First of all, I have momentous news. I finally got a smart phone. For years I've been stuck with Sprint, a notoriously sh*tty cell phone provider. I want to dump them and switch to Verizon for the iPhone, but Sprint is just too good at being really cheap. My phone contract is about half of what it would cost at Verizon.

However, Sprint finally did something right and released the HTC Evo 4G, basically the off-brand Android version of the iPhone. And let me just say, it is fantastic. Just in the few weeks I've been using and loving it, a certain truth has become more and more clear. With phones like the Evo and iPhone, who needs handheld consoles? It may not be something we hardcore gamers wish to admit, but it's true. Seriously, there is absolutely no reason to buy a 3DS or Vita if you have a good phone, and here's a few reasons why.

(For the purposes of this discussion, “mobile” refers to games for phones. “Handheld games” are those for the 3DS and Vita)

#1- Mobile games are better

Although they were pretty awful in the distant past (you know... 2006), mobile games have already surpassed handheld games. Mobile games are not only exponentially cheaper than their handheld counterparts, they're just as creative and entertaining. Equal entertainment for a far lower price equals better value. Plus, the Apple and Android App Stores aren't dominated entirely by Angry Birds (they split it with Angry Birds Seasons). There are also a host of other beautifully designed games like Cut the Rope, Peggle, World of Goo, and Doodle Jump. Mobile phones and especially the iPhone have built up a massive library of good games over the past couple years, easily enough to compete with handhelds.

Then there's the stereotype that mobile games are shallow, five-minute affairs that require no skill and a lack of brain activity from the player. The truth is that while those apps do exist, they are greatly outsold by the genuinely well-made ones. The best-selling mobile games like Geometry Wars and Infinity Blade are just as complex as handheld games. The complexity and sublime addictiveness of apps like Peggle and Civilization Revolution stand as testaments to just how good mobile games have become. My phone used to be only crappy Tetris ports, but now my iPod has a Civ game on it (!). Words cannot describe just how addictive Civ Rev is, especially when you can play it anywhere.

#2- A handheld console is unnecessary baggage

Quick, what do you have in your pockets? Don't answer that, I don't want to know. But I'm guessing at least one of the objects is a phone. Most people have cell phones because, well, you need them for communication or business or just setting up a group Minecraft session. Cell phones are darn useful for communicating with other people.

Man, life before cell phones sucked.

Now, what about a 3DS or Vita? That's one more thing to carry with you, and it can't call Grandma. I don't like walking around with my pockets stuffed full of crap. Nobody thinks “Boy, my pockets sure are empty. I'd better fill them with something heavy. If only I'd brought my antique anchor collection!” You have to carry a phone, but you really don't need a Vita. It can't text people, which brings me to my next point...

#3- A phone does so much more than a handheld console

One of the hallmarks of the modern smart phone is multitasking, the ability to do multiple things with one device. Just looking at my phone's home screen, I can see my mobile comic book reader, GPS, web browser, Kindle e-reader, and movies. I like to put my DVDs on my phone to watch in the car. Which of those functions is on a 3DS or Vita?

I'm reading this for the second time. Favorite. Comic. Ever.

Nobody lives in a void. I don't just play games, I also browse Cracked, read Engadget's RSS feed, periodically check GIO User Blogs, and watch episodes of A Game of Thrones that I missed. Handheld consoles can't do any of that, and even their web browsers are awkward to use. Remember what internet was like on the original PSP? Shudder...

The reason I use my phone more than any game console is because it's so much more potent than a console. I do things other than gaming, and my phone lets me do that easily.

Seriously, this show is like the gritty reboot of Lord of the Rings.

#4- Netflix

Just... Netflix. It's the greatest thing ever, and it's on your phone, not the 3DS or Vita. Enough said.

#5- Phones can do hardcore gaming too

For me, the one discovery that really sealed my opinion of phones' dominance was in, of all places, the Android App Store. After a quick search, I found a SNES emulator. It's an app that lets you play SNES games right there on your phone. After extensive use, I can attest that it works, and it is awesome. Now I can play classics like A Link to the Past and Super Street Fighter II right there on my phone. After those, I might replay Chrono Trigger. How cool is that?

I never play JRPGs, but man this game is awesome.

For background, my first console as a kid was the Game Boy Color. Thus, I grew up right at the end of the N64 era. Thus, I never got to play anything from before that. Discovering classic games like Chrono Trigger and experiencing them for the first time is nothing short of mind-blowing. I never played a Zelda game in my life, but I'm changing that with A Link to the Past.

With one free emulator, you can relive all of gaming's past glories. The SNES has aged particularly well, and classics like Earthbound are still pretty fun today. That right there sealed the deal for me in favor of phones. You can basically get the Nintendo DSi store on your phone. With that, why bother with a 3DS?