Nexus One vs iPhone, Droid & Palm Pre – Total Cost of Ownership
Today is Nexus One launch day and we decided in typical BillShrink fashion, we would take a look at the overall total cost of ownership of the Nexus One vs. iPhone vs. Droid vs. Palm Pre. This is the first time that any phone has been available for purchase unlocked and available for purchase at a discounted rate with a T-Mobile Contract.
As the smartphone wars continue to heat up the Nexus One is entering a marketplace that is currently dominated by the iPhone 3GS with and gaining popularity of the Droid by Verizon Wireless.
So, here is what you’ve been waiting for, our total cost of ownerships comparison of the Nexus One up against the rest!
(click image to enlarge)
Use BillShrink to find and Compare Cell Phone Plans that fit your needs!
Check out previous graphics comparing:
Droid vs. iPhone vs. Palm Pre vs. MyTouch 3G
Android G1 vs. iPhone 3GS vs. Palm Pre
Editor’s Note: We’re continually updating this graphic to make it as accurate as possible. We welcome comments and clarification, particularly in regards to plan pricing and features (e.g. whether or not data plans are really unlimited or just claims to be unlimited). In our ongoing total cost of smartphone ownership posts, we’ll continue to include minimum and unlimited pricing plans so you can have an even better understanding of the price difference between carriers and smartphones.
Lastly, we do know that there’s a 32 GB version of the iPhone, the 16 GB version was chosen as its more comparable in retail price point to the other smartphones.
Thanks for all the feedback!
Biggest problem with the Nexus 1 is that it only runs on T-Mobile, which has a crappy service area, so even at $89.99/mo it is a waste of money compared to iPhone/Pre/Droid
Comment by Anonymous — January 5, 2010 @ 1:47 pm
I found the App number error on Palm part. It said 258. It was outdated. Up to date, Palm Pre/Pixi has over 1000 apps now. To be exact, 1006. Could you update that information, please?
Comment by Toby Overstreet — January 5, 2010 @ 2:37 pm
Shouldn’t you also compare the processor speeds? I think that’s a key selling point.
Comment by Kevin — January 5, 2010 @ 2:47 pm
A great overlook at device specs but this really leaves out user experience, the single most important thing with every smartphone!
Comment by Matt Fryy — January 5, 2010 @ 2:56 pm
Worth mentioning that if you buy the Nexus One at full price then you can use it on T-Mobiles contract free plans, in which case its only $79.99 for unlimited everything. So you can take $480 off of the Nexus One’s unlimited cost.
Comment by Dave — January 5, 2010 @ 3:05 pm
Actually, I think you missed a detail. If you’re buying the $529.99 Nexus One, you’re going to be going with the non-contract (unsubsidized) plan prices, for which the unlimited everything is $79.99/mo. The savings is a lot greater than what you’re showing.
———–
Great point. Others should note that if you buy the Nexus One unlocked, the phone’s 3G band will not be compatible with AT&T and Rogers. It will however work fine with T-Mobile (provided your coverage area has 3G availability). Will get the whip out and get the graphic updated ASAP!
- BillShrink Guy
Comment by gerrrg — January 5, 2010 @ 3:12 pm
Guys,
You need to update ALL phones on your chart not just add the Nexus One. Palm has more apps now, so does the iPhone.
Doesn’t the 3GS come in a 32GB version? Really?
Comment by Bad Data — January 5, 2010 @ 3:42 pm
I think you’ve missed a point or two, in Nexus One, such as the camera flash and geolocation. Other than that, the infographic it really cool. Keep upt the good work!
Comment by Pedro Melo — January 5, 2010 @ 3:50 pm
Just to let you know no Verizon smartphone plan is only 5 GB a month. Smartphone plans required for Droid are Unlimited.. Now if you tether then u get a 5 GB domestic limit a month. Get the facts correct. PS PRE = Epic fail. iPhone = on a terrible network with a small 3G footprint. (Who cares if they have the fastest 3g, when the 3g coverage sucks?) As for T-Mobile the Nexus One is AMAZING but the network is a disappointment. When Nexus One comes to VZW expect good sales.
Comment by Teknotronik — January 5, 2010 @ 3:57 pm
The Nexus one cannot be purchased with the unlimited voice plan from tmobile. The iphone data plan from at&t does not have a 5GB limit, it is unlimited. iPhone has over 100,000 apps available.
Comment by tony — January 5, 2010 @ 4:05 pm
The Nexus is a GSM phone. So it is AT&T or T-Mobile. When you consider T-Mobile’s HSPA+ at 21 Mbps that rolls in 2010 and is already active in a couple of markets… The Nexus one is a great deal.
Comment by JT — January 5, 2010 @ 4:18 pm
This is a great comparison, thank you! I love that you stayed away from the “geek” stuff: Processor speeds are very important but mean SO little to end users who are less “techy”. There’s not an easy way to talk about the geek stuff in “English”; so thanks for staying on target!
Comment by Sherman B — January 5, 2010 @ 4:33 pm
Put in the process and ram comparison’s as well.
Comment by Victor — January 5, 2010 @ 4:43 pm
The iPhone actually does support multi-tasking, that’s how you are able to download apps from the app store while listening to music or surf the web while on a call. What the iPhone doesn’t support is 3rd Party Application Multi-Tasking. Its not that the phone can’t handle it, its that Apple will not approve applications that violate their SDK.
Comment by Joe — January 5, 2010 @ 4:53 pm
The description provided for voice and data plans is incorrect, at least in regards to Sprint. You seem to suggest that Sprint’s data plans include a 5GB cap. This cap applies to broadband cards and phone-as-modem plans, not to regular phone plans. Data usage on Sprint’s Everything Plans is unlimited. (Not sure if this is true for AT&T and Verizon as well.)
Also, as pointed out in a previous comment, the number of apps available for the Pre is incorrect, as well.
Comment by Tony — January 5, 2010 @ 4:58 pm
Processor speed is not really a huge selling point… Theres alot more that goes into the speed of the phone than just the processor.
The point of the article was to compare total cost of ownership, not tech specs.
Comment by Outerlimit — January 5, 2010 @ 5:03 pm
how about including the n900 which ships with 32gb, multitasking, great web browsers and a growing app catalogue
Comment by james — January 5, 2010 @ 5:07 pm
Seems T-Mobile is always getting a bad wrap. While in the past I used Sprint and Verizon I must say T-Mobile has out performed by leaps and bounds. At least here in Alabama just 100 miles west of Atlanta.
Comment by Steven M. Swafford — January 5, 2010 @ 5:10 pm
gerrg is right.
Buying the unlocked phone and getting this plan: http://bit.ly/tmobile-even-more-plus-unlimited
drops the 2 year cost to $2449.75 with the added benefit that you don’t have to sign a contract or be a new T-mobile user.
Comment by Alvi — January 5, 2010 @ 5:38 pm
Toby: Thanks for that, we’ll update the graphic ASAP.
Comment by BillShrink_Guy — January 5, 2010 @ 5:41 pm
The Nexus one is a GSM device, which means it will work at 3G speeds here in the states on T-Mobile, and 2G/EDGE on AT&T and will also work on the european carriers.
I currently have 3G T-Mobile here in Los Angeles, and the speed is terrific! Sure beats paying double on AT&T or Verizon!!!
Comment by Greg Jensen — January 5, 2010 @ 5:42 pm
[Editor highlight]
A “cheapest” over 2 years sum would be helpful as well for people like me who use almost no minutes but would use the data a lot. I add it up to $529 + ($60 * 24 months) + $35 act = $2004 for nexus. $199 + ($70 *24 months) + $36 act = $1915 for iPhone
Comment by Brian — January 5, 2010 @ 5:49 pm
You should include the minimum cost plans too. For the iPhone it’s $70/month, for the Nexus One it’s $80/month. This makes the iPhone cheaper for people who don’t text much and use less than 450 minutes/month.
Comment by Jonathan Aldrich — January 5, 2010 @ 5:53 pm
Buying the unlocked phone and getting this plan:
http://shop.windmobile.ca/ProductCatalog/VoicePlans/PlanDetails.aspx?id=Chat
drops the 2 year cost to $406
Comment by diam — January 5, 2010 @ 5:56 pm
iPhone 3Gs have 32 GB too, not only 16 GB. and the “Plans” depend the country ¬¬ y México iPhone, Palm and other great phones are really expensive (iphone 3GS 32 GB, 1150-1250 Dollars with out plan, and Blackberry Storm 1 1000-1100 dollars without plan…and the others are similar…)
Comment by Totó — January 5, 2010 @ 6:20 pm
The iPhone 3GS is available in 16 or 32GB.
