If you’re looking for a fast 4G phone and you’re sick of waiting for Verizon to get their act together with their LTE phones and you get good T-Mobile coverage in your area, the Samsung Galaxy S 4G might just be the phone for you.

If you’re familiar with the Samsung Vibrant, this phone will look familiar as it’s nearly identical on the outside and still has that pretty 4” Super AMOLED display.

The big changes have all been “under the hood” changes.

What’s New

Since this phone was built off the Samsung Vibrant, I thought we’d take a look at what’s new or different on this device compared to the Vibrant.

Fast 4G Speeds

The Samsung Galaxy S 4G For T-Mobile - Best 4G Phone for T-Mobile

While both T-Mobile and AT&T have upgraded their 3G networks with HSPA+ overhauls, the T-Mobile version is much faster and approaches the 4G speeds you’d get with Verizon LTE or Sprint WiMAX coverage.

While you’ll never get close to the theoretical 21 Mbps download speeds, real world testing has shown you that data speeds are a huge improvement over current 3G networks so if you your phone for a lot of multimedia and videos, this will be a very welcome upgrade.

Also, to sweeten the pot, T-Mobile is currently offering unlimited data plans for just $10 a month while the competition charges $30 a month for the same thing and both AT&T and Verizon are switching to tiered data plans making that perhaps the best reason to switch to T-Mobile.

Bigger Battery

The Samsung Galaxy S 4G also comes with a bigger battery – a 1650 mAh battery vs the 1500 mAh battery found in the Vibrant.

Less Internal Memory

While Google has been trying to get manufacturers to go with more internal memory for performance reasons, for some reason Samsung opted to go the MicroSD route with this phone.  While the Vibrant had 16GB of internal memory and no microSD card included, the Galaxy S 4G has a mere 185mb of internal memory and comes with a 16 GB microSD card instead.  It’s not a super big deal but it does mean slightly lower performance.

Mobile Hotspot

If you want to share those blazing 4G speeds with up to 5 devices, you can.  You don’t even need to download and app to do it, you just enable it in the settings.  However, it will run you an additional $15 a month to use the service – less than most other carriers charge but an additional charge nonetheless.

Media Hub

Right now, T-Mobile is including the movie Inception preloaded on the device plus the device can also use the T-Mobile TV and Samsung Media hub which lets you rent or buy movies and TV shows and to make it easy, those purchases can be charged to your monthly phone bill.

Front Facing Camera

For those of you who like video chat, Samsung packed in a front facing camera for the task using Qik.

Samsung Galaxy S 4G Specs

• 4G – HSPA+ with 21 Mbps Theoretical Max (real world  avg – 5 Mbps)
• 4” Super AMOLED Display – 480×800 resolution
• 1 Ghz Cortex A8 Processor
• GPS (assisted GPS chip – aGPS) – Free GPS Navigation via Google Maps App
• Digital Compass
• Quad Band – Can be used outside the United States / International Roaming
• Adobe Flash 10.1
• Touchwiz 3.0 Interface
• Accelerometer
• Swype Keyboard
• 512 B RAM
• 16GB storage with included microSD card
• 802.11n Wifi
• 5 Megapixel Camera and 720p @ 30 frames per second video recording
• Front Facing Camera for Video Chat
• Weight 118 grams
• Price – $149 with 2 year contract ($599 off contract)

Bottom Line

The Samsung Galaxy S is a great choice if you have to have 4G speeds on T-Mobile and is our highest recommended 4G device on the carrier.  However, since it isn’t much of an upgrade over the Vibrant, we’d hold off on upgrading for the moment if you can wait a little longer for a 4G phone.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwBbX8dp3CM

Updated 2/25

Being billed as the world’s most powerful smartphone by AT&T, the Motorola Atrix certainly comes with a fair bit of hype.  However, after looking at the specs and seeing a demo of the phone, we’re not going to argue.

It seems like AT&T is definitely getting ready for life after it no longer has the iPhone exclusive and the Android powered, 4G ,  Motorola Atrix certainly appears to be one of the early cornerstones of the strategy.

Motorola Atrix - Dual Core 4G Phone For AT&T

It will be launched with Android 2.2 Froyo with an Android 2.3 Gingerbread update to follow shortly after launch.

While the “4G” is actually HSPA+, which is the same as T-Mobile uses, it’s not real 4G though it’s still much faster than current 3G speeds.

