iPhone Alternatives: More than iCandy

There are reasons to buy an iPhone, but not all are sound. For an unlimited two year data plan, you'll pay at least $3800. That's reason enough to give it a hard look before you buy. Contrary to iPhone users' claims, there are real alternatives, and depending on how you use your phone, better choices.

The sophisticated technology that produced the iPhone's proprietary touch screen with accelerometer broke new ground. Instead of using keys like we do with computers and other smartphones, iPhone users bypass keys and can tilt, shake, poke and even blow into the phone for a variety of responses and effects. To trigger the touch screen users master a gesture language including the flick, the two finger tap, and the pinch. It can be frustrating at first but practice makes perfect.

Other smartphone manufacturers have been quick to design touch screen phones of their own, but none are quite as ingenious as the iPhone, nor can any competitor provide the add-on apps found in Apple's App Store.

Last month the Apple App Store celebrated its one year birthday and if apps were words, this youngster would have an adult's vocabulary. Today there are more than 35,000 apps to do just about anything you can imagine. From the practical like finding the location of the nearest cheap gas to the frivolous like the Sex and the City Closet, the app selection is staggering.

Entering the App Store is like being a kid in a candy store. Everything is irresistible. Better yet, many are free, so why not sample them all? Resist. Every app takes up memory on your phone just like software programs do on your computer. Consume memory, lose speed. And a recent study showed 98% of downloaded apps are abandoned after a week so you may be left with pages and pages of apps to flick through to find the handful you actually use. Don't let your eyes get bigger than your iPhone.

I will never buy an iPhone because I can't type quickly and accurately on a virtual keyboard, a two dimensional display on the touch screen. I have small hands, but the precision needed to type gibberish-free takes more practice than I'm willing to put in. A real keyboard is essential. You won't find another phone with nearly the app selection of the iPhone, but we all have to make sacrifices.

Consider these touch screen/keyboard alternatives:

New this summer, the Palm Pre has won the approval of discerning smartphone users. Although Apple has filed objections, the Pre syncs with iTunes, the first phone other than the iPhone to do so.Sprint offers a two year unlimited data plan for $100 a month; total investment is $2600. Verizon customers may be in luck too, the Pre should be available for them in early 2010.

BlackBerry's alternative to the iPhone is the BlackBerry Storm from Verizon. Released before all of the operating glitches could be addressed, it suffered, but the good news is the improved Storm 2 will be released in November. Expect identical pricing to the iPhone for a total of $3800 over two years.

A third alternative, the LG enV Touch also available from Verizon, has a 3.2 megapixel camera/camcorder with flash, far better than the iPhone's 2.0 MP camera without flash. Verizon offers a bargain unlimited data plan for the enV Touch at $70 plus $10 a month for business email integration, bringing the total two year investment to $2070.

If you are enamored by Apple, dazzled by the endless offerings at the app store and have a penchant for hand gestures, the iPhone has your name on it. But if you are the practical type, fresh fruit instead of chocolate truffles, consider the alternatives. And if sweets just aren't on your menu, stick with a plain vanilla phone, one that comes free with your contract.