There have been few contenders in the touchscreen handheld phone arena since the introduction of the Apple Iphone – until now that is. The Nokia 5800 has burst out onto the scene as Apple’s first serious competition in the touchscreen phone market. Even though it has not even been released to consumers in the United States and Europe as of yet, the scuttlebutt on blogs and in the media has been the comparisons between these two hand held devices.

The following are quick comparisons on features for both the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic phone and the tried and true Apple iPhone.

Size and Weight

Everyone wants a phone that is easily held in one hand. the iPhone is not huge but it is trickier to operate in one hand. The Nokia 5800 smaller than the iPhone into most people’s hands with no trouble. This means that you only need one hand to operate the phone, to do whatever else people do with their hands. For those of you that need more specifics, the following are the exact the sizes of both phones:

iPhone size: 115.5 X 62.1 X 12.3 mm Nokia 5800 size: 111 X 51.7 X 15.5 mm

As for the weight of each phone, the Nokia 5800 comes in at 25 g lighter then the Apple iPhone. Not a big difference for most people but it is something to consider.

Price

The Apple iPhone was introduced at a whopping $699 to the retail market. It has since come way down in price, but is still not extremely affordable to the average cell phone user. The Nokia 5800 will be rolled out at about 25% less than the Apple iPhone’s current price. Even though Verizon will be the main carrier behind the Nokia 5800, the phone is expected to be “unlocked” off-the-shelf.

Of course things like extra memory cards and the monthly plan you choose will determine the total cost of each of these phones. When deciding on either the Apple iPhone or the Nokia 5800, determine your budget first then total what your monthly cost will be over a period of one year. You should be able to make a decision on price for each of the two models.

Audio

No matter how many bells and whistles a cell phone has, eventually you must consider the audio quality of making phone calls. The Apple iPhone has always been considered superior in audio quality. On numerous sound quality tests, the iPhone 3g beats out other phones in this area. Frequency response is excellent and voices sound clear and natural, with no bias to one frequency that would make voices sound tinny or weird.

The Nokia 5800 will be subjected to these sorts of tests once it is rolled out in the United States, and possibly sooner. For now, consider the Apple iPhone superior in audio quality.

Camera and Video

Every serious contender in the wireless phone market these days needs to have an onboard camera and video capability as well. This area is where the Nokia 5800 Tube phone excels in almost every area.

The Nokia handset features a 3.2 megapixel camera with a Carl Zeiss lens. Both the video and photography aspects of this phone win out over the Apple iPhone. Not only is video easily captured on the Nokia 5800, but sharing images and videos are a snap was just a single touch.

Apple rarely disappoints consumers with their innovative and unique products, but the absence of video capability on the iPhone is one where they fell flat. If you are considering either of these phones for their video capability, though Nokia 5800 wins out hands down. The specific screen resolutions of each phone are listed below:

Iphone: 480 by 320 Nokia 5800: 640 by 360

Ease of use

It goes without saying that the whole idea of behind a touchscreen phone is the simplicity of actually operating it day in and day out. The Apple iPhone has gotten rave reviews for its ease of use. The question is whether the Nokia 5800 will be more attractive to consumers from a practical standpoint after using a variety of features on a daily basis.

One feature that comes in handy on any phone activate it with your voice. The Nokia 5800 comes with capability, whereas the iPhone does not. This is a major feature when it comes to ease of use.

Battery power

A reliable and long-lasting battery capability is something that consumers are concerned with. The Nokia 5800 can apparently provide up to 35 hrs of music playing time. The Apple iPhone claims to have a 24 hour battery life before being recharged. Overall battery power (talktime/standby) is also about 30% more in Nokia 5800. The Nokia 5800 has a removable battery, where as the Apple iPhone does not.

iPhone: 5 hrs talk-time, 300 hrs standby, not removable. Nokia 5800: 8.8 hrs talk-time, 406 hrs standby, removable battery.

Music

If there is one thing that the Nokia 5800 is designed for it is playing music. Downloading music tracks on this device is easy and fast thanks to a wide variety of transfer options available. The phone itself allows a variety of music formats including MP3, M4A, AAC and the WMA.

With a 16 MB memory card installed this phone can hold up to 6000 songs and is even equipped with FM radio. Moreover, you can actually make a phone call while you are listening to a song or you can set a ringing alarm clock to your favorite song. Connecting to a computer is a snap as well.

Not only do you have a lot of decisions to make when deciding on the Apple iPhone or the Nokia 5800 [http://www.nokia5800phone.com] but you even have to consider new models that will be released in the next six months. The Google phone, or G-phone as it is aptly called, is another contender that will muddy the water for consumers. Another rival competitor will be the Blackberry Storm.

Other companies such as Samsung,LG, and HTC to knock the iPhone off its pedestal, no company has been able to do so. They simply could not match the iPhone in the overall style and features.

This is the first time a tech giant like Nokia has been able to produce a product come this close to overpowering the popular iPhone. Other companies such as Samsung,LG, and HTC to knock the iPhone off its pedestal, no company has been able to do so.