Comment by Tyler — January 5, 2010 @ 6:48 pm
Great info graphic.
Why is the iPhone “No” for multi-tasking? You can talk while on the web, listen to music while taking notes, play games while downloading files. Am i missing something?
Comment by Jason Keath — January 5, 2010 @ 6:56 pm
@ anonymous first commenter…
Please tell me what’s crappy about T-Mobile. If you look up crappy (in the NYC metropolitan area) it is spelled as AT&T. Moreover, I can take my T-Mo G1, BB and now Nexus anywhere in the world. Just drop in a local GSM card, change the destination phone number for google voice, et voila. Have any of you even seen the Nexus. I’ve been playing with it for several weeks thanks to a nice friend at Google. It’s awesome. Oh, and like size, SPEED does matter (yes, the processor). Even better, not being stuck in a contract or have Apple determine what I can(not) install on my phone.
Comment by Mr. SMythe — January 5, 2010 @ 7:11 pm
Enough fuzzy math.
If you’re trying to save money the minimum Nexus plan is $79. Identical plan at AT&T costs $69, plus all unused minutes roll over. Net result = iPhone cheaper by $220 over two years.
Update chart please.
Comment by dsj — January 5, 2010 @ 7:13 pm
T-mobile has excellent coverage where I live. In fact it is the only carrier with good coverage at our house.
Comment by Frank — January 5, 2010 @ 7:24 pm
Good work.
I see a lot of comments about the $79.99 even more plus option. It is hard to include every case in a summary. For example, I am a recent Sprint user because of their prices. With any mobile any time and nights/weekends starting at 7pm you don’t really need an unlimited plan. Furthermore, Sprint is the one carrier that you can easily get discounts on. Do a web search and you will find about their EPP plan which gives you about 18% off and you may be able to find even higher discounts. Plus you can often get deals on the phones.
I’m not trying to start a fanbois war here. I know that others will trumpet Verizon’s coverage, or the iPhone’s smooth user interface for example. My point is that your chart is great for creating a starting point for comparison. It may be impossible to encompass every eventuality in one summary chart. Consumers who are discriminating will then pick out the particular issues important to them and figure out there bottom line. Others may be happy with the baseline that your chart reveals.
———–
Thanks for the compliment. Definitely agree that we can’t include every possible plan combination or add-ons and that at the end, it’s what you personally want in terms of features and options. For anyone that’s really keen on finding out the best possible savings for their actual cell phone usage, please do give our comparison tool a whirl :)
- Erik
Comment by Michael — January 5, 2010 @ 7:36 pm
Let’s see the numbers with the LOWEST minutes and Data plan for all the carriers out there. Like Unlim Data and 450 Min.
Comment by Fi Fi La Pew — January 5, 2010 @ 8:20 pm
Nice comparison !
It will be interesting to compare the cheaper plan for this phone too.
Comment by Lucas Janin — January 5, 2010 @ 8:53 pm
The Verizon plan is unlimited data, you just can’t tether the phone to a computer.
Comment by Brian — January 5, 2010 @ 9:33 pm
Why do people ignore the Droid Eris? The Eris is way better than the Motorolla Droid and is VERY similar to the Nexus One.
Comment by renee — January 5, 2010 @ 9:37 pm
The iPhone 3GS in this country is not sold unlocked (at the full price) like the N1. You should also include the cost of a 32 GB MicroSD chip to have the same experience as the 32 GB iPhone.
Comment by amit — January 5, 2010 @ 9:48 pm
Actually the best Sprint plan is 69.99, which is Unlimited Text, 5gb of data. Unlimited Calling to ANY Cell Phone in the US and 450 minutes for landline calling. Plus tell them you belong to a credit union and they take 10% off you bill for life… Much cheaper then any of the carriers
Comment by Anonymous — January 5, 2010 @ 9:50 pm
The N1 will be available on T-mobile AND Verizon, plus Europe. Check Your facts.
Comment by Max — January 5, 2010 @ 10:14 pm
2 questions:
1) Doesn’t the iPhone require an additional $10/month iTunes account?
2) Why would you chose a 900min/5gb Sprint plan for $89.99 a month when there is a 450min/Unlimited data plan for $69.99 a month that includes unlimited mobile to mobile?
Also, @ the first comment, Google announced that the Nexus One is coming to Verizon as well (and I would assume if they made a CDMA version to run on Verizon, you could take an unlocked Nexus to Sprint as well)
Comment by bray424 — January 5, 2010 @ 10:26 pm
[Editor highlight]
i’ve been reading the comments from this post as well as the previous related ones, and i think the chart can be really improved with the following rows:
- multitouch (swiping, multi-fingered gestures, pinch-n-zoom, etc.)
- keyboard (physical, virtual, hybrid)
- base plan cost (lowest cost postpaid plan for devices)
- prepaid plan cost (unsubsidized phone+avg prepaid plan)
- data rate (2.5G, 3G, 4G [if/when appl])
also add a Nexus One column with AT&T on EDGE… totalling 5 to show Google’s plan of letting consumers decide the carrier.
fyi, i have an iPhone 8GB 1st gen (2.5G/EDGE) that i paid an unsubsidized $499 for (3 months after initial $699 price) with a PREPAID GoPhone plan from AT&T that runs $49.99 with rollover for 200 anytime min and unlimited data. text is $.20/sent or recd. that’s a TCoO of $1700 in 2 years + tax and texting charges. :-) of course, it’s with AT&T service… :P
Comment by Guy — January 5, 2010 @ 10:47 pm
Don’t forget the new Google Nexus One phone. You can pick it up from the American Wireless Online store without contract and then package it up with the T-Mobile Even More Plus plan for just $79 all with unlimited talk, text and internet and best of all no contract.
Comment by Henry C — January 5, 2010 @ 10:51 pm
How about including the screen type and resolution in the comparison?
Comment by mda — January 5, 2010 @ 11:55 pm
the Pre Plus has 16 gb Ram too. Could U update that?
Comment by Roland — January 6, 2010 @ 12:38 am
I find it interesting that the Nexus One is listed with $99.99 unlimited and $89.99 average in the chart, when it is being sold subsidized with the $79.99 500min & unlimited data/txt plan.
I’m not saying that plan is better or worse than AT&T, or Verizon, or Sprint – there are enough people fighting that battle here. I’m just saying that it’s the ONLY plan you can choose and still get the subsidized phone. So I would think it would be a logical choice to put on the chart. Am I missing something?
Anyway, even with that omission it’s a great chart. Don’t let the haters get you down, Billshrink.
Comment by Brendan — January 6, 2010 @ 12:47 am
Excellent comparison chart – can you extend it to include the latest MS Windows phone (HD2?) and a BlackBerry (Storm2?). The Sony Ericsson X10 would be another good one to add in a few months time.
Comment by MrBov — January 6, 2010 @ 3:37 am
You might include the Flash Player support. That’s one of the big differences between iPhone and non-iPhone.
Comment by Toshi Tsubo — January 6, 2010 @ 3:40 am
I noticed that turn by turn was listed for the I phone. Doesn’t that cost 100 extra or am I mistaken?
Comment by Thenewmalcolm — January 6, 2010 @ 4:44 am
AT&T doesn’t offer a 5G data plan for the iPhone. The single consumer data plan offered is unlimited @ $30. The enterprise plan is $40 (for business customers).
Comment by Pennypacker — January 6, 2010 @ 5:06 am
To chime in with the chorus here, I think the T-Mobile prices are too high.
When you buy a phone without a contract with T-Mobile, they have lower rates because you’re not paying off the subsidized/discounted phone. It’s about $20 less a month for every plan that they have.
They quoted me $59.99 for unlimited data and texting and 500 minutes a month, plus nights & weekends and unlimited calls to T-Mobile phones.
Comment by Gib Wallis — January 6, 2010 @ 5:45 am
Another error in the comparison, both Android phones have support for another media format – Ogg Vorbis – while iPhone and Palm Pre do not.
