iPhone 4 vs. the smartphone elite: EVO 4G, N8, Pre Plus, and HD2
By Chris Ziegler 
posted June 7th 2010 5:34PM
posted June 7th 2010 5:34PM
iPhone 4 |
HTC EVO 4G |
Nokia N8 |
Palm Pre Plus |
HTC HD2 |
| Platform | iOS 4 | Android 2.1 with Sense | Symbian^3 | webOS | Windows Mobile 6.5 |
| Processor | Apple A4 | 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon | 680MHz ARM11-based | 600MHz TI OMAP3430 | 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon |
| Storage | 16GB / 32GB internal | 440MB internal, microSDHC expansion | 16GB internal, microSDHC expansion | 16GB | Approx. 200MB internal, microSDHC expansion |
| Cellular | Quadband GSM, pentaband HSPA | CDMA, EV-DO Rev. A, WiMAX | Quadband GSM, pentaband HSPA | CDMA / EV-DO Rev. A or quadband GSM / dualband HSPA | Quadband GSM, dualband HSPA |
| WiFi | 802.11b/g/n | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g/n | 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g1 |
| Display size | 3.5 inches | 4.3 inches | 3.5 inches | 3.1 inches | 4.3 inches |
| Display resolution | 960 x 640 | 800 x 480 | 640 x 360 | 480 x 320 | 800 x 480 |
| Display technology | IPS LCD | LCD | AMOLED | LCD | LCD |
| Integrated TV-out | No | HDMI | HDMI | No | No |
| Primary camera | 5 megapixel AF, LED flash | 8 megapixel AF, LED flash | 12 megapixel AF, xenon flash | 3 megapixel, LED flash | 5 megapixel AF, LED flash |
| Secondary camera | VGA | 1.3 megapixel | VGA | None | None |
| Video recording | 720p at 30fps | 720p at 24fps | 720p at 25fps | VGA at 30fps | VGA at 30fps |
| Video calling | Yes (WiFi only) | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Location / orientation sensors | AGPS, compass, accelerometer, gyroscope | AGPS, compass, accelerometer | AGPS, compass, accelerometer | AGPS, accelerometer | AGPS, compass, accelerometer |
| SIM standard | Micro SIM | N/A | SIM | SIM (on GSM variant) | SIM |
| Quoted max talk time | 7 hours on 3G, 14 hours on 2G | 6 hours | 5.83 hours on 3G, 12 hours on 2G | 5.5 hours on Verizon, 5 hours on AT&T | 5.33 hours on 3G, 6.33 hours on 2G |
| Quoted max media playback time | 40 hours audio, 10 hours video | None quoted | 50 hours audio, 6 hours video | None quoted | 12 hours audio, 8 hours video |
| Weight | 137 grams / 4.8 oz. | 170 grams / 6.00 oz. | 135 grams / 4.76 oz. | 135 grams / 4.76 oz. | 157 grams / 5.54 oz. |
| Dimensions | 115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm | 122 x 66 x 13mm | 113.5 x 59 x 12.9mm | 100.5 x 59.5 x 16.95mm | 120.5 x 67 x 11mm |
1802.11n can be enabled with a registry hack.
I am interested in seeing some iPhone 4 screen durability tests...Apple seems to think the glass is worth mentioning on their website...
@JWCole It'd be nice to have a comparison VS Gorilla Glass. Unless they're the same thing.
@JWCole
Most people i know broke the screens on their iphones at least once, and either used them smashed or paid to get them fixed
I think had they not changed it and made a big deal about it people might have thought twice about upgrading
Colors on graph are misleading and make it seem like the iPhone 4 is the best phone. The Evo does outclass the iPhone in almost every way. Screen size matters a lot more than a few wifi differences.
@TheHypnotist Uhhh....no it doesn't.
@TheHypnotist
I disagree! I would rather have speed over screen size! I do dig the big screen for sure though! Speed is more important to me though!
@TheHypnotist
That's your opinion... Not a fact. The iPhone 4 will outsell the EVO 1000:1 - If not higher. FACT -
@TheHypnotist Personal preferences, no? For once I think the insane resolution is much more important and that a 4.3-inches screen is too big. You don't, fine. But sheets like this one, don't say much about real performance..
@DoorsnotWindows Uhh... Yes it does.
The screen is basically everything you use on the phone. It's the entire input device as well as the only way to get any information from it. That makes it pretty damn important.
@TheHypnotist
The green color represents which phone has the best of the listed features... and iPhone has more green squares. How is that misleading?
Seriously dude, if you like the EVO, go get one and enjoy it! Who cares if it has less green squares LOL.
@Moisture Umm who has a download faster than the 54mbps of 802.11G? N would only matter for streaming video within your own house over your network.
@TheHypnotist
I prefer the highest screen resolution. Bigger screen = bigger phone. Not cool.
@rand0
Just because you scream "FACT" after everything you say doesn't make it a fact.
(By the way, FACT).
@TheHypnotist And a 12 megapixel camera is always better than a 5 because 12 is greater than 5. DUH.
@someToast In this case, Nokia has actually released details about the camera: http://www.gsmarena.com/nokia_n8_camera-review-476.php
1/1.83" sensor - that's 14mm in diameter, larger than most compact cameras on the market, and even some not so compact... 28mm wide lens, Xenon flash. I've always hated camera-phones but this looks great so far.
@RoyFokker
Don't forget to mention Nokia's superior optics from Zeiss. What's good for space telescopes can't be bad for cellphone cameras.
@donatom3 802.11n is not just about speed, you fool. The range is almost twice the g range.
Missing this:
iPhone: Sync over WiFi.... NOT
@hq Imagine syncing over wifi and your battery goes dead. what then? Oh yeah you'll bitch and complain that syncing over wifi sucks.
