For me, a computer is a box of chips, connected to the web and a portal for all the business and personal information needs I might ever have.  Phones are fast becoming the same kind of device.

Let’s step back a minute here though – when computing was new, before Al Gore invented the Internet that is, the norm was to look at the application first and that will drive the computing platform required.  We may have lost that discipline or need to ask that question, but my applications have historically been PC driven – so here I am.  I think it’s called ‘familiarity’. 

When it comes to phones, the same is true – what core applications do you want / need and then look for a platform that supports that need. Many times it is still something other than an iPhone application you need.  If you want to look cool though, what are the choices?

I was looking over recent press release</a> at a company called WireFly and they’ve released a list of the top 10 alternatives to the iPhone –

1. LG Vu CU920 (AT&T) – This sleek touch-screen phone has a large display and a matte black finish, with 3G data speeds, wide-screen virtual keyboard for texting, and streaming live TV.
2. LG Vu CU915 (AT&T) – If you can live without live TV on your phone, the new LG Vu CU915 may be the best deal in touch-screen phones today. It’s the same phone as the LG Vu CU920 without live TV.
3. LG Voyager (Verizon Wireless) – The Voyager has a unique design with flip-up touch-screen and hidden full QWERTY keyboard, plus Verizon’s EV-DO can be up to 40% faster than the iPhone 3G’s maximum data speeds.
4. HTC Touch (Sprint/Alltel) – The most compact touch-screen smartphone on the market features the incredibly easy TouchFLO touch-screen technology and the faster EV-DO high-speed internet.
5. LG Dare (Verizon Wireless) – This brand new model for Verizon is super thin, with a brilliant huge touch-screen and EV-DO data speeds; 3.2-megapixel camera/camcorder includes face detection.
6. Samsung Glyde (Verizon Wireless) – Samsung’s high-end phone is the best of both worlds, with a full touch-screen interface and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, plus EV-DO high-speed internet.
7. HTC Tilt (AT&T) – This powerful and popular smartphone with a full tilt-up keyboard does it all, from WiFi to GPS to a 3 megapixel camera/camcorder, plus Microsoft Windows Mobile.
8. BlackBerry Curve (AT&T/Alltel/Sprint/T-Mobile/Verizon Wireless) – The best-selling BlackBerry is available for all carriers, with internet browsing, texting, instant messaging, plus camera, music, and video.
9. LG Glimmer (Alltel) – The cool slider phone for Alltel has a touch QVGA display plus a traditional keypad; music player, camera, and expandable memory round out the feature set.
10. Palm Centro (AT&T/Sprint/Verizon Wireless) – The slimmest and best Palm ever is power-packed with Microsoft Windows applications plus high-speed Internet, camera, video and music player.

Two of these get my attention because I’ve seen them and used them; the HTC devices.  They are pretty slick and I admire the engineering the HTC people are putting into them. 

Noticably missing in my opinion is the Nokia N95 that I believe Robert Scoble and Jeremiah Owyang are fans of for social media applications.

I think I can be cool without an iPhone…

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