Apple has the advantage of userbase (although I’m really curious as to how the 2,000,000+ iPhone users match up to the 100,000,000++ for the DS and PSP market) and a mature AppStore that both Sony and Nintendo are now just beginning to bloom so they may have a winner up their sleeve.

But after a reality check, sorry fanboys, here’s a few reasons why it’s going to outseat the current giants.

Speed

iPhone: ARM processor (600Mhz)
PSP: MIPS R4000-based (333MHz)
NDS: ARM processor (67MHz)

By the numbers, the iPhone looks like the clear winner, right? Not exactly. You see, the iPhone still has to handle OSX running in the background and no matter how lightweight it is, it’s much too heavier than the OS’s on the PSP and the DS.

Gaming on the Iphone, not as hot as you think

Controls

iPhone: Multi touchscreen, tilt sensor
PSP: Usual Playstation layout sans the L2, R2 buttons and the 2nd Analog stick
NDS: Gameboy controls + touchscreen.

Hands down, the iPhone is innovative.  The multi-touch is one of the biggest reasons that the iPhone sells but it’s also the biggest reason why it’s not meant to be big with gamers. Real gamers need their buttons in order to get their game faces on. Take for example a fighting game like Tekken.  Would you be able to execute combos by touching the screen?  I can imagine board games like Monopoly, Scrabble and chess as easily playable on the iPhone but when you add something like Monster Hunter, it’s going to be tough going.

The iPhone might be able to run Doom 3 but how will you control it?  You’ll be able to aim with the touchscreen, move with the iPhone’s tilt sensor but by putting your finger on the screen, you’re effectively blocking your view.  So much for FPS huh?

Userbase

iPhone: Apple fans, business men, people with cash to buy Apple
PSP: Playstation fans, serious and casual gamers, Monsters Hunter players
NDS: Everyone… literally

Yes, you can’t deny it.  The DS is everywhere.  Even I want one even if I’m a die hard PSP fan.  iPhones are simply too niched if you asked me.

Cost

iPhone: Roughly Php 25,000 (Prepaid plan from Globe) convert to USD
PSP: Php P9,500 convert to USD
NDS: Php P6,500 convert to USD

Will you hand your iPhone to a 5-year old?

Those are the four main reasons why Apple won’t hit it big with the gaming community.  That and the little piece of history that Apple is seriously willing to hide, remember the Pippin?  Of course, the real biggest reason why the iPhone will not be a big hit with the gaming community is it’s a PHONE.

It’s arguably one of the best phones in the market because you’ve got a full fledged OS under it’s hood (No flash though) but as a dedicated gaming platform?  Lastly, the reason you’re buying an iPhone is because you want a phone, not a game console-wannabe.

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And yes,while others seem to do everything right, there are those who are quite the opposite.

5. AMD and ATI

Even with the merger, things still look grim for the two giants. For the whole year, we’ve been expecting that AMD will launch something worth buying. Sadly, that wait is still ongoing.

On the processor side, AMD’s much awaited Barcelona-platform chips (the Phenom) were called back from shipping due to a processor-level bug and the expected market date was pushed back a few more months.

On the GPU side, even with the release of ATI’s 3800 family, the graphics giant is still unable to match Nvidia’s midrange card the 8800GT.

Pricewise, both AMD and ATI products seem competitive enough with regards to Intel and Nvidia’s high pricing but are currently lacking in terms of performance. There’s not much innovative juice running AMD nowadays and they seem content on just catching up where the competition left off.

4. Microsoft Office 2007

Using ribbons to replace the old-fashioned toolbars may have boosted Office 2007′s eye candy charm but it threw everyone who was so used to using MS Office into confusion. No one knew where everything was so we spent hours and hours trying to familiarize ourselves with the new layout only to find out that the default format for saving files wasn’t compatible with older versions of the Office Suite.

There were several improvements like the addition of One Note and increased usability of common commands but several major flaws are still there. Excel 2007 notably has a major bug that’s all set to derail businesses that rely on it.
Considering the hefty price tag, Office 2007 isn’t worth the upgrade, nor the headaches.

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?The essential point is that Google?s strategy is to lead the creation of an open-source competitor to Windows Mobile,? said one industry executive. ?They will put it in the open-source world and take the economics out of the Windows Mobile business.?

The GPhone (Google Phone) is not going to be a second iPhone. Google’s main goal is to extend its reach from online advertising to the mobile Internet. The first official prototypes of the Gphone is expected later this year and they could be on shelves early next year.

So what’s all the hype if theres no phone? The Gphone could reduce the skyrocketing costs of mobile phones by giving manufacturers and/or carriers revenue from mobile advertising. Another possibility is free calls and/or messages.

Aside from what’s looking like a huge marketing ploy, there’s rumors that Google will offer mobile versions of their applications which will be running on a Linux-based operating system (am I hearing GLinux in the background?).While Google has built phone prototypes to test its software and show off its technology to manufacturers, the company is not likely to make the phones itself, according to analysts.

