2005 was the first year I began to seriously look at mobile web. At the time, the experience was absolute crap. Everyone thought their phone was a piece of junk. Even the latest and greatest stuff.

Why were mobile phones so mediocre? Mostly because manufacturers loaded them up with half-baked, useless features.

Apple’s first iPhone, in 2007, changed everything.

When Steve Jobs revealed that shiny, sexy industrial design, the revolution was on. Within a week of its release, I had one.

iPhone started by reinventing the mobile experience, and in that sense it one-upped all competing devices. From the outside-in, everything was seamless. In particular, the web browser (Safari) blew away everything else. Using the iPhone was something like driving a brand-new Audi after a lifetime of Chevy Malibus.

At first, competitors were skeptical. After all, this thing was stuck on AT&T’s network. But uptake was so swift that these manufacturers eventually realized they had to build better mobile phones.

Three years later, we’re finally seeing some of these devices catch up. Motorola’s Droid (2009) was the first Android-based device to make a significant splash in the market. In 2010, we’ve seen HTC’s Droid Incredible and Evo 4G quickly hit ‘backordered’ status. Motorola’s Droid X  dropped today, and the Droid 2 will be out later this Summer.

Apple’s iPhone 4 launch last month promised another revolution, but spec-wise and experience-wise, it’s nowhere near the same leap that the original iPhone made.

But iPhone 4 was still so damn cool that I spent hours trying to get a preorder through online. And after getting hosed by the preorder system, I spent hours trying to find the best place to pick one up on launch day. And then, the night before, I heard about the antenna/reception issue and spent hours reading into that. And then I saw Steve Jobs’ reply on the matter. Jobs’s and Apple’s initial response left much to be desired.

That was it for me. I took a look at the competitors and decided on HTC’s Evo 4G (available on Sprint). Motorola’s Droid X was a close second place. The high-end devices are so similar that it really just comes down to personal preference.

Within one week of that decision I had an Evo in my hands. Adapting to Android and HTC Sense will take some time, so I’m withholding a serious review for the moment. But I like this thing. A lot.