Phones of Summer

Sounds a little like my favourite Don Henley song. Introducing the three contenders that will slug it out for attention over the next few months:

First, weighing in at a slim 135g, the great, great, great (etc.) grand child of the original PDA, with the hopes (for staving off bankruptcy) of an entire company resting on its shoulders, is the Palm Pre.



With an interface straight out of Cupertino, and a keyboard that would be at home in Waterloo (Ontario), the Pre is Palm's attempt at a comeback the likes of which we have not seen since Return of The Jedi. I don't see this as being of much interest to switchers, but for new Smartphone customers, this certainly looks like it could be an attractive proposition.

And in another corner somewhere, the pride of Scandinavia, representing a company that has often resembled a deer in headlights since the release of the iPhone, weighing in at a plump 150g and sporting the obligatory touch screen, it's the Nokia N97.



I fear though that the above advert will be a far more satisfying experience than the actual handset. This phone looks clunky, and if the interface is similar to recent form, no-one I suspect will be moved to tears by its elegance. Nokia are still the biggest handset company in the world, but their designs of late (and not just in the Smartphone market) have been prosaic, and in the battle for hearts and minds, they have slipped well behind Apple and RIM.

And finally, from Cupertino, the big dog of the pack, soon to appear in its third incarnation, with what are rumoured to be minimal changes in form factor, and possibly supporting 3.75G, please welcome (in July), the iPhone mkIII. There are no pictures or videos at this time, and it will not even officially exist until next month when it will (probably) be announced at the WWDC (which in line with the theme of this article, sounds conveniently like a wrestling tournament, but is fact the World Wide Developers Conference). I am looking for turn by turn GPS (along with something to stick it to my car windscreen), a better screen and HD video out. Like last years 3G set, this will be more an evolution than a revolution.

And so there we have it; the comeback kid, the rank outsider and the establishment favourite. You will you be backing?