Touch Screen Showdown: iPhone 3G vs. LG Dare vs. Samsung Instinct

Three touch screen cell phones, three carriers, three prices, which one is right for you? Find out in our Touch Screen Showdown as we take a close look at these three phones.

	iPhone 3G	LG Dare	Samsung Instinct	Winner
Tour & Design	From the front the iPhone 3G looks much like its predecessor. It's only when you turn it around that you see the new plastic back, slightly thicker body and tapered edges. Overall effect, still slick as hell.	The Dare won't win any beauty contests, but it feels well put together. We are concerned about the exposed camera since this is one of its most important features and is unprotected.	Back is in with the Instinct, with a soft touch finish on the back that helps you hold it in your hand. It's also a bit ore narrow than the other two phones, which can make it easier to hold for those with smaller hands.	iPhone 3G
Audio Quality	Very good across the board, a significant step up from the previous iPhone.	Sound received by the phone was decent, but we saw some problems with sound sent by the phone.	Pretty poor audio quality, the received was reasonable, but sound sent was very poor.	iPhone 3G
Imaging	The same two megapixel camera as its predecessor, except it performed worse in terms of resolution and color. Video recording still isn't available.	A 3.2 megapixel auto-focus camera produces the best photos of the bunch. Plus the video capture is good and there's the option to capture slow motion video.	The Instinct's two megapixel camera is the worse amongst these phones by far in terms of stills capture. Video capture is better, but still not as good as the Dare.	LG Dare
Making/Receiving Calls	3.78 seconds to dial a number is right about average. Ring volume has been improved as has the vibrate alert.	4.1 seconds to dial a number is slightly worse than the iPhone 3G, but it makes up for this with loudest ring volume and best vibrate alert.	At 4.24 seconds it was the slowest to dial a number. Ring volume is about the same as the iPhone 3G, but the vibrate alert is the worst but far.	LG Dare
Messaging	The built in email client still isn't up to BlackBerry standards, but it has been improved slightly. Supports Exchange Server for push email. The threaded SMS app is slick, but still no MMS.	A pretty typical cell phone for SMS and MMS, nothing special there. No built in email client so you'll have to use web-based email or buy Verizon's email client as an extra.	The built in email client is just slightly worse than the iPhone's in terms of usability, but it does supports push email via Exchange Server. There's also threaded SMS interface and it support MMS as well.	Tie: iPhone 3G and Samsung Instinct.
Organizer	The calendar and contacts have been slightly upgraded, but still no tasks program and notes are very basic. Over the air sync is supported via Exchange Server and syncing with your computer is also supported.	Basic organizer applications for calendar, contacts and tasks. No syncronization support of any kind.	The organizer applications are slick looking, but also have some usability problems. It doesn't synchronize with our computer out of the box and will only sync contacts with an Exchange server.	iPhone 3G
Multimedia	Very good music and video playback software. It's slick, easy to use and like nothing else out there. We did notice that the music and video software took a bit longer to load, but it wasn't terrible.	Very fast to load music and video software. The software itself isn't up to iPhone 3G standards, but it's better than the average cell phone.	The software interface for music and video is pretty decent, but it takes forever to load.	iPhone 3G
Software	With new support for third party applications the iPhone 3G is now a full fledged smart phone. We did find the interface was a bit slower with the new software, but it's still pretty responsive. Safari is the best web browser on the market for viewing pages.	The interface is well organized and very customizable. There's very little support for additional applications, you only have the choice of a few Verizon apps. The web browser is the worst of the bunch.	The Instinct's interface is very well done, we were quite impressed by it. We did have some problems with stability, however, with several crashes while we used it. The web browser is not quite as good as Safari, but is much better than the Dare's.	iPhone 3G
Battery Life	About five and a half hours for talk time, but less than three hours of web browsing time. Music playback is over ten hours with the loudspeaker. Battery life is actually pretty decent for a 3G device, but if you browse a lot or use the GPS a lot it'll die on you quick.	The best battery life of the bunch with almost six hours of talk time and web browsing time. Music playback time was sixteen hours. Considering it's a 3G device this battery life is very impressive.	The worst batter life amongst these phones with about four and a half hours of talk time and barely three hours of web browsing time. Music playback was much better at almost fourteen hours.	LG Dare
Connectivity	High speed data on AT&T's 3G network, plus Wi-Fi means you'll be surfing the web with speed almost everywhere. The Bluetooth support is a joke, however.	Supports Verizon's EVDO Rev A network for high speed data and has good Bluetooth support. No Wi-Fi on board.	Also supports EVDO Rev A, this time on Sprint's network. Bluetooth support is the best amongst the phones, but it lacks Wi-Fi.	iPhone 3G
Hardware	The best virtual keyboard of the bunch, we were able to manage over 60 WPM. The 3.5 inch screen is the largest and brightest amongst these phones as well, and the touch interface is the most responsive.	The touch screen isn't quite up to iPhone 3G standards, but is still good. The virtual QWERTY is terrible, but thankfully there's a good virtual keypad that gives you a decent text entry option. Three inch display is smaller than the iPhone 3G, but still big for a phone.	A 3.1 inch touch screen that's about as responsive as the LG Dare. The virtual QWERTY is the worst amongst the bunch, and unlike the Dare there's no good alternative so you're stuck with it.	iPhone 3G
Other Features	Support for GPS that integrates with Google Maps, but not voice guided directions. There's still no support for tethered modem use.	GPS is on board and Verizon's Navigator software is decent, it provides voice guided directions, but not great. You can use it as a modem for your computer.	GPS is on board and we think the mapping software is the best of the bunch and includes voice guided directions. You can also use it as a tethered modem for your computer.	Samsung Instinct
Value	$199 with a two-year contract. Total cost of ownership over two years is $1998.76. That's with 450 minutes, unlimited data and 200 text messages per month.	At $199 with a two-year contract. Over two years you'll pay $1638.76 for 450 minutes, 250 text messages and unlimited data each month.	$129 with a two-year contract, you'll need to sign up for Sprint's Simply Everything plan that comes with a minimum of 450 minutes and unlimited data, text messaging and navigation. Total cost over two years is $1808.76	Samsung Instinct
Wins	7.5	3	2.5

So, the iPhone 3G comes out as the clear winner here, or does it. Although it stacked up the most wins the Dare and the Instinct had some significant wins of their own. If imaging matters to you the Dare is certainly the best of the bunch, and it also wins in battery life, another major consideration. The Instinct wins in terms of value, which is of course an important consideration for many. The thing to take home is that all three of these phones are pretty good, but in terms of all around goodness we have to go with the iPhone 3G.

So iPhone 3G, come on down!

And make sure to spay and neuter yourself, er your pets.