Motorola and AT&T certainly crammed in a lot of bells and whistles into the phone and there will be an optional HD Multimedia Dock and a Laptop Dock (more on this in a sec).

Motorola Atrix Specs

• 1 GHZ Dual Core Nvidia Tegra 2 Processor
• 1 GB RAM
• 4″ qHD display (qHD stands for quarter HD, which means 960×540 resolution)
• 1930 mAh battery for 9 hours of talk time (this is an absolutely huge battery!)
• Android 2.2 Froyo with a Gingerbread update expected
• 5 Megapixel Rear Camera / VGA Front Facing Camera
• Dual Microphones for better voice clarity… you know, for those times when you actually use your phone as a phone
• 4.8 ounces weight
• 16GB Internal Storage (Google wants manufacturers to have on board storage as it will perform better on Android 2.3 Gingerbread and beyond) (Supports additional 32GB MicroSD card for a total capacity of 48GB)
• Fingerprint Reader (not kidding – it’s on the power button)
• Price – $199 with 2 year contract.

Motorola Atrix Laptop Dock

The most unique feature of the Atrix, however, is the Motorola Lapdock.   Basically, it allows you to use your phone on a laptop size screen (11.6 inch) with a computer.  The laptop dock uses the phone’s processor, RAM, and memory.  I think it’s a cool feature but I’m not so sure how useful it’ll actually be as most people with smartphones already have laptops – it will likely be a niche accessory but nonetheless I think it’s pretty cool since as smarthphones get more powerful, they’ll be able to run just like laptops, heck my old Droid already has more processing power than the laptop I had throughout college.

Here’s the commercial showing off the $300 Motorola Lapdock accessory (after $100 mail in rebate).

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sc1N7__UQsg

Benchmarks

And if you’re into benchmarks and the like, here’s a video covering that so you can see just how fast this thing really is.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDRYJrCd7O4

Bottom Line

While we still have some reservations about AT&T’s so called 4G network, the Atrix itself is a fantastically fast phone and I would say “the” must have phone right now for AT&T – yes, we like it better than the iPhone 4.

Description & User Reviews

Purchasing information and official product description are below as well as a few user reviews – you can always purchase directly from AT&T if you prefer but sometimes the price below is cheaper (just click the “more information”) button as is fluctuates often.

Enjoy the power of mobile computing in the palm of your hand with the Motorola ATRIX 4G for AT&T, which offers a 1 GHz dual-core processor and the ability to connect to AT&T's ultra-fast 4G mobile broadband network. Powered by the Android 2.2 platform (learn more below), it also features Motorola's webtop application, which offers a PC-like experience and runs a full Mozilla Firefox 3.6 browser with support for Adobe Flash Player (requires optional dock).

The world's first smartphone qHD display, offering high resolution and 24-bit color larger image.

With AT&T's 4G network, you'll enjoy mobile broadband speeds up to 4x faster than AT&T's already fast mobile broadband network (learn more below). You also get the optional AT&T Mobile Hotspot service built right into the smartphone--enabling you to connect additional Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the phone's mobile broadband signal.

The NVIDIA Tegra 2 dual-core processor (2 x 1 GHz) allows you to multi-task quickly, while the 1 GB of RAM provides PC-like power and performance. The 4-inch qHD touchscreen display offers a rich 24-bit color depth and a 960 x 540-pixel resolution for extremely sharp images.

Other features include a 5-megapixel camera/camcorder that can capture video at HD 720p resolution, ultra-fast Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking, Bluetooth for stereo music streaming and connecting to peripherals, 16 GB internal memory, microSD expansion (up to 32 GB), MOTOBLUR for integrated social networking, GPS for location-based services and navigation using Google Maps, HDMI audio/video output, and up to 9 hours of talk time.

Powered by a dual core processor with each core running at 1 GHz larger image.

It's complemented by optional accessories that include a super-thin laptop dock--for which ATRIX 4G is the "engine"--and an HD media dock that uses ATRIX 4G's HDMI video output capabilities and processing power to enable a revolutionary browsing, application, productivity, and media experience (learn more below).

Your Digital Hub

The Motorola ATRIX 4G is the only smartphone that allows you to carry the power and performance of mobile computing inside your pocket. Motorola ATRIX 4G is built around a 1 GHz dual-core processor and 1 GB of RAM for the horsepower you need to keep pace with all aspects of your life. Web pages open twice as fast as non-dual-core smartphones and Adobe Flash Player makes it possible to view a full range of online animations and video.

