A Comparison Review: HTC EVO 4G Vs. the iPhone 4

There are many smartphones on the market but the greatest shootout is between the HTC EVO 4G and the iPhone 4. Why? People consider both smartphones as the best of their breed; both smartphones offer superior design and usability - not to mention they both come from the best smartphone manufacturers in the world. Simply put, in both camps, each side claims victory solely due to breeding. Traditionally, HTC is backed by solid design and solid user interface, while the iPhone always wins in looks and amount of apps available. Well, let us put both the EVO and iPhone 4 in the ring, as we have done with other HTC phones against the iPhone, and see which smartphone comes out walking - ah, working.

EVO LCD Display Vs. iPhone 4 Retina Display
The HTC EVO is big. Period. It seems that manufacturers want users to want smaller phones, but users seem to prefer the size of the HTC EVO over the iPhone for several reasons. First, the EVO's screen size - without even considering resolution - is larger than that of the iPhone 4. Its screen size is important for big fingers and for viewing media and, well, anything. The HTC EVO is 4.8 inches tall, a quarter of an inch higher than the iPhone and 2.6 inches wide, while the iPhone 4 comes in at just 2.31 wide. The HTC EVO is thicker as well. With the battery installed, the HTC EVO weighs 6 oz., but most users prefer the solidity and size of the HTC EVO as compared to the iPhone 4. Size, as it turns out does matter to most, contrary to popular belief - at least in smartphones, anyway.

About that display, the HTC sports a 4.3-inch LCD running at a resolution of 480-pixels by 800-pixels. The iPhone 4 comes with a 3.5-inch "retina" screen boasting a 960-pixel by 640-pixel resolution-pixels so small the human eye cannot distinguish one pixel from another. Yes, iPhone has better resolution, but the smaller screen makes is just that much more annoying for those of us with "eyeball issues." Could you imagine an eight-point font on an iPhone? While the text may be clearer on the iPhone 4, what is the point if the screen is not large enough to show off the impressive resolution? The larger screen real estate on the HTC EVO 4G wins out, allowing more comfortable reading, image, and video viewing. Then there is the keyboard issue. Fat fingers rejoice! No more fear of typing.

As far as looks go the iPhone has a work-of-art beauty to it what with its glass and aluminum body. However, that may be part of the problem. You see, while the HTC is only a little less costly, most users know that they have "dropsies." This means that in the real-world head-to-head match, the EVO wins because it feels more solid and can take a lot more abuse than the iPhone's all-glass casing. EVO is imply a working-class smartphone. Much of this analysis is based on user preference, and as such it discounts some in the realm of technical superiority. The fact is that it is all about you, the user, right? The HTC EVO 4G wins as it is the more practical and usable of the two smartphones. It has all the bells and whistles in addition to its practical design.

Graphic User Interface: Android vs. Whatever

Even when users take into account the huge improvements made to the iOS4 used in the iPhone 4, Android 2.1 is already a major improvement over that, anyway. However, the HTC EVO 4G comes with Android 2.2, known as Froyo, which is even more of an improvement over 2.1. Android OS offers unlimited and native multitasking; iOS4 does not. Businesses prefer Android for the added security and other support reasons; the fact that most business users sat the Android wins, it wins, it wins, period. The real day-to-day user experience coupled with the Android OS superiority makes the HTC EVO 4G a clear winner in this round.

Speaking of user experience, HTC EVO 4G comes with the Sense UI. In case you have been in the jungle recently, the Sense UI is HTC's custom GUI that the manufacturer installs over top of the Android 2.2 OS-let's see anyone attempt to customize the UI for the iPhone without jailbreaking and even at that, users do not have the luxury. The Sense UI is universally acknowledged as a clear winner, making massive improvements over Android-as if it were even needed. It not only makes the user experience much more fun and productive, but the Android OS and Sense UI together offer tons of widgets in addition to the native Flash support-both of which Apple refuses to acknowledge ,except when saying iPhone 4 users cannot have access to either.

While the iPhone 4 may have had the top spot when it came to their market share, Android is quickly catching up and surpassing iOS 4 in some reports released recently. That said, almost no one prefers the iOS 4 to Android 2.2-even before adding the Sense UI. Winning by a knockout is the HTC EVO 4G. Oh, and as far as apps go, yes, the Apple App Store does offer 200,000 apps compared to Android's 100,000 or so, but the biggest and winning difference for the Android is the range and quality of apps offered. The Android marketplace is not controlled by anyone meaning anyone can develop apps for anything, even you. If you are familiar with open source, then you know that there's a lot more free items with Android than Apple.

Features: EVO, Again
Android weighs heavily here since most smartphone features are software. Nevertheless, in the hardware department, both smartphones offer two cameras; one on the front and one on the back. The HTC EVO has a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera and an 8-megapixel rear facing. Compare that to the 0.3 (yes, that is a big ZERO point three) front facing and 5-megapixel rear. While the iPhone's video record rate is higher, the camera quality wins the round.

On the subject of network services, it is a closer fight. The similarities and differences are under the hood so most users would not notice. Speed and availability are the main issues and they are about equal, except that with Android there is better use of those services, not to mention the EVO is a 4G device, while the iPhone's "4" only means it is the fourth generation. iPhone offers HSPA and GSM, but the HTC has a greater number of network services such as EV-DO, CDMA, Wi-Fi, and Sprint's WiMAX services. HTC ECO 4G wins hands down because it is a real 4G device. Besides, iPhone is locked in with AT&T, which is known for dropped calls and shoddy connections, even though it boasts faster download speeds (more below).
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Generally, the biggest issue is the availability of on-board, user accessible storage for media and other files. IPhone 4 offers 16 or 32GB but that is it-users have no option for expansion available. With the HTC EVO, you have a user accessible slot that will allow you to keep a few 32GB cards on hand for lots of storage. Oh, by the way, HTC offers HDMI out. That means that if you pop in your movie card and hook it up to an HD-TV you get full screen goodness. Sorry, this is another feature not available on the iPhone. HTC is the winner here.

Performance: CPU and Talk
This round is a close call; the HTC EVO 4G is driven by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor. The iPhone 4G comes with the "Apple A4" that is rated at 1GHz. Therefore, it is a tie up in this round, but with the superior performance profile of the Android OS and native multitasking, overall the round is going to go to HTC-same engine with better engineering. Regarding calling quality, again, it is a tie; however, iPhone lags a bit because of the AT&T connection. The reason is that while Sprint has a larger network and you can get your calls through one way or another, AT&T and Sprint are generally equal in the public eye. There have been noted problems with the iPhone and connectivity though, and Apple even has an app to record dead zones so you can avoid them; yes, really.

"...The Winner is..."
While both are heavy hitters in the smartphone department, the clear winner is the HTC EVO 4G. The general feel of the EVO is more practical and solid, while the iPhone comes off as a little "petite." Android weighs very heavy in HTC's favor and enhances user experience, reliability and security. In pure power, it is nearly a toss-up, but HTC comes out ahead again with its bigger screen. HTC clears it with better camera as well. Good fight.

Sources:
HTC: EVO 4G (Sprint): Features & Specifications
Apple: iPhone 4 (AT&T): Features and Specifications