It’s a gaining-popularity format used on Jamendo.com, Magnatune.com, Mindawn.com, Wikipedia.org, CBC.ca, Spotify.com, archive.org to name a few…
Comment by John Drinkwater — January 6, 2010 @ 5:46 am
Nokia N900 has many more features (such as being the only smart phone that has flash, a technology found on many websites and used extensively for embedded video) than any of these smartphones for about the same $. Not including it in this chart = fail.
http://www.starryhope.com/nokia-n900/2009/15-ways-nokias-n900-is-better-than-apples-iphone-and-5-ways-its-not/
Comment by Ron — January 6, 2010 @ 5:49 am
Hi, we’ve modified your chart a bit to add in Processor speed comparisons which is one of the main selling points for getting the Nexus One, see the revised chart here: http://www.androidtapp.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/nexus-one-total-cost-revised.jpg
Comment by AndroidTapp.com — January 6, 2010 @ 5:53 am
I am laughing at the plan rates in US. In India we have voice plans that are as low as 1 cent a min. No incoming charges. General data plans are as low as 20 USD mo. This is purely because of volume. I still do not know why companies like HTC are not targeting Indian market and give the handsets are prices like 200 USD? Just because of the volumes, they will earn far more than what US market can offer them. India has tremendous talent in s/w and if the devices become cheaper, All of these platforms will have 100K apps for sure. I always compare the costs & salaries between US and India and it tells me that 1 USD ~ 10 INR (not 45 per currency market) If this happens, Indian market is far bigger for rest of the world at least for electronic goods.
Comment by Hemant — January 6, 2010 @ 5:58 am
According to google’s website, the nexus will also play ogg vorbis files.
Comment by Mark — January 6, 2010 @ 6:11 am
Thanks for the comparisons you guys. Definitely helpful to be able to compare side-by-side. but honestly, as much as I would love to get a Nexus, what’s holding me back is the carrier. Both T-Moble and Sprint are inferior carriers in my region. and I think the pricing reflects that.
Comment by Q — January 6, 2010 @ 6:14 am
I am a Co-Branded Sprint retailer and I see a mistake on the Palm Pre “Simply Everything Plan”. The sprint plan, like the similar Verizon plan, has unlimited data. Data limitation of 5 gigs is only on internet cards. The Simply Everything Plan has unlimited data. Please correct.
Comment by Jarrod — January 6, 2010 @ 6:56 am
Droid may have 16 GB total, but only a miniscule amount of that (254 MB) is useable for APPS!
Doesn’t matter how many apps you have in the store if you can only download a handful of them! And doesn’t matter if you have expandable cards because Droid won’t let you put apps on the card!
Droid isn’t a real choice.
Comment by C — January 6, 2010 @ 7:15 am
Why is “turn by turn” included for iPhone but not for the Droid or Nexus One, which actually include Google’s new navigation software? The iPhone only has paid options for navigation, it ain’t free.
Comment by crcsmnky — January 6, 2010 @ 7:16 am
They’re listing the features that affect the MAINSTREAM audience.
Mainstream audiences don’t care about processor speed, amount of RAM, screen type, resolution, multi-tasking nuances (either multi-task everything or nothing)
Oh, and for the kiddies living in the past complaining about TMO’s 3g network size – peep this:
ATT’s 4 year old 3g network: 230million POPs covered.
TMO’s 1.5 year old 3g network: 200million POPs covered.
Verizon has em all beat with 3g coverage.
And of course, their voice networks are all about the same size. While TMO and ATT roam far more than Verizon, it doesn’t matter: coverage is coverage, and no has paid “roaming” fees in a decade.
Comment by God — January 6, 2010 @ 7:19 am
The Palm Pre’s cheapest plan is $69.99/month and the phone is $79.99 at Amazon.com now. Or, take advantage of Sprint’s more generous discounts (hint: search for “Everything Plus”) and you could get a $59.99 Everything Data (500 min + unl txt/data) plan!
Comment by Edward — January 6, 2010 @ 7:24 am
can’t wait for nexus one to be released on sprint so i can use it with my $30/month sprint sero plan with 600 mins, unlimited sms/mms, free roaming on verizon, 7-7 n&w, unlimited internet and free airave femtocell w/ no monthly fee. TCO that!
Comment by sprint rules — January 6, 2010 @ 7:25 am
Previous Question: “Doesn’t the iPhone require an additional $10/month iTunes account?”
– Answer: Uh, no. There’s no charge for ANY iTunes account! An iTunes account just lets you easily pay for the stuff you choose to buy (.99¢ here, .99¢ there, app or music) by billing you for it in one total sum about a week after you purchase.
And the chart could be improved by showing the Droid’s horrid weak point. Only 254 MB for apps!!! And that’s not expandable. Decent gorgeous games on the iPhone are topping 1 GB easily, is why the iPhone is such a brilliant gaming platform and sales of Nintendo and PSP handhelds are in the floor.
When the iPhone gives you all that memory (16 or 32 GB) you can use it for whatever YOU WANT to, not only music. You can use it ALL for apps if you want. Try doing that with a DROID (Doesn’t)!
And for turn by turn directions, the iPhone has multiple options from vendors like TomTom, Garmin, etc. Droid can only use one, it’s tiny built in one, where the iPhone turn by turn is expandable, can manage traffic add-ons, street level views, gorgeous pictures.
Really is no comparison.
Comment by C — January 6, 2010 @ 7:25 am
Ditto to DJS –
“If you’re trying to save money the minimum Nexus plan is $79. Identical plan at AT&T costs $69, plus all unused minutes roll over. Net result = iPhone cheaper by $220 over two years.”
I use my rollover minutes on ATT and with all additional taxes, it is less than $75 per month.
Update chart please.
-JT
Comment by JT — January 6, 2010 @ 7:26 am
can you do same post but with N900 http://maemo.nokia.com/n900 in another column? :)
Comment by A.T. — January 6, 2010 @ 7:46 am
You can get the Motorola Droid for $110 at Dell Mobility
Comment by Andres Monroy-Hernandez — January 6, 2010 @ 7:47 am
The Palm App store isn’t the only application repository for the Palm Pre. If you include the community developement repositories (Preware), the number of apps goes up quite a bit.
Comment by Ray — January 6, 2010 @ 7:50 am
I own two iPhones, and our cost is far below what you report. I imagine your numbers for the other phones are also incorrect. what are you trying to do?
Comment by David — January 6, 2010 @ 7:58 am
Prepaid cell phones: As low as $100/year or less for low-volume users who don’t need those newfangled texting or picture-thingies or internets and who don’t jibber-jabber all the time.
Comment by davidwr — January 6, 2010 @ 8:05 am
“A “cheapest” over 2 years sum would be helpful as well for people like me who use almost no minutes but would use the data a lot. I add it up to $529 + ($60 * 24 months) + $35 act = $2004 for nexus. $199 + ($70 *24 months) + $36 act = $1915 for iPhone”
I like the above idea. Is the following possible or can you not get a new phone with the $60/month plan?
Buy nexus one unlocked for $529
Get the above mentioned plan ($60 * 24 months) with an expensive subsidized phone (Blackberry 9700?) for ~$200.
Wait out the unlock period, unlock the subsidized phone and sell it for ~500.
$529 + $60*24 + $200 – $500 = $1669
Comment by Brandon — January 6, 2010 @ 8:13 am
The minimum iPhone plan is great if you don’t talk or text at all. If that’s the case, why have such an expensive phone? The min T-Mo plan is $10 more, BUT you get UNLIMITED everything. Last time I checked, Unlimited is still more than rollover… Also I have found all my friends cussing up a storm about their bad reception on the iPhone, where as my G1 is rocking 3G everywhere I go with no dropped calls or dead spots. Just saying…
Comment by AppleWho? — January 6, 2010 @ 8:24 am
And don’t forget the fact that the Nexus One will be getting Flash shortly! Per Adobe, http://www.tmonews.com/2010/01/flash-for-android-shown-on-nexus-one/
Comment by Anon — January 6, 2010 @ 8:32 am
@Guy…
$10 a month iTunes plan? never heard of such a thing.
there is a required data plan that is $30 a month plus pay extra for a txt plan. 500txt for $5, 1500 for $15, or unlimited for $20
but no $10 iTunes account.
