The next iPhone-superphone

Here is a phrase you’re never likely to hear: The next iPhone-superphone. Apple will tell you it’s because the iPhone is already a superphone and they won’t make anything subpar, but Android users know different. Lucky for us we use an operating system that’s free to phone manufacturers everywhere, meaning we will forever have a variety of phone styles and hardware specs to choose from. Unluckily for us this also means our phones become outdated a month after we buy them as I just learned with the release of the HTC Droid Incredible. It was nice knowing you, HTC Desire.

With that, Androidheadlines have delegated me the potentially controversial task of telling everybody what I would like to see from the next Android superphone. This can only ever be objective, so don’t playa-hate me for my choices. If there is anything girly about it blame my wife for reading over my shoulder. She insists every phone be ‘pretty’. My usual response is: ‘You mean pretty powerful?’.

I’m treating this as something realistic, so of all of the technology available to us, what would I like to see? Well let’s break it down like (most) phone companies do: What’s it look like, what do we call it, and realistically, what can we put in it?
The maker

As there are countless Apple fanboys out there, there is also a new wave of fanboys of which I am a part – HTC fanboys. Hence it should come as no surprise that the next Android superphone should, and will come from HTC. Anybody who has used or at least looked at the HTC range of phones knows that they are almost always of the highest quality. They are stylish, sturdy and they work very well. My first HTC phone was a Windows Mobile HTC S620. I dropped that thing more times than I can remember and it still works to this day. Being a Windows Mobile phone I even intentionally threw it across the room one time and all that happened was that the battery case came off. That was also the moment I realised that HTC, and Microsoft, will live forever. A HTC phone it is.
The name

One of the things that make Android phones as hip as they are is the variety of names. Take for example the G1, the Droid, the Nexus One, the Hero, the Legend, the Desire (for the effeminately inclined) and most recently the Droid Incredible. Therefore it’s a given that the next superphone have a super-name. As the next superphone will come from HTC, and they just released the Droid Incredible, we have to allow some time for Motorola and (unfortunately) Samsung and LG to get a few models out. In the interest of consistency, the phones leading up to the HTC superphone shall be called: The LG Crimson, the Samsung Emnisia, the Motorola Cyborg, followed by the HTC superphone, aptly named the HTC Cyborg Infinità. History has a way of repeating itself. I don’t make the rules.
The body

Allow me to go on record as saying that the Droid Incredible is ugly. I really really don’t like it. It’s in the interest of good feng shui that a phone have consistent curves and a balance of the elements, and a feng shui study of the iPhone is a testament to it’s success. Nice curves, smooth all over, and a simplistic zen-like design. This is also, by the way, why I think the iPhone 4G prototype reported by Gizmodo is not likely to be as well received as it’s predecessor.

I’m not the most creatively-inclined person alive, but I know what I like when I see it and not usually before, so I tread delicately in saying that the HTC Legend was on the right track in terms of design. I would like something similar, but with the following modifications:

The removal of the chin. It should be straightened out completely, the trackball kept but moved down and the extra real estate used for a larger screen. If possible, I would like to see the phone either rounded out to be shaped similar to the HTC Desire/Nexus One, but still with the look and button placement of the Legend.

Now y’all know I’m no Apple fanboy, but when it comes to aesthetics I have to admit they are the best in the business. This is why I would like to take a page out of the iPod’s book and suggest the new design also be made available in a variety of metallic colours. Women are slowly moving to Android, we know that much, but until we get a pink Android phone men and women will never be one (technologically, that is). And yes, I am serious. I want the option for a pink, metallic, Android phone. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to yoga.
The Specs

My HTC Desire runs beautifully. I hardly ever experience lag, and it’s only running Android 2.1 on a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor. Androidheadlines recently reported that the new Android operating system, Android 2.2 (also called Froyo) may be 450% faster than the current Android 2.1 OS. This is great, except that with increases in technology it’s not as though phone manufacturers will say, “Eh, good enough!” and just stop making better phones. What will happen is, like the computer, the things the phone can do will become more complex, and then the hardware will be improved again, and so on. Soon enough you’ll be photoshopping cellulite off Giselle’s backside on your fourth generation HTC Cyborg Infinita’. For now though, I say the following should be expected:

* The processor on the next superphone need not be and will not be any higher than a 1.33Ghz or 1.66Ghz Snapdragon processor. This is natural progression, I am NOT a genius. If I had to choose though, and I kind of do, I’m rolling with the 1.66.

* It MUST have 16GB internal memory, with a microSD card slot that I hope can be made external. Android users are tech-savvy, we know that much, but do you realise how it looks to the outside world when an Apple ‘Genius’ says to an enquiring customer, “Yes sir, the Android phones sure have become popular, but are you aware they still don’t have half of the storage that an iPhone does?!! That means you will only be able to take half the pictures and half of your iTunes music with you!” Technically speaking this is actually correct. My Desire can hold a 32GB microSD card, but it came with 4. No! We must get internal memory on our phones, AND a slot for more.

* A 3.7” AMOLED screen is a minimum, and I don’t want to hear any talk about smaller screens that this, ever! (If you even mention the 3.2” screen on the Legend I will hunt you down and take pictures of me beating you with my S620). Look, I debated between the Desire and the Legend when they were available for pre-order and it was a case of ‘pretty’ vs ‘pretty powerful’, but have you tried using a 3.2” touchscreen lately? I’m almost inclined to make it a 4” screen, except that I some people like tight jeans.

* NO QWERTY keyboard! It’s in the past people, let it go. As I would taunt my father because he couldn’t use the scroll wheel on a mouse, your kids will be taunting you for not being able to use a holographic keyboard. At least try to keep up.

* 1GB RAM, because we need it, and I want to take on the netbook for best specs.

* An 8 megapixel autofocus camera. What’s that you say? The Droid Incredible already has an 8 megapixel camera? Well, in the interest of actual progress as opposed to numerical selling points, I would like to see them keep it at 8 but actually invest more time and phone space in a better lense and whatever piece of technology it is that makes the photos look good. I would rather have a fantastic 8 megapixel camera than a crappy 10 megapixel one. I also want duel LED flash lights that are somehow spread in a way that they give the best light distribution for night pics. Look I don’t get how the technology works all that well, I just want a phone that actually takes pictures like a real camera.

* Everything else (GPS, Wifi, Bluetooth…) are standard and should go without saying. I don’t really care if it has Wireless N or a 44 channel GPS receiver, as long as it works as it should.

So there you have it, my expectations for the next Android superphone. A bigger, flatter HTC Legend, available in pink with better specs, built-in memory and the hippest name on the block. Both Pretty and Powerful. The HTC Cyborg Infinità.