6 touchscreen alternatives to the iPhone
February 8th, 2008 by Joseph HanlonWhile Apple's iPhone ambitions for Australia are yet to be revealed here are 6 alternative phones currently available in Australia you may want to look at if you're a touchscreen fan.
It seems we imagine the peak of mobile technology is controlling it with our fingertips; touchscreens make us feel like Mickey Mouse as the Sorcerer's Apprentice in Fantastia, controlling mobile menus with the majestic sweep of a finger. Though, like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, often it's all too easy to lose control and using a touchscreen can end up being more frustrating than intuitive.
Whether touchscreens improve the useability of the handsets is a matter of personal taste, some people master the necessary skill to stab at the screen with a stylus faster than others; however, if you want to really wow your friends and colleagues then a touchscreen is definitely the way to go.
While we've seen touchscreens make their mark on the consumer market with the success of Apple's iPhone -- albeit from a great distance -- touchscreens are still primarily the domain of business focused smartphones and PDAs. Below is a collection of some of the best touchscreen smartphones reviewed by CNET.com.au recently.
i-mate Ultimate 6150
The Ultimate 6150 goes like grease lightning but be warned: you'll need deep pockets to own one, and not just to pay the price tag.
O2 Xda Flame
The Flame promises a lot, and delivers a lot -- both in raw size and features. It is sadly let down by its battery life, however.
Mio DigiWalker A702
This GPS smartphone features a 2.7-inch touchscreen with stylus, Windows Mobile 6, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and a 3.2-megapixel camera.
LG Viewty (KU990)
The touchscreen interface and sexier design will be enough to make knees tremble, however, the Viewty's 5-megapixel camera falls short of our expectations.
Sony Ericsson P1i
The P1i has most of the bells and whistles a business user could want, but the user interface is a little quirky.
HTC Touch Dual
HTC's Touch Dual is a touscreen PDA-phone running Windows Mobile 6 with the interesting addition of a slide-out numerical keypad.
Who is writing these reviews. I thought this was an Australian site. Yes, googles voice search is cool and works pretty well.....if you have an American accent. How about a review written by an Australian next time... 
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