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Buying Guide: The Best Apple Product Alternatives
Contents
- Cell Phones and Portable Media Players
- Laptops, Desktops, and Media Extenders
With the iPad available for pre-order and hitting stores on April 3rd, Apple fever is in full swing. The allure of Apple products is a powerful thing, yet somehow, unlike most of your friends, you have managed to steer clear of the iPhones and iPods staring you down from all those giant billboards. You choose originality, and for this, we admire you. Whether it's a limited budget or an anti-Apple stance that stops you from shelling out, say, $2,500 for a MacBook Pro, take solace in the fact that you'll find plenty of competing PC laptops that will serve you just as well.
In fact, for each item on the Apple roster, there's a non-Apple alternative that comes close, and, in some cases, even performs better and costs less. We've got an ideal and a budget pick to compete with each mainstream Apple offering. What we don't yet have are alternatives for the yet-to-be-reviewed iPad—but for everything else, read on. Click on the links for full reviews.
Included in this Roundup:
Cell Phones
Apple iPhone 3GS (AT&T) ($199, 
)
When it first came out, the iPhone was dubbed the Jesus Phone. Three years later, it seems like every other person has one—their eyes glued to the gorgeous 3.5-inch touch screen. Sure, these people annoy you, yet you envy their ability to check e-mail and surf the Web on the go with such ease, solving trivial disputes among friends with a few screen taps. Honestly, there aren't many phones that can do what the iPhone does with such grace, but that's not to say there isn't any worthy competition.
Ideal Alternative
Google Nexus One (T-Mobile) ($179, 
)
Just like the iPhone, Google's flagship phone is a slim, speedy, powerful touch screen slab with a great Web browser and thousands of apps.
Less-Expensive Alternative
Samsung Mythic SGH-a897 (AT&T) ($129.99, )
Samsung's Mythic is a simpler alternative to the iPhone. It's not a smartphone, which means it isn't focused on apps, but it does feature a nice touch screen, Web-based widgets, and one thing that the iPhone doesn't: broadcast TV.
Portable Media Players (PMPs)
Apple iPod touch (3rd generation) ($299, 
)
We won't lie: You won't find a PMP that outperforms the iPod touch. Name another player that's basically an iPhone without the phone, and, well…you can't. There aren't many low-price touch-screen PMPs worth recommending either. Even so, the touch isn't the only touch-screen player on the block.
Ideal Alternative
Sony X Series Walkman (NWZ-X1051) ($299.95, )
The typical Walkman strengths—ease-of-use, great sound, and high-quality noise cancellation—now come with a touch screen, integrated Wi-Fi, and free music.
Less-Expensive Alternative
Microsoft Zune HD ($199.99, 
)
While both are solid players, we actually like the Zune HD more than the Walkman X Series overall—but you can get the Zune for less these days, so it makes more sense as our less-expensive alternative. With a fantastic OLED touch screen, a top-notch Web browser, and a wireless music store, the Zune HD is the best non-iTunes-based PMP you can buy.
Apple iPod nano (5th generation) ($179, )
Aside from the iPod classic—which isn't on this list because, frankly, there aren't many hard-disk-based PMPs out there any more—the nano is the longest-standing iPod family member, and it's gone through several iterations, getting better every time. The concept is basic: tiny, cute, and brimming with cool features. The nano is the best player in its price range, but if you don't live in the iTunes universe, you do have other options.
Ideal Alternative
Samsung Q2 ($129.99, )
If the Samsung Q2 offered more robust file support, it might really give the iPod nano a run for its money. Still, it's well designed, has an intuitive interface, and is a great bargain for an easy-to-use, low-capacity MP3 player.
Less-Expensive Alternative
Coby MP705 ($49.99, 
)
Coby's attractive, inexpensive, low-capacity portable media player fuses MP3, video, and photo players, an FM radio with programmable presets, and earbuds that won't fall out of your ears, for 50 bucks.
Apple iPod shuffle (3rd generation) ($59, )
Now here's an iPod with some worthy competition. The shuffle works just fine, but for the money, you can get a player with a screen to navigate your music visually instead of just listening to playlists or random selections from your iPod's brain. Affordability is a given in this category, so here are two of our favorites:
Ideal Alternative
SanDisk Sansa Clip+ ($39.99, )
A microSD slot has been added, but not a lot else has changed since the last Sansa Clip iteration. Even so, this budget MP3 player still does a lot more than the iPod shuffle—and for less.
Ideal Alternative
Samsung U5 ($39.99, )
Although its purported fitness features are slight, the inexpensive U5's small size and tight-fitting, decent-sounding earbuds still make it a good choice for the gym. —next: Laptops, Desktops, and Media Extenders >