Survey: 22 Percent of Teens Want iPhone

You've gotta feel sorry for parents. In the face of a failing economy, they've got job security to worry about as well as their children -- a growing number of whom want iPhones, a survey says.

Piper Jaffray's 16th bi-annual survey of teenage buying patterns and preferences found that 22 percent of students surveyed expect to own an iPhone in the next six months. That's a sharp increase from 9 percent of teens who reported plans to purchase the popular handset in spring 2008.

The survey also found that 8 percent of the survey's participants already own iPhones -- up from 6 percent reported in spring.

Also, of students expecting to eventually buy a mobile phone, 33 percent specified an iPhone.

iPhones? Back when I was a teenager it was cool if you had a pager. And teens would flirt with each other by writing in pager code like 7415. 804, 48113 7117735 64817630. 9863125 1113123 9123774 5711910.

My take:
It seems the survey is conducted in the USA or may be in some other country or continent but not in my country. Even though the iPhone could create the same kind of hype at my place as it did all over the world it couldn't live up as people were expecting it to be around 200$ here, it was launched at a price of 650$-850$ lol which is a highly expensive. Now our teens are waiting that price to be dropped which is not on the radar I guess after all it's Apple's decision with the network providers here. But teens here still want to have it I mean wish to have it. Whatever I am not into this iPhone mania as I lost impression on the iPhone with the first version launch itself which happened last year. As there was no bluetooth and so features and even this new iPhone doesn't have the basic features like copy paste(Dont ask me if I use them) because I really do use such features.

Source of this article: Wired magazine

T-Mobile G1 Buggy Says A User Review

The first of the user reviews are trickling in and it is not exactly a big thumbs up for the T-Mobile G1, the device based on Google's newly launched Android operating system.


The G1 "does not run as smoothly as you would think" says a user with the handle 'kaziko' on AndroidCommunity.com

A few applications on the phone "stutter" and the device needs to be restarted more than a few times to ensure smooth operation, says the review.

There's another potential hazard for G1 buyers. The "battery charger makes the bottom of the phone extremely hot," says the review.

On the brighter side, the review described the phone as "(HTC) Sidekick with massive steroids" and that the device has good voice call quality, a loud speaker and comes with instant messaging clients including Google Talk, AIM, ICQ and MSN. Wonder why no Yahoo instant messenger though.

GI also has a fairly responsive touchscreen, says the user, something that has been a problem for a few HTC devices.

The phone's design including its slide-out keyboard and the Android apps marketplace, similar to Apple's iPhone App store, also get bonus points.

The review isn't an official one since the G1 will not be out till Oct. 22. It could be based off a test unit out there available to T-Mobile or Google employees and some of issues listed could still be fixed through a firmware update before the release.

Overall, it seems like the G1 will be a mixed bag. The device is exciting because it is the first to be based on Google's new mobile operating system but it just doesn't have the mix of design and features that could make it a blockbuster hit among consumers.

Complete Review [Android Community]

My take:
I think this mobile would be good. Right now I'm reading the book about google 'The Google Story' and I can clearly see how Google evolved so I think I would believe that Google concentrates a lot on quality. So even the above review (which is done before the release date) mentions that there are some flaws I would still like to mention that that the phone may be good, at least for geeks lol. As consumers are more into much hyped phones like the iPhones, tech guys may be into these kind of phones as they do not need much of presentation but need things like security and logic.
Enough said I guess. I wonder when the mobile is going to come to my country, may be in 1 more year.
Source to above article is: Wired magazine

BlackBerry Curve 8900 get early video praise, T-Mobile Germany says November

Just when we're all geared up to get crazy corporate with a bunch of Bold purchases, RIM has to go and make our lives difficult by reminding us that the Javelin / Curve 8900 is out there -- lurking -- just waiting to make a grand entrance sometime in the next few months. A new video posted to CrackBerry goes through the 8900's finer points, noting that the handset clocks in just a bit more compact than its big brother, features a slightly smaller, higher dot pitch display, and carries over an original Curve-style keyboard with spaced keys rather than the flowing design employed on the Bold (for what it's worth, the narrator seems to like both styles equally). Interestingly, it's noted that this prototype employs an older trackball design that'll allegedly be replaced with a more bulletproof design by the time it launches. The lack of 3G is going to be a dream killer for many, but we could see this one getting some retail legs underneath it if the price is right -- it's got WiFi, after all.

In fact, T-Mobile Germany is saying that it'll have the 8900 next month -- a claim we actually believe, since Germany is from the future. The trackball shown on its version of the handset is distinctly different than CrackBerry's, so it's looking like the claim of a redesign might hold water.

[Thanks, Alex]

Source: Engadget