EVO-lution and the iPhone 4

BUYER ENVY: The clock is ticking. My mobile phone contract with AT&T expires soon. The company has already offered an early upgrade to me and anyone else whose contract is up by the end of 2010.

Truth is, my iPhone 3G still works as well as ever. But you know how it is. You see that cool new communicator - a smart phone that looks sleeker, has more features, maybe runs faster . . .

So I've been weighing the two hot contenders most likely to lock me into another two-year commitment - Apple's iPhone 4 from AT&T and the HTC EVO 4G, exclusive from Sprint. Both introductions inspired people to stand in lines for hours; both sold out initial supplies.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Apple has shaved a few millimeters off the depth, height and width of its iconic iPhone design, flattened and glassed the back and put a slick-looking metal trim piece around the edges that's intended to improve reception. But only (oops) if you don't cover a gap in the trim with direct hand contact, blowing out calls.

As an Apple rep explained, the easy fix is to buy a $30 rubber wraparound bumper that covers just the trim, or a back/edge cover, then making the iPhone 4 look almost like my Griffin-encased 3G!

The new Apple's screen remains at 3.5 inches but boasts higher resolution. Photos and videos look a bit sharper. Don't buy the hype that text now appears markedly better.

The EVO 4G is 7 millimeters longer than the iPhone 4 and about an ounce heavier. But it packs a dramatically larger, 4.3-inch touch display with haptic (vibration) feedback. If I had big typing fingers, this upgrade alone could sway me to the EVO.

SPEED PLAY: In comparisons of old and new iPhones running on the AT&T network, I found zero improvement in the time it took to connect to sites, though one reviewer who lives in the boondocks says he's now making iPhone calls where before he couldn't.

The AT&T network has been grossly overtaxed by the iPhone user base, and despite upgrades, it still fails in odd ways and places where it shouldn't. Given that more than 1.7 million iPhone 4s were sold just the first weekend, and the new model (like the EVO) now offers "multitasking," I'm thinking the reception situation will get worse before it gets better.

The biggest "exclusive" Sprint has going is that EVO is the first and only mobile phone running on that new and several times faster 4G network (also marketed by Clear).

That assumes you're somewhere that's been upgraded with it. Here in Philadelphia, I can sometimes link to 4G, sometimes not.

Using 4G taxes the EVO's phone battery severely, though, allowing only four hours of heavy use. Better invest in an extra (user-replaceable) battery, or pray that that someone develops a case with built-in power-extender.

Better news? Even Sprint's fallback 3G network runs faster than AT&T's where I live and work.

When set on "3G only" mode, an EVO has delivered about six hours of serious use per charge, versus about 10 hours with the newly tweaked iPhone 4.

TETHERING: Exploiting that more robust 4G signal makes most sense when using the phone as a wireless modem to connect a laptop computer to the Internet. For a $30 a month uptick, the EVO turns into a Wi-Fi hub, allowing as many as eight devices to go online wirelessly.

A lesser level of tethering is available on the iPhone 4. With a $20 per month AT&T service upgrade, you can hard wire a laptop to the iPhone 4 or wirelessly connect up to five devices via Bluetooth.

More devices boast Wi-Fi than Bluetooth.

VIDEO FUN: Both phones offer front- and back-mounted cameras, with the outside ones recording video (and stills) in 720p high definition.

The new iPhone's primary camera has 5 megapixels of resolution; the EVO's is 8 megapixels. On a big HDTV, you might see the difference, and to that end the EVO (alone) offers an HDMI output.

Balancing the scales, the iPhone 4 boasts easy means for editing a clip before sending it off to Facebook or YouTube, a feature sure to get LOTS of use.

Video conferencing also is possible with both phones, but on the Apple product you can only communicate to another iPhone 4 - and then only when both users are in Wi-Fi zones. (Looks great on the commercial, doesn't it?)

The EVO variation works over the Sprint mobile network or Wi-Fi and also can communicate with computer users who have the same video conferencing software installed.

EASE OF USE: While faulted for its restrictive nature, the iPhone operating system and its skadillion apps all work like a charm because participants must play by a very specific set of rules, even down to the size of various elements placed on the screen.

The Android operating system on the EVO is "open" to developers' ingenuity. That's a big reason so many different phone models and apps have been created for it, quickly making the "Droid" platform a strong rival to the iPhone - and now actually outselling it.

No surprise, some of the best apps - utilizing voice command for Gmail and for navigation and visual location identification (amazing!) - have come from Android parent Google.

The downside is that Droid phones are not quite as instinctive to operate, requiring a higher learning curve. If you're a certified gadgeteer, the EVO definitely satisfies. If you're an impatient type, the new iPhone is the better choice.

PRICING: Sprint used to win market share with lower prices. But the $199 buy-in for its feature-packed EVO phone is the same as for the most basic (lower memory capacity) iPhone 4.

Both cost an arm and a leg to run, at least $60 a month (plus tax) with limited minutes/data/messaging services from AT&T, $80 for a more encompassing plan from Sprint. BTW, Radio Shack is offering a $100 hardware discount when an old iPhone is traded on a new.

WHAT'S MY CHOICE? At the moment, I'm calling this competition a draw, and watching for the next shoe to drop. The rumor mill is bubbling anew that AT&T will lose its iPhone exclusive at the end of the year and that Verizon (widely considered to have the most robust network) will then offer the iPhone, too.

I think I can wait.

E-mail Jonathan Takiff at takiffj@phillynews.com.