PC Power from Your Smartphone

You'll be able to create, edit, and interact with all your documents, media, and content using Motorola's webtop application (when connected to an optional dock). The ATRIX 4G can be used to browse your favorite web sites with a full Firefox desktop browser, view social networking sites, and use HTML5 web-based applications and supported cloud computing services while running your Android applications in a window. And you'll also be able to send instant messages and make phone calls--all at the same time. Calls continue uninterrupted even if the ATRIX 4G is removed from the dock.

To access the webtop application, with the Laptop Dock, simply dock the phone to the Laptop Dock and webtop launches automatically. Or, dock your phone in the HD Multimedia Dock and choose between webtop and Entertainment Center mode.

Empower Your Fun

The dual-core processor lets the ATRIX 4G render graphics and games faster, and everything you see on the ATRIX 4G screen is in crisp, rich 24-bit color with the world's first qHD (Quarter High Definition) smartphone display. With the U-verse mobile app from AT&T, U-verse subscribers can browse a library of shows for streaming to the ATRIX 4G, and remotely schedule recordings on their DVRs at home.

And the ATRIX 4G offers up to 48 GB of memory--16 GB on board and an optional 32 GB microSD card--giving you space to store thousands of songs, photos, and files to keep you entertained wherever your life takes you.

Enhanced MOTOBLUR

MOTOBLUR is Motorola's exclusive experience that syncs contacts, posts, messages, photos and much more--from your favorite social media sites, work and personal e-mail, and last.fm--and automatically delivers them to your home screen.

The 5-megapixel camera also captures HD 720p video larger image.

• Filter social networking and messages widgets: Filter by social networking account, by contact(s) or by contact group to only see the information you want.
• Improved social networking functionality: Retweet, like Facebook comments, and more.
• Screen customization: Move and resize preloaded widgets on up to three home screens.
• Battery manager: Manage battery consumption by operating in one of three performance modes.
• Personal and corporate e-mail: Pushed directly to the device.

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Connectivity

• Ultra-fast 4G connectivity via AT&T's HSPA+ network (with enhanced backhaul). See more about AT&T's 4G service below.
• Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g) for accessing home and corporate networks as well as hotspots while on the go.
• Optional AT&T Mobile Hotspot service enabling you to connect multiple devices--from tablets to gaming devices--to the phone's 3G/4G cellular connection via Wi-Fi.
• Onboard GPS for navigation and location services
• Integrated Google Maps with turn-by-turn navigation, street and satellite views
• Optional AT&T Navigator service includes audible turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic updates, and re-routing options.
• Bluetooth connectivity (version 2.1) includes profiles for communication headset, hands-free car kits, A2DP audio streaming, and for connecting to peripherals like a wireless keyboard.

OS & Software Android 2.2 operating system (Froyo) (learn more below) BLOCKBUSTER app enables you to discover and download the latest movie rentals on the go. Quick Office 3.0 for viewing, editing, and creating Microsoft Office files right on your phone. Need for Speed Shift racing game (demo version) DLNA capabilities enables you to share your photo albums, videos and movies wirelessly with a compatible HDTV or other DLNA device. Design and Hardware Dual-core 1 GHz processor capable of opening web pages twice as fast as most other smartphones. 4-inch qHD touchscreen display (Quarter High Definition; 960 x 540 pixels) made of ultra-durable Corning Gorilla Glass with accelerometer plus proximity and ambient light sensors. Onscreen keyboard Swype input system allows you to input text faster and easier by gliding your finger around the onscreen keyboard, moving from letter to letter in one continuous motion. Removable battery Communications & Internet Full messaging capabilities including SMS text, MMS picture/video and IM instant messaging (via popular services including AOL, Yahoo!, Windows Live Messenger, and Google Talk). Access to personal and corporate e-mail (including support for Exchange and push Gmail). Easy access to social networks including Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Photo uploading capabilities to Facebook, MySpace, Photobucket, and Picasa. Full HTML web browsing via Android HTML Webkit browser; Mozilla Firefox 3.6 browser (when using optional dock).

