iPhone 4 vs Droid X vs EVO 4G

With yesterday's announcement of the Motorola Droid X on Verizon and the Apple iPhone 4 on AT&T joining the HTC EVO 4G on Sprint, three of the four big U.S. carriers now have new flagship high-end smartphones.

Some things are constant among these phones. First, all run 1GHz processors: The iPhone runs Apple's A4, the Evo runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon, and the Droid X runs on a TI OMAP processor. All add much better cameras: A 5-megapixel one on the iPhone 4 and 8-megapixel ones on the Droid X and the Evo 4G. And all have bigger or higher-resolution displays and a large selection of applications. But while there are a lot of similarities, what interests me most are the differences.

The iPhone 4 runs Apple's operating environment, now called iOS 4, and AT&T is the only U.S. carrier to offer it. The new phone looks great and is very thin, and its 3.5-inch LCD has the highest resolution at 960-by-480, though the screen is physically smaller than that on the other two devices.

Although the hardware looks great, the biggest benefit the iPhone has is still its integrated ecosystem, with hardware, software, and the App Store all working together. There are more applications in total - and more good ones - in the App Store than for other mobile platforms. The iPhone 4 adds a front-facing camera, and FaceTime video calling looks easier to use than other choices, though I want to try it more.

The downsides: It's a closed environment, so Apple controls what goes into the App Store, sometimes with unpredictable results; AT&T's known issues with dropped calls; the iPhone's lack of expandability - neither a removable battery or an additional memory card; and its lack of support for Flash, which means that some Web sites don't work.

The other flagship phones all run Google's Android operating environment, which is notably more open: You can choose from multiple handset makers and carriers, and the Android Market is notably less restrictive than Apple's store. There aren't quite as many applications there, but there are tens of thousands, and most of what you want is available.

But a downside here is that these phones tend to be a bit more complex. The user interfaces aren't as consistent, and most of the hardware makers add their own enhancements that may or may not conflict with those offered by the OS and the carrier. You have more control, but you have to work at it more.

The Evo 4G has a large 4.3-inch display, with an 800-by-480 resolution, and as a result, the phone is a lot larger than the iPhone 4. It has a variety of very nice features, including a front-facing camera for video conferencing and the ability to be used as a mobile hot-spot, sharing its Sprint connection with multiple computers over Wi-Fi. It also has an 8-megapixel camera, HDMI out, and a kickstand. But the standout feature is its support for the Wimax network, which is now available in a number of markets and coming to a lot more this fall.

The downsides include size - the flipside of the big screen is that it is notably bigger than the iPhone and feels heavier than the Droid X - and for me, at least, battery life and a number of little bugs I'm waiting to get resolved. Currently, Flash doesn't work, but Andorid 2.2 with support for Flash 10.1 is likely coming.

The Droid X, like the Evo, has a 4.3-inch LCD but with a slightly higher resolution of 854-by-480, and ships with Android 2.1, with the 2.2 update and Flash promised for later this summer. It too has a wireless hotspot feature, removable battery and expandable store.

A couple of things make it different, including its own set of Motorola widgets that go on top of Android and an optional larger battery that makes it a little thicker. But what really stood out to me was Motorola's focus on voice quality, with additional antennas and three microphones for improved noise cancellation. Of all these phones, it is the biggest, slightly longer than the Evo 4G. I haven't been able to use one yet.

These phones will be soon joined by the Samsung Galaxy S, originally with the Captivate model on AT&T, but rumored to be on other carriers as well. This too runs Android 2.1 initially, but has Samsung's own 1 GHz processor and a 4-inch 800-by-480 "Super AMOLED" display.

One thing I've noticed is how much lighter it feels than the other big Android phones, but we'll have to see what that means for battery life. And I really want to see how this OLED display really stacks up to the others.

Also note that T-Mobile has a number of interesting phones, including the HTC HD2, which runs Windows Mobile 6.5 and a number of Android-based models, although I'm not sure I'd describe these as flagship phones in the same way.

I can't say any one phone is perfect for everyone. Some people will prefer smaller phones, and others will insist on physical keyboards, as on the BlackBerry. Some will balk at the data plans. And everyone will have to choose not just a phone, but also a carrier, which offer different levels of service, coverage, and plans.

