HTC EVO 4G Android Phone (Sprint)

A Wow! With a Few Bugs June 6, 2010

Reviewer:  Daniel Murphy "Dan Murphy"  (Redmond, OR USA) -

To give you the perspective that I'm coming from, I'm not a dedicated techie. I upgraded to the EVO from a Treo Centro (sorry Palm OS!). Though I know what a Snapdragon processor is, my review won't be on that level of expertise. I'd rate my ability to adapt to new technology as fair-to-middling.

Here goes: The phone itself is classy looking. When off, it reminds me of the black stone monolith in 2001, A Space Odyssey. When on, the screen is bright, and has VERY sharp detail (again, I'm coming from the perspective of my Centro). The pinch and spread function (to contract or spread the picture on the screen) works very smoothly and consistently. The "flick" function, used to scroll through apps, is wonderful, don't know how I did without it before. The screen is QUITE sensitive to touch, requiring a bit of getting used to for someone who does not count manual dexterity amongst my assets. Though the phone is big (4.2 inch screen)it is very slender, not heavy, and I don't find it cumbersome in the least. It is comfortable in the hand.

The camera: first, it has two: the heavy duty one (8 megapixel) faces out the back, a 1 megapixel on the keyboard side. In a 4G area (I'm not, yet), this allows video phone calls, I'm told. The camera has autofocus and a surprisingly bright flash. Picture quality seems good to very good.

Sound: I'm a bit hard of hearing, no problems at all with this phone. The sound quality is the best I've ever had on a cell phone. EVO has very few buttons, but it does have a very easy to use up and down volume buttons on the upper left side of the phone, works great.

Keyboard. Well, hmmm. My Centro had a manual keyboard, and if there is anything that I really miss with the EVO, it's actual keys. Though the virtual keyboard is BIG when the phone is tilted to landscape mode, many functions on the phone (including entering contacts!) only allow the portrait keyboard for Qwerty. The phone has three keyboards to choose from, so if you're a whiz with the standard cell phone keyboard that kids are miraculously good at texting with, you can choose that format. I'm getting better, but still quite a few errors in keying.

Speed: in a word: fast. Very little lag between functions, even when more than one function is chugging along.

Voice recognition: the Google search by voice is (for a novice like me) nothing short of a miracle. Say "Quilt stores", and the phone takes into account your GPS location, in seconds a list of quilt stores (or Starbucks, or mountain biking trails)is at your disposal. SO cool! The directory search for phone contacts by voice is a bit more hesitant, could stand some spiffing.

Apps: Holy Cow! Again, I'm a novice, but the very accurate GPS, in conjunction with entertainment apps such as Yelp! and Flixter, is mind-boggling. Touch Flixter, and this very smart phone instantly (NO input required) brings up all theaters, movie times, trailers, Rotten Tomato ratings, AND, all the restaurants in the area of your chosen movie, AND turn by turn directions to the theater thanks to Google Maps. Basically, get off a plane anywhere in North America, you're ready to roll!

The GPS. Eerie, when combined with Google Maps. To navigate, you don't have to enter your starting place, the phone already KNOWS where you are. With a function called "layers", while navigating from point to point you can incorporate a satellite view, giving you an awesome (and distracting!) view of all the territory/buildings around you, for miles, depending on the scale that you choose. Get a (free) sports app, and the GPS/accelerometer kicks in to tell you exactly how far you've gone, maps the route you've taken, tells you how much elevation you've gained (!), and how many calories (incorporating your weight) that you've burned. Crikey, what fun! I used the GPS first day out with my EVO to find a restaurant, than used the voice turn by turn (it does call out specific street names, not just "turn left" or "turn right"). It was flawless, and VERY up to date with recent construction in the area.

WiFi, signed on to my home network without any trouble.

Ability to personalize: terrific, many options to "make it your own".

Synchronization with multiple functions: terrific. No trouble setting up e-mail accounts (you MUST have a Gmail account for full function). I calendar with the online Google calendar on my laptop, the transfer to my phone calendar is automatic and virtually instantaneous.