Camera 5-megapixel rear-facing camera with LED flash and auto focus HD 720p video capture capabilities at 30 frames per second (fps) Front-facing camera for video chats (VGA resolution) Multimedia Music player compatible with MP3, WMA9, and AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ Video player compatible with MPEG4, H.264 Memory 16 GB internal memory Memory expansion via microSD card slot with support for optional cards up to 32 GB. 1 GB of DDR2 RAM is twice the RAM of most smartphones and delivers effortless multi-tasking. More Features 3.5mm headphone jack HDMI audio/video port enables you to output pictures, slides and videos in HD quality (720p) via included HDMI cable (future software upgrade to 1080p video output). Micro USB 2.0 port with mass storage capabilities. Text-to-speech capabilities including read-out of text and e-mail messages. Voice commands Organizer tools including calendar and alarm clock. Speakerphone for hands-free communication. Fingerprint sensor for added security built in on the rear of the device. Set your screen lock to Fingerprints, and you can unlock your phone by swiping your finger over that sensor.

Vital Statistics

The Motorola ATRIX 4G weighs 4.76 ounces and measures 4.64 x 2.5 x 0.43 inches. Its 1930 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 9 hours of talk time, and up to 250 hours (10+ days) of standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies as well as AT&T's dual-band 4G network (850/1900 MHz; HSPA+/HSDPA/UMTS).

What's in the Box

Motorola ATRIX 4G handset, removable battery, charger, USB cable, HDMI cable, quick start guide

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Accessories That Make The ATRIX Smartphone Smarter

Motorola complements the ATRIX 4G with two unique companion docks that enable you to have an enhanced and more interactive computer-like experience.

Laptop dock (see larger).

The Motorola Laptop Dock has an incredibly thin design with an 11.6-inch screen, full keyboard, stereo speakers, 36Wh three-cell battery that delivers up to 8 hours of battery life and weighs just 2.4 pounds. Simply dock your Motorola ATRIX 4G into the back of the Laptop Dock to turn it into an active, connected machine to experience true mobility at work, home, and playing on-the-go in a form factor that's lighter and smaller than most laptops on the market.

Multimedia dock (see larger).

The Motorola HD Multimedia Dock has three USB ports and an HDMI port enabling connections to a keyboard, mouse, speakers, and HDMI-compatible monitor for working at your desk/office, or connecting to an HDMI-compatible television and home theater audio system for interacting with content and enjoying video, music, games, and more in your living room.

AT&T 4G Network

This phone runs on AT&T's dual-band 850/1900 MHz 4G network (UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+), and with HSPA+ you'll experience mobile data speeds up to 4x faster than ordinary mobile broadband--up to approximately 6 Mbps (download). AT&T has deployed HSPA+ to virtually 100 percent of its mobile broadband network, which enables 4G speeds when combined with enhanced backhaul (via Ethernet or fiber).

Backhaul is one of the major pieces of a telecommunications network. Think of it as the limbs connecting AT&T's cell towers with AT&T's backbone network that provides access to the Internet.

Coming later in 2011, AT&T will deliver a second layer of 4G network called LTE (Long Term Evolution) that is even faster than HSPA+ speeds.

In areas where either AT&T's 3G or 4G network is not available, you'll continue to receive service on the AT&T EDGE network, which offers availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways.

Note: AT&T's 4G mobile broadband coverage is not available in all areas. 4G speeds delivered by HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul; availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deployment.

Android Operating System

The ATRIX 4G runs the latest Android operating system--OS 2.2 (aka, Froyo)--which provides a faster overall Android experience as well as greater multitasking capabilities. You'll be able to receive notifications, listen to music, and even record GPS data without keeping the application open. And it features a plethora of new enhancements, including an improved onscreen QWERTY keyboard, full push corporate e-mail, and support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 for access to the full Web. It also offers enhanced Exchange support, with Calendar syncing, Global Address Lookup, improved security, auto-discovery, and more.

With integrated Google technology, the ATRIX 4G brings one-touch access to the popular Google mobile services millions use every day, including Google Search by voice, Google Maps with Street View, GTalk instant messaging (with presence capabilities), YouTube, and Picasa. The ATRIX 4G also provides easy access to both personal and corporate e-mail, calendars, and contacts supported by Exchange Server and Gmail. And through Android Market, you'll get access to thousands of useful applications, widgets, and fun games to download and install on your phone, with many more apps being added every day.

