





Battery

Storage

Platform





Notifications

Messaging

Keyboard

Widgets

Multitasking

Polish

Apps

Maps: Android is the easy winner, with full dedicated GPS-style turn by turn navigation. This likely isn't going to change soon, either, because Google builds the maps for both handsets.

Android is the easy winner, with full dedicated GPS-style turn by turn navigation. This likely isn't going to change soon, either, because Google builds the maps for both handsets. Browser: Google claims to be making some improvements with its browser, rating its Froyo version as the "world's fastest mobile browser." Unfortunately, there's no telling when this new version of Android will make it to the EVO -- that's up to HTC and Sprint. Meanwhile, the iPhone browser is generally regarded at the top of the heap for speed and compatibility, with one notable exception: no Flash.

Google claims to be making some improvements with its browser, rating its Froyo version as the "world's fastest mobile browser." Unfortunately, there's no telling when this new version of Android will make it to the EVO -- that's up to HTC and Sprint. Meanwhile, the iPhone browser is generally regarded at the top of the heap for speed and compatibility, with one notable exception: no Flash. Twitter: Now that there's a first party Twitter app on Android things are looking up (HTC's one was pretty horrid), but you can still find the most variety and quality for Twitter on the iPhone.

Now that there's a first party Twitter app on Android things are looking up (HTC's one was pretty horrid), but you can still find the most variety and quality for Twitter on the iPhone. Facebook: Just about a wash, though there's more integration with contacts on Android.

Just about a wash, though there's more integration with contacts on Android. Calendar: This is a case of personal preference, though HTC's replacement calendar is an easy loser to the stock Android version and Apple's very pretty iPhone one. Google Calendar integration is slightly easier on Android, but iOS 4 makes it more of a default on the iPhone than it has been.

YouTube: The EVO wins easily with YouTube HQ, a glorious sight on the 4.3-inch screen. We'd think the iPhone would be getting this quality bump sooner or later, but no mention has been made.

The EVO wins easily with YouTube HQ, a glorious sight on the 4.3-inch screen. We'd think the iPhone would be getting this quality bump sooner or later, but no mention has been made. Tethering: The EVO wins with WiFi hotspot connection sharing, while you have to use a cable or Bluetooth on the iPhone. You can share a 2GB data plan on AT&T for $20 extra, but that ramps all the way to $75 if you use 5GB. Meanwhile the EVO has "unlimited" sharing for $30 extra a month.

The EVO wins with WiFi hotspot connection sharing, while you have to use a cable or Bluetooth on the iPhone. You can share a 2GB data plan on AT&T for $20 extra, but that ramps all the way to $75 if you use 5GB. Meanwhile the EVO has "unlimited" sharing for $30 extra a month. Video chat: We have an more in depth spec comparison here, but basically: HTC EVO uses Qik and can chat to computers or phones, while Apple uses its own FaceTime tech, which is currently iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 only (with a supposedly open standard set to alleviate that limitation over time). Still, in practice FaceTime seems to be higher quality and easier to deal with. It's really the same old story: you'll have more flexibility on Android out of the gate, more polish from Apple.

Service

AT&T / Sprint

Costs

AT&T you can get as low at $55 with 200MB of data, 450 minutes of talk, and no messaging. If you want unlimited voice and messaging, along with 2GB of data (the most AT&T will pre-sell you, it's $10 per GB after that), you'll be forking over $115 a month.

Sprint requires you to go for a minimum $80 plan (that includes the required premium data plan add-on for the EVO), which includes unlimited data, unlimited messaging, and 450 minutes of talk. To bump up to unlimited everything (and that $10 premium data charge insures a true unlimited data) you'll be spending $110 a month.