Bad stuff: they lie if they say that getting all your Palm OS data is going to transfer accurately. Argh. But I'm getting it straightened out. In the "Someday" category: EVO does not support Netflix instant play yet, nor Hulu. I'm a family doc, it DOES support Epocrates, an essential pharmacology data base.

Battery life: I'm guessing 4 hours of continual multi-use, way better than that for talk time only. This multi-function micro-mainframe of an instrument has multiple draws on its battery: GPS, WiFi, AND, you can actually talk on the thing.

So here's my bottom line: If they could give me an easier keyboard, or allow full voice recognition (I use and love Dragon 10.1 at work), EVO and I would become soul mates. As it is, after about a day and a half of adapting to a non-Palm OS system (I had one of the original Palm Pilots), I can tell that a long and fruitful friendship is in the making with this product. The leap from a semi-smart phone, like the Palm Centro, to this one is a quantum leap, not a simple upgrade. Without exaggeration, I can say that the EVO will change the way I operate on a day to day basis. I can also say that it is a whoppingly fun toy to play with!

7/20/2010 Addendum/Update: This is a great phone, and I'll stick by my original statement that it is a quantum leap, not an upgrade, over any previous smart phone that I've owned. BUT...the battery life is a real problem. Even with an App Killer, and even with the GPS and Wi-Fi turned off when I don't need them, well...let's talk car gas mileage and gas mileage for Army tanks. With cars, you describe gas consumption in terms of miles per gallon. With tanks, you describe it in gallons per mile (this is true). If not a tank, the EVO is at least a half-track regarding energy consumption: that little green bar informing you about battery life keeps you mentally tethered to the nearest wall outlet or USB port. I have never run the battery completely down during a workday, but I've come uncomfortably close. There is no question that the value of the EVO would be significantly improved by tripling its battery life, or making replacement/spare batteries available at low cost. Otherwise...I love my Evo!

8-14-2010 Update: The Froyo (Android 2.2) update was simple and flawlessly executed. Even better, it is a substantial improvement. From the very useful Flashlight app that uses the phone's flash LED's as a flashlight, to the quicker transition from one app to another, it's a winner. On a different note, those of you that wonder whether you can "tether" your Evo to your computer as a modem, using a cheap or free one-time app instead of a $29/month fee from Sprint: yes. Which makes the phone even more valuable in hotels and airports that want to charge $10/day for internet, not to mention being on a road trip.

9/30/10 Update: Purchased the Seido battery that has double the capacity of the OEM battery: it's for real! No question whatsoever that I'm going to get through the whole day with power to spare, even leaving Wi-Fi and GPS on, even using the screen for Kindle reading for extended periods. The battery, contrary to what some reviewers have said about it, does significantly add to the weight and thickness of the phone. For me the issue is no contest: I no longer need to know where the nearest electrical socket is, and I have freedom to use all the phone's functions without fear of the color red on the battery bar showing up.

Worth the hype/wait, absolutely love it!! June 6, 2010

Reviewer:  Erik in OC  (Costa Mesa, CA) -

Updated 3/4/11: I've been on Sprint since 2005 and have used many of their smartphones: from Windows devices like Mogul and Touch Pro to the elegant WebOS on the Pre, and Sprint's first Androids, the Hero and Moment, and now the one that makes all those look silly: the HTC Evo.

Let's start off with the battery life myth: Since the FroYo update, I am easily making it 30+ hours without charging. I can drain a full battery in 5 hours if I'm trying to, but never with typical use. The negative reviews on battery are typically from not so savvy smartphone users and you will find these types of reviews on all smartphones.

Android is easy to use and you will love all the Marketplace apps to customize it as your own. The Evo has HTC's Sense UI, which is pretty user-friendly. A great thing about Android is that if you aren't happy with Sense UI, you can go to the marketplace for Launcher Pro (my strong preference), ADW Launcher or a few of the other options, but those 2 are widely viewed as the best. With these other launchers, you can add more rows and columns for apps and tweak little homescreen options to your liking.

