6 Wi-Fi smartphones that make great web tablets

by Dean Evans at Wednesday 10th June, 2009 at 3:32 pm [0 comments]

One of the more useful gadgets in the modern-day digital home is actually the smartphone. Rather than boot up your laptop or desktop computer every time you want to access the Internet, the newest mobile phones make great mini web tablets.

Put it this way… The latest mobile models – I.e. the iPhone 3GS, the HTC Magic, the Palm Pre – all come with a touchscreen display and integrated wireless networking.

Instant-on, effortlessly portable and blessed with full HTML web clients, smartphones are ideal for quick web browsing and email sessions on the sofa.

Every wannabe smart home owner should have one… But which one?*

Palm Pre

Considered as a serious ‘iPhone killer’, the compact Palm Pre combines a neat, slider design (hiding a QWERTY keyboard) with Palm’s revolutionary webOS software. The 3.1-inch touchscreen lets you navigate the Pre’s pretty menus with deft finger swipes. While combined messaging (email, IM, social networking), audio/video playback and a powerful web browser give it all the functionality you’d expect from your computer.

iPhone 3G

It might not be the world’s most popular smartphone (the Blackberry still rules the roost…), but the Apple iPhone has inspired a whole generation of touchscreen phone clones. You can see some of them here. From an ‘user experience’ point of view, few of its rivals can match the iPhone’s slick and well-designed interface. The multi-touch control makes web browsing a joy, while iTunes connectivity, QuickTime compatibility and a decent email client make it the ultimate all-rounder handset.

iPhone 3G S

New and improved, the new iPhone 3G S (the ‘S’ stands for ’speed’) comes with a faster processor, a boosted storage capacity (up to 32GB), an improved 3MP camera, video recording functionality, a digital compass and voice control. According to Apple: “everything you do on iPhone 3G S is up to 2x faster and more responsive than iPhone 3G.”

HTC Magic

Following on from the T-Mobile G1, the HTC Magic is the second major handset to run the Google-backed Android operating system. And because Google is involved, Android phones are designed with Internet connectivity in mind. So much so that the core Google apps – YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Google Talk, Google Calendar and Google Search are all built-in. The HTC Magic also features a speedy HTML web browser, so you can browse full Internet pages without compromise.

HTC Touch HD

The HTC Touch HD might not have the sheer sexiness of the Apple iPhone or the Palm Pre. But it has one big advantage over its smartphone rivals – its high-resolution display. The HTC Touch HD features a 3.8-inch, high resolution, widescreen WVGA touchscreen. Not only is this ideal for watching movies, but it enables the HTC HD Touch to render websites in full-page width. No pinching or zooming required.

Nokia N97

In unveiling the new Nokia N97, Nokia didn’t actually mention the words ‘mobile’ or ‘phone’. Instead, it called its new handset “the world’s most advanced mobile computer.” While the Palm Pre and iPhone 3G S might take issue with that claim, the N97 shows off the the Symbian OS to great effect. The home screen can be cluttered with web widgets, while you flick through the phone’s menus like the pages of a book. A full HTML browser and built-in QWERTY keyboard complete the package.

*And yes there are lots of other phones that would also fit the bill: the LG KC910 Renoir, Samsung Omnia, Sony Xperia X1, Nokia 5800 Xpress Music, Samsung Tocco Ultra, HTC Touch Diamond 2, Blackberry Storm and Blackberry Bold. But these six are the ones that arguably provide the best web experience.

** Already got a phone that you’re happy with? Still want a web tablet? Then get yourself an iPod touch…

If you enjoyed this article, make sure you subscribe to the Digibode RSS feed!

Other related articles:

1. Apple, Sony and the Big Tech Rumours of 2009
   Technology enthusiasts are always looking forward to the next BIG...

2. Are today’s smartphones tomorrow’s wearable computers?
   Amazing technology prototype that turns any surface into a virtual...

3. Kindle 2: giving ebooks another chance?
   Amazon has called a press conference for next week and...