(Image Credit: tipb.com)
So, Apple’s new iPhone 4 was announced today, which phone is better? iPhone 4G or HTC Evo 4G (Android Phones)?
Let’s run down the specs list and see who wins:
Network: AT&T versus Sprint/Verizon/T-Mobile
Clearly, AT&T loses big time due to its recent “limited” data plans while everyone else offers unlimited plans. Of course, AT&T’s argument is that 90% of people will save money with the new plan but I disagree, that’s just an excuse to charge a whopping fine for those who “accidentally” go over the data limit. Why on earth would AT&T do anything to lessen their profits? Simple answer, they won’t.
Plus AT&T’s dropped calls make it the worst network for those who intend to use the smartphone as a business communication device. On the other hand, I have Sprint and T-Mobile, both never drop calls, maybe once or twice a year at most.
Winner: HTC Evo 4G and Android Phones
Operating System: iOS 4 versus Android 2.1/2.2
I guess operating system isn’t too big of a deal, iOS4 is up to par with Android 2.1 and 2.2 except you can’t play certain things like Flash and put different ROMs like Android can. For example, I put HTC Desire ROM on my Nexus One, virtually making it into two devices out of one.
For people who like hacking their phone to do much more such as add wifi tethering (for free), I think Android is much better and there’s a much bigger open-source community behind it.
While Steve Jobs and Apple might have (finally) introduced multi-tasking to iOS4, it’s still crude and nothing compared to Android’s multi-tasking, which its OS is built upon.
With great HTC Sense UI on most Android phones nowadays (or you can manually install them too), I think UI experience is about the same on both iOS4 and Android OS.
Winner: HTC Evo 4G and Android Phones
Screen Size: 3.5-inch iPhone 4 versus 4.3-inch HTC Evo 4G
Here’s a critical mistake Steve Jobs and Apple made (I think), they kept the same screen size. Personally, after using a whopping 4.3-inch screen on the HTC Evo 4G, anything less than that makes typing on multi-touch keyboards tedious.
Just an inch of more space makes all the difference in browsing websites without squinching your eyes and also be able to actually write longer e-mails.
I think Apple saves a lot of money by pretty much keeping the screen size the same but like the Palm Pre story (where Pre Plus came out in the exact same hardware), this isn’t anything new.
Apple now has a much higher resolution LCD on the iPhone 4 but that’s not as important as the actual screen size because you are not going to be using the phone in front of your nose.
Winner: HTC Evo 4G and Android Phones
Processor: Apple A4 versus Snapdragon 1Ghz
I guess processor speeds are about even. There’s no real telling until Apple iPhone 4 is tested side-by-side with an Android phone.
Draw.
Storage: 16GB/32GB versus 8GB microSD
Apple iPhone 4 comes with either 16GB or 32GB while HTC Evo 4G and other Android phones come with 8GB microSD.
For iPhone 4, you are paying up-front and more dollars for your storage while on HTC Evo 4G and other Android phones, you have the option to easily upgrade the microSD card to a 16GB or 32GB card.
And don’t forget that you can always carry multiple microSD cards and swap them out for virtually unlimited storage.
Apple want you to pay them for storage, not SD card companies. For that, Android phones clearly win here.
Winner: HTC Evo 4G and Android Phones
Data Speed: AT&T EDGE/HSPA versus Sprint 3G and 4G/T-mobile 3G/Verizon 3G
Clearly, HTC Evo 4G has an advantage over iPhone 4 in terms of data speeds with ability to do both 3G and 4G.
There’s a lot of hype out there that AT&T marketing team sent out saying their network is the “fastest” network in the U.S. In all personal testing done by myself in the last 4 years, AT&T never came out on top, rather Sprint or Verizon did.
With 4G on Sprint, you can’t deny that there’s a better/faster data network. Of course, it’s being “still” deployed throughout the U.S. as we speak but your investment now could mean 4G speeds by November in your city this year. Then you will be laughing at anyone on 3G.
Even Steve Jobs admits AT&T has faults, this is something he cannot fix.
Winner: HTC Evo 4G and Android Phones
Camera: 5MP iPhone 4 versus 8MP on HTC Evo 4G
iPhone 4 came out with a camera hardware specs that are not up to par with HTC Evo 4G’s “whopping” 8 megapixels.
Which one would you rather have, 5 megapixels or 8 megapixels? You get my point.
Winner: HTC Evo 4G and Android Phones
TV Out: iPhone’s VGA versus HTC Evo 4G’s 720P HD HDMI
Of course, iPhone 4 had to include a “VGA” output for TV out. Personally I think that’s ridiculous, Apple could have done a little bit better there.
On the other hand HTC Evo 4G does 720P HD via micro HDMI cable, that’s HD!
It’s night and day between VGA versus HD. VGA is so 80s, who wants that anyways?
