The 5 Best Android Smartphones Out Now

According to a report from PCWorld earlier today, the HTC Droid Incredible, Motorola's Droid, and other Android-based smartphones are strong competitors to Apple's iPhone. Here are their top 5 most worthy iPhone competitors.

1. HTC Droid Incredible

Verizon's HTC Droid Incredible runs the Sense interface on top of Android OS 2.1. The Droid Incredible ($200 with a two-year contract) features a 3.7-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, a fast 1GHz processor, an 8-megapixel camera, MicroSD-card expansion up to 32 gigabytes, multitasking, and the Friend Stream social network aggregator.

The Droid Incredible lacks a physical keyboard. Its touchscreen provides the primary user interface; voice command is also an option for calls, search, and GPS navigation.

2. Motorola Droid

Verizon's Motorola Droid features a slide-out keyboard, a 3.7-inch, 480-by-854-pixel touchscreen display, Android OS 2.1, MicroSD-card expansion up to 32 gigabytes, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 support, a 5-megapixel camera, and hardware-accelerated graphics.

The Droid ($200 with a two-year contract) features an excellent and surprisingly fun voice-enabled search and GPS navigation capability. This makes the Droid stand out from older Android smartphone offerings.

3. Motorola Cliq

The T-Mobile Motorola Cliq features a slide-out keyboard, a 3.1-inch, 320-by-480-pixel capacitive touch display, and the MotoBlur social network aggregator. The Cliq ($150 with two-year contract) has Wi-Fi support, turn-by-turn GPS, a 5-megapixel camera, and a standard 3.5-mm headphone jack.

It runs the now-dated Android OS 1.6, so don’t expect some of the latest Android OS 2.1 apps to work.

4. Samsung Moment

The Sprint Samsung Moment ($100 with a two-year contract) features a slide-out keyboard, a 3.2-inch, 320-by-480-pixel AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display, a 3.32-megapixel camera, and Android OS 2.1.

5. Samsung Behold II

The T-Mobile Samsung Behold II has a brilliant 3.2-inch, 320-by-480-pixel AMOLED capacitive touchscreen display, a 5-megapixel camera, and TouchWiz 2.0, a touch-friendly user interface running over the now-outdated Android OS 1.5.

Note: the newest Android Market apps may require Android OS 2.1 for full functionality.

The 5 Best Android Smartphones Out Now

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What You Need to Know About the HTC EVO 4G

Unable to make a bigger splash in the cell phone market last year with the Palm Pre, Sprint is looking to launch a genuine hit with the HTC EVO 4G. The Android powered phone is scheduled to be on sale starting June 4 for only $200 with a standard two-year contract agreement.

A minimum of $70 per month (with Sprint's "Everything Data Plan") will be required for the HTC EVO 4G, as well as an additional $10 per month for 4G coverage. The additional $10 per month charge is mandatory for all EVO 4G users, regardless of whether you live in a coverage area or not. However, the extra $10 premium data add-on will more than likely mean there will be no data cap for either 3G or WiMAX.

For an excellent overall viewing experience, HTC's EVO 4G features a large 4.3" (800 by 480 pixel) touch screen, an impressive two cameras (8MP camera on the back for photos and HD video; 1.3MP front-facing camera, for video chat and self portraits.), and a kickstand for viewing the phone on a desk or table. Capable of supporting Adobe's Flash video platform, you will also be able to play back 720p video on an external monitor through an HDMI cable.

As many HTC users have become accustomed to, the EVO 4G layers its Sense user interface on top of Android 2.1, but with a new feature called "Leap." This is a multitasking manager that reveals every open program when you pinch anywhere on the phone's home screen.

The HTC EVO 4G has four virtual touch-sensitive navigation buttons (Home x Menu x Back x Search), similar to Google's Nexus phone. It also has a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, and can be used as a mobile hotspot, where users will be able to connect up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices. According to Sprint, this feature will cost an additional $30 per month.

On the downside, and what could prove to be the only flaw in this device is the potential battery life. Sprint has yet to provide specific battery life for the smartphone when outside of 4G coverage, but a company spokesman was quoted to estimate the life to be more than five hours.

What You Need to Know About the HTC EVO 4G

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