Also Available for This Android Device

Kindle App for Android Read more than 700,000 Kindle books with our free application.

MP3 for Android Find, buy and play the music you love wherever you are.

Amazon App for Android Shop for millions of products wherever you go.

IMDB App for Android Connect to the world's largest collection of movie, TV and celebrity information.

If you’re impatient (I was) you can download the official update and do it yourself. It’s actually pretty easy and even if something did go wrong, you could go to the Verizon store and they’d fix it as this is the real Verizon and Motorola approved update so it’s covered under warranty.  Just remember this update is for non-rooted users (if you don’t know what that means, then you’re a non-rooted user).

Now that a significant number of people finally have Android 2.2 Froyo on their phones (Motorola Droid, HTC EVO 4G, Nexus One) I figured this would be a good time to review all the Froyo goodness that has come to your trusty old Droid and to talk about what didn’t make it to the phone.

The Froyo update has largely been hailed as the version of Android that finally feels complete and puts it on par with Apple’s iOS 4.  A lot has been done behind the scenes and while you can’t see a lot of what has changed, the biggest thing you’ll notice is how much faster and responsive your phone is.  Google claims a 2-5 times speed increase and if you’ve been using your Droid for any length of time, you’ll notice how much faster the phone responds.

Other new features:

• USB Tethering – There have been applications on the market that have allowed you to tether your phone via USB for a while now, but now it’s built in (Wireless tethering didn’t make it – more on that later).  To access, click settings, Wireless & Network Settings, Tethering, and if your USB cable is plugged in, check the box.
• You’ll notice a new application launcher and that phone and browser access are now available on all your app screens.
• 270 degree rotation.  To see it in action, start watching any Youtube video… now turn the phone upside down.
• 5 screens for your apps, up from the 3 that were previously available.
• Voice dialing for Bluetooth headsets!
• Adobe FLASH 10.1!  Finally something you can hold over the heads of all your iPhone carrying friends – you have all of the Internet available to you on your phone and can watch all the videos and play all the flash based games you like.   (Note:  My updated didn’t have flash support built in and getting it working took a little searching so let me save you the time – here’s the Adobe Flash 10.1 app for the Droid since the Android Market and Adobe’s site didn’t have it last I looked).
• Chrome to Phone – I did a post on this a few weeks ago, but wanted to bring it up again.  You’ll need to install the app for your phone and install the extension on Chrome, but once you do this, anytime you’re working on your computer, you can just click the little phone icon and send the link (including directions from Google Maps) directly to your phone.
• Improved video quality
• New camera interface – the notable enhancement here is that the zoom is easier to use
• Easier to keep you apps updated.  If you’re like me and have 100+ apps, it can be kind of tedious when you have 7-10 apps that all need to be updated when you have to do it one by one.  Now in Android 2.2 you can just press the “update all” button and Android will take care of the rest.
• Apps can now be stored on the SD card and you can move current apps (that support it) to the SD Card.

Wi-Fi Hotspot / Tethering

Of all the features I was most excited about getting with the new update, this was it and sadly wifi tethering didn’t make its way to the Droid with Verizon saying the Droid lacks the necessary hardware to function as a wifi hotspot.   That may be true, sort of (it actually has the proper hardware but the hardware is running the wrong firmware to do it properly), but rooted users have found a way to make wifi tethering a reality with a bit of an ad-hoc solution, but if you’re willing to root your phone (Cyanogenmod and Bugless Beast are two popular ones in the rooting community), you can get wifi tethering.   Disclaimer:  Rooted your Droid voids the warranty on your phone and there is a chance you could brick your phone in the process – we take no responsibility should you decide to try this.

What do you think of the new 2.2 update? Anything I left out that you think should be mentioned?  Let me know in the comments.

You know how in 24 Jack is always getting stuff sent to his phone?

Now you can do the same thing.  If you’ve ever been doing something on your computer and wanted to send it to your phone (this seems to happen to me daily), now you can with Chrome to Phone.

If you’re wondering why you haven’t heard of this app before, it’s because it only works on Android 2.2 – which is still only available (as of this writing) on the Nexus One or to those of you who have rooted your Android phone and installed the custom ROM (if you’re going to do it, I’d recommend Bugless Beast, Titanium, or Chevy).

I see myself using this app mostly for maps and for sending files to my phone (like non Android Market Apps), but it comes in handy for a whole lot of things, especially long, complicated links I don’t want to painstakingly type in via my Droid keyboard.