You can read more about the issue on the International Herald Tribune

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If you’ve just bought an iPhone or are contemplating on buying one, consider it a warning. In a few months, maybe weeks, Nokia and other cellphone companies will release their products to battle the iPhone and it’s probably best to hold out until those unless you’re a rapid Apple/iPhone fan. For everyone else in the modding community, to hell with warranty. If you’re lucky enough, you won’t be needing it.

CUPERTINO, Calif., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple has discovered that many of the unauthorized iPhone unlocking programs available on the Internet cause irreparable damage to the iPhone’s software, which will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable when a future Apple-supplied iPhone software update is installed. Apple plans to release the next iPhone software update, containing many new features including the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store (www.itunes.com), later this week. Apple strongly discourages users from installing unauthorized unlocking programs on their iPhones. Users who make unauthorized modifications to the software on their iPhone violate their iPhone software license agreement and void their warranty. The permanent inability to use an iPhone due to installing unlocking software is not covered under the iPhone’s warranty.

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• The first full SIM unlocks involved using a Turbo SIM card,
• iPhoneSIMfree, the first (commercial) software unlock of the iPhone
• iUnlock, a free unlock from the iPhone Dev Team

Aside from just “breaking” the SIM unlocks that have been released so far, it is expected that Apple will decide to take it a step further. When they run this month’s pending software update, it is possible that unlocked iphones will permanently and irreparably become ?bricks.? The move will deter current and potential unlockers?even if the crafty hackers manage to create a work around on the changes, the risk of suddenly owning a shiny $400 chunk of metal and plastic will always loom over their shoulders.

The rest of the article is available on Ars Technica

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Samsung’s newest mobile in their line up is Ultra Smart F700?is dubbed the iPhone killer. The F700 features unrivaled design and brings a superior range of multimedia experiences to consumers.

The new F700 reflects the recent trend in telecommunications industry of touch screen user interface and also implements a QWERTY keypad (for scrupulous oldies) as well as VibeTonz technology which allows them to feel the buttons accompanied by responsive vibrations. The 2.78-inch color display allows for viewing contents like documents and video. Featuring a 5.0-megapixel camera with auto-focus and Bluetooth, it doubles as a camera phone, With a 7.2 Mbps HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) users can download an mp3 song (about 4 MB each) in 4.4 seconds, watch videos, listen to songs, share high-quality photos, or catch up on email on the move

A full HTML browser is included for all those internet tasks.

Samsung F700 Specifications

• Standard: HSDPA 7.2 Mbps, EDGE
• Frequency: 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz + 2.1 GHz
• Camera: 5.0-Megapixel with Auto-Focus
• Display: 262,744 TFT (2.78-inch, 440 x 240 px)
• Features: Full Touch Screen
• MPEG4 / H.263 / H.264 / Real MP3 / AAC(+) / eAAC+ / Real
• QWERTY Keypad
• MMS / Email / Java / WAP 2.0
• Bluetooth / USB
• Flash UI / Document Viewer
• Full HTML Browsing
• Offline Mode, BGM
• Memory: microSD
• Size: 104 x 50 x 16.4 mm

Release date and pricing is not known but more information will be available when the Samsung Ultra Smart F700 will be showcased at the 3GSM World Congress next week.

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Here’s the bit from Yahoo! News

Apple Sells One Millionth iPhone

CUPERTINO, Calif., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple(R) today announced it sold its one millionth iPhone(TM) yesterday, just 74 days after its introduction on June 29. iPhone combines three devices into one-a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod(R), and the best mobile Internet device ever-all based on Apple’s revolutionary multi-touch interface and pioneering software that allows users to control iPhone with just a tap, flick or pinch of their fingers.

“One million iPhones in 74 days-it took almost two years to achieve this milestone with iPod,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We can’t wait to get this revolutionary product into the hands of even more customers this holiday season.”

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market this year with its revolutionary iPhone.

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Just before hitting the sack, I saw an updated feed from my RSS reader. GigaOm seems to have picked up a few morsels below of information about the Google Phone:

Google Phone is based on a mobile variant of Linux, and is able to run Java Virtual Machines.

All applications that are supposed to run on the Google Phone are Java apps. The OS has ability to run multimedia files, including video clips.

The user interface is similar to a UI typical of mobile phones, and the image (with red background) floating around isn?t representative of the Google Phone UI. The entire UI is said to be done in Java and is very responsive. The UI, of course has a ?search box.?

There is a special browser which has pan-and-browse features that are common to modern browsers such as browsers for iPhone and Symbian phones. The entire browser is apparently written in Java.

Initially there was one prototype, but over past few months Google has the mobile OS running on 3-to-5 devices, most of them likely made by HTC, a mobile phone maker, and all have QWERTY keyboards. The model that folks have seen is very similar to the T-Mobile Dash. Around 3GSM, there were rumors that Google, Orange and HTC were working together on mobile devices.

Iphone killer? I know you’re all waiting to find that out as well.

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