Comment by Madapple — January 6, 2010 @ 9:05 am
Erik -
I think that you’ve got two errors in the GPS row.
Both the Droid and the Nexus One include navigation:
http://googlemapsmania.blogspot.com/2010/01/nexus-one-with-google-navigation.html
Also, I don’t think that Google Maps for iPhone should be called “turn-by-turn” in the GPS row.
I haven’t used the Pre so I can’t comment about the Maps app on it.
———–
Thanks for that. It was simply stated as “turn-by-turn” for spacing reason. I’ll see if we can go about making it more clear. As for the iPhone, well, they do have the option via additional apps (albeit it definitely adds to the price tag). It’s a type of thing where if we leave it out, iPhone fans screams bloody murder and if we leave it in others say “Aha, you’re biased!”
- Erik
Comment by Jason O'Grady — January 6, 2010 @ 9:38 am
One thing that is not 100 percent accurate is the NO in the Multitasking section for the iPhone. Though multiple downloaded apps cannot run at the same time, the iPod app can run in the background of any other non-music app. Also, one can use any app (again, except music apps) during phone calls.
It would be really nice to be able to use Pandora or Last.fm in the background of apps, but there still is SOME multitasking on the iPhone (obviously not as much as on others)
Comment by Daniel Price — January 6, 2010 @ 9:51 am
missing storage space available to apps, nexus one is only 256mb
Comment by hay — January 6, 2010 @ 9:55 am
It should be noted that only Apple offers you in-store customer service versus the others who offer you only phone sales rep in store – all other customer service is handled by phone or on the internet.
Plus the Android phones only offer you access to 10-20% of the available storage for apps so the storage capacity should come with a big asterisk.
iTunes access to movies, tv shows, music, music videos, postcasts, audiobooks, and apps of course – not only does the palm not offer anything like that, android only offers a much smaller selection. So, just listing a storefront is very incomplete.
Comment by jbelkin — January 6, 2010 @ 9:58 am
“Just to let you know no Verizon smartphone plan is only 5 GB a month.”
Just to let you know, that every Verizon smartphone data plan is 5GB a month. And, if you want tethering, its another 5GB a month.
Verizon does not now, and has never offered, unlimited data plans for their smartphones.
Comment by Se7en — January 6, 2010 @ 10:19 am
Oh, and the iPhone 3GS most certainly does NOT have a 5G cap. They provide unlimited data, and no tethering allowed.
Comment by Se7en — January 6, 2010 @ 10:21 am
who really needs unlimited voice anyway? I use my phone constantly but 450 minutes is more than enough for me on ATT- especially with rollover minutes for those occasional months when I might go over.
Comparing unlimited plans is misleading- what percentage of iphone users actually have an unlimited plan?
Comment by John — January 6, 2010 @ 10:53 am
If were comparing costs, wouldn’t it be worth mentioning that turn-by-turn navigation is free on the Nexus One but costs $$$ on the iPhone?
Comment by Tom O — January 6, 2010 @ 11:20 am
I have an iPhone and my monthly bill was $99 a month which included the data plan. I think I had about 700 minutes included. Since then I bought a second phone for my mom and created a family plan. Now I pay about the 149.99 listed. Your chart seems to be off in that regard.
You can also do limited multi tasking on an iPhone. I can be listening to music, and continue to do so while I send a text message or be using the map feature and double tap the home button to bring up the music function to forward to the next song if I want all while leaving the map feature in the background.
You didn’t mention in your chart that the google phone also has a flash. The iPhone doesn’t. This is something I wish the iPhone had.
Comment by Gene — January 6, 2010 @ 11:24 am
iPhone multitasks. I listen to music while surfing the net and if I get a phone call it switches over.
Comment by Bill — January 6, 2010 @ 12:18 pm
Have used t-mobile for several years. Service has been great.
Don’t know why some people would be unhappy. I travel overseas a lot and T-moble has been the best for internet etc. with modest cost compared to others.
Comment by Chuck — January 6, 2010 @ 12:39 pm
Excellent comparison chart. There are a couple of minor flaws though with the TMobile unlimited plans. The 1000 anytime minutes is only $69/month and only $79/month for unlimited talk/text/web. You can see them here (http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/Cell-Phone-Plans.aspx?catgroup=EvenMorePlus&WT).
In addition, TMobile’s coverage is absolutely fantastic in US cities, and can’t be beat in Europe. But it also seems that some time during late 2009, their coverage had significantly increased in rural US locations. I even started to get pretty great coverage when visiting my parents in the mountains Upstate, NY. Whereas my phone was useless up there the year before.
Comment by Wheelercub — January 6, 2010 @ 1:14 pm
How about a Windows Phone – any windows phone is a 1000 times better than a PRE! The Droid? The droid doesn’t even allow you to add a freaking signature to your emails or text messages. Eirk Chang, have you ever heard of the HD2?
Comment by BIAS CRAP — January 6, 2010 @ 1:39 pm
You have a few things wron in this article, one the Palm Pre sells for $70 from Amazon, two, I know of no one who gets the $89 plan (or any plan from Spriunt na dpays full price). I have teh $69 plan and after taxes and fees I pay $65 a month after my 23% discount. Just ask for one, Sprint will give it to keep you as a customer. As a former AT&T customer Sprints network is also much faster than AT&T’s on downloads, I will give AT&T the edge on uploads though. One last item, not all Android devices are created equally as they run different versions of the OS, so they are not capable of running the same apps unless they are ported to the latest Android OS, which not all developers care about doing as it is a hassle to do, so the app number for the ‘droid is misleading. At least with teh iPhone and Pre/Pixi no matter teh OS version they can still run all apps written for them.
Comment by Michael — January 6, 2010 @ 1:58 pm
Biased article.. Doesn’t mention that Iphone can be had for as little as $69.99 a month, with Rollover minutes (with T Mo, once I got $170 bill for 300 extra minutes, on ATT similar usage was covered by rollover),
And the initiall cost as low as $49 for Refurb, or $99 for an 8GB phone.
Not that I am an Iphone fan, I like my ATT tilt better as I am not bound with a data plan and run WinMo 6.1 and Android on it.
Comment by Vikas — January 6, 2010 @ 2:03 pm
!IMPORTANT! You CANNOT use the off contract plan with the Nexus One! You have to pay use the “Even More” plan, not the cheaper “Even More Plus” plan. So, minimum plan is $79.99 month for unlimited data/text/500 voice minutes.
I just bought one for full price to use the cheaper plan and tried to use the phone and it wouldnt connect to the network. After going through technical support at TMobile they told me I couldnt use the cheaper plan. So what’s the point of buying it unlocked? Only that you can use it on AT&T as well if you wanted to.
I have to return it now, minus a $45 restocking fee.
Comment by JasonG — January 6, 2010 @ 2:06 pm
To be fair, you need to include the cost of upgrading the memory on the Google Nexus One from 4GB to 16GB.
Also, since Apps are a major selling point for Apple and Google you need to mention that there is a limited amount of storage space (512MB)on the Nexus One for Apps. The iPhone doesn’t have this issue.
Comment by AJ — January 6, 2010 @ 2:14 pm
It’s not really the story that google wants told today, but you dropped the Tmo mytouch from your comparison.
But it’s cheaper than the Nexus if a bit underpowered.
Comment by jonathan peterson — January 6, 2010 @ 2:34 pm
How about listing screen size in the comparison charts. thanks
Comment by Bic — January 6, 2010 @ 2:35 pm
Are the plans everyone are quoting for single plans only or family plans as well?
Comment by Xab — January 6, 2010 @ 2:36 pm
Sprint’s best plan is 450 minutes and unlimited data, texts, plus unlimited evenings (starting at 7 pm) and mobile to mobile (any carrier)calls — all for $70 (plus I got a 20% educators discount).
Comment by Peter — January 6, 2010 @ 2:40 pm
[Editor Highlight]
Doesn’t the iPhone require a text messaging $$ plan because Apple won’t allow Google Voice? Android users are free to forgo the sms plan altogether.
Don’t you have to pay extra for Navigation on Pre and iPhone?
None of these are not factored in. Family Plans are not considered here either. As a site devoted to saving money, it would be helpful to include them.
Also overlooked are Verizon’s Friends/Family (F&F) feature and Sprint’s Call any Mobile deal. AT&T’s rollover minutes do provide some consolation, but pale in comparison. The combination of Verizon’s F&F and Google Voice make it the lowest priced by far for essentially unlimited everything!