Verizon to sell Droid X smart phone

Verizon Wireless has announced that it will begin selling the Droid X, the follow-up to Motorola Inc.'s popular Droid smart phone, on July 15.

Verizon, which made its announcement the day before Apple is set to start selling its latest iPhone, said the phone will cost $200 with a rebate and two-year wireless service contract.

The Droid X runs Google Inc.'s Android software and has a touch screen that is 4.3 inches diagonally and an 8-megapixel camera with a dual flash that can also record high-definition videos. It will also have an HDMI port so you can connect it to a TV and watch content stored on the phone on a bigger screen.

Verizon said that later this summer Droid X buyers will get the newest Android software, version 2.2. They will also get Adobe's Flash Player 10.1 for watching flash videos, something the iPhone cannot do.

Verizon added that the Droid will be the first of its smart phones to come with an application from movie chain Blockbuster Inc. that lets users rent or purchase movies on their phones. Movies will cost $4 to rent and start at $10 and up to buy.

The Droid X is part of Motorola Inc.'s cell phone comeback plan - the beleaguered handset maker had struggled for several years, failing to put out a successful follow-up to its popular Razr cell phone. More recently, the Schaumburg, Ill., company has focused its turnaround efforts on phones that run the Android software.

Verizon's announcement comes as Apple is preparing to start selling its newest iPhone, which has already seen a surge of interest, on Thursday. Apple and its partner companies started taking iPhone 4 orders on June 15, and the next day Apple said they received more than 600,000 orders in 24 hours - the highest number it has ever seen.

Demand was so high that the companies quickly stopped taking orders for shipment by June 24.

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New Apple iPhone expects crowd

Apple's latest-generation iPhone is expected to make a rock star entrance, drawing crowds that quickly empty shelves at the firm's shops.

"Initial demand for the new iPhone is incredibly robust," Deutsche Bank market analysts Chris Whitmore and Joakim Mahlberg said.

"We anticipate another Apple event? with long lines, heavy store traffic and stock outs."
Apple set a single-day record for iPhone orders when advanced sales launched last week, receiving 600,000 in 24 hours.

AT&T, the exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the United States, said pre-order sales for the iPhone 4 were "10-times higher than the first day of pre-ordering for the iPhone 3GS last year."
AT&T suspended a troubled early ordering process because of the heavy demand.

Deutsche Bank analysts have raised their projections for iPhone 4 sales, estimating that Apple would sell 44 million this year and 55 million next year.

Standard & Poor's Equity Research Services rated Apple stock a "strong buy" based on the iPhone, iPad, iPod and Macintosh computer maker's hot products.

"Apple has transformed from the hip iPod maker to a leading-edge technology giant with a hand in some of the fastest-growing technology hardware markets," said Equity Research information technology analyst Clyde Montevirgen.

"By competing in the smartphone, laptop, tablet, and retail markets, and outperforming formidable competitors along the way, Apple has effectively expanded its total available market size and renewed its long-term high-growth potential."

The iPhone 4 goes on sale in Britain, France, Germany, Japan and the United States on June 24.
Some people began queuing outside the Apple Store in downtown San Francisco on Monday to be among the first to get their hands on an iPhone 4.

In Japan, Japanese mobile phone carrier Softbank also faced a deluge of pre-orders for the latest iPhone, with queues snaking around outlets and its online store overwhelmed by demand.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled the new iPhone earlier this month. It features video chat, can shoot and edit high-definition quality video and has a crisper resolution screen.

The iPhone 4 costs 199 dollars (US) for the 16 gigabyte model and 299 dollars for the 32GB version.

"Right now, Apple is leading the industry," said analyst Rob Enderle of Enderle Group in Silicon Valley. "Every indication is that the iPhone 4 launch will be successful unless AT&T really screws it up. AT&T remains Apple's Achilles heel in this endeavor; the product looks fine."

The smartphone, which comes in black and white versions, will be available in 18 other countries in July and 24 more in August.

Cupertino, California-based Apple has sold more than 50 million iPhones since it launched the device in 2007.