Palm's Launch of 'Pre' Thumbs Nose at Apple

(NEWSER) - Until recently, the iPhone ruled the smartphone roost, but a new crop of competitors could threaten Apple’s bottom line, Jon Fortt writes for Fortune. AT&T, the sole iPhone carrier, pays Apple $300 for every new customer. Until now, paying for the privilege made sense, because AT&T monopolized the “high-value data junkies.” But “these new iPhone rivals,” Fortt writes, “are bound to alter the math of the phone wars.” More»

...a cheaper version may be on the way

(NEWSER) - Ignore the reports you’ve been hearing: There are currently no plans to make a smaller version of the iPhone, insiders tell the New York Times . Apple is working on a new version, likely for release this summer—but it’ll be about the same size as the iPhone 4. As for what Apple is possibly cooking up next? A cheaper version that's capable of understanding voice commands. More»

RIM dominates in sales, but the iPhone has big advantages

(NEWSER) - The iPhone has become a cultural phenomenon, but RIM sells way more units than Apple does. Why, then, does the BlackBerry have such obvious flaws? Wired lists five improvements RIM needs to make:

1. Browser. The web looks much the same on an iPhone or Palm Pre as it does on a PC. But the BlackBerry presents a bare-bones mobile version of most websites—and is slow, to boot.
2. Touchscreen. The BlackBerry Storm's "clickable" screen was supposed to feel like a real keypad, but it just made typing slower.

iPhones et al might have more than you need; here are some cheaper alternatives

(NEWSER) - Smartphones may be the future, but you may not need one just now, writes Marguerite Reardon of CNET. The iPhone and its pricey brethren probably have more features than the average user needs. Here are some cheaper feature phones that might meet your needs. Prices are for a 2-year contract:

• AT&T—Motorola Karma QA1—$79: This little 3G wonder features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and home screen access to Facebook and MySpace.

(NEWSER) - The iPhone itself isn’t in a class by itself as far as smartphones are concerned, Farhad Manjoo writes for Slate—but the App Store makes it unbeatable. Apple boasts more than 50,000 applications, and the rate is increasing; Google’s Android operating system only supports 5,000. “The iPhone has attracted something that none of its rivals can match,” Manjoo writes: “a devoted following of developers who are building amazing programs for the device.” More»