With the huge success of the iPhone, Apple’s first phone better get ready for some company and competition. Everyone from established cell phone companies, like Samsung, to newbies in the cell industry, like Garmin and NVidia, are jumping on the touch-screen bandwagon. But can they compete with the trim, streamlined original? Here’s a look at some of the copycats and how they measure up:

Garmin Nuvifone

The GPS giant’s version of the touch-phone looks a little less smooth than the iPhone but still bares quite a resemblance to it. And with phones covering more bases all the time (photography, Bluetooth, mp3) it only makes sense that GPS will be a common part of phones in the near future - so who better to come up with a phone than a company that already has the extras down? Surprisingly, though, the GPS of this phone might not be up to par with the iPhone, as you cannot search intersections, but rather you need specific addresses or locations, and the touch-screen is also a bit harder to use than others we’ve reviewed.
Specifications

• 3.5″ Touch Display
• 3.5G data connectivity
• WiFi
• Speaker
• Mp3 Player
• Web Browser
• Photos (+Geo Tagging)

Interested in more reviews?

 Samsung Tocco (F480)

Of the touch-screen phones I’ve found, I think this best rivals the look of the iPhone, with sleek lines and a smooth, simple face and lots of fun features - including a a homepage that you can drag favorites for easy access and a ”smile-shot” camera mode that automatically takes pictures when a loved one is smiling. While it is lacking in internal memory space, it has a micro-sD slot that supports up to 8GB of external memory, a perk over the iPhone in that there is room to expand. Definitely a cool phone, but can it compete with the soon-to-be-released new iPhone?

Specifications

• TOUCHWIZ UI: a 5-megapixel camera featuring auto focus and a CMOS video lens
• Super thin body: 11.6 mm thick by 98.4 mm tall and 55 mm wide
• 240 MB of internal memory
• A microSD card slot supporting up to 8GB, HSDPA and USB 2.0
• Battery capacity: 1000mAh
• Estimated talk time: 3 hours
• Estimated standby: 250 hours

Interested in more reviews?
Other look-alikes to check out…

• NVIDIA Smartphone 2.0
• HTC Touch Diamond

The Verdict

Without even release dates for most of these Apple-alternatives, it’s going to be interesting to see which of these devices prevail. Apple’s full web browser and first-to-the-market advantage set a high standard for any competitor, but unique extras, along with flexibility and expandability, will help determine the success of these phones.

The Jawbone 2 arrived last week and it has already had huge success.  The original Jawbone paved the way, and the Jawbone 2 has far exceeded every expectation.  Gammoth got a hands-on experience with the Jawbone 2 and has great reviews for this small, stylish headset.

Jawbone 2:  Style

As we all know, the original Jawbone headset was not the most attractive and comfortable headset.  It has a cheese-grater front with a bulky design, and was not the most comfortable headset on the market.  But many people still insisted that the NoiseAssassin technology was the best on the market, therefore Jawbone was a leader in Bluetooth technology.  Enter Jawbone 2.  This small, sleek design makes a fashion statement and since it is half the size of the original Jawbone, it offers a more comfortable fit.  The Jawbone 2 is only offered in the black design, but Jawbone will be releasing a gold and silver headset in the coming months.

Jawbone 2:  Features

Jawbone 2:  My Experience

Once I received the Jawbone 2, I was excited to see that someone actually thought about the package design instead of throwing it in an orange and blue box.  The headset comes in a well-designed package that sets the tone for what’s inside the box.  I had no problem pairing my headset with my phone, and when I put it on for the first time, I was in Bluetooth heaven.  The leather ear loops make for a great fit and earbud was relatively comfortable, but I did put the Jabra Minigels on and they fit great and offered the comfort that I was looking for.  The sound quality was exactly what you would expect from Jawbone … perfection.  Overall, I loved the headset and would recommend it to anyone.  It is built the way a Bluetooth headset should be built, and in my opinion, is the best headset on the market.

There are rumors swarming about the mill and we’ve heard the news loud and clear.  The BlackBerry Bold is REAL, and has plans on being released this summer (June) for AT&T.  The other major networks will have access soon after, with talk focusing around the month of September.  An article on Engadget states that they have an estimated figure that the BlackBerry Bold will run for about $300, but they make clear that these prices are not official.

Official Press Release on the BlackBerry BOLD

Waterloo, ON- For customers seeking a smartphone that makes a bold statement, Research In Motion (RIM) (Nasdaq: RIMM; TSX: RIM) today introduced the admirable BlackBerry® Bold™ smartphone. Crafted from premium materials, inside and out, that radiate elegance with a dramatic presence, the BlackBerry Bold is designed to give business professionals and power users unprecedented functionality and performance in an intuitive BlackBerry® smartphone. It is the first BlackBerry smartphone to support tri-band HSDPA high-speed networks around the world and comes with integrated GPS and Wi-Fi®, as well as a rich set of multimedia capabilities. From its lustrous black exterior, satin chrome finished frame and stylish leather-like backplate, to its stunning display, sophisticated user interface and newly designed full-QWERTY* keyboard, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone is a symbol of accomplishment and aspiration.