@thecreative Nope. Two possibilities:
1) Use your brain and don't sync when low on battery
2) Software warns you if battery is extremely low and denies sync.
It's not THAT complicated, other phones can do it too.
Normally if you sync and get interrupted nothing bad happens. Other phones do this for a long time now.
@hq
my iPhone syncs over wifi just fine :-)
@thecreative
or they could allow syncing both ways & let me be adult enough to decide for myself & not simply based on what if worst case "ohh noesss" low battery scenarios.
see choice is good. Of course if I could swap my battery for a fully charged one I would care even less.
not everything has to be defended no matter the cost, no phone is perfect. (except the Batphone)
Nine greens each for the iPhone and the N8. This is going to be a tough one to choose.
@MarkAnderson
i'm looking forward to what Symbian^4 has installed
@travisonfire
I'm happy enough with Symbian^3 from what I've seen of it. It's not as smooth as the iPhone or Sense but it's good enough and they've taken away the annoying bits.
Symbian^4 should be great though.
@MarkAnderson
Yes, I am suprised to see Engadget actually included the N8, but then realised they preferred the Iphone in HD recording, because it does a higher framerate, that people cannot see as better or worse as 24 fps... anyway....
@JFH
Well fair's fair - 30fps is better so not got an issue there.
I still favour the N8 because it does the things that matter to me better than the iPhone. Obviously I'll need to try them both before buying.
@MarkAnderson
Definitely intend to try both, probably in store though.
My intention was to trial an iphone 4 for a week then return it if i wasn't totally happy but that seems unlikely at this point
Man, I love WebOS, but they need to kick out some new hardware soon.
@Twisthem488 I really, really hope they do...
@Twisthem488 yes, that would be the best news! Would make me hold off on the Evo.
@Twisthem488
Yes
We've already seen an iphone vs. evo... this new post is pretty pointless. I'd like to see more on the A4.
Im sure the Nexus One should be a worth contender too
@commenter7
taking into account that the Nexus One family (Desire, Incredible) are probably the most relevant to compare since they have a simillar screensize and form factor
EVO all day baybaaaay
And where is Samsung Galxy S? Super AMOLED, hummingbird etc.
@AxJ Then on paper it would look like iPhone lost...
@Dking7 And we can't have that! We can't have phones out there running on beta software that smoke the brand new iPhone. At least it raises the bar for the iPhone brand when compared to the others. This is going to be a LONG year for Apple if they think this will stay competitive with the other handsets that are out and coming out. Well, on its actual merits, and not the name.
@AxJ
Not released yet, obviously.
@Jack
N8 hasnt been released yet either.
@Jack and iPhone 4 is also not released, so what is your point?
@Student Driver
Keep drinking the Android kool-aid.
@Dking7 It's a fair point. Software is important and this is really a strict hardware only comparison.
To me it looks like this:
Screen Size: Galaxy (4" vs 3.5")
Resolution/PPI: iPhone (960x640 vs 800x480)
Dimensions: iPhone (115.2 x 58.6 x 9.3mm vs 122.4 x 64.2 x 9.9 mm)
Weight: Galaxy (119g vs 137g)
Talktime: iPhone
Standby Time: Galaxy
Camera: Tie
In built storage: iPhone
Expandable Storage: Galaxy
I'm sure the Galaxy has some nice custom features, but the iPhone also has aluminosilicate glass, optical lamination to elinimate light refraction, oleophobic coating, three-axis gyroscope, dual-mic with noise suppression system etc.
Don't get me wrong… whilst the Galaxy looks cool and probably should have been included I don't think the iPhone is THAT far behind, if at all.
@(Unverified) I would give the nod to the iPhone in dimensions and in camera, which you didn't do. I think you should caveat the internal memory, but it makes sense the way you have it also, but potentially they have the same internal memory.
Galaxy S in addition to having the edge on expandable memory also has more total capacity (this reads better in some ways, expandability and swapability is nice, but the total capacity is important to most people). After all, the N8 with the same memory is the one that got highlighted as the winner above.
I think we can all agree that 1 of 3 reasons or a combo is why the Galaxy was left off. 1, because they hype around it is just nearly abysmal (I seriously wonder about the fluff that Engadget covers equal or more than it). 2, perhaps the cause of point 1, Samsung/Touchwiz history makes it offputting, so they don't want to cover it. 3. with it in there a few things would look worse (would've won on weight, tied on front-facing camera, tied on wifi, beaten the N8 on the screen -effectively "tying" the iphone).
WTF was the pre doing up there? Was it to show how dated it's become?
@AxJ Galaxy S crushes the Pre and the HD2 in the above comparison, left out because "The fix is in" (gambling term).
It doesn't matter, even with Engadget hatred, it's shipping 1 million units to its retail units worldwide, and it's approx doubling the number of countries that Android has a footing in...it'll sell better than everything up there besides the iPhone and the N8 (n8 is a guess, but I assume it'll sell well due to the camera, the brand and EU fanboys...jk guys)
@Student Driver Yeah, I'm not even sure why you'd decide to have a hardware comparison and base it on OS. As of today WebOS and WinMo can't, and even as far back as 6-12 months ago couldn't, compete in this race. But, the more compelling phones you add to the list the shorter the win list for the iPhone 4 becomes.
@juanvaldez
You mean worldwide fanboys! ;)
@(Unverified) I think you're forgetting the SUPER AMOLED. I'd love to see some kind of comparison outside/in bright light and see how the Retina display and Samsung's display compare.
That said, 4" is quite a big difference from 3.5" and the ppi is just nonsense. My HTC Hero isn't even close and has fantastic quality.
was there any mention as to whether there was haptic feedback on the onscreen keyboard? I often can't type well if I don't have haptic feedback.