We’ve got a bunch of high-end touchscreen phones locally available. If you think the iPhone 3GS is out of your budget, I’ve rounded up a number of them here — Samsung i8910 HD, LG KM900, Nokia N97 and HTC Magic — and compared them to the iPhone 3GS.
iPhone 3GS vs. Nokia N97 vs. LG KM900 Arena vs. Samsung i8910 HD vs. HTC Magic
The iPhone 3GS is yet to be released on July 31 and the Samsung i8910 also this month (no set date). The iPhone is locked with Globe while the HTC Magic is exclusive to Smart.
It’s a tight match, IMO, although it seems LG takes the price category and Samsung tops the hard-core specs.
So, if you had Php40k to spend for a phone, which one of these will you get?
Notes:
iPhone 3GS price indicated is for 16GB.
Samsung i8910 HD price indicated is for 8GB (16GB version has Php36,000USD 613INR 52,006EUR 584CNY 4,468 SRP as indicated by Samsung PH)
A dash (-) means the specs are unknown.
microSD card sold separately
* All prices are SRP so they could all be cheaper, esp. in grey market.
YugaTech.com is the largest and longest-running technology site in the Philippines. Originally established in October 2002, the site was transformed into a full-fledged technology platform in 2005.
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william says:
i guess each phone has it’s own specialty for different needs of the users.
Pedro says:
it seems samsung i8910 could match iphone, with the memory card and 8mp camera spex…
but it is more practical to spend on a “good” laptop than for a mobile phone… atleast for me who have a monthly minimum wage…hehehe…
eithan® says:
i’ll go with samsung i8910 HD.
Ian says:
i go with the iPhone 3GS. Go with this site, it’s cheap www.digital-deals.co.uk where i will order for the 16gb iphone 3GS for $460 free shipping.
minnie me says:
definitely in terms of price point and specs superiority i would go with samsung i8910 HD.
badbadtzmaru says:
Thanks for the comparison table.
This is very helpful.
One question, though:
what are the row headings for Qualcom & ARM and the MHz?
thanks again!
SmartGilas.com says:
thanks yuga!
=)
PinoyPSP says:
nice comparison chart! =)seems like n97 is the only one with qwerty…
arlan says:
Yuga, why are HTC phones that expensive? they don’t even have those high specs.
Nil A. says:
Samsung i8910 HD 16GB without second thoughts, if they lower the PhP36K SRP. :D
mike says:
I’d go for the KM900 best value for money, with similar specs among the lot.
cArLo_AnGeLo says:
The N97 retails at the NOKIA STORE here in Tacloban for just about PHP31,000.00
Vance says:
Again, the prices above most probably from most telco.
The “real market” price will be different, as what Abe have pointed out.
arnold says:
iPhone 3GS for me!
Miguel says:
Qualcomm and ARM are the CPU.
The actual Qualcomm CPU used by the HTC Magic is the MSM7201A.
You can check http://pdadb.net for complete hardware specs – weird, the Arena has no CPU listed there. Non-standard?
itpinoy says:
LG i believe is better for those with money constraints…
techme says:
Omnia looks good on paper! but it’s running symbian so it’s big letdown for me …
goosebumps says:
i wonder why Omnia shifted to symbian from Windows Mobile?
BrianB says:
Wow, gumanda N97 bigla.
NEO says:
Thannks YUGA for the very impressive comparison chart. I agree with techme, symbian is kinda getting outdated, i’ll go for the LG, specs and price wise.
Art Samaniego says:
I go for iPhone 3GS, HTC Magic and Nokia N97. I have been using these phones and I like them in that order :).
Mike says:
Whew. Those things sure are heavy on the pocket. I’ll wait for second-hand units, or perhaps a sale somewhere.
Roy says:
Thanks for the chart! Anyone know where the Omnia HD is available in Manila? (If it is in stores)
bengtotpogi says:
Any of em will do, except the fruit phone! I won’t fall for the hype! Omnia HD or N97 on top of my list.
chris says:
i’d go for the slide qwerty phone… i like the iphone but its more of a multimedia device for me sayang Symbian OS gamit ng N97
jondeng says:
so ? hindi maganda ang n97 ?
Roy says:
Any word on suppliers in Manila? Or a date of arrival this month?
Roy says:
for the OMnia HD
Niel says:
I go for iphone 3GS because of UI and app store
mon says:
and everyone thought the iphone was ridiculously expensive =)
Ochie says:
“Samsung tops the hard-core specs”
I’ll definitely go with the Omnia :)
Carl says:
WHERE CAN I BUY THIS IN MANILA!
Carl says:
THE OMNIA HD!
ampanet says:
does anybody have ph release info on the i8910hd?
i read that it’s malaysian release got pushed back to august.
Abe Olandres says:
Release of the Omnia HD will be next week.