Navigation works so well that I sold my Garmin Nuvi 265WT. It loads directions very fast, which is great because my biggest pet peeve with Garmin was waiting for the satellites.

Let's talk about media: For music there are several well designed apps but my favorites are PowerAmp (equalizer), Doubletwist (wireless air-sync), and TuneWiki (scrolls lyrics). For streaming, of course there's Pandora, Last.FM (now a paid app) and Slacker. For viewing your loaded video files, I've only used Rock Player, which views the loads of AVI and MP4 files I have.

Voice quality: I make a lot of calls, and usually 3-4 a day to people I've never talked to before. Calls are very clear and they need to be. I get 4-6 out of 6 bars from Los Angeles, all over Orange County, down to Chula Vista. I would be frustrated with anything else. This obviously depends on your region, but in Southern California, I get excellent reception everywhere I go, much better than I got with my Palm Pre.

Camera: At 8MP and with 2 LED lights, it's better than most phone cameras but if you are expecting a phone to be on par with your point-and click shooter, that's a little unrealistic. I still use my Canon and however far these smartphones advance, if you take your picture quality seriously, you will always want a camera. As for the video recording, it gets the job done. I was considering a Flip type camera, but the Evo has 720p recording and makes that obsolete.

vs. iPhone 4: I'd like to go a phone review without mentioning this device, but let's face it, Apple has done a great job of making sure it's always in the back (or front) of your mind when phone shopping. As a reseller, I've used the iPhone for several hours. If you already have an iPhone, it probably doesn't matter how glowing my review of the EVO is, you're most likely getting the iPhone 4. If you want things really simple, that's an area iOS, to it's credit, excels in, and simplicity is not a bad thing. If you like to customize all the little details to your liking (ahem, a geek), chances are, you'll prefer Android. I get why people love their iPhones, but I don't get why those in bad coverage areas (like Southern CA), would sacrifice the main feature of a device. If you are a texter and rarely make phone calls, then I can understand somewhat. For AT&T to charge as much as they do, have subpar to very bad customer service (lots of personal experiences, I'll hold back my rant), and still have extremely spotty data and voice coverage in my region, that's unacceptable.

BOTTOM LINE: Shop for carrier coverage in your area, BEFORE the phone, unless you don't make that many calls. A great phone with poor coverage is not so great anymore. If Sprint sucks in your area, don't get the Evo. If Sprint is awesome, like it is in Orange County, CA, you are going to love the EVO.

The Apple iPhone Is So 2009, says Evo June 7, 2010

Reviewer:  C. R.  (Phoenix, AZ USA) -

The Evo is THE alternative for those not wanting to put up with the iPhone restrictions or AT&T's well publicized shortcomings.
As a proud new owner since Friday I can honestly say the Evo lives up to the hype - and then some.
A warning though: the Evo is much larger than the iPhone and pretty much any other phone out there. For tall/large folks with large
hands this is actually wonderful, but for those who like the tiniest, sleekest toys to go along with their midget hands, this thing isn't it.

Regardless if you live in a Sprint 4G area, you'll pay an extra $10 fee. If you haven't already, you also need to upgrade to one of Sprint's more expensive plans.

Keep in mind that, as with all Androids, you can turn off and/or customize almost any feature you don't like. The Evo is not quite as intuitive to learn as the iPhone but it's also
a lot more capable and powerful. The growing Android app marketplace really helps with this.

PROS
Gorgeous, gigantic, super bright, crystal clear screen. Best. Screen. Ever.
Truly fast at everything - apps launch instantly, everything is just "zippy",
Powerful enough to run a bunch of stuff simultaneously without slowing down at all
Very modern and "hip" interface.
Fantastic integration with all things Google (Maps, Gmail, Google Voice, etc.), Social Networks (Friend Stream is amazing), and GPS
Call quality is excellent
WiFi works very well
Touch screen is VERY sensitive and fast. Could be Pro or a Con.
Videos are unbelievably large and crisp on this thing - no other phone comes close yet
Has lots of options and customization features
8 Megapixel camera AND HD video camcorder (!) surprisingly good quality for a phone
Does eBooks very well (need free eBook reader)
Android app market is huge and growing fast. Downloads and installs are super simple and fast.
Everything about this thing is just fast.
Casing/back doesn't show fingerprints or lint much at all (screen is another story, see below)
Did I mention it's FAST?

