jedthehumanoid
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I've been a long time Blackberry user, having had 7 or more Blackberries in the last 4 years or so. I've had an opportunity to do some testing of different platforms for work and have been using an Evo and iPhone 4 for a few weeks now - gotta say it's a bit weird walking around with 3 smartphones at any given moment. I've also been an iPad user since the day they were released so I've had some ongoing experience with iOS.
I consider myself to be fairly unbiased though I do really like all the Apple products I've used including my personal Macbook Pro, 3rd gen iPod Nano, and iPad.
Anyway, I've made some observations about all the devices I've used, and thought I'd share my thoughts on the Evo vs iPhone converstation.
The display of the iPhone 4 is beautiful. I was really impressed with the display on the Evo, which is also awesome, and then I picked up the iPhone and was amazed that something was even nicer than the Evo.
I definitely have found better coverage on Sprint in all the areas I've travelled, including northern Indiana, southern Michigan, Chicago, and Las Vegas. Some areas I've found that the iPhone didn't even get 3G service. The Blackberry I presently use (a 9650 Bold) on Verizon is consistently getting the best coverage.
I haven't found much difference in 3G speeds from AT&T to Sprint to Verizon in the areas I've had 3G service. Sprints 4G service has been great in the places I've made use of it, providing up to 19MB/s and generally 5MB/s by my personal testing. If I was going to use a device for tethering this would be awesome.
As far as applications go, nothing can compare to the Apple app store but I've found many of my favorite apps available on the Android Market. Poynt, Endomondo, Facebook, Tango, Mint, Urban Spoon, 1Password to name a few.
I've found the navigation that's built into the Evo to be better - I liked using the walking navigation as I wandered around Las Vegas and if the iPhone stuff that is available from AT&T for $10 a month or whatever it is does that, I couldn't find how to switch from driving to walking. That brings up the other thing, the price.... the Evo navigation is built in and free as part of the OS. The software is otherwise very comparable but I was impressed to see that it was included with the Evo.
I notice that I get fairly comparable battery life from both devices, and while I notice that the Evo has a removable battery that I can swap out, I don't ever carry a spare so that's moot to me. Both are easily charged by 110V charger, USB, or car charger and that works for me.... speaking of, both will go dead FAST using navigation so I consider a car charger a necessity for either if using navigation.
The big thing I see being a benefit of the Android OS is the ability to use widgets. While I can easily launch apps on the iPhone by pressing their icon, and can switch from app to app with the multitasking functionality, the Android lets me run small apps on each of the screens so I can get weather updates, flick switches to turn on or off wifi, gps, airplane mode, etc, or can have a screen filled with news feeds from Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr updates all integrated into one panel. I'd love to see the ability to use widgets added to iOS.... it's the strongest benefit to the Android OS I see overall.
The cameras are both great... love the HDR capacity of the iPhone but the Evo takes equally great pics... and it has a comparable Front Facing Camera..... I did find an app (Tango) that will let you use that front facing camera to talk to others and it supports iOS and Android so you can get the equivalent of Facetime on the Android phones and even talk to iPhone owners... thought it was great
As is most of this, I have another subjective observation.... that is that the Evo feels more abusable.... I guess what I mean is that as I hold the iPhone I feel fearful of dropping it. I just envision it shattering into pieces as if I dropped a saucer. I've dropped the Evo once onto asphalt and it has a bit of road rash but I was thinking, "Oh crap, I'm gonna scratch my new phone" as opposed to "oh crap, my new phone is going to shatter." That's not to say that I know the iPhone is that fragile, but just to say that as I hold it, I don't expect it to take a drop as well as the Evo. I'd hate to drop any new device but my untested opinion is that the Evo might take more abuse. On the same note though, I think the iPhone looks like it would hold up better to getting tossed around in a pocket with keys... it looks more scratch resistant.... again an untested theory as I don't want to harm a hair on the head of any of my devices
I have a heck of a time typing on either. I still like the physical keyboard on my Blackberry the best although I can't think of a single other thing that it does better than text input. I do like that there are third party keyboard apps for the Evo and they seem to be promising but I still like the physical keyboard.
Ultimately, I don't think I really prefer one device to the other - they are both awesome and have a bit of a different feature set but basically do the same thing. To me the Evo makes more sense because I've had a lot of Edge only coverage with the iPhone in the areas I frequent. Another point for Android in general though is that it's available on all carriers in some form or another so regardless of which carrier is best for your area, family and friend free calling plan, etc, you can find an Android device to use. I intend to continue using both (and also using my Blackberry) at the same time for a while but I've been using them all long enough to really have a decent idea of what I like about them.
Just my 2 cents
Bryan
Great write-up!
I haven't used the evo but I've had some experience with Android and I did extensive reading about the newest models before buying my iphone. The thing with Android seems to be that they are not all equal. Take the new G2 that tmobile is sporting. Looks like a great device. 4g like speeds with a physical keyboard. I wanted one bad. I played with one at the store and wanted it even more. Then I started reading forums and found out people are suffering from random reboots, signal loss where there should not be a problem, freeze ups....I ended up way too scared to get one. That said, I've heard really good things about the EVO. I just wanted to get away from Sprint because my previous phone was a Samsung Moment with Sprint and it was really flakey. Sometimes it worked great. Most of the time, it didn't. Sprint didn't want to let me trade in for anything other than another Moment..which I did...several times. After enough wasted time, I had to eat an early termination fee and get away from Sprint. Their customer service in my experience was horrendous. I could write a book about how awful they were. The really sad thing is it was cheaper for me to pay the ETF on my sprint contract and get another phone than it would have been to get another Sprint phone at full price! In the height of my frustration with my previous phone I politely mentioned that to a customer service rep on the phone and she replied by telling me I should get my number ported before the 19th so I could avoid another month's service on my final Sprint bill!!!! I was stunned. I really didn't think they were going to comprimise and let me trade in for a different model but thought maybe to keep me as a customer they'd offer me the reduced rate on getting a new phone since I had been in the stores repeatedly over the last several months....
In short, to anyone considering getting an Android based phone...do your homework. If you don't you may get really screwed...
