Cousins and friends in the US and UK might be flaunting their iPhones, but there’s no reason for you to burn with envy.
There are any number of contenders to the iPhone. Okay, so they might lose out a tiny bit when it comes to awesome design, but in terms of utility, many of them are streets ahead.
The huge advantage of these is that, unlike the iPhone, you will not be tied to one service provider. Other than the Meizu, these are not mere iClones; they are feature-rich 3G smartphones.
If these don’t satisfy you, keep an eye on the market—the Asus Aura and the Nokia Aeon could leave the drawing board soon and enter the market.
Feature-wise, these phones match the iPhone. Yes, it’s difficult to offer the design, interface and sheer snob value of the iPhone. But if you want value for money, you’d do well to choose one of these.
If, after all, only the iPhone will do, get an unlocked (and thoroughly illegal) version online. But at $800, it’s really not worth the trouble of breaking the law, when there are good legal alternatives easily available.
 | Nokia N95 Built-in GPS mapping, Web-enabled, fast downloads, 2.6" display, locationbased mobile search, Web browser with Minimap, USB 2.0, WLAN, Bluetooth connectivity...Do we really have to go on? Price: Rs 26,000 |
 | Samsung F700 Not yet launched. When it is, you’ll get triband GSM, compatible GPRS, sliding keyboard, 3MP camera, Bluetooth, touchscreen, video sensor... it’s being called the iPhone killer. Price: NA |
 | Asus P535 More PDA than phone—mini-computer, GPS unit, 2MP camera, business card recognition, Bluetooth, PocketOffice... Price: Rs 32,500 |
 | HTC Touch A sleek touchscreen device with Windows Mobile 6, one-touch access to e-mails, text messages, calendar appointments, contacts, etc. Available from Airtel. Price: Rs 18,000 |
 | LG Prada Next to the F700, this is the iPhone’s closest competition. Almost entirely touchscreen-based, it comes with 2MP camera, music/video player, Bluetooth. Price: Rs 52,000 |
 | Palm Treo 680 Phone, e-mail, messaging, Web access. And contacts, calendar, photos and songs. A large touch screen. And a keyboard... Now, will it make coffee as well? Price: Rs 25,000 |
 | Meizu M8 Chinese imports are flooding the market, so you could soon buy this cheap ripoff here. You get an unlocked phone, 3MP camera, and iPhone looks. Price: $195 |
 | Sony Ericsson P1i E-mail, calendar and contacts, Office appli cations, music, 3.2MP camera, business software, Blue tooth, Skype, touchscreen, handwriting recognition, RSS feeds...Do you want more from a phone? Price: Rs 24,000 |
 | BlackBerry 8300 The latest Curve variant, this comes with a 2MP camera, media player, new desktop media manager, full Qwerty keyboard, Web browsing, voice-activated dialling... Price: Rs 25,000 |
 | Motorola Rizr Z8 The “media monster” doesn’t have a touchscreen; supports fullmotion video playback and 3G Internet browsing, Symbian OS, unique sliding design. Price: $350 (approx) |