CONS
Battery Life. This makes sense as the gigantic screen by itself likes to eat up juice when in use. WiFi, Bluetooth and certain auto-updating apps also drain the battery.
Suggestion: turn WiFi OFF when you leave your house. Keep the default timeout setting to 1 minute or so to make sure the screen turns off after a short time of not
using the device. Turn Bluetooth off if you're not using it. Reduce screen brightness, it's set to Auto by default when you get the Evo.

Default email client not super intuitive, plus polling intervals can not be set to anything shorter than 5 minutes. Email client can easily be replaced with other apps if you wish though.

Touch screen is VERY sensitive and fast. Some folks might need to get used to how fast/sensitive it is. Could be a Pro or a Con.

Soft keyboard has some minor quirks, mostly in terms of intuitiveness. Hard to describe here.

For people with larger hands like me, the Evo is perfect. For someone with very small hands, this device could be a nightmare to use. Seriously - it's LARGE.

Like all touch devices, the touch screen is a fingerprint magnet

SUMMARY
If you are on Sprint (or considering switching) and want the fastest and arguably best device out there at this time, the Evo is it.

Chose this over the IPhone, no regrets! June 13, 2010

Reviewer:  D. Porter  (UT USA) -

I have had this phone for almost a week now. The only other phone I considered was the new IPhone, so far I am very pleased with my decision. Before purchasing this phone I had Palm and Microsoft SmartPhones. I also have an IPod touch at home that I use regularly and love. I didn't have any experience with Android.

Pros:
-This is a large phone. I was worried about this at first, but it is not cumbersome to use as a phone, and the large display looks great! I have large hands and my previous phones all had QWERTY keyboards. I was worried about the switch to soft keys. The large display makes texting and typing easier than I expected.
-Android is great! Having used Apple products for a long time, I was nervous that Android would be a step down in terms of usability. Quite the opposite is true, the interface is very intuitive and easy to use.
-Applications. I have downloaded many apps (widgets). I was surprised to find that most of what I was using on my IPod touch had comparable apps for Android. There are a few I am waiting on (Audible is a big one to me, but it isn't out on the IPhone yet either).
-EMail. I didn't have a Gmail account until I got this phone, but I created one and used it to import all of my contacts from Outlook. I have been using Google Earth, Google Documents, and of course Gmail on the phone. All work perfectly and I am finding myself drawn into the Google world. I wonder if I'll ever go back to Hotmail or Yahoo....
-The camera is great! I don't know why I would even bother carrying a point-and-shoot anymore. The flash and zoom are new to me on a phone camera, and both work well. I haven't taken a bad photo yet. The ability to easily do basic editing of photos on the phone makes sharing pictures easier than anything else I've tried.
-On the same note, the video camera also works great. I haven't tried the HDMI output yet but am anxious to do it. I have taken several videos and uploaded them to the Internet, seamless.
-Sprint Navigation and Sprint TV both work well. I haven't even tried Google Maps turn-by-turn navigation yet, I'm sure that I will.
-Speech recognition. Most queries can be done verbally instead of by typing them in. Speech to text for contacts and navigation works well, so long as I pronounce clearly I have had no problems.
-Good For Enterprise. I didn't want to single out one app, but this one deserves it. This application allows me to attach to my calendar, email, and contacts in Microsoft Exchange at work. Thus far it has worked flawlessly, and gives me all the business functionality I need on a much, much, MUCH cooler phone than a Blackberry.