If you have Android 2.2, just go install this extension for Chrome and then install the Chrome to Phone Android App on your phone and you’re all set.

For those who wonder how all this magic works, it uses Gmail synching to do it.

Learn all about it with this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oyCWEUqNvY

When the original Motorola Droid was launched in 2009, it was really the only worthy competitor the iPhone had.  These days there are plenty of smartphones on the market many of them quite good but the title of best smartphone really comes down to three phones – the Droid X, iPhone 4, and EVO 4G.

I’ve already done an iPhone 4 vs HTC EVO 4G post so I won’t rehash that here, instead we’ll do a rundown of how the Droid X and iPhone 4 stack up against each other.

iPhone 4 vs Droid X

Processor

Both phones are fast… really fast!  The Droid X features a Texas Instruments OMAP 1GHZ processor while the iPhone 4 features an Apple A4 1GHZ chip.

Display

One of the most obvious differences in the two phones is right here.  Apple’s iPhone 4 has a 3.5” screen (small by current smartphone standards) but it uses their new “retina display” technology at 960×640 resolution which results in a gorgeous display.  The Droid X, on the other hand, with its 4.3” screen makes the iPhone 4 look puny and while the display is good looking and sharp, it does run at a mere 854×480 resolution.

Memory

The iPhone 4 comes with either 16GB of memory ($199 with 2/yr contract) or 32GB of memory ($299 with 2/yr contract).  The Droid X comes with 24GB of memory, but it can be upgraded by the user to 40GB of memory.

RAM

Both the iPhone 4 and Droid X have 512 MB of RAM.

Camera

I’ll say this now before we compare specs – in real world testing, pictures look to be of nearly equal quality.  That being said, the Droid X has an 8MP camera with a dual LED flash while the iPhone 4 has a 5MP camera with single LED flash.

OS / Apps

The iPhone 4 runs IOS 4 while the Droid X will initially ship with Android 2.1 (will be updated to 2.2 shortly thereafter).

Which OS you choose is really up to you.  You are granted a lot more freedom to do what you want with Android while the user experience is better with IOS 4.

As far as apps go, the Apple App store has over 225,000 apps while the Android Market has about 75,000 apps.  For all intents and purposes, even though there is a large app discrepancy, at this point it’s a wash as to which is better – both have a ton of apps and if you want to do something with your phone, you probably can find an app for that on either marketplace.

One thing which isn’t in question here is gaming – gaming is vastly superior on the iPhone – there are more and better games available for the iPhone.

Carrier

For many, this will be the deciding factor. One is exclusive to the carrier many consider to be the best in America (Droid X – Verizon Wireless) and the other is on the carrier many consider to be the worst (iPhone 4 – AT&T).   This is really up to you – some people don’t have problems with AT&T, some do.  Where I currently live AT&T was hopelessly bad – Verizon has awesome coverage – in my hometown, neither is very good.  Both companies have an evil streak, but Verizon does consistently score better than AT&T in just about every category.

One thing to keep in mind, both networks will let you test their network for 30 days before you are locked into two years with them.  You can return your phone if you’re unhappy within 30 days with no penalty.  My recommendation is to test it out and make sure it works to your liking before you’re stuck for 2 years.

Other

Each has a bunch of features you won’t find on the other.

The iPhone 4 has Facetime and a front facing camera for video chat.  The Droid X has no such application and no front facing camera.  It also has a gyroscope, which as best I can tell has no practical purpose other than to make playing games even more awesome on the iPhone.

The Droid X has true multi-tasking (the iPhone has quasi-multi-tasking), HDMI outputs, wi-fi tethering and soon will be able to display Adobe Flash.

Conclusion

Declaring a winner is really not easy here and really it comes down to preference.  Plus I don’t feel like starting a flame war here on this blog.  Anything involving Apple products seems to bring out people who feel like any slight on Apple is akin to saying Hitler tried to do us all a favor or that Jesus had it coming.  Yeah, it’s that bad and I’m not falling into that trip.

Here’s the bottom line – they’re both spectacular phones.  Get the one you like better – go play with each of them at the store before you buy.

Motorola Droid X Vs Apple iPhone 4

In a lot of ways this phone is just a slight upgrade over the first Droid.

It features a dual LED flash 5MP camera.

