2008’s been a good year for touchscreen mobile phones, but if anything, 2009 looks like it’s going to be even better, thanks to two new systems: Google Android, as seen in the T-Mobile G1, and Symbian S60 Touch, as seen in the Nokia N97. But how do these two heavyweight stack up against each other?

Domo Arigato Mr Roboto – The Rise of Google Android via the T-Mobile G1

A new operating system in mobile phones is always something that raises a fair amount of excitement. When it’s completely open source, so anyone can change it, it causes more excitement. When it’s made by one of the biggest names in the universe, Google, then everyone’s going to pay attention. So it was with Google Android, and the T-Mobile G1, the first mobile phone in the entire universe to be built around it. But what makes the T-Mobile G1 so special? Why is it so different to other mobile phones? Well, apart from the fact that the T-Mobile G1 comes with a huge touchscreen and full QWERTY keyboard, putting it firmly in the smartphone territory, that Google Android software makes for a truly unique experience. From the Android marketplace, where you can buy literally ANY extra software for your mobile phone that people can dream up, to the Amazon MP3 store, to Google Maps (and StreetView, with the built-in compass, which has to be seen to be believed), to full integration with GoogleMail, the T-Mobile G1 gives you access to masses of features not seen on any other mobile phones. And because the T-Mobile G1 is the first of its breed, it is truly unique!

Symbian evolves – the Nokia N97

So, while the T-Mobile G1 is heralding in a new day with the brand new Google Android software, what exactly does the biggest name in the business have in store from their mobile phones? Well, the answer is, quite simply, the unbelievable Nokia N97. It’s not the first touchscreen mobile phone from the Finnish giant, but it IS easily the best, as it’s based on the absolute latest version of the Symbian S60 Touch operating system. The huge, widescreen touch display on the Nokia N97 is truly something to behold, and it ties up beautifully with the QWERTY keyboard to give you one of the nicest interfaces in the history of mobile phones. Software-wise, the Nokia N97 is easily as fluid and nice to use as thing like the iPhone and, yes, the T-Mobile G1. And of course, since Symbian has such a massive developer base, software for it is as wide-ranging and you’d like. Basically, the Nokia N97 is a true world-beater.

T-Mobile G1 vs Nokia N97 – Which will win the war?

So, both powerful mobile phones, both really, really innovative… but which is the better of the two, the T-Mobile G1, or the Nokia N97? Well, the T-Mobile G1 has the open source battle sewn up, since the Nokia N97, basically, isn’t open source. Potentially, that means more software available for the T-Mobile G1, as more people can, theoretically, code for it. Also, the G1 is reckoned to have one of the simplest registration procedures of all mobile phones, and you can’t overlook how nice a thing that is to have. However, the simple fact is that the Nokia N97 is far prettier, has a bigger screen, has a better camera, and potentially, has faster internet access. The T-Mobile G1 does have a certain cool factor from being something so new and unprecedented, but when it comes down to it, the Nokia N97 simply slaughters it on build quality and features. And so, if I had to pick one of these mobile phones (which is kind of the point of this article, really), I’d go for the all-conquering Nokia N97.

IPod video was a surprising new device at its appearance, due to the new and exiting quality that it could offer: playing videos. Besides this, the iPods have known, since their appearance on the market, a constant evolution, which lead to the fact that the public and the potential customers had more and more expectations regarding this product. With a new offer and design, the new product iPod video had a series of new ads, some authentic and some suspicious, because of their fake or less real aspect.     

Due to the fact that the product was not yet in stores and people didn’t expect such a product to appear, there were a number of teasing and controversial ads (regarding their authenticity) which appeared and circled on the Internet. By bringing a new and relevant feature to the device, such as the video feature, the potential customers were surprised by the evolution of the product and so, the ads purpose was established. One of these ads represents the iPod video in an unreal shape (meaning that the authentic iPod has other optical features and another design). The ad was very short, as it lasted only 15 seconds. The video begins with presenting some corners of the new device, which are revealed in a computerized manner.

This one side of the device turns and the other one presents a screen which played the most recent music video belonging to the band Black-Eyed Peas (Pump it). The music and rhythm were dynamic and fast and so were the characters, who were dancing while driving. Suddenly, the slogan Introducing the new hand held movie theatre appeared and shortly after, the phrase new hand held movie theatre was cut out and the new phrase new iPod appeared on the screen, resulting Introducing the new iPod.

The controversy around this ad is focused on the fact that the actual iPod video doesn’t have the same characteristics as the one in the ad: the actual device looks very similar to the 1st to 4th generation of iPods, meaning the screen is over the buttons, but the one revealed in the ad presented a very large screen, which completed one side of the device.

Still, there are many ads of the new iPod video which are, for sure, authentic. The main idea of these is the fact that music can be seen, as well, besides just being heard. This is why the Apple company opted for integrating famous artists in the ads for their product: one of the ads featured U2’s Original of the Species from the Vertigo – Live From Chicago DVD and another two featured Eminem and Wynton Marsalis. The ads featuring these artist were much longer than the usual ones and they basically played famous songs, but not together with their videos; instead, the producers opted for some more authentic images illustrating performances of these artists, which would look natural and more spontaneous. The ads for this new product were focused on the video playing capabilities of the device and the producers wanted, at the same time, to symbolize the new range of possibilities that the new model of iPpod had to offer.

The main idea of the ads was clear, even though these 3 ads had very different targets. Based on the fact that the clients of the new device come from different backgrounds and are of different ages, the producers and the marketers managed to pick some artists that represent generations and symbolize best their tastes and lifestyle: Eminem stands for teens and hip hop music, Wynton Marsalis is representative for adults who like classical and jazz music and U2 is somewhere in between the other 2 opposite styles.

In parallel, the ads with the dancing silhouettes continued with more specified backgrounds, which were representing the video options. The iPod`s video ads show that the product has definitely evolved, has a more mature image and optimized new features.