Mark Jason says:
For me, Omnia HD, then I’ll have the LG Arena as my 2nd pick. HTC Magic’s price is imba with it’s specs. iPhone 3GS nangunguna lang naman sa Apps eh, di ba sila naisip na gawan ng memory card slot ang 3GS? Nokia, i dunno pero parang nalilipasan na ng panahon with it’s Symbian OS interface, kacombo pa ng hindi pagiging touchscreen.
Seth says:
Ayus! Mas mauuna pa yata diyan sa pinas ang release ng i8910 kesa dito sa Dubai!
The best talaga ang OmniaHD i8910! Value-for-money talaga dahil sa hi-specs! The best pa din SYMBIAN OS! Kung out-of-date na ang Symbian, why would NOKIA(market leader) still use it? Why would Samsung and SE use it with their flagship units(OmniaHD and Satio respectively). I read in some forums that WinMo can only support 65K colors display. True?
OmniaHD’s closest rivals :
iPHONE 3GS — still a hype-phone
N97 — still 5mp camera and only 434Mhz processor?
Just my opinion….
Milton says:
Thanks for the reply yuga. do you know where i could get the omnia next week?
ampanet says:
suhweet!
thanks for the prompt reply sir.
i’ve been tracking the i8910 hd for a couple of months now… and so far, none of the samsung sites have given a peep about a ph or even a sea region release date.
*giddy, in anticipation*
ampanet says:
hahaha, my bad.
just checked the samsung mobile ph site.
the i8910 hd is now in the products list
Vicky says:
Thank Yuga, what store will it be in next week in Manila?
samsung says:
sang store po yang omnia hd next week? capable ba cia ng usb charging?
ferdzlopez says:
gusto nyo ng windows mobile 6.1 OS na Samsung try Samsung i8000 http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_i8000_omnia_ii-2836.php
ronP1 says:
ill go 4 samsung i8910HD. i am also considering samsung’s jet since i am now using SE P1i. omnia i8910 = samsung s8000 + SEP1i. hehe
Beemer says:
Nothing comes close to the iPhone overall. The 3.0 OS kills everything there. Sucky battery life and camera though.
irispen says:
mali mali naman info.. sa MAGIC: 192mb? thats the RAM! VGA? no, it cant record VGA!! and LG arena is not a smartphone to compare with others.. plus, i believe na HERO ang katapat ng Iphone, not the magic..
anyway, ang mahal ng magic dito sa Pinas! LOL! di hamak na masmura yan sa ibang bansa eh!
Faie_fb says:
The samsung i8910 HD is such a good phone people have been complaining about the touch screen well there talking rubbish the touch screen is really good and also ive heard that people have been complaining about the battery life well that a load of rubbish awell ive got just over a week on mine without charging it every night.
The camera is SOO good, and the video ‘OMG’ its like working with a professional camera.
Overall the Samsung i8910 HD is definetly the bedt out of all of them.
The iphone 3G S has the worst camera ever and apple are way behind everyone else.
The nokia is ok, but still not as good and the other phones dont evan match up to these three.
So pick the Samsung i8910 HD you wont regret it.!!
irispen says:
paano naging worst ang 3.2mp camera with touch focus? i read na sobrang laki ng improvement ng camera nito. Anyway, iphone is not really a camera phone, kung di nga lang nauso yung mga camera sa phone, baka di na lagyan yan ng apple.
3.2mp is good
5mp is enough
8mp is to much, ang laki na masyado, di naman kailangan kung di ka nagpriprint ng pictures.
nakakasawa na kasi ang symbian, napaka boring na. compare to iphone 2g, laos parin ang omnia HD when ir comes to UI.
anyway, ill go for 3gs!
speed + power kasi. tapos, sobrang dami pang apps.
one of the reason na sobrang ganda ng iphone is UI and 3rd party apps.
Jay says:
all of them have their special features… ill buy them all na lang.. i already have n97, the omnia HD and the iphone3GS… ala na lang ako nun HTC at LG d ko kc trip un design eh..
francis says:
i tried using the previously released omnia in one of samsung’s product demo exhibits. the touch capability could use a little bit more of sensitivity. the iphone 3g is more responsive
junulrik says:
except with samsumg omnia hd, i have all of these units, but the best is really iphone 3G..
jun says:
im writng this November 1, 2009.. iphone 3GS still the winner.. even other phones camera have higher resolution, overall cp performance iphone 3GS still superior
pepsilog says:
im really tempted by the samsung HD but i think the hardest comparison to make which should be addressed is that with the samsung omnia 2. similar specs all the way, different OS, with the omnia 2 loosing out on the camera and video but having a mobile MS office while the HD only has a viewer. with a similar price, its impossible to choose one from the other.
marco says:
The Omnia hd (as known) has only a ms office viewer but it can be upgraded to the full version like that of the omnia 2. i just dont know the price of the upgrade. please tell me how much is it??
coppergate says:
hi I’m getting a free HTC Magic from my Smart gold subscription and I want to trade it for an Omnia HD. Can you give me an idea where I can trade it for an Omnia na hindi ko na kailangang magdagdag pa. Thanks!Within Pampanga, Quezon City, Manila or nearby cities lang, please!