“The new BlackBerry Bold represents a tremendous step forward in business-grade smartphones and lives up to its name with incredible speed, power and functionality, all wrapped in a beautiful and confident design,” said Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO, Research In Motion.

SUPERIOR PERFORMANCE
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone’s support for tri-band HSDPA and enterprise-grade Wi-Fi (802.11 a/b/g) networks and its next-generation 624 MHz mobile processor make short work of downloading email attachments, streaming video or rendering web pages. The BlackBerry Bold also includes 128 MB Flash memory plus 1 GB on-board storage memory, as well as and a microSD/SDHC memory card slot** that is conveniently accessible from a side door. It comes with the renowned BlackBerry productivity applications, including phone, email, messaging, organizer and browser, and works with thousands of mobile business and lifestyle applications, making it easier than ever to stay connected, productive and entertained. With this powerful new smartphone, users can even talk on the phone while sending and receiving email or accessing the web, and download Word, Excel or PowerPoint files and edit them directly on the handset using the preloaded DataViz® Documents to Go® suite.

STUNNING DISPLAY
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with the most vivid and bold display ever introduced on a BlackBerry smartphone. Its half-VGA (480×320 resolution) color LCD is fused to the undersurface of the lens, making images leap out with stunning definition and clarity. Pictures are vibrant and razor sharp, while videos play smoothly and web pages, documents, presentations and messages snap with exceptional quality and contrast.

DESKTOP-STYLE WEB PAGES
With its newly enhanced, high performance browser and high-resolution, ultra-bright display, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone gives users an on-the-go web browsing experience with desktop-style depiction. The trackball mimics a mouse, making it easy to navigate sites in “Page View” or “Column View” or to zoom in on specific parts of a web page, while various emulation settings allow users to choose between the full desktop-style HTML content and layout or the mobile version. Attachments can also now be downloaded from within the browser and there is support for watching streaming videos (RTSP - real-time streaming protocol).

RICH MULTIMEDIA
While it is designed to meet the extensive requirements of the business professional during the day, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone also caters to the business person’s consumer side during evenings and weekends. It features a 2 megapixel camera with video recording capability, built-in flash and 5x digital zoom. The enhanced media player can display pictures and slideshows quickly, play movies smoothly in full screen mode, and manage an entire music collection. Audio can be played over the handset’s dual speakers in rich, stereo sound, and when using wired headphones or external speakers, the media player gives the user an equalizer with 11 preset filters - like “Lounge”, “Jazz” and “Hip Hop” - that boost or soften audio ranges to create the perfect ambiance.

For managing music and video, the BlackBerry® Desktop Manager software includes Roxio® Media Manager for BlackBerry® as well as Roxio Photosuite® 9 LE, which makes it easy to enhance pictures and create photo albums on the computer. For users that manage their collection with iTunes®, the new BlackBerry® Media Sync application provides a simple way to sync iTunes digital music collections with the smartphone***. Support for High Speed USB 2.0 allows all files to be transferred quickly from a desktop computer to the BlackBerry Bold smartphone.

POWERFUL WI-FI & GPS
For even broader high-speed network coverage, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone supports the 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi standards, ideal for use in enterprise or campus wireless LAN deployments, over Wi-Fi hotspots and on wireless home networks. A new “Push Button Setup” is included, making it faster for users to connect to protected wireless networks that require a sign on process.

Through its integrated GPS, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone can pinpoint its exact location, supporting applications like BlackBerry® Maps and other location-based applications or services. With its improved rendering capabilities, faster download speeds and ability to support simultaneous voice and data, the BlackBerry Bold smartphone even allows users to navigate while on a call.

FIRST CLASS PHONE
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone features a new acoustic design that increases the size of the phone’s audio sweet spot, improving listening quality and clarity. It also comes with numerous premium phone features including Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), Bluetooth® 2.0, with support for hands-free headsets, stereo headsets, car kits (including car kits that adhere to the Bluetooth Remote SIM Access Profile) and other Bluetooth peripherals. It is a quad-band EDGE and tri-band HSDPA handset that supports global roaming**** and features dedicated ’send’, ‘end’, and ‘mute’ keys, smart dialing, speed dialing, conference calling and call forwarding. It also features noise cancellation technology that offsets background noise, a powerful speaker phone and support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ring tones.

ROBUST EMAIL & MESSAGING
Like all BlackBerry smartphones, the BlackBerry Bold gives users the industry’s leading mobile messaging solution. It works with BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, which enables advanced security and IT administration within IBM® Lotus® Domino®, Microsoft® Exchange and Novell® GroupWise® environments, as well as BlackBerry® Professional Software for small businesses. It also works with BlackBerry® Internet Service, which gives users access to up to 10 work or personal email accounts (including most popular ISP email accounts), and the BlackBerry® Unite! software for SOHO and home users.

CONVENIENT ACCESSORIES
The BlackBerry Bold smartphone comes with a variety of convenient accessories including a stereo headset, travel charger, carrying case or sleeve and USB cable. Users will also be able to personalize their BlackBerry Bold smartphone by purchasing replaceable leather-like backplates that come in a range of colors. The removable / rechargeable 1500 mAhr battery provides multi-hour usage with a target talk time of approximately 5 hours and 13 days standby time.