Nokia N8 Versus HTC Evo 4G - Let Battle Commence

The Nokia N8 is a worthy opponent of the highly acclaimed HTC Evo 4G , but how do they both compare in terms of price? The winner of Nokia N8 vs HTC EVO, could be as simple as how much they are going to cost you - let's face it, this is a prime consideration.

It obviously depends on your phone carrier and data requirements, but in the US, Sprint offer the HTC EVO for $199.99 on a 24 month contract - the price of a monthly contract is subject to usage. The Nokia N8 will set you back $549 SIM free - the N8 is currently not available on a monthly plan for US customers.

In the UK the Nokia N8 versus HTC EVO price war isn't so straightforward. While UK networks aren't up to the 4G speed required to power the HTC EVO, the Nokia N8 is eminently more affordable than it is for US consumers, being available for free on a £25 a month contract for 24 months.

Even though the Nokia N8 comes in a whole range of different colorways, and consists of a quality anodized aluminum frame, it has miles to go to catch up to the understated style of the HTC EVO (even the back of the phone is stylish).

The EVO is built from soft-touch black plastic, which creates a small frame on the front of the phone, which mainly consists of the 4.3 inch screen. There are 4 shortcut keys underneath the screen which make the phone easy to navigate while remaining unobtrusive.

The Nokia N8 has one menu key underneath the screen, set-off to one side which looks a little odd and imbalanced. If a range of colors suits you then the Nokia N8 is an ideal choice, but overall the quality build and subtle styling of the EVO make it a winner for most.

In a report published in October 2010, the Nielsen Company concluded that for all new smartphones bought in the US from Jan-Aug 2010, more opted for Android operated phones than any other operating system. Overall BlackBerry still have the majority of the market, however, this recent research indicates that the tide is definitely turning against RIM and Apple, with the purchases of new phones. Android enjoyed a 32% market share, with Apple and RIM sliding to 25% and 26% respectively.

In the UK though, it is a slightly different story, and although Symbian is definitely losing its grip on market share it is still a popular choice for UK users. Overall the Symbian operating system can be a frustrating one to use on smartphones, which is why the release of Symbianˆ3 was so hotly anticipated. However, very few improvements have been made apart from improvements to speed, and the web browser is still prone to being clunky. Perhaps this is why Sony Ericsson have dumped Symbian in favor of making future phones with the Android OS.

Symbianˆ3 has added one great feature though, in that you can have 3 different homescreens saved on your Nokia N8 - one for fun, one for work, and another for whatever you choose. They have also made social networking easier, integrating the likes of Facebook and Twitter, with the added ability to instantly upload pictures.

Android is a hard OS for any competitor to beat though, as it offers such great freedom of choice. Multitouch and multitasking are a breeze, making a nonsense of the difficult switching between tasks on the Symbianˆ3.

Please continue to page 2, for more comparisons in the Nokia N8 vs HTC EVO 4G war, including the eventual winner.