Jonathan Takiff: New iPhone still rules the smart-phone roost

THE GIZMOS:

It's a multimedia phone shootout! The iPhone 3G ($199-$299 with contract) from AT&T vs. the LG Dare VX9700 from Verizon ($199 with contract) and the Samsung Instinct from Sprint ($129.99 after rebate, with contract).

TOUCH ME IN THE MORNING: They were blindsided by the huge success of the first, application-rich iPhone from Apple and AT&T a year ago. Now other mobile phone suppliers are delivering touch-screen, multimedia phones of their own, hoping to capture the public's imagination and slow the rush of converts to the new and improved iPhone that boasts "twice the speed and half the price" of its predecessor.

This Gizmo Guy has spent the last few weeks road-testing the rivals from Sprint and Verizon. I've also had an iPhone 3G in my hands since release day, July 11.

For those who don't have time to read the full article (gotta text a friend or watch a YouTube video) let me say flat out that the new iPhone still reigns supreme in overall performance and enjoyment. Yet the rival phones do have their charms. Let's compare and contrast.

FORM FACTOR: The LG Dare is the smallest and lightest of the three devices, thus closest to what you're used to carrying in a compact mobile phone.

The iPhone seems relatively clunky, wider by a quarter-inch than the rest and also the heaviest, at 5 ounces. But thanks to its bigger-by-a-half-inch screen, the virtual keyboards that pop up to make a call, send a text message or search for a Web site are easiest to see and use. That sharper, 3.5-inch display is also appreciated for watching movies, sharing photos, reading Web content - whatever.

USER INTERFACE: How fast and accurately does the touch screen respond when you tap on it to call up a feature? Surf the Web? Scan a list of phone calls? Or zoom in on a photo or page?

The iPhone does all this superbly. It makes you feel in control - and how often can we say that?

In its smaller realm of mobile applications, the Samsung Instinct is almost as quick. But it's much less nimble at zooming.

The LG Dare is (how do I put this kindly?) a dog that should be taken out and shot. Slide your finger down the screen to move a list, and the device misreads your touch as a "go to" command.

Conversely, when trying to surf the Web with this phone, I've often found myself tapping away like a woodpecker to wake the darn thing up. One New York-based review site commended Verizon and the Dare for speedy Internet access, but in oh so rural Philadelphia, I've seen grass grow faster.

NOW HEAR THIS: Hey, isn't the quality of the phone call the reason people used to buy one mobile phone over another?

Reception quality is decent on the Dare, though I've enjoyed better with other Verizon phones. Phone performance proved pretty good on the Sprint Instinct and surprisingly good on the new iPhone.

Replacing the original iPhone's expensive metal back with plastic evidently was a boon to reception. Ditto for the 3G transmission technology, which also makes site surfing so much quicker.

The earpiece speaker on the

iPhone is the best of the bunch, most noticeable when you're playing music. And you can now plug any maker's earphones/microphone into the iPhone, though it still only supports a monaural Bluetooth headset. (Dare and Instinct work with stereo Bluetooth devices.)

THE BIG PICTURE: At last, something that the LG Dare is best at! Its higher-resolution, 3.2 megapixel camera (versus 2 MP cameras for the iPhone and Instinct) produces shots that should look better if you blow 'em up.

The Dare also has the only shooter with automatic face detection and a built-in, LED mini-flash. But I hate the shutter mechanism. It takes the picture when you lift your finger off the push button, making it hard not to shake the camera.

If you like to attach pictures to your text messages (aka MMS) or shoot movies with your mobile phone, be forewarned that the second-gen iPhone is still not up to those missions.

VOICE ACTIVATION/GPS: How come Apple's tech geniuses still haven't figured out how to offer voice-activated calling on their "state of the art" mobile phone. Even some "free" phones come with this feature!

The Instinct's voice-triggered calling is the model of what's possible. Tap a dedicated button on the side, say a name to make a call. And voice activation can call up news and weather info.

And the voice-command technology interfaces with Instinct's built-in Global Positioning System to triangulate your position, deliver directions or "search for" services from gas stations to overnight accommodations.

In my tests, the voice-prompting VZ Navigator service from Verizon proved more accurate in giving directions and self-correcting when I went off course.

The second-generation iPhone's newly added GPS system works with Google mapping to chart your journey. Its on-screen directions (text and graphics) are very good, though lacking voice prompts. And a bunch of GPS-interfacing mini applications - many of them free - can be added to the iPhone to, say, help you track down friends when they're out clubbing.

That's a spooky, "Big Brother-ish" concept. Or kinda cool. Depends on your perspective.

FUN AND GAMES: The iPhone offers that terrific array of music and movie/TV downloads from the Apple iTunes store or your personal collection, but you must first load the stuff onto a computer.

Apple's new Apps Store, though, lets you download small video games (Pac-Man, Zen Pinball) directly onto the iPhone via the AT&T mobile network or a Wi-Fi connection. Also downloadable from the apps store (worth a column in itself) are free Internet radio services, including 25-plus channels from AOL Music, and the Pandora service, which creates custom channels based on your musical tastes. This could wreak havoc on broadcast and satellite radio.

The Sprint and Verizon phones offer some radio channels, music downloads (at $1.99 a pop) and video direct to the phone over their mobile networks. There's no Wi-Fi in either the Instinct or Dare.

I kinda like the live channels from Sprint TV, though it's odd the pictures are still herky-jerky and out of sync with the sound years after this product's launch.

Verizon offers TV minisodes (news, comedy, music, etc.), which are pushed to your device before play commences. The quality is much better than Sprint's, but it's tedious trying to watch a bunch.

BATTERY CAPACITY: Five hours of active multimedia use is as much as you can expect from any of these phones.

Instinct comes with a spare battery and stand-alone charger. Dare also lets you change its battery. IPhone's battery is locked in tight. When you buy this phone, don't forget the car charger. *

E-mail Jonathan Takiff at takiffj@

phillynews.com.