It has a faster 1 GHz processor (TI OMAP).

It has 16GB of memory (same as before) and can be upgraded to 40GB.

It also has 512 MB of RAM which is a welcome addition as the original could get bogged down rather easily if you like to run a lot of apps at once.

The keyboard no longer has the thumbpad and now features slightly raised keys which makes typing via the keyboard easier and faster – a big improvement over the old keyboard though I’ve found as have many others that the physical keyboard isn’t nearly as necessary as you might think – I rarely use mine now and I’m one of those people who initially refused to buy a smarthphone without a physical keyboard.

This phone is expected to ship with Android 2.2 Froyo which brings a whole lot of awesomeness to the table.

The screen size remains the same at 3.7″.

Is it worth the upgrade if you already have a Motorola Droid – I don’t so.  It’s an incremental step forward, but not a giant leap.  If you’re going to upgrade, get a Droid X unless the size of the phone makes it difficult for you to hold in your hand.  If you don’t have a smartphone yet, then by all means get it as you’ll probably love this phone.

Motorola Droid 2 - Photo Courtesy DroidLife

UPDATE: For An Updated Version Of Apple vs Google Android, please see my Ice Cream Sandwich vs iOS 5 post and accompanying video.   

********The post below is out of date but I’ll leave it up for those of you who’d like to make historical references or are doing research. ********

A lot has been made about the new iPhone 4 and I’ve already talked about the specs of their new phone vs other top of the line Android phones so in this comparision, we’re going to take the core operating systems as they’re critical to the user experience.

For the purpose of this review we’ll specifically cover Apple iOS 4.0 and Google Android 2.2 “Froyo” even though very few have actually had their hands on both although that’ll change soon with over the air 2.2 updates coming soon for many Android phone users and the new iOS 4.0 coming standard on the iPhone 4 and being pushed as an update for current iPhone users soon.

Now I know that there are plenty of other smartphone operating systems like Symbian, Blackberry OS, WebOS, and Windows Phone 7, but at the moment the race to create the best mobile phone OS is a two horse race and Google and Apple are far ahead of the competition – even the extremely well funded Windows Phone 7.

Keep in mind that in some cases I’ll be comparing software that runs on each OS and not just the OS itself, but as far as I’m concerned, the software running on each platform is really part of the OS experience.

Ease of Use

Which operating system is more intuitive and easier to use?  To me both of them are easy, but then again I love gadget.  On the other hand, my grandmother couldn’t use either one (I have a Motorola Droid, my brother has an iPhone – we did test this out on a real grandmother).    The casual user will probably find both to be rather intuitive although I think there is a slightly higher learning curve with Android.

I certainly appreciate that I’m able to heavily customize the look and feel Android OS (although it can require rooting the phone), but I don’t think that matters much to the average, casual user.

iOS I think does provide a slightly better user experience, especially to non-tech people, but to be honest, you’re not going to suffer with a difficult to use OS if you pick Android.

Openness

There’s no denying it – iOS is only available on the iPhone and iPad – period.  On the other hand, Android is available on over 100 different phones..  The Android Operating system is open source while iOS is owned and controlled by Apple.    There are pros and cons to each so I’ll let you decide which you prefer, if you have any preference (some don’t care, which is just fine).

Battery

While phone makers tout bigger batteries and low power mobile processors – battery life is still largely dependent on how well the operating system uses power.   iOS 4.0 is probably going to be the winner here although I haven’t seen the real world performance yet so comparing the theoretical battery length to real world data available for Android phones isn’t a fair fight as the real world results are almost always lower than what the manufacturer claims for battery life.

Multitasking

iOS 4.0 finally brings multi-tasking to the iPhone.  Now you can listen to Pandora in the background and send a text at the same time – hooray!  Android has been able to multi-task for a while.  If you have a high end and current model of either an iPhone or Android phone, multi-tasking is probably a draw.  However, all Android phones can do this – older iPhones won’t be getting multi-tasking.

Keyboard

Even Google has admitted that the software keyboard on Android could use some work – I’m not going to disagree.  iOS has a much better software keyboard than any Google Android phone.  However, you can download the Swype keyboard app for Android which is really, really cool and is the absolute fastest way to type on a smartphone (the current guiness world record for sending a text the fastest was set using this program) – it’s not currently available for the iPhone (not sure if it ever will be).

