iPhone, Tube, G1, KP500 – touch screen phones are in

It looks like we’re entering in a new level in the technology of mobile phones — touch screen equipped cell phones. Touch screens are not some new technology. They’ve been around for quite a while. What’s new about them is the way we are beginning to use them — without styluses and just using our fingers to interact with the touch screen.

With the Apple iPhone 3G’s launch in the Philippines. The recent release of the Android open mobile platform enabled T-mobile G1 cell phone, the soon to be released Nokia 5800 (better known as the Nokia Tube) and now the just announced LG KP500 from LG Electronics.

The Apple iPhone 3G actually introduced the very unique touch interface which makes it quite easy to use even with out a physical keyboard.

The T-mobile G1 offers a mobile phone that is also quite unique on it’s own. Besides the 3D graphics and GPS features of the mobile phone, the T-mobile G1 uses the Android open mobile platform which uses Linux as the operating system and an application environment based on Java. What’s great about it is that anyone has access to the complete Android source code and SDK which allows you to do some cool stuff on the mobile phone if you want to.

The most talked about Nokia mobile phone to date is probably the Nokia Tube. This is because not only does it sport a finger touch screen, it seems that the Nokia Research Team is hard at work to offer the very first mobile phone with a “virtual tactile” feature on the finger touch screens.

LG Electronics is focusing on bringing touch screens to the masses. With the recent announcement of the LG KP500, LG is promising a touch screen enabled mobile phone that will be at an affordable price point that what has been offered so far. The LG KP500 features full touch screen using the latest touch technology and features found in the existing high-end touch screen handsets.

Hmmm, makes me really curious as to the cost of this mobile phone. Maybe, I’ll just have to put off on buying my next mobile phone for now. We’ll soon find out soon. LG estimates that the mobile phone will be available in Europe by end of October and then rolled out to the rest of the world.