If you want to show people how to shrink their wireless bill, tell them what to do!!!
“Get on a family plan, use Google Voice to avoid sms charges and leverage a Friends and Family calling feature to allow the use of a minimum calling plan saving hundreds per year while enjoying essentially unlimited calling, texting and data! Find out if your employer has negotiated deals with any carriers”!
Total Cost of Ownership – 24 months
Droid on 5-person 1400 min family plan: $1500 each
essentially unlimited calls, voice, data using Google Voice
Nexus One on 3-person 1000 min plan: $1730 each
Nexus One on 5-person unlimited plan: $1994 each
Nexus One on Individual plan: $2100
Comment by bstr — January 6, 2010 @ 3:03 pm
What about N900 from Nokia ?
Comment by Rami Eid — January 6, 2010 @ 3:12 pm
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
The others are first gen copies of the iPhone, just as windows has tried to emulate Mac OSX.
Stats mean nothing. It’s all about how the device works, what it costs and how reliable.
The iPhone, as it’s sales numbers prove, crushes all the others and will continue to do so. This Nexus was just released. Wait for apple’s response. Additionally, the iPhone will be forced to be cheaper by the competition, making the latest version even better.
Only hinderance to the iPhone for 99% of users is that it’s stuck on the average ATT network.
Mike
Comment by Mike — January 6, 2010 @ 3:33 pm
You should state whether the camera has autofocus (important), and what the video resolution is as well.
Comment by Homeslice — January 6, 2010 @ 3:36 pm
First off here’s my list of problems with this chart
#1. iPhone 3GS is 32GB
#2. The iPhone that their talking about is the Stock just bought from the store iPhone
#3. The iPhone 3GS dose every thing all the compition dose BUT you can only jailbreaking the one & only iPhone. You can root it but the JB iPhone can root with an app from Cydia called IFile
#4. Too much stuff to mention could keep on typing for days
#5. Check it out on YouTube to see for your self
Comment by BigMacBook1300 — January 6, 2010 @ 4:11 pm
Nice comparison of costs. What’s with the idiot blog comments though, like if the camera has autofocus or “user experience”. For a blog called “BillShrink.com” this post said what we asked for by coming here. Please keep on track and don’t listen to these people…
Comment by James Sullivan — January 6, 2010 @ 4:19 pm
First of all the iphone is great but not as good as android os based phones for the main reason of being dependent on apple software to manage music,videos,and apps.Apple software (itunes) is bloated and resource hogging.Not to mention all the limitations such as not being able to send anything threw bluetooth oh and the fact that you can’t hear a damn thing from the internal speaker.By the way the nexus one has 1ghz cpu 512mb of ram and it records video at 480×720@20fps so this phone by far is the most powerful phone to date.
Comment by mike g — January 6, 2010 @ 6:16 pm
Nice chart. Reinforces my inclination and habit to skip the $1150 a year fee to talk on glitchy phone and surf the internet through a keyhole.
Comment by I don't understand — January 6, 2010 @ 6:27 pm
I pay A LOT less for my cell/data plan at AT&T. Guess the “average” makes for a better story. Damn media…
Sad cause it started to look like a nice graphic.
Comment by daiei27 — January 6, 2010 @ 6:42 pm
daiei27, what ATT plan are you referring to? The graphic lists average and unlimited plans. Of course there are cheaper plans. I outlined a couple above… and again below.
Total Cost of Ownership – 24 months
Droid on 5-person 1400 min family plan: $1500 each
essentially unlimited calls, voice, data using Google Voice
Nexus One on 3-person 1000 min plan: $1730 each
Nexus One on 5-person unlimited plan: $1994 each
Nexus One on Individual plan: $2100
Comment by bstr — January 6, 2010 @ 9:19 pm
You should’ve added that the Nexus One comes with 802.11n support.
Comment by Toni — January 7, 2010 @ 5:29 am
Is it correct that on Verizon, one cannot use both voice and data at the same time? Seems to me that the most important multitasking would be talking while looking on the internet. If some carriers cannot simultaneously handle voice calls and data download, this should be a factor to consider.
Comment by Larry — January 7, 2010 @ 5:30 am
In the Formats column you list mov, mp4, m4v for the iPhone. These are container formats, esp. m4v is just a renamed mp4. Either you remove the container formats or you have to add all supported to all devices like avi, mkv, and so on.
Comment by Dirk — January 7, 2010 @ 6:10 am
Love the chart, but it misses/misrepresents certain items.
Texting is not always a concern for users, but is still included in the iPhone minimum plan. I understand that text is included with the other plans in the comparison, but the entry is for the “Minimum Usage Plan”, what I’d expect to be the lowest one would need to pay per month. Can you clarify?
You made mention of video editing capability of the iPhone 3GS, so I would think it fair to include camera flash where appropriate.
Turn-by-turn navigation is a tricky topic when it comes to the iPhone 3GS. It includes Google Maps, but not the full navigation suite. Complete turn-by-turn requires an additional application which can be a one-time cost or a subscription-based service. Unreasonable to add a line for each option, but a footnote explaining this would be helpful.
Multitasking seems to be a contested area as the iPhone does have limited capability concerning its core apps. Either a footnote or renaming of the entry (something like non-discriminatory multitasking) may help clear up this issue.
Support for Adobe Flash goes unmentioned, but has been a topic of interest in mobile phones for some time. Although not officially released, Flash has been demonstrated successfully on the Nexus One and should be available soon.
Comment by sakanagai — January 7, 2010 @ 6:20 am
“fyi, i have an iPhone 8GB 1st gen (2.5G/EDGE) that i paid an unsubsidized $499 for (3 months after initial $699 price) with a PREPAID GoPhone plan from AT&T that runs $49.99 with rollover for 200 anytime min and unlimited data. text is $.20/sent or recd. that’s a TCoO of $1700 in 2 years + tax and texting charges. :-) of course, it’s with AT&T service… :P”
Is it really possible to to get pay as you go unlimited data, and text w/ rollover 200min talk??? This sounds like a great deal. I haven’t heard this from anyone else
Comment by Newman — January 7, 2010 @ 6:53 am
@bstr Correction: Navigation on the Pre is free (Sprint Navigation is Free for ALL data users on Sprint – on ANY smartphone).
Comment by jjp — January 7, 2010 @ 7:19 am
To the person above stating you cannot use the Nexus One on an Even More Plus plan with T-Mobile, this is untrue. I bought an unlocked Nexus One and am currently using it witht he Even More Plus 500+Text+Web plan with no issues(so the lowest T-Mo plan with unlimited Data & Text is 59.99)
http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/cell-phone-plans-detail.aspx?tp=tb1&rateplan=Even-More-Plus-500-Talk-Text-Web
Comment by Dave — January 7, 2010 @ 7:43 am
Missing is what network technologies the phones support (3G GSM, 4G GSM, CDMA) and which frequencies are supported. This is mportant information for people roaming between carriers here and international.
Comment by Andre — January 7, 2010 @ 8:05 am
Why is the Palm Pre used for Sprint’s comparison when the HTC Hero is a more capable competitor?
Comment by Wes — January 7, 2010 @ 9:38 am
How about including the My-Touch phone on T-Mobile, or is that considered a dead issue now that the Nexus One is here?
Comment by Tom — January 7, 2010 @ 10:09 am
I just added an app to the android market, please update your graphic.. lol
Comment by jLo — January 7, 2010 @ 10:12 am
The estimate for the minimum plan for the Droid is incorrect, as I have a cheaper plan per month: $39.99 for 450 minutes, 500 texts for $10/month plus $29.99 per month for the unlimited internet access (it took hours for me to decipher the confusion of their various plans). That comes out to $79.98 per month (not including the inevitable surcharges, but neither do the above prices). On top of that, it is possible to get an even cheaper plan! just last week Verizon tried to sell me a plan where i have only 300 minutes (because I never use that many minutes in a month) for $29.99, but this did not include free mobile to mobile, so I stuck with my existing plan.
At least try to be accurate with the minimum plan. Verizon doesn’t advertise anything cheaper than 450 minutes, but the plans are available.
