10 Ways The Nokia N800 Is Better Than Apple's iPhone

Looking for the N900? Find out how it’s also better than the iPhone! New article here.

1. Price

Nokia N800: $399

Apple iPhone: $499 or $599 (Plus 2 year Cingular service contract)

2. Open Source

The iPhone is far from open. We’re still not sure what Steve Jobs meant when he said that the iPhone runs “OS X”, but it’s most certainly not the full-blown “Mac OS X” that comes on a new Macbook. While the core of the phone’s OS may someday be open sourced (like Darwin), it’s highly unlikely that Apple will ever open source the entire OS or even share the iPhone APIs that would allow developers to make new iPhone apps.

3. Third Party Applications

Apple has stated that they will not allow 3rd party applications on the iPhone. Apple want’s to control everything from the top down. They’re not even supporting Flash or Java (I guess that would make it too easy for developers to bypass Apple’s control and offer applications for the iPhone).

4. No Service Contract with Cingular Needed

To get an iPhone, you’ll need to sign up for a 2-year contract with Cingular. Nobody knows exactly how much this plan will cost, but I’m sure it won’t be cheap. Data plans are traditionally extremely expensive in the US and I’m sure Cingular and Apple will make loads of money overcharging customers for internet access.

The practice of locking mobile phones to a single mobile provider has become quite annoying in the United States. While the rest of the world can freely change providers by simply swapping out a SIM card, US customers are usually stuck with multi-year contracts and locked phones. Apple is continuing this tradition by locking all iPhones sold in the US to the Cingular network.

5. Removable Storage

Apple’s iPhone has no removable storage. This is probably by design as it helps justify a higher priced model with more memory.

6. Better Audio and Video Codec Support

The iPhone, like the iPod, plays only Apple sanctioned audio and video formats. This means you can play content from the iTunes store as well as MP3 audio and MPEG video. No streaming to the phone or playing competing formats.

7. It's Not a Cell Phone

Apple wants the iPhone to become the device that you always have with you. That sounds great at first, but how long do you think it’ll last in the New York subway? There are times when having a regular phone is more convenient. Perhaps it will be possible to switch your SIM card from the iPhone to a secondary phone when needed, but Apple hasn’t said anything about this.

8. It is a VoIP Phone

With the iPhone, you will need to make all your calls via Cingular. More money for Cingular and Apple.

9. Webcam for Video Conferencing

The iPhone has a camera, but no video conferencing.

10. It's Available Now

The Nokia N800 is available now at some stores and from Amazon. You can order one today.

The iPhone should be available in June.