Is the Apple IPhone 3G Truly the King of All Touchscreen Smartphones?

The Apple iPhone 3G is what is referred to as a touchscreen smartphone. This means you can surf the web, make phone calls, and even instant text message to your hearts content all by touching the screen of the phone. AMAZING!

There is little doubt the king of touchscreen smartphones right now is the Apple iPhone 3G. It is the phone that everyone wants to own. The mere fact that the lines were out the door when the iPhone 3G was released is a great indication of its popularity. The question is, does it make fiscal sense or even common sense to own one. Is it wise, or are you just falling prey to a fad?

All the research has been done for you and it has been found that there are a number of other touchscreen smartphones that have features as good (if not better) as the Apple iPhone 3G. However, unlike the iPhone 3G that can only be purchased in the AT&T Wireless Store (hence the lines out the door), the other touchscreen smartphones out on the market can be bought on-line or at the store front.

While there are several of these phones, this article concentrates on five different touchscreen smartphones that are just as new and amazing as the Apple iPhone 3G. The list of touchscreen smartphones includes (in no specific order): the LG Vu, LG Voyager, HTC Touch, Samsung Glyde and the LG Dare.

Two of the cell phones, the LG Voyager and the Samsung Glyde, also incorporate slide-out QWERTY keyboards designed for fast, easy and accurate instant text messaging. Instant text messaging seems to be all the rage with most teens and they seem to prefer instant text messaging even to talking. A chief complaint with the iPhone 3G is that the touchscreen keyboard is harder to use when it comes to instant text messaging, thus slowing down the process. So if you or your teen are really into instant text messaging (and there is a ton of you out there), you may want to consider a touchscreen smartphone, other than the iPhone 3G.

No matter which way you decide to lean you will have to start a new two-year contract or extend your existing contract in order to get the special prices listed with any of the touchscreen smartphones in this article. Of all the phones covered by search4cellphonedeals.com in this article, the LG Voyager and the HTC Touch are FREE with a new two-year agreement. The LG Vu is FREE and offers a $49.99 CASH BACK rebate and instant discount with a new two-year contract from AT&T (as of this writing). The Apple iPhone will cost you $199-$299 and remember a two-year contract is still required.

All of the touchscreen smartphones reviewed in this article are all just as impressive as the iPhone 3G when it comes to Internet applications, as they all support a full suite of features such as Facebook, Flckr, Google Maps and YouTube. All of the cell phones in this article also offer big, beautiful touch displays that allow complete control over your cell phones features.

When it comes to features, the iPhone is definitely cutting edge but then again, so are all the others. All of the touchscreen smartphones mentioned in this article, except for the iPhone, are Bluetooth enabled. All play MP3s and Acc, but the iPhone does not play WMA like the rest. All but the iPhone offer photo/digital messaging and voice dialing. All but the iPhone have memory card slots. When it comes to speed, only the LG Vu is as slow as the iPhone with a top speed of 1.7 mbps, the rest boast 2.4 mbps.

As for features that the iPhone 3G excels in? The megapixles on the camera are 2, the same as all but the LG Dare that has 3.2. The iPhone 3G also has double the memory at 16GB. Plus the iPhone 3G really excels in price if that's important to you.

Some of the features that proceeded may be a more up to date with the newest Apple iPhone 3G version, but just remember, everyone else is getting their latest versions as well. Remember, as mentioned earlier, you can only get an Apple iPhone 3G at the AT&T Wireless store (if you can get one, most stores have the iPhone 3G on back order), so if convenience is what you are looking for, you may want to strongly consider one of the other touchscreen smartphones listed in this article.

As far as availability, the other five-touchscreen smartphones offer a greater number of carriers to choose from. The iPhone 3G is only available through AT&T Wireless. The LG Vu, like the iPhone works with AT&T Wireless, the LG Voyager with Verizon Wireless, The HTC Touch with Sprint PCS and Alltel, the Samsung Glyde with Verizon Wireless and the LG dare with Verizon Wireless.

So by doing your homework, you can save yourself some money and have an unbelievable touchscreen smartphone. It is easy to see that you can get an equally innovative touchscreen smartphone for a fraction of the cost (or even FREE), and you can get it on-line or at the storefront. Why spend a fortune on a touchscreen smartphone just to look cool. Get the phone that suites you best and don't worry what others think. It's your money and your life.

Common sense tells you buy for practicality, not because you have to have the hot new phone. Remember, today's hot new phone is next year's out of date phone that nobody wants. Now this is not to say that the iPhone 3G is a bad touchscreen smartphone and that you shouldn't purchase one. After all the information available here, you may find it to be the perfect phone for you. It's your choice, but consider the facts, not just the fuss.

Click here for a detailed comparison chart of all the different touchscreen smartphones mentioned above.

All statistics on the phone features in this article are from Wirefly.com.