Comment by Lesley — January 7, 2010 @ 10:17 am
Seems a little out of date, why not the Plam Pre Plus instead of that old Pre? :)
Comment by Eric — January 7, 2010 @ 11:46 am
Of Note:
- CDMA cannot do voice & data simultaneously, therefore I would add an asterisk on CDMA multitasking capabilities for voice&data (network limitation)
-Multitasking greatly reduces battery life, so you cannot say a phone multitask AND has a higher battery life; it’s an either/or proposition (it’s like saying a Prius gets 60mpg, AND can do 150mph, but you cannot reference both together)
Comment by JC in Canada — January 7, 2010 @ 12:13 pm
If you get the _unlocked_ Nexus One you can get the 500 minute Even More Plus plan for $59.99. You only have to get the $79.99 version if you get the phone with a contract.
Comment by Geoff — January 7, 2010 @ 12:18 pm
Actually, the Palm Pre has an emulation mode for the Palm OS, meaning you can put any of the gazillion old Palm OS applications on it.
(Windows Mobile also has the capacity for Palm emulation via StyleTap, though no WinMo devices appear on your chart.)
Comment by Robert — January 7, 2010 @ 12:28 pm
All mobile phone plan options with data (pre-paid or post-paid) are completely ridiculous in the US. This table demonstrates that very well (since there is no pre-paid data option any more). At least one thousand dollars per year? Incredible!
Comment by Martin — January 7, 2010 @ 6:13 pm
Resolution is a big deal especially if you browse web sites.
Comment by J — January 7, 2010 @ 7:03 pm
Actually, you should also I will still end up paying more for Nexus than Iphone if I choose to go for a contract and terminate it in 10 months….
Comment by prasanth — January 7, 2010 @ 7:12 pm
I don’t know why they are comparing the palm pre in this comparison chart representing sprint phones, they should be comparing the HTC hero instead as the Hero is a far superior phone than the palm pre in that it is based on the android os with the added HTC sense (which is awesome). Android 2.1 will be out soon for the Hero, and will be able to stand up to all of the phones on this list.
Comment by Denny — January 7, 2010 @ 9:21 pm
can someonen explain the Nexusone plans (with contract) with T mobile.
Comment by drdvls — January 7, 2010 @ 9:35 pm
Can you update this data for the new Verizon Palm Pre Plus?
Comment by Susan — January 8, 2010 @ 6:17 am
@Renee: The Eris gets ignored because it has HTC’s Sense UI built on top of Android, which means that it’s stuck running Android 1.5 or so. One of Android 2.0’s biggest features is turn-by-turn navigation, and until Sense get’s updated, that will be lacking.
On the other hand, I think the Eris’ keyboard outshines the Droids significantly. It uses a virtual keyboard with haptic feedback (little vibrations each time you hit a key) that I found way more pleasant than the Droid’s keyboard. This is the same system the Nexus One uses.
Personally, I’m having a tough time deciding between getting an Eris and waiting for the Nexus One on Verizon. Eris supports multitouch (which makes typing and other actions much easier) and should be getting an Android 2 update in a few months, but the Nexus One’s processor is twice as fast. Should I wait, just to be an early adopter? Tough call.
Comment by Michael — January 8, 2010 @ 7:06 am
So far the Palm Pre is the only one true 4G. Please update your table with a raw for network capabilities. Nobody has mention this.
Comment by Alex R — January 8, 2010 @ 12:23 pm
do you plan on adding a wm6-based phone up there btw?
Comment by TheLaughingMan — January 8, 2010 @ 2:42 pm
I already had a 4-line family plan with 1000 minutes, and unlimited text. Cost me an extra 15 bucks a month for unlimited data for the G1 only.
Bought the Nexus for 529, added another 15 bucks a month unlimited data to a second line on the family plan, gave the G1 to my wife to use, then put my old G1 SIM into the Nexus.
So my cost over my existing G1 is 529 + (15 per month x 24 months) = 889, a little bit of savings over the 2k price above, and if I didnt give the G1 to my wife it’d be just 529 but she likes the G1.
Comment by Frank — January 8, 2010 @ 6:08 pm
Hey look the repressed slaves of Google and Apple are out fighting again. No processor speed should not be listed unless we should also list GPU chipsets in which the Nexus would be embarrassed. I guess you have to cut costs somewhere though with 1GHZ processor and all. It ma be 1ghz but when the GPU is so heavily dependent on it, you can basically cancel any processing speed advantages it has over an Omnia 2 and would only be a slight improvement over the Droid.
Comment by Android — January 8, 2010 @ 7:53 pm
MetroPCS is the cheapest ($55/mo for unlimited everything, no tax) yet no one uses them in comparisons because they will beat everyone. And their network is excellent, not like bottom of the barrel ATT (iphone’s network)
Comment by Jon — January 8, 2010 @ 9:31 pm
Multitasking is not true. iPhone/iPod touch (no difference except for phone capabilities) has the multitasking ability. Just jailbreak it and see for yourself.
On mine, I just hold home button for 2 seconds and I get a preview of all running apps. Then I can close them if I wish.
You people have NO IDEA what it means to go outside of your little boxes, placed upon you by some nosy company, do you?
Comment by I'm Unnamed — January 8, 2010 @ 10:48 pm
UPDATE ME! Can you update this for the Verizon Palm Pre Plus? Alteration to GB, data costs and App distribution will need amending, Come on Bill!
Comment by brum — January 9, 2010 @ 6:27 am
I think that you should include the Multi-touch feature on the comparison, because it’s one of the things that separate the iPhone from the others.
Comment by Nuno Lebreiro — January 9, 2010 @ 12:42 pm
For those who use T-mobile…
N1 even more plan 500 starts off at $79.99…To be clear, Unlimited text & web plan for this phone will be an additional $20… so for all those who love unlimited everything $99.99 is what you’ll pay. If you are a T-mobile customer up for a full upgrade you can get the N1 at a nifty $179, if not the phone is $529. This is only available through the even more plan, not the even more plus plan. Confused the heck out of me at first, and I guess it dosent help that T-mobile reps dont know much about the phone because they do not have/sell it. Don’t bother contacting T-Mobile or HTC is also not much help. Those with N1 problems will be passed from one company to another!
Comment by bey — January 9, 2010 @ 8:08 pm
1. The palm pre is a waste of space in this argument. You might as well put it in the same category as the iPhone knockoffs. Treos had a lot of avid followers but they got left behind and Pre is a really poor attempt to become relevant again.
2. iPhone is the king now. If you want to compete, iPhone is the one you have to beat. If Apple didn’t sign an exclusive contract with AT&T, every network would have paid them gobs of money to get on the iphone wagon. The crappy network is overcome by the fact that they have major cities covered well and they have legions of mac lemmings who will follow Jobs wherever he goes, including off a cliff.
3. Droid would be better if it wasn’t on a hostile network. Verizon makes a big deal about their network, but I still drop calls in fairly populated areas and along major highways all the time… it’s not like their network is that much better than everyone elses. And Verizon’s selection of Bing as their search provider puts the Droid outside their main focus of business. Additionally, decisions to remove Google Mobile from blackberrys while pushing the bing search app are bad moves. If not for the cancellation costs to cancel 4 phones I was pissed off enough to call them and tell them where they can stick bing.
4. Windows mobile? Please. That would be an even bigger waste of space than the Pre. Microsoft has lost in the mobile platform arena. They need to cut their losses and make sure the Windows and XBox brands remain strong.
5. IF it ever happens, Nexus One on Sprint is the way to go. Cheaper data rates and 4G make a compelling case for Nexus One.
Comment by Mike — January 9, 2010 @ 11:47 pm
Nice chart for comparison but does the I Phone charge for the majority of the 100,000 apps they offer WAJ Apple and its owners are and will be
Comment by Best2Droid — January 10, 2010 @ 1:11 am
I fail to see how anyone can say that the Palm Pre should not be considered in this comparison. PC Advisor Awards 2010 just awarded the Palm Pre with the Best Smartphone award over the iPhone, Blackberry, HTC Hero, etc… And that is before the WebOS 1.4 upgrade and Flash 10.1 support that the Pre will have next month. (What?, The iPhone doesn’t do Flash?! Sorry.)
The bottom line is, everyone I know that actually owns a Pre, loves it! (And I know a lot of Pre owners)That is the best recommendation I can think of for the Pre.
