This isn’t a review or even a real comparison as 1) I don’t have an HTC EVO (yet) and 2) my iPhone is a 3g, not even a 3gs or the new iPhone whatevah.
But here’s the thing, I’ve gone ahead and ordered the EVO ahead of the iPhone announcement. I’ll be leaving the iPhone behind for at least a couple of years. Why? It’s just gotten too expensive to live with AT&T, partially because I have too many devices and partially because of changes to AT&T’s policies.
My collection of stuff includes the iPhone 3g, a broadband USB stick, and the 3g iPad. Even with my employers discount (FAN) I’ve discovered I’m paying about $175 a month in telecommunications fees. Worse, were I to drop any the unlimited data plans at this point if I were to sign up again I’d have to do it on AT&T’s new plans which limit the amount of data one can use at the price.
The thing is, I like all those devices and don’t really want to give them up. I want to be able to have data on my phone, my laptop, and my iPad where and when I life, WiFi or no WiFi. I’m often in places where there isn’t any WiFi so there you go.
The solution seems to be the HTC EVO with their unlimited hotspot feature. Theoretically I’ll be able to run my laptop and my iPad at 4g speeds (actually WiMAX not 4g but hey, it’ll be faster than what I have now) when available, and here in Hawaii we have it (at least on Oahu where I live and parts of Maui). The rest of the time I’ll probably have 3g which is what I have now so it’s a wash.
The difference in pricing is what drove me to leave AT&T. I can get all of this for under $120, a savings of at least $50 a month. That’s pretty good as far as I’m concerned. And I’ll get to play with a different sort of phone to boot.
I know I should have waited till Monday to see what the new iPhone will be, but frankly, it’s not Apple, it’s AT&T.
Aloha!
Slower, cheaper, less useful…