Please forgive a link across to another haunt of mine, but yesterday I wrote this head to head between the iPhone 3G and two of its ‘flagship’ smartphone competitors in the marketplace: Nokia N96 and HTC Touch HD.

iPhone 3G vs HTC Touch HD vs Nokia N96

[and yes, I know that I've cheated here and used an iPod Touch in the photo - sorry, I didn't have a physical iPhone to hand]

The article/table’s quite long, but hopefully of interest. Summing up, I said that “The iPhone 3G will appeal to anyone looking for heavy media consumption and gaming – and it’s relatively cheap, SIM-free, especially considering the all-in data bundle”. I’m still staggered that O2 can offer it with unlimited data at £380 all-in, with no monthly contract or further commitments.

The HTC Touch HD is probably the best for Microsoft-centric businesses, despite its truly awful TouchFLO mashup, while the Nokia N96 is the best voice phone and has the best camera. But it’s fair to say that with its value and AppStore and elegant UI, the iPhone wins on most other counts.

BBC iPlayer goes from strength to strength. The iPhone has become the best way of accessing the quality content of the BBC. Recent changes included an iPhone formatted front end, availability of an entire series, and now streaming radio via wifi.

The radio shows are provided in MP3 format at 128kbps. I listened to Radio One’s ‘Fearne and Reggie’s Request Show’ this morning, I was able to find the show within seconds and the quality was superb, certainly way better than FM.

Read the full story