As far as cost of ownership, I have a 5 user family plan from Sprint with 1500 minutes, unlimited text and data, GPS. This plan runs me $138 per month as Sprint was happy to give me a big discount to change over from AT&T. So, my cost per line with the Pre for 24 months is only $812 including the phone cost. This is a huge cost savings over AT&T!
Comment by TechW — January 11, 2010 @ 1:17 pm
I think this chart needs a true “minimal plan” row and an “average plan” instead of what’s currently listed as “minimal”. For example, there is nothing minimal by paying $20/month for unlimited text when you get hundreds of texts for only $5. My iPhone plan is $74.99 and that includes unlimited data, rollover mins and hundreds of texts (cannot remember exactly how many but I use text a LOT and have never exceeded the plan). Also, math is wrong for the Nexus minimal box.
Comment by Peter — January 11, 2010 @ 11:10 pm
You’ve posted similar comparison graphics before but it always strikes me as slightly biased against the iPhone. You leave out important comparisons like screen size, display type/quality, weight, thickness, availability of multi-touch and maximum storage capacity, all topics that put the iPhone in considerably better light compared to the others.
Comment by Andre Richards — January 12, 2010 @ 1:38 am
You’ve posted similar comparison graphics before but it always strikes me as slightly biased against the iPhone. You leave out important comparisons like screen size, display type/quality, weight, thickness, availability of multi-touch and maximum storage capacity, all topics that put the iPhone in considerably better light compared to the others.
Also, it’s not 100% accurate to say the iPhone doesn’t multitask. It multitasks with the built-in functionality but limits third-party apps. I can surf the web, browse through contacts while talking on the phone or I can play the iPod while doing built-in functions. It’s misleading to put “No” in the multitasking field for iPhone.
Comment by Andre Richards — January 12, 2010 @ 1:41 am
Thanks for this and I look forward to the updates now that the Palm Pre Plus is coming.
Comment by veni — January 12, 2010 @ 2:57 am
Another vote to add the Nokia N900!!!
Comment by Petrus — January 13, 2010 @ 8:10 am
Multitasking here is taken to mean the ability to background process any application that you want. In this case, the iPhone can not accomplish this.
Both the Nexus One and Droid have bigger, higher resolution screens. The Nexus One is lighter and thinner than both the iPhone and Droid.
Only thing I dont’ like about the Nexus one is the trackball. Why is it there?
Comment by Erik — January 13, 2010 @ 9:23 am
@Erik “Multitasking here is taken to mean the ability to background process any application that you want. In this case, the iPhone can not accomplish this.”
That’s true but that’s not the definition of multitasking, and therefore this chart is misleading. Either the chart should specify in a footnote that “in this instance, multitasking refers to… etc., etc.,” or it should state that the iPhone can multitask but limits it to built-in functionality. Without either of those clarifications, this chart is inaccurate.
Comment by Andre Richards — January 13, 2010 @ 6:39 pm
what about processor speed?
Comment by Anonymous — January 15, 2010 @ 11:06 am
The chart has addressed the lower price of an unlimited plan if the N1 is purchased without subsidy.
However, that is not the minimum plan if purchased without subsidy. Instead, the Even More Plus plan (500 minutes, unlimited text, unlimited web) is $59.99/month. That should be reflected in the chart under “minimum monthly plan” given the other figures reflect the unsubsidized purchase price.
Leaving the plans compared as without contract and with contract is misleading – the lower cost option should be presented with a caveat/footnote re: overall cost if purchased with contract (slightly higher overall).
Comment by Zeb — January 17, 2010 @ 10:07 am
That’s not the minimum cost for the Droid. The minimum cost is $29.99. And I thought the Nexus One minimum cost was $25?
Comment by Chad — January 18, 2010 @ 6:47 pm
I’m looking forward to a revised chart with the Palm Pre Plus (or P3 for short).
I just subscribed to your RSS. This is twice now that I saw your graphics to be appealingly informative and beautifully simple. I like that.
Comment by Joseph Dowdy — January 19, 2010 @ 11:00 am
Verizon Pricing is incorrect.
1). There is no such thing as “Unlimited Messaging” for Verizon. The closest thing is Unlimited VERIZON messaging, which starts at $10/month.
2). Where does $99 come from? I pay $40/month for the 450 minute plan, $30 for unlimited smartphone data. Even if you add the most expensive texting plan ($20), you’re still only at 90 and not $100.
Comment by Jeff — January 20, 2010 @ 12:13 pm
I modified the list and added the HTC Hero
http://www.thomasrye.com/2010/01/iphone-gphone-nexus-one-hero-android-palm-pre/
In case anyone wanted to see a more comprehensive chart like I was looking for.
Comment by Thomas Rye — January 20, 2010 @ 12:56 pm
1. The Pre is 10 times a better phone than the HTC Hero. It is the feature Sprint phone.
2. WebOS is a better user interface then the ancient IPhoneOS. ( Iphone users keep ur fingers crossed for TRUE multitasking on the IphoneOS 4.0 update.) lol
3. Anyone else tired of the flood of andriodOS phones that are as poorly made as WinMo phones?
the best phone for your buy and period: Palm Pre or the Plus but when WebOS 1.4 is released in feb will it matter which carrier you purchase the phone? NO. Great phone.
Comment by Willie Lewis — January 20, 2010 @ 1:51 pm
Anyone who criticizes T-Mobile for spotty coverage needs to understand that there’s a host of factors that go into your ability to get a clear signal. Sadly enough, not all phones are created equal. You might get spotty reception and it might not even be T-Mobile, it could a cheap phone, but many people do not understand this and think that it’s T-Mobile’s fault and rip them.
Also, just because YOU can’t get good reception on T-Mobile, that doesn’t mean that 90% of everyone else can get good reception. It’s not our fault you live out in the boonies, or live behind that hill that gets blocked off from the local cell tower, or live inside a bunker with thick walls.
You gotta do your homework and look at reviews of how T-Mobile performs in your local area. For me, T-Mobile is ok, I get pretty good reception, it works, and it’s good enough for me.
Comment by White Lotus — January 21, 2010 @ 9:29 am
Interesting analysis, but I suspect many Nexus One owners have service plans with T-Mobile from those days when real deals were available. My plan is 1,500 minutes, unlimited data and 400 text messages per month for $64.98. So, your mileage may vary.
Comment by John Davis — January 22, 2010 @ 2:15 pm
Its unbelievable to me that we (americans) find that $2500.00 for a phone plan is acceptable. I know that I am cheap, but I also don’t spend a lot of time on my phone. I would like the WIFI features on this N1 phone because they will also be free on whatever wifi I can find at home or abroad. But I buy minutes on my current TM phone. I figure that over the past several years I spend on average about $150.00 on minutes per year and the price of a phone every now and again. No, I dont talk on it constantly or text either, but it does its job. And even if I used it twice or three times as much I am no where near other folks plan prices.
Yes, I want the phone, and will buy it when the price comes down a bit, then I will slide my sim card into it and use it.
Comment by john — January 26, 2010 @ 10:30 pm
I have had my Palm pre since it came out and No ERRORs Ever! All updates are on it and i am viewing 1269 apps at the moment. I can use my MP3, Text messaging, watch youtube and send pictures to my friends in Bangkok at the same time, and i do this everyday while still twittering Bob and Jillian. So your problems with the Palm Pre is somewere between the phone and behind the user (YOU if you don’t get the pun). But, everything deserves a chance and i get my Nexus one in 2 weeks, i hope it beats my Iphone (owning the iphone is getting Very Expensive, be easier if i carry a mini laptop).
Comment by TJC — January 28, 2010 @ 1:53 pm
It does not ONLY work for T-Mobile… they are the ones giving the discount. It works for Verizon as well as AT&T but if on AT&T it’ll only work on EDGE! I’ll test it on Verizon
Comment by SoulezzThoughtz — January 29, 2010 @ 3:51 pm
The US version of the iPhone 3G/3Gs is not available factory unlocked, so I’m not sure where you got that $599 price. I hunted and hunted and finally discovered that it’s simply not possible to buy the US model factory unlocked, period. The old 2G model was offered unlocked, but not the 3G (AFAIK… someone let me know if you can get a legit US model unlocked, not an import).
Comment by wordfool — January 31, 2010 @ 10:10 pm
Family Plan Totals tell a differnt story.
