In recent days, the consecutive high-temperature weather in Beijing can be considered a rare occurrence over the past decade. Similarly, in the gray-market smartphone sector, the arrival of flagship new products like the iPhone 4 and Samsung i9000 in July garnered explosive attention. This week, the popularity of these products has continued to rise day by day, inevitably linking them to this scorching weather—another once-in-a-decade event. Below, let’s take a look at the top five gray-market phones that received the most attention this week.
**Model: Nokia C3**
Reference Price: 1350 RMB (Modified Version)
Popularity Level: ★
Gray-market phones with full keyboards are becoming increasingly common. Models such as Nokia's E71, E72, and E63 have all received good responses. However, this newly launched C3-00 is a model based on the Symbian S40 platform. Recently, this gray-market phone arrived at Guangzhou Feihong Mobile with a price tag of 1350 RMB. The Nokia C3 features a straight-board design with a Qwerty keyboard, similar to the classic E-series model E71. Upon closer inspection, however, it lacks the iconic menu key found on S60 gray-market phones. That's right! The Nokia C3 is a non-smartphone using the S40 operating platform and is also the first product in the S40 history to feature a full keyboard design. As the C series is mostly positioned for the mid-to-low-end market, the Nokia C3 does not bring any particularly surprising features. It is equipped with a 2.4-inch QVGA resolution TFT screen, an integrated 2-megapixel camera, and supports WiFi. On top of its built-in 55MB memory, it also offers expandable storage via MicroSD cards up to 8GB. The phone comes in three colors: black, pink, and champagne gold. The eye-catching pink version is likely to appeal to female users.
Editor's Comment: Before Symbian3 is fully popularized, Nokia can only launch some relatively mainstream gray-market phones to meet consumer needs. Of course, the design of this C3 still deserves attention. The current price of 1350 RMB for this model is quite reasonable, so if you're interested, don't hesitate to make a move.
**Model: HTC Desire**
Reference Price: 3850 RMB (Modified Version)
Popularity Level: ★★
The rapid development of the Google system has caught many people off guard, putting immense pressure even on Mr. Jobs. After all, perhaps the only real competitor to the iPhone gray-market phones today is the newcomer Google. As a flagship gray-market phone in the Google camp, the HTC Desire is highly anticipated. Not only does it use the Android 2.1 operating system, but it also boasts a 1GHz processor. With its system upgraded to Android 2.2, this gray-market phone will perform even stronger and faster, naturally drawing explosive attention.
In terms of appearance, the HTC Desire features a full-touch design. Its dimensions are 119x60x11.9mm, weighing 135g, with a rounded body that feels comfortable even when held with one hand. On the front of the device is a 3.7-inch AMOLED capacitive touchscreen that supports multi-touch gestures. Beneath the screen, the Desire has replaced the trackball with a combination of physical buttons and an optical touch panel. In practical use, the touch keys are more responsive while the physical keys offer better tactile feedback; which is better depends on personal preference.
The HTC Desire runs the latest Android 2.1 operating system and features HTC's Sense interface, providing a very beautiful and user-friendly human-machine interface. Additionally, the built-in browser supports FLASH playback, offering a more complete web experience. Hardware-wise, the Desire uses a Qualcomm QSD8250 processor with a clock speed of 1GHz, which is currently a top-of-the-line configuration on the market. It has a memory combination of 512M ROM + 572M RAM, ensuring smooth operation. The phone is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera that supports flash and has decent photo-taking capabilities.
Editor's Comment: It is worth noting that the issue of screen touch-point offset, which was hotly debated among netizens regarding the Nexus One, has not been improved upon in the HTC Desire, which is somewhat disappointing. However, the current price of this phone maintains a roughly 400 RMB advantage over the Nexus One, and its configuration has seen a slight improvement. Therefore, in terms of cost-effectiveness, it is superior to the Nexus One and more worthy of purchase.
**Model: Motorola Milestone**
Reference Price: 2540 RMB (Modified Version)
Popularity Level: ★★★
The Milestone is a turnaround product for Motorola. This gray-market phone uses the currently popular Android 2.0 operating system, demonstrating exceptional functionality. Combined with its mainstream full-keyboard design, it has won recognition from many consumers. However, with the exposure of the Android 2.2 system, everyone began to focus on whether this product could be upgraded to 2.2, along with its consistently high popularity, making it one of the most watched products this week.
The Motorola Milestone is equipped with the latest Android 2.0 operating system, featuring a 600MHz OMAP3 processor identical to that of the iPhone 3GS and a TICortex A8 processor core, as well as 512MB ROM and 256MB RAM. Theoretically, its system operation speed is twice that of the HTC Hero, surprising many players.
The Motorola Milestone has upgraded to the latest version of Google Maps, and Android 2.0 will further utilize voice control systems. Additionally, Android supports Microsoft Exchange email services and improves the system's email functions, such as integrating multiple different accounts and providing a unified email inbox, making usage more convenient and fast.
Editor's Comment: The new operating system and user interface give us a brand-new operational experience. Within a short period, this phone achieved a sales miracle of nearly a hundred units, proving that it is a very worthwhile strong machine to own. Currently, this gray-market phone has dropped to 2540 RMB, and fans who like it can now make their move.
**Model: Samsung i9000**
Reference Price: 3550 RMB (Modified Version)
Popularity Level: ★★★★
For the name Samsung i9000, many consumers are already very familiar with it. This gray-market phone was rumored to be launched in April, but it was delayed for two months. Although the initial listing price soared to 6000 RMB, under the impact of the iPhone 4, the price of this gray-market phone plummeted rapidly to 3550 RMB. Coupled with its excellent performance, it became one of the most watched flagship products this week.
In terms of appearance, the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S adopts a currently popular straight-board design, with dimensions of 122.4×64.2×9.9 mm and a weight of 118g, feeling very solid and exuding a sense of power when held. The Samsung I9000 Galaxy S features a 4.0-inch Super AMOLED screen with a resolution of 480×800 pixels and 16.77 million colors, delivering extremely fine display results and providing us with a good visual experience.
Performance-wise, the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S uses Google Android 2.1, paired with an ARM Cortex A8 1GHz super processor, with 8GB internal memory and 512MB program running memory, ensuring smooth machine operation. The device also supports 32GB expansion cards. Additionally, the Samsung I9000 Galaxy S is equipped with a 5-megapixel camera featuring digital zoom, face recognition, and anti-shake technology, with a maximum resolution of 2592×1944, capable of easily handling daily shooting needs. The phone also supports A-GPS navigation, making travel convenient.
Editor's Comment: The Samsung I9000 Galaxy S, paired with an ARM Cortex A8 1GHz super processor, boasts extremely powerful performance. Together with the AMOLED screen, this gray-market phone is truly a flagship gray-market phone.
**Model: iPhone 4**
Reference Price: 8580 RMB (Modified Version)
Popularity Level: ★★★★★
On June 24th, the iPhone 4, which drew global attention, was launched in five countries including the United States. In less than a week, they appeared in the domestic market. However, the US locked version was hyped up to a sky-high price of 12,800 RMB, leaving consumers sighing wistfully. This made the Hong Kong version of the iPhone 4 receive even more anticipation, becoming the most watched product this week.
The white version of the iPhone 4 differs significantly in shape compared to the previous three generations, otherwise where would Apple's creativity come from? The iPhone 4 does not continue the curved edge design but instead adopts a sharp-edged flat back cover, moving the volume button on the left side of the body to two round independent buttons. Additionally, the power, mute buttons, and side frame of the body are all crafted from metal materials.
The iPhone 4 is equipped with the same Apple A4 processor as the iPad, with a clock speed of 1GHz based on the ARM Cortex-A9 architecture and an integrated PowerVR SGX53 graphics engine. It features a 5-megapixel autofocus camera with an integrated LED flash, supporting 5x zoom. Moreover, the iPhone 4 includes HD video recording capability at 30fps resolution (720P) and features built-in video editing and one-touch sharing functions.
Editor's Comment: Apart from Apple's dazzling halo, countless highlights can be easily found on the iPhone 4—the world's thinnest smartphone, six-axis gravity sensing technology, Retina display, and superior video editing capabilities—all enough to crown the iPhone 4 without any doubt.