iPhone 4 review roundup: Apple versus the competition

There are no official iPhone 4 review posts yet, but everyone is busy comparing the new Apple smartphone to key Android devices.

The veil has been lifted. The specs are in. So, should you buy an iPhone 4? Review the many headlines out there and you'll find a whole lot of answers.

Since no reviewers have used the new iPhone long enough to write a full report, some of the most interesting articles compare Apple's upcoming smartphone to its many competitors. With the Sprint EVO 4G, Nexus One, Verizon Droid Incredible, and many others vying for shoppers' attention, Apple has a lot riding on this new model. Here's how it stacks up:

iPhone 4 versus Google Nexus One

"Its resolution is not as awesomely crisp as the iPhone 4's, but is fairly high at 800 x 480 pixels," writes Techtree.com. "The Nexus One can already be updated to Android 2.2 (a.k.a Froyo), which is Google's latest version of their mobile OS. It enables some cool new features like Internet sharing over Wi-Fi and better support for Adobe Flash, along with faster performance. Android has also become, in our opinion, very close in terms of usability to the iPhone OS, give or take a few things from both parties."

iPhone 4 versus EVO 4G

"Right now, it looks like the Evo 4G poses the biggest challenge to the new iPhone," according to Signature9. "It will be up to Apple app developers to come up with something truly innovative that takes advantage of the gyroscope to make it a must-have feature that would push someone over to the iPhone rather than the Evo 4G. Plus, while Sprint’s 4G network isn’t live in cities like New York or San Francisco yet, AT&T’s service in those markets doesn’t often get rave reviews."

iPhone 4 versus Droid Incredible

"Another advantage that the HTC DROID Incredible has is its coupling with many of Google's features and their direct integration," says iPhone-droid.com, which favored iPhone in their write-up. "Since Google isn't going anywhere anytime soon and has been making huge strides with its mobile operating system Android any phones that are making use of this OS will have a huge advantage in their partnership with the mega giant. It allows for separation of focus and allows hardware developers to focus on the phone itself while Google focus's on the OS that will run them. For Apple, they have taken on the burden of supporting both hardware and software and may slow them down as may be an indication by their relatively late release of the iPhone 4. This delay in release has allowed for Android powered phones to make strides in breaking off market share that Apple previously dominated."

iOS 4 versus Android 2.2

"With IOS4, tethering is now enabled from the iPhone to enable the Internet connection to be shared by other devices," writes PC World. "However, AT&T is charging $20 a month extra just for the privilege of having the option to connect another device, and the iPad supposedly will be unable to tether with the iPhone. Android 2.2 devices are capable of acting as mobile wi-fi hotspots. Up to eight devices can share the wi-fi connection of the Android 2.2 smartphone. Whether or not there are additional charges for the hotspot functionality, or how sharing the Internet connection will impact the data consumption and data plan charges may vary from carrier to carrier."

Check out the full articles for more on these differences. Now it's your turn: How do you rate the iPhone 4? Let us know in the comments.

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