The least costly Everything plans show T-Mobile and Sprint as close- BUT details show Sprint as best- why…..
1) when going over 2 people on T-Mobile you have to add $30/mo PP AND add an Android/Blacberry/whatever data plan for another $25/mo- THATS $55/mo for lines 3-5 VS ONLY $20 at Sprint!
2) Sprint allows you to apply corporate or Affinity discounts (ok, so only some people can take advantage of these) wheras on T-Mobiles lower price plan compared- you cannot
3) When comparing the lower price T-Mobile plan you must buy your own phone undiscounted ($399-$529 for anything decent) wheras the Sprint plan includes discounted phones at only $99 to $199 for comparable smartphones.- GRANTED, the lower cost plan that requires undiscounted phones does not require a 2 yr contract- but who evaluates price for a term less than 2 yrs anyway? (like you are going to buy a Nexus One or any other T-Mobile only 3g band phone and move to AT&T next month where you could only get 2G with that phone- sure)
Comment by Garry Masters — February 2, 2010 @ 4:31 am
You dont have to have only one device! Get an iPod Touch and a slim dumb phone like the razr for text/voice. Best of both worlds. No data plan needed. I promise, there is room in your pocket for both.
Besides, the apple devices are the only ones that you can multi-track record quick ideas on. End of story for musicians.
Comment by xylenz — February 2, 2010 @ 6:50 pm
You cot the Verizon plan wrong. Look here (https://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/splash/plansingleline.jsp?lid=//global//plans//individual). It says that the minimal plan for talk & text is $70. But that only covers talk and text. The palm phones REQUIRE a $30 data plan! Notice the fine print note “All 3G Smartphones require a data feature of $29.99 or higher, or a data plan.” That brings the minimum cost up to $100 for a TCO of $2550, the most expensive of the phones!
Always read the fine print.
Comment by Xylenz — February 3, 2010 @ 5:38 pm
Waiting for iPhone with Verizon or some one else than ATT.
Comment by bitzur — February 5, 2010 @ 1:56 pm
It’d be nice to update this for the new “all you can eat” plan prices that Verizon and AT&T have released in the last few weeks, plus mention the early termination fees for each carrier.
Comment by iandouglas — February 8, 2010 @ 10:58 pm
Verizon now has new unlimited plan prices. I’m looking at getting the Droid and the Talk and Text portion of the plan is 90 and the data plan is 30, bringing the total to 120 for the “Unlimited”. Also for the “Minimum” (450 mins, unlimited messaging) it’s 60 for talk and messaging and the same 30 for data brining the total to 90, not 99. That makes the TCOS to 2880 and 2160. And for AT&T, the plan prices are exactly the same as Verizon.
Comment by Levi — February 10, 2010 @ 4:17 am
I’m curious how the Nexus One will hold up to abuse…I have had great luck with RIM phones, and very poor luck with Moto phones. I cannot get behind anything Palm…reminds me of the PDA days.
Comment by swiz — February 11, 2010 @ 8:47 am
I actually dropped my Nexus One several times the first week. Really, really hard on one of them. At first it seemed fine. Then the speaker seemed to have static. Then several weeks later the speaker stopped working. Determined it was a loose wire. The Nexus One case held up good though! I have a long history of dropping phones! I cracked the glass of my 1st Gen iPhone the 1st month I had it too. Go figure!
Here’s I video I made, 5 Reasons the Nexus One is Better Than the iPhone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekCvyKPYwiU
Comment by Android Mom — February 12, 2010 @ 3:22 pm
Holy Fuck. I thought I was getting screwed, seeing the unlocked Nexus One at $529 in the US when it is around $1000 here in Denmark – but limited data plans here (in DK) are around 15-40 $/mo for 1-10 GB, so that’s $1500 cost of ownership over 24 months for me. Never mind the fact that carriers are limited by Danish law to 6 month contracts, and the total cost of ownership over 6 months must be displayed in every phone commercial.
Comment by Mathias — February 18, 2010 @ 10:05 am
($20/mo x 24mo) + ($250 – 235) = $495!
That’s my 2-yr TCO for the “often-overlooked” yet amazing, HTC Touch Pro 2 on Sprint…
- The explanation -
First off the $20/mo is an employee disc rate including:
- 3000 min (M2M & 7pm N/W)
- Unlimited Text
- Unlimited 3G Data
*Note: We used to get a $20 app download credit every month which made the plan unbelievable, but Sprint discontinued that a few months back :(
Touch Pro 2 Cost: $250
Samsung S30 Cost: Free (2yr Upg)
Sold the S30 on the bay for $235 and bought a brand new Touch Pro 2 for $250. Never been happier :)
Now that’s shrinkin some bills! YMMV
Comment by Patrick — February 18, 2010 @ 10:20 am
Just checked ATT’s website, the iphone minimum plan is $79/month (with no texting plan). Also, the Nexus one voice and data is $79.99/month, but they also force you to buy a $10/month texting plan (no other options and you cannot remove it). So it’s $89.99/month. OUCH! If I could get 2 Nexus Ones for $120-130/month, I would, right now. Thought I would only need like 100 minutes per phone per month. Voice is minimally needed.
Comment by Frankie Fuchs — February 19, 2010 @ 8:51 am
You should put in the Palm Pre Plus since it was introduced….. it’s more suitable like you said with the iPhone.
16GB memory and 512MB RAM
Comment by Justin — February 20, 2010 @ 1:35 pm
Im not sure about all this but I have been thinking about getting a nexus…. Cant you just buy the phone at full price and if your on a family plan just pay another $10 for unlimited internet?
Comment by Omar — February 22, 2010 @ 10:02 am
The Palm Pre now has video capabilities with editing.
Comment by Brandon — March 3, 2010 @ 5:54 am
When the Nexus One comes out for Verizon in the Spring then it will be worth it.
Comment by Anonymous — March 5, 2010 @ 12:20 pm
hey..how much would the N1 cost if you already have a one year contract with t-moblie?????
Comment by hailey — March 7, 2010 @ 2:40 am
So every service provider has its own little smart phone :)
I prefer the droid of them all(Yes i have used them all.)
They are all pretty great with nice features and easy control.
My least favorite would be the palm pre.
I like the droid cause of my great verizon service and all the free apps :)
Comment by Jason — March 11, 2010 @ 10:06 pm
Please add the Samsung Code on MetroPCS to your infographic:
It’s the keyboard driven Samsung Code ih-220 Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone on MetroPCS. If you’re in their mobile coverage area, you can save the most of all compared to these smartphones. The cost of the phone is $249 without a contract, with a $90 mail-in rebate as of this writing.
The cost of the unlimited data and voice smartphone plan is a flat $50 per month, including taxes and fees.
Phone: Samsung Code (MetroPCS)
Storage Capacity: 94MB (expandable to 32GB)
Battery Life: 6 Hours talk, 300 hours standby
Camera: 2.0 megapixel + video recording
Wifi: No
GPS: Yes (+ turn by turn navigation)
Formats: .wma, .wmv, .3g2, .mp3, .mp4
App Store: Windows Mobile Marketplace (or freely download and install apps outside of the marketplace)
Number of Apps: 20,000
Multitasking: YES
Price: $249 (no contract required)
Unlimited Usage Plans: $50 unlimited voice, messaging and data, includes taxes and fees
Minimum Usage Plans: N/A
Unlimited Plan Total Cost: $1,449 (+ tax for the phone only)
Minimum Plan Total Cost: N/A
The total cost of ownership for the Samsung Code, Win
Comment by Rainman — March 13, 2010 @ 7:50 am
I have to quibble with the phrase “This is the first time that any phone has been available for purchase unlocked.” Specifically the word *any*. GSM phones (including “smart” ones) have been and are still available unlocked, it is quite common in other parts of the world, and such phones are available for sale in the United States through Dell for example: http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?s=dhs&c=us&l=en&cs=19&k=Unlocked&cat=all&x=0&y=0
Otherwise nice article and comparison, but the opening sentence of the article is a bit over reaching.
Comment by Sman — March 16, 2010 @ 1:22 pm
I’m either confused by the minimum usage column or it is wrong: if you have an unlocked GSM phone (such as the Nexus One) you can put it on prepaid (or no plan) and your minimum monthly usage can go as low as $0 if you want.
Comment by Sman — March 16, 2010 @ 1:50 pm