Wrap-up





This is going to be a big one for a lot of people. In our experience, the EVO can easily get through a day of light use when used on 3G, and isn't that much worse on 4G. Meanwhile, the iPhone has an improved battery over the already strong 3GS, and can fairly handily beat the EVO on both standby and active use time. Then again, the EVO has a user-replaceable battery if you want to pack a spare. We're confident that most people can survive with the EVO, but if you want battery "comfort," the iPhone is the best bet.We've never really liked the way Android segments storage between device and microSD card, and the EVO doesn't help its case by requiring you to remove the battery to get at the included 8GB card. Meanwhile Apple offers the iPhone in 16GB and 32GB flavors, all nicely synced and managed with iTunes. There's nothing stopping you from putting all the apps and music you want on the EVO, and with microSD you have theoretically unlimited storage, but it's nowhere near as pretty a process as Apple makes it.Software is much more a "shades of grey" area than hardware, so we're going to have to let a bit more opinion seep in here. Please forgive us. You could spend a lifetime detailing the differences and similarities of these two advanced, complicated smartphone OSes (or at least, like, a day), but we'll try to hit the high points:We're going to call this for Android right away. Google's notification tray is just so much more pleasant, useful, and unobtrusive than Apple's pop-overs -- we just wonder how long it'll take Apple to figure this out HTC isn't helping itself out here by shipping duplicate SMS and email clients to get in the way of Google's own. Apple's also playing catch-up with iOS 4, bringing a unified inbox and threaded messaging to the iPhone. Basically, it comes down to Gmail: if you use it and love it, Android will always be your best experience of it, but for any other service, the iPhone serves just fine. It also makes SMS a prettier experience, though no more usable than its Android counterpart.Something that's relevant for a minority, but very relevant for that minority, is Google Voice. There's a decent web app that makes it almost usable on the iPhone, but it's a powerful, extremely useful thing as a deeply integrated app on Android, and now that everybody in the US can get in , it's only going to grow in relevance.These are both touchscreen-only phones, which might be a bit of a change if you're coming from a physical keyboard-equipped device, but rest assured that many humans throughout the ages have managed to become quite proficient on touchscreen keyboards, and Apple and HTC's are pretty much the best in the business. The EVO benefits from its extra real estate -- the keyboard is almost too large in portrait -- and we like some of the ways HTC handles prediction, like offering multiple word alternatives as you type, but the iPhone still offers the best touchscreen keyboard we've ever used in actual practice, and the addition of spellcheck in iOS 4 only helps cement that.Android: yes. iPhone: no.Apple is finally entering the multitasking arena with iOS 4 , but it's certainly doing things its own way. In truth, Apple still doesn't allow any sort of "true" multitasking on its phone, just background services, task completion, and fast app switching. Android blows this away by allowing full apps to run simultaneously. Still, for all of Apple's overwrought babying of the user, it does have a bit of a point: if you don't kill your tasks vigilantly on Android, your phone will run hot (we're speaking from experience with the EVO), slow down, and devour battery life. If you're smart and proactive, Android's multitasking can make you more productive and also more attractive to the opposite sex. For everybody else, the iPhone is the cleaner solution, and in the multitasking-enabled apps we've been using so far , we'd say the iOS approach is usually sufficient -- though it's really reliant on the app developers to get it right.This is certainly a matter of taste, but here's a gross simplification: iPhone is for aesthetes, Android is for nerds. HTC's Sense spitshine adds a bit to Android, but it also increases the quantity of divergent, inconsistent UI. Apple's managed to not only present a unified front in its own apps, but also pass on a strong design language to much of its developer community -- something Google is far from doing. Meanwhile, there's something very homespun and fun about diving into Android's technical, geektastic menus and widgets. Extra nerd points included for those brave enough to put stock Android on the thing.You can't argue against the fact that the iPhone has more applications, way more games, and a generally higher level of app quality thanks to a more mature SDK and increased competition. Still, when it comes to doing stuff that's not gaming, Android Market does alright for itself. It's really down to a per user thing: can you live without app X? Is there an adequate replacement for app Y? Do you hate having fun? Both devices have approval processes to get onto the branded store, but Android's is a bit more lax (emulators, for instance), and you can also grab unsigned apps directly. You have to jailbreak the iPhone for that kind of freedom.Some notable first and third party applications:This one's pretty simple: if you live in a WiMAX area with good coverage, you could see higher data speeds on Sprint than AT&T. The trick is, you probably don't live in a WiMAX area with good coverage -- they're few and far between. Luckily, Sprint's 3G network is actually pretty great (outside of some notable rough patches in certain areas), and we've had a wonderful experience using it on the EVO so far, surpassing even some other Sprint handsets we've used. As we get further into the launch we're starting to see some hints that the EVO is straining Sprint's network somewhat -- middling performance where it used to be excellent -- but that's at least not a widespread, iPhone-scale problem at this point.Meanwhile, AT&T is AT&T: great speeds and network if it's not over capacity in your area. The company has made some strong strides at fighting dropped calls in major metropolitan areas like NY and SF, and that new external antenna design on the iPhone 4 helps out as well -- as long as you don't hold it wrong . On a more minor note, the new iPhone also has slightly improved upload speeds.The HTC EVO 4G is $199 after a $100 mail-in rebate with Sprint, but you can get it elsewhere (like Radio Shack and Best Buy) for $199 straight up. The iPhone 4 is $199 ( if you can find one ). Service plans get much more complicated, but basically:You know the facts, you've heard the arguments, you've passively observed the roar of comments from each side... now follow your heart!Not good enough for you? You can find out more on your own with our iPhone 4 review , and our EVO 4G review . Stay tuned for our Droid X review, as well! You won't be sorry.If you'll recall, we put this post up briefly a couple of weeks ago, before deciding we wanted to review the iPhone 4 and get all the facts before really pitting these against each other. To reflect the semi-newness of this comparo, here's a semi-new poll to let you express your own opinion. Here are the results of the last poll , for reference. %Poll-48622%