Search

As a company that really sets the bar for search, you’d expect Android to slap the iPhone’s ass and call it Sally when it comes to searching… and you’d be right.  Search on Android phones is far better and voice search is quite good.  The iPhone has some catching up to do here.

Browser

Up until the latest update of the Android operating system, this was a draw as both are based on Webkit (Safari and Chrome both use the technology for their desktop versions as well).

Now, however, with the ability to display the Internet in all it’s glory – Adobe Flash and all – Android Browser is now the clear winner in mobile phone browsers while Safari will remain behind until Apple either supports flash or the entire Internet works with HTML 5 (don’t hold your breath, it’s gonna takes years – many, many years).

Ads

For many this is a reason to grown – mobile ads.   As a marketer (that’s my day job and how I pay the bills), being able to do advertising to users of each operating system is really important as it’s the next advertising frontier and it allows many apps you love and get for free to stay that way – free.

Apple has launched its new iAds system while on Android primarily has AdMob (now owned by Google).  From an openness standpoint, Admob is much, much better as iAds is proprietary to Apple.

As an advertising, I don’t like the direction Apple is going, but from a consumer standpoint it remains to be seen which is better.

Apps

At some point in the nuclear arms race to have the most apps, you reach a point of diminishing returns just as you did in the real mccoy where both sides had more than enough bombs to obliterate the other many times over.   That seems to be the point we’ve reached in with the Android Market and the Apple App Store.

Both have some really cool apps you can’t get on the other and while the App Store has over 200,000 apps compared to the 75,000 or so Android has, how many different to-do lists, alarm clocks, and calculator do you really need?

Games

In this case, iOS really has Android beat.  Gaming on an iPhone is far superior – there are more games available and the experience is far better – Android really hasn’t matured as a mobile gaming platform yet.

Navigation

Again, this is really a comparison of software and not core OS functionality.   For navigation it really depends on what you want.  With Android you get free Google Maps Navigation – with the iPhone you get many more navigation options, including a couple free options.  The free iPhone GPS navigation apps really don’t hold a candle to Google Maps Navigation, but the paid apps like Navigon MobileNavigator and TomTom for the iPhone are still better than what you can get for Android… unless you get the Garminfone.

Confused yet?   Let me clear it up for you.   For the absolute best GPS navigation on a phone, get an iPhone and buy the MobileNavigator OR a Garminfone but remember the Garminfone is really underpowered compared to other Smartphones and runs and outdated version of Android… 1.6.

If you want really good navigation and don’t want to pay extra, get any Android 1.6 or later phone (which is pretty much every current Android phone on the market now and includes all the best ones like the Droid, Droid X, Droid Shadow, HTC EVO 4G, Nexus One, and Droid Incredible)

Tethering

Both operating systems have tethering capabilities, but considering that Android 2.2 allows you to turn your phone into a Wi-Fi hotspot (for free, just be careful of data usage) and on the iPhone, you still have to physically tether it and pay an extra monthly fee to AT&T AND you can’t tether an iPhone to an iPad, I’m going to give Android the nod for better smartphone tethering.

Choice

With the iPhone, your choices are black and white – pick the color you want.  With Android and the now dozens of phones available, you get more choice in your use experience.  Do you want a model with a dedicated keyboard, no problem – prefer a huge screen, check – need one that is navigation focused, they’ve got your covered.   While the amount of choices offered is certainly a double edged sword as Google can’t as tightly control the user experience as Apple, having the option of any phone carrier and a lot of different phones is a nice problem to have as far as I’m concerned.

For example, I wanted a dedicated keyboard on my phone so I got one even though I mostly use the on screen one.

Conclusion

My intension here isn’t to declare a winner like so many others.  It really comes down to preference and BOTH are great operating systems and in many ways they’re too close to call and each has areas where it is clearly superior.

If you can’t display it, you’re missing out on the full Internet experience, especially online video.

Steve Jobs had been belligerent that Flash is crap and he won’t let it on his iPhone or iPad.   Adobe, being less totalitarian and more willing to give you a choice than Mr Jobs has figured out a way to bring Flash to your iPhone or iPad.

It’s called Greystripe.

Basically, it will convert anything built in Flash to HTML 5 on the fly if it detects a browser (like Safari on the iPhone and iPad as well as many Android phones as only Android 2.2 natively supports Flash) that can’t display flash.