Not-So-Pros (I can't really say cons):
-Battery Life. Granted it is my first week so I had almost everything turned on all week. I will work on a power management plan going forward. I usually charge my phone overnight, but with GPS, data, and Wi-Fi running, plus using the phone extensively I have to recharge during the day. I'm hoping I can find a happy medium that allows me to go all day without recharging. On a good note, all my mini-USB accessories from my last Palm phone work fine to charge the phone.

As I said, I was considering either this phone or the new IPhone. Feature for feature they are very similar, and since I already had ITunes and multiple IPods it seemed a no-brainer to get the IPhone. What brought me to the Evo was not the phone, but the carrier. I chose the carrier first, the phone second.

I have been very happy with Sprint's network for years now, both data and voice. I am concerned that AT&T is no longer offering unlimited data on the IPhone, no doubt driven by the fact that their network was unprepared and overwhelmed by the IPhone's success. I've heard AT&T's spin control (most people don't use 2Gig per month, they are spending a ton upgrading their network, blah blah blah), but the experience of my friends who have the IPhone is always "the phone is great, the network is not". I have a family plan with 4 phones; my Sprint plan with 4 smartphones (unlimited data and text on all 4) cost less per month than AT&T's plan to have one IPhone (limited data) and three phones (no data). In the end, the Sprint network (faster, unlimited data, and cheaper) made the IPhone, much as I wanted it, the wrong choice for me.

At this point, I assume when I replace this phone the IPhone will be available on Sprint. No doubt if I could have had an IPhone on Sprint I would have done that. However I'm impressed enough by the HTC phone and Google OS to say that even though a week ago Apple could have had my business (on the right network) that next time they will have to earn it. Nothing against Apple, but I like this phone that much.

***Update 6/18/2010

I continue to be very happy with my decision to stay on Sprint and purchase the Evo. A few updates:

-Battery Life. After some time online in a few forums, I have tuned my phone so that I am getting about 30 hours between charges. Turning off GPS and Bluetooth when not in use (there are easy switches on the homepage), switching to WiFi at home instead of 3G, and limiting checks for the Good app and email did most of the work. Since I usually charge every night, this is more than enough for me. I still use the phone about 1-2 hours during the day for voice, plus about an hour of data.

-Apps. I have installed 32 applications. Only had problems with 2, and they were low-rated freebies. The Amazon.com app, Flickster, Pandora, ATK, Google Earth, Sprint TV and Sprint Navigation continue to be favorites. Google Maps also is very easy to use.

-Sprint. Performance on the Sprint network is great. Given the mess AT&T had with the new IPhone orders this week, and the fact that something like a million new IPhones will be going on the already overloaded AT&T network, I feel even better in my decision to choose the carrier first and the phone second.

Convergence is here - and it works pretty well! June 13, 2010

Reviewer:  Jerry Saperstein  (Evanston, IL USA) -

I've been n the technology industry for a long time and over the past several decades, I've heard a number of visionaries (real and wannabe) prophesy about the day when the computer could be held in the palm of your hand and you'd use it for everything without compromising on anything.

Well if that day isn't entirely here, it is very, very close as is demonstrated with the Sprint HTC Evo 4G.

This is one amazing machine.

The 4.3" screen is absolutely marvelous. Unlike my last four HTC smartphones (PPC6700, PPC6800, Touch Pro, Touch Pro 2), I can read without squinting!

The Android Operating System puts Windows Mobile 6 (or whatever they are calling it these days) to shame.

The 1 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor is blazingly fast. Multitasking is quick and efficient.

Available RAM is a bit on the chintzy side.

There's a lot of bloatware installed on the system, but that is easily gotten rid of. You have to be extremely careful with setting options since, as delivered, the Evo 4G will suck your battery dry within a few hours of just sitting there and seemingly doing nothing. In my early days of experimentation, I went from 100% charge when I went to bed to 15% by morning. This is one device where you really want to learn all you can about it. Read the manual, delve deeply into the settings and follow the forums. When people talk about poor battery life on this phone, they're being honