Timothy Hoogland

So as you may remember I wrote an article about how Android wouldn’t replace the iPhone any time soon. Well for me it did. Why? Read on. Warning!!! Mini-rant ahead.

I have a number of reasons for making the switch. Part of it is with the issues that I experienced with the iPhone 4′s design and Apple’s lack of actually fixing the issue. I originally bought a case at the AT&T store when I got my phone on the 24th. I purchased the iFrogz case but it was poorly designed as it interfered with the camera flash. So I returned it and got an Incipio case which interfered with the proximity sensor. I went back to the AT&T store and returned the Inicipio case and talked to them about getting a bumper for free as this is a defect in the phone. Well they wanted nothing to do with that. So I called Apple and pleaded my case and told the guy on the phone that I either wanted a FULL refund on my applications or a free bumper case. After being put on hold for about an hour he came back and said that they were going to refund my applications. SO I returned the iPhone 4 (on Monday July 12th, 2010). What really sucks is that not only did Apple announce that Friday that they were giving away the bumpers but Apple called me and informed me that they were NOT going to refund my $300 something odd dollars in applications like they said they were going to. That’s alright as I am in the process of talking to a lawyer as I recorded the call. I also had to fight with the AT&T store rep (who was a complete idiot, LaKesha I believe at the AT&T store in Crestwood, IL) over a restocking fee on a defective product. Either way I ended up moving to Sprint as the EVO was quite attractive to me (I also considered the Droid X but I wanted the front facing camera) and Apple and AT&T are a match made in hell.

Moving on…

So after being on the iPhone platform for about 3 years it was time to learn the Android OS. The HTC EVO runs the 2.1 version of Android and should be getting an update to 2.2 later this year. There are many advantages to using Android over an Apple iPhone.

Pricing & Features of Sprint’s Network

The HTC EVO runs on Sprint’s 3G & 4G network. I was warned by a friend (who works for AT&T) that I would be disappointed by any other network’s 3G speeds. Am I? No. Sprint’s 3G network averages between 1.2mbps and 3mbps. I live in the south Chicagoland suburbs and get great coverage. I consistently have 3-6 (50%-100%) bars. I have yet to drop a single phone call even when holding the phone normally. I even get good 4G coverage around my house and most areas that I am in. The 4G speeds are amazing. I average between 4mbps-7mbps with only 1 bar (out of 3) of 4G signal. The only downside to 4G is that it is not available everywhere right now. Luckily I live in a 4G coverage area.

As for pricing I am paying a total of $88/month (taxes and fees included) for my line (this is before my 15% discount from work). This includes 450 anytime minutes, UNLIMITED data, UNLIMITED texing/mms, and UNLIMITED calling to ANY mobile phone. This works out VERY well as I am a heavy data user (2-6GB a month) and about 95% of my contacts are on mobile phones. With AT&T I was paying almost $100 for less minutes and limited data service (and terrible service in general).

Customization of the OS

The Android OS has come a long way in a mere 2 years. HTC has also done a very nice job with their SenseUI that they include on their latest smartphones. The SenseUI out of the box has a nice large clock on the main screen with the weather just below it. Along with the Clock/Weather Widget you also get a very nice contact integration with Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr. The email app that comes with the SenseUI is good at best. It does it’s job and looks nice.

The major thing that I love about the Android OS is the fact that is like like an ACTUAL operating system. What do I mean by this? Well lets say I don’t like the standard web browser that comes on my OS? I can install a 3rd party web browser. The difference between Android and Apple’s iOS is that I can set the 3rd party browser (like Skyfire) as the DEFAULT application for web browsing you cannot do this on the iOS. This goes for all programs. Google’s Google Voice application seamlessly integrates with the Android OS and makes sending texts and making calls through Google Voice easy.

Now no matter how awesome HTC’s SenseUI is I found that you can even replace the home screen application (HTC SenseUI by default) with 3rd party applications. There are a few good ones out there like LauncherPro that give you even more customization than the stock SenseUI. I have tried a few but ultimately came back to the SenseUI because of their offering of gadgets. If you go from the SenseUI to a 3rd party one you will NOT be able to use the HTC SenseUI gadgets on the 3rd party home app. I like the ability to use whatever suits me.

Applicaton Restrictions

As any iPhone/iTouch user knows “daddy” Jobs has severly limited what can and cannot be installed on their devices. Apple tries to “protect” their users to the point of crazy. What do I mean by this? Well let’s say I want to write an application for the iPhone platform. Well I have to fill out a form and send it to Apple. Then if my application is approved I have to pay a $100 fee to Apple. Then after all that once I have an application written it has to be submitted to Apple for approval. They can then deny or approve the app for any reason that they see fit. The problem with Apple’s App Store is that they will approve stupid apps like one where you set your cigarette on the screen and it flashes different colors to “make the cigarette taste bad” but then deny practical ones like one called WiFi Sync that allowed syncing over a wireless/bluetooth connection.

On Android you have the Google Market that is loosely regulated by Google but not to the point of crazy like Apple does. While Google does not always approve app submissions they are really lenient on what can and cannot enter. The Google Market also gives the consumer a 24 hour period in which if they do not like to app or if it does not work to uninstall the application and get a FULL refund.  Try doing that with Apple on your cigarette app.

Now the Android market is great but if you enable unrestricted application installs you can simply download Android app installers (APK’s) to your phone and install anything you want. There is a cool 3rd party marketplace called SlideMe. You can check them out at SlideME.org.

Tethering

Now the HTC EVO comes with a Hotspot utility from Sprint that allows you to connect up to 8 devices to the EVO’s internet connection. Now according to Sprint’s website you have to pay an additional $29.99 for it but I have been able to use it many times and there has not been any charges on my account for it. But just to be on the safe side there is an app called PDANet that is available in the Google Market that allows for bluetooth and USB tethering to your PC. It works well and I ma able to take advantage of the full bandwidth that the phone has.

Closing

Overall I am very happy with my new Android powered phone. I will be writing another article soon about rooting your EVO and using Custom ROM’s to get better speed, more features, and updates before they are released. Despite Apple’s App Store having over 200,000 apps where the Google market has over 50,000 apps the selection is just fine and the freedom that Android offers is well worth the work to find apps that do the same thing that iOS apps do. Also check out DoubleTwist for a media player on Android. It is in beta stages but works perfectly without any issues.