Winner: HTC Evo 4G and Android Phones
Wifi Hotspot
iPhone 4 doesn’t have any wifi hotspot capabilities while the HTC Evo 4G comes with one. Of course, there’s even ways to get free wifi tethering on the HTC Evo 4G as I found out. These days, smartphones aren’t just for browsing the web on the phone, they should be able to tether multiple devices also.
Winner: HTC Evo 4G and Android Phones
Apps
Apple clearly has a lead on number of “official” apps available but Android is catching up rather quickly. Plus, there’s a ton of Android apps that aren’t counted (such as the Wifi Tether app).
The best thing about Android? There’s more free apps.
For example, you will need to pay about $3.99 PER game for Sega games on the iPhone while on Android, you can download Sega emulator app for free and load as many ROMs as you can find, freely available for download on the web.
If you like paying for your apps and you have a big wallet, iPhone 4 is definitely the way to go but if you want to save that money for your kid’s college trust fund, Android is definitely the choice for smart & savvy consumers.
Winner: HTC Evo 4G and Android Phones
6-axis Accelerometer on iPhone 4 versus 3-axis Accelerometer on HTC Evo 4G!
Steve Jobs tried to “market” iPhone 4 as a phone with a gyroscope. But as an engineer who has worked closely with accelerometers before, that’s just the same thing as a 6-axis accelerometer. (Nice try Stevie!)
6-axis accelerometer definitely will be able to do more than a 3-axis accelerometer but the big question is, do you really need this?
Time will tell but I don’t think it’s as useful as it’s being marketed. But iPhone 4 does win this one for having a better accelerometer.
Winner: iPhone 4
Navigation
HTC Evo 4G and other Android phones come with FREE Google Maps with Navigation, which is completely free to use and works better than Tom Toms and whatnot.
On the other hand, you need to “buy” an app for that on an iPhone 4. Plus, those GPS apps on iPhone 4 are nothing compared to what Google Navigation offers with Satellite/Street View and also ability to store GPS locations under your GMail contacts, which are automatically saved across Google’s cloud.
Winner: HTC Evo 4G and Android Phones
Google Apps
GMail, Google Maps, Google Voice, and all Google apps are seamlessly integrated with HTC Evo 4G and Android phones while iPhone 4 lacks a lot of that such as Google Voice and Google Navigation.
If you use a lot of Google’s services, Android is definitely better. Like I have two Android phones now but my e-mail and contacts are automatically stored/synced, I don’t have to worry about it just because I have two phones.
With Google Voice, I can also manage all of my multiple phones into just one number, which is great because I plan on getting maybe 5 more smartphones by next year, which will be a havoc without access to Google Voice constantly.
iPhone 4 Versus HTC Evo 4G, which one is better?
Definitely, HTC Evo 4G is better in my mind with a ton more features and usability. And most of all? I like saving money on apps that I don’t have to buy such as GPS navigation or extra fees for tethering.
Of course, you can still get the iPhone 4 but I am just saying, I don’t see anything about the iPhone 4 that is worth getting.
The biggest factor here is the screen size, HTC Evo 4G is so much better for mobile computer period.
One more knockout punch for iPhone 4, HTC Evo comes with a kickstand and you can easily swap batteries. Get two batteries for longer double the usage if you want and iPhone 4 cannot do both of those.
Yup, I am lovin’ HTC Evo 4G, you should get one too.
15 Responses to iPhone 4 Versus HTC Evo 4G, Which Phone is Better?
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Zedomax I agree to disagree with nearly 90% of points you make here.
I wont come in here and bash you but almost every single paragraph is flawed with biases and no explanations behind your logic.
You just sound like your trying waaaaaay to hard to find ways the HTC Evo competes with iPhone 4, when in fact, you deep down inside know its a Honda Civic to an Audi.
Im not here to argue Semantics but if you know information technology well enough you will know that the operating system iOS 4 is far more intelligent, user-friendly, reliable, and intuitive.
Hardware isnt even up for discussion the iPhone is superior in all aspects.
I actually got to see the HTC Evo hands on, what a disappointment! My friend said the battery life is so bad he is trying to return it. This thing is loaded with a huge fault, battery issues, when using 4G it disappointingly shuts off after soaking up battery life.
Everyone also knows how disappointing the Camera is. Videos look like non-HD videos and resemble merely the quality of a 3GS or even 3G with Cycorder with better fps.
The phone overall is maybe half of what the iPhone 4 is at best.
Its your opinion, you can be constantly charging your Evo and wondering why the camera just isnt up to par, and how your OS is on everyother device and shares no uniqueness from the guy next to you. OR, you can own an iPhone 4, technology at its best, with hours more battery life, more applications, Cydia and all the third party, SDK, developmental projects, themes, applications, enhancements, and actually OS rendering plug-ins (mobile substrate). Or you can have a huge clock on your springboard, are Android users blind? LOL DROOOIIIIIDDD
My review.
Sorry Zedo, we all have are opinions. Still love your blog besides your biasness. 🙂
LMAO at an HTC Evo owner at a bar.
Sexy girl asks for your number:
Hey “hold on good-looking” I need to pull out my backup battery, my phone wasnt engineered correctly, but it has a stand. HAHAHAHAHA
You need to also understand the difference between megapixels and quality as well. 8 megapixels means nada my friend. Unfortunately resolution has nothing to do with image capturing quality, hence the reason the “8 megapixels” is disappointingly taking crappy photos.
Here is a much less biased review from a non “ANDROID IS GOD” view:
http://www.mobilecrunch.com/2010/05/31/htc-evo-4g-sprint-review/
haha, love ur opinions, keep em coming, I barely have enough time to blog because I spent all day playing with my Evo, it’s that good!
Hey at least my phone didn’t die as I changed my batteries in the bathroom and came back to the hot girl and she was so damn impressed while her iPhone died from using it all day and no battery replacement in the bathroom available for her. Then she thoroughly enjoyed you using your HTC Evo 4G on 4G network to show her some dance moves you uploaded to YouTube last night, without waiting.
I have to admit video quality on HTC Evo can be lacking when you move around too much but that’s same thing for every smartphone. As far as megapixels, pixels don’t lie. If iPhone 4 has a better “lens” with better “aperture”, that might be a plus but as far as I know, I don’t expect to use either Evo 4G nor iPhone 4 for recording anything close to professional. Most of my YouTube videos are using my $2000 Canon 7D, there’s a gadget for everything and both HTC Evo and iPhone 4 cannot really do anything more than for personal uses.
If you asked me which one I’d use for my work, i would say both HTC Evo and iPhone 4 are CRAP, and they are if you want to compare with the “best” cameras in the world.
But the point is, we want to use them for personal videos, nothing more than that right now until technology improves and smartphones can do 1080P 24P videos with at least 18megapixels. We are slowly getting there, maybe next year.
I have to disagree, pixels dont lie is an overrated statement. Pixels dont ever necessitate quality, taking a quality picture doesnt come from slapping a higher megapixel camera on a phone it comes from the careful engineering and r&d to capture the best picture with hopefully a decent amount of megapixel. For example two cameras, one has 8 megapixel the other has 5. It is possible for the 5 to have higher quality videos and pictures but the POTENTIAL is higher to have a better quality picture with a higher megapixel camera.
As for having two batteries, the funny thing is my iPhone was charged a day and a half ago and theres still 7% battery life left. Having to change a battery is not 2010 by any means. Being able to charge an electronic component wirelessly however is.
Yeah, battery isn’t really the issue, if you use your iPhone all day, you are not gonna get a full day out of it simply because of limits of smartphone hardware. It doesn’t really matter what smartphone you use, they all pretty much suck at battery life if you ask me. But having a swappable battery is much better than having none at all, that’s just how I think. But so far, I’ve never had to charge my Evo 4G more than once every 2 days, battery life is actually good if you are “smart” about how to use your phone. Your average Joe opens like 20 apps and forget to close them, that’s when your battery dies caz of stupidity.
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i have evo 4g to and the battery is not the best but i keep it charged every time i get a chance and other than that it been a good phone 2 me i love the big screen and i live in nj and i never had my phone drop a call in like 8 years so sprint keep up the good work
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In psychology we call this envy. It’s obvious that you want an iPhone so badly but by getting one you need to admit everything your ego is dependent upon – knowing arcane minutia about work around’s & hacks to make inferior products function as they should have been originally designed – is unnecessary and a waste of time since the logarithmic pace of technology soon renders your briefly pained efforts arcane.
Apple represents to you a threat. They obviously have the bigger ‘one’ and you are intimidated that they are not interested in letting people like you ‘play’ at being a ‘helpy-helperton’ tech dork with their ‘adult’ product. Ultimately their solutions are intuitive, elegant and polished & rarely if ever require explanations for the gen public to figure out how to use them. And that’s the true definition of knowing what you are doing – that you can make it so that even a lay person can understand it. In point – I said ‘lay person’ not pedantic engineer.
Actually, I have one now, I still prefer Evo 4G and iPhone 4, screen is too small for me, it’s harder to type than Evo 4G. Apple is a threat to life, they sell these over-marketed iPhone 4s that are not really all that, especially when you consider the clearly faulty antenna problems Apple refuses to accept and in denial. That, is what turns away, not the phone, but the corporate culture.
You have to leave corporate culture behind. Its only a phone not a lifestyle dude.
Iphone still cannot handle a calendar invite without an active sync to an exchange server. Only in 2009 did Iphone get the ability to send pictures via SMS. Get the picture? iOS4 finally got the ability to multitask on a few apple approved tasks. Iphone is a nice piece of tech but it has so many weaknesses to truly make it efficient that I had to switch to Android. Battery life is about the same as my 3GS as far as “feel” goes. Anybody who has used a 3GS knows the battery life sucks and has adjusted their charging habits according. Moving to an EVO is no different. Plus, if I had to, I can buy a 3800mAh battery and it could go all day without a hitch with heavy usage which I could not do on my Iphone.