In the battle of mobile phones, I picked the Sprint HTC EVO… and
that decision wasn’t really that hard. While the gadget guys debate phone specs, the real world debate is much simpler. Here is how I made my decision…

First, it’s a phone – While this should be obvious, this detail seems to get lost in the phone hardware debate. I had an iPhone for over two years and the service at AT&T was so bad for so long that I had to leave. Business calls were regularly (multiple times a day) getting dropped no matter where I was in the country. While I’ve had the EVO  just short of a week, I have yet to drop a call. In addition, I think the voice quality of the call is better on the EVO. I can’t imagine any reason why I’d want to stay with AT&T with such poor voice service. This reason alone was enough to cause me to switch to the EVO.

Then there’s email – Besides using the phone for calls, I also use it for email and calendaring – another typical business use. The email application on an Android-based phone is much more flexible in threading and filtering emails. The iPhone email client is simple and workable, but it’s no where close to business class.

Philosophy – There’s a philosophical aspect that drove me to use the EVO as well. Whether it’s an iPhone or an iPad, Apple makes products that are idiot proof and simple to use. This good philosophy extends to applications and has caused Apple to make some really bad decisions on how they control the application environment. I want to decide which apps I like and don’t like… I don’t want my phone manufacturer to filter out stable programs for arbitrary business reasons. There is no good technological reason why Apple rejected the Google Voice application. The rejection signifies everything that is wrong with Apple’s control of the application environment. It stifles innovation under the completely disingenuous guise of building a good user experience.

Tethering – Apple and AT&T promised that tethering would be available at some point in the future. As it turned out, it took over two years and a more expensive data plan. I’ve been extremely pleased with the tethering capabilities with the EVO if even on 3G for now. I expect it will be screaming fast with 4G.

GPS – With business travel, you need a GPS. Again, Apple has been promising this capability for awhile and they do offer it now, but it took awhile. (Clarification, I meant turn-by-turn navigation capability. When the 3G was originally released, it did include “A-GPS” but Apple prohibited developers from using the phone for “real time route guidance”)

Wireless hot spots are hot – The EVO easily converts into a wireless hot spot that up to 8 computers can connect to securely. This has become a critical business tool for group meetings where internet access isn’t available due to security or lack of access. There is an additional charge of $30/month to use the hot spot feature, but it’s well worth it for business travelers.

Bigger screen – The new Apple iPhone can tout screen resolution sizes, but the physical screen size is the same 3.5 inch screen. It may not seem like much, but the 4.3 inch EVO screen makes a definite difference. I think it’s much easier to read than the iPhone. In addition, the body width of email and internet articles easily snap to the width of the EVO screen regardless how much you zoom in. No more scrolling back and forth on the iPhone.

Weakness of the EVO

Learning a different way - I’ve seen and heard a number of concerns raised that the Android OS is not as intuitive as the iPhone. I’m not sure if it’s not as intuitive as much as it is just plain different. If you are accustomed to using the iPhone, you have to unlearn the iPhone way before grasping the Android way of using your phone. It’s the same difference going from a Mac to a PC… it takes awhile to get use to it.

Battery life – with my moderate use, the shorter battery life of the EVO barely gets by for me. Like many business people, my PC is my primary email interface and I’m just about able to get through a day without having to plug in my EVO. I do keep wifi and GPS turned off when it’s not needed which is a significant factor of battery life. For people who live on their mobile phones, battery life is a legitimate issue… just not for me.

Keyboard – the keyboard on the EVO (and all Android phones) is not as well laid out as it is with the iPhone. I’m still getting accustomed to it but I recall having to get use to the iPhone keyboard when I first got it.

So that’s my list of reasons… can you think of any criteria for business use I missed?