Which is best: Nokia E71, Apple iPhone 3G or HTC Dream with Android?

I’ve been holding off on buying my next mobile phone for quite a while to be able to choose from the Nokia E71, the Apple iPhone 3G and the upcoming HTC Dream which has Google’s Android installed (been reading that it’s coming out on September 23 in the US).

First of all, I hope we can get some better photos of the HTC Dream — side by side with the Nokia E71 and the Apple iPhone it’s a goner!

Display: Nokia is way off on this one at only 320×240 pixels. I would love to be able to browse the Net with a bigger screen resolution than that! Apple iPhone has a 480×320 resolution but I think the sweet spot is something in the area of 800×400 which kinda makes a Nokia 810 great device for browsing

Keyboard: Although Apple’s touchscreen has a virtual keyboard, I would definitely like something real to touch so Nokia and HTC is leading on this front. Virtual keyboards are still a no go with out tactile feedback. With the Nokia E71, you don’t have to pull out the keyboard but at the expense of a smaller screen.

Calls: The Nokia E71 is looking good in this area. Apple’s new iPhone 3G has been having problems with signal and just came out with version 2.1 of the software which hopefully fixes the problem. HTC Dream is still just a DREAM.

Features: Both Nokia E71 and Apple iPhone support Microsoft Exchange which is great for the “suites” but I don’t really care that much since I don’t really use Microsoft Exchange on my home network. Particularly nice feature about the extra security Nokia E71 offers of wiping out data in case the phone got stolen.

Bluetooth: A2DP is definitely a must for me! Good for the Nokia E71 and the Apple iPhone. Not really clear with the HTC Dream.

Games: Hands down Nokia E71 wins this arena which offers J2ME or mobile Java therefore you’ll have lots of games to choose from. Apple is just beginning in this area with it’s iPhone and kinda slow since not everyone is able to use its SDK for creating games. HTC will have to play catch up.

Photos and Videos: The Nokia E71 has a higher 3.2 mega-pixel camera with autofocus and flash while the iPhone only has a 2.0 mega-pixel camera with no auto-focus and no flash. No news about it on the HTC Dream.

Location aware applications: This is one area that’s really the way to go. Nobody is a clear winner in this one. US has good maps but closed mobile phone network so not everyone is able to put out a really good location aware application to use. Europe is better but I don’t have any experience on how they are really doing with Nokia Maps. I can tell you that in the Philippines it is practically non-existent which I hope will change.

Availability (in the Philippines): Nokia E71 is available at about 23,000 pesos; The Apple iPhone 3G is available at about 25,000 pesos. The HTC Dream — I’m stll dreaming that it will be available sometime soon I hope.

So what do you think is the best phone to get?

Update: I’ve spent some time trying out the Nokia E71 and Apple iPhone 3G and wrote something about the experience.