its expanding franchise network in India. " We were looking for a better,cheaper alternative for Iphone to indian customer, since the beta launch of M8 testing is through, we are very confident to make M8 an success" said Mr. Nilesh Patel, Head Sourcing -Indian operations.

Geek already has established a network of 18+ franchisees in tier-2 & tier 3 cities

[Techtickerblog]

Smudgy Pictures of Nokia's Tube Show New, Bland Interface

Elaine Chow — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 13:30:00 EDT

A bunch of new photos and specs for Nokia's Tube, a.k.a. The 5800 XpressMusic, have been leaked to the internet. The alleged iPhone killer will apparently come with a 16:9 16 million color TFT LCD display with 640 X 360 pixel resolution, haptic feedback, a 3.2 megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, Dual LED flash, a built-in GPS and 140MB RAM. Also, lots of grease and fingerprints, it seems.

It looks like Nokia's updated the interface since the last round of leaked pics, but while the new design is cleaner, it's also flat and uninteresting. If Nokia wants even the slightest sliver of possible iPhone users to sit up and take notice, this had better not be the last version of the phone's UI. [Boy Genius]

BlackBerry Thunder Features, Verizon Exclusivity Captured in the Wild

Jack Loftus — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 12:42:00 EDT

RIM's iPhone killer was conveniently seen in the wild by the folks over at the Boy Genius Report a day before Steve Jobs will take the stage at Apple's WWDC. BGR is claiming this is a live shot of the final device, which could hit store shelves and Apple's bottom line sometime in September. It bears a striking resemblance to the minimalistic mock-ups that were floating around in May, and the Verizon exclusivity rumor appears to be true(er). [Boy Genius Report]

Nokia's Future iPhone Killing Concept Like a Fake, Vaporous Picasso

Jesus Diaz — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 19:10:54 EDT

Nokia presented some cool cells today and also slipped this concept video of a future iPhone-clone. Nokia has confirmed that this demo is strictly for the UI, not the device: the hardware is not real and the LCD's images are overlaid. Yes, it's not even a working prototype, as you will see after the jump. [Video removed at the request of owner.]

The touch-screen interface is going to be built on a Symbian 60 OS base that still retains its standard UI.

Quite frankly, it looks to us as a little bit of good old FUD to hold the market while scrambling to match the iPhone. A year is a lot of time to wait for a worthy iPhone killer and we believe that real competition always benefits all of us, the consumers. And even if it was real, I'd assume they'd run into legal trouble for infringing on Apple US Patent #12341235ASDF for "Mind Bendingly Cool Phone" and other assorted UI methods.

So come on, couldn't you have done this demo on a piece of hardware not so Apple-like? Where's your pride? [Nok Nok]