The mobile landscape is changing, as manufacturers wake up to the fact that users want their phones to have a simple, sleek interface. Let’s take a look at three of the best mobile phone interfaces, currently (or soon to be) on the market.
HTC Touch Diamond2
The HTC Touch Diamond2 actually does a very good job of making it so you don’t have to go into standard Windows menus that often, as on top of the operating system, the interface is HTC’s patented TouchFLO 3D setup, where everything is achieved through various finger swipes and sweeping gestures. It is truly intuitive, and it’s the reason why the HTC Touch Diamond2 is such an unmitigated joy to use. Of course, it’s not all about being pretty, a phone needs to have decent features and the HTC Touch Diamond2 has them in spades, from the 5 megapixel camera, through GPS, to incredibly fast HSDPA internet access (not to mention the superb Opera Mobile web browser). To many, the HTC Touch Diamond2 is the ultimate Windows Mobile phone.
HTC Hero
The first important fact about the HTC Hero, and the bit that has made it so talked about, is its operating system: Google Android. As it’s only the second phone to officially go on sale using Android, the HTC Hero has garnered an awful lot of trade and consumer interest. Even more importantly, the HTC Hero is the first Android phone to feature a keyboard-less, touchscreen-only design, a thing that seems to be all the rage in 2009. It’s certainly more of a looker than its predecessors, the G1 and the Magic (thanks to the beautiful new Sense interface), and that fusion of enhanced looks and the still-awesome power of Android makes the HTC Hero a very compelling phone indeed. If innovation is your thing, this is the phone for you.
Palm Pre
So, there’s the HTC Touch Diamond2, with TouchFLO 3D, sitting atop Windows Mobile. And then, there’s the HTC Hero, which gives Android a new interface. What does the Palm Pre offer that’s different? Well, one could talk about the WebOS interface it uses, as it’s unique in the annals of phone history. And indeed, there’s one feature of WebOS, directly related to the keyboard, that makes the Palm Pre so cool. Universal search. Now, many phones do that, but the Palm Pre does it so much more cleverly. Just start typing what you want to know about, from the front screen, and the Palm Pre will search your contacts, apps, music, pictures, and even the internet, to interpret and find what you’re looking for. That really is a cool feature, and it may well make the Palm Pre the coolest QWERTY phone out there. If you value the interface above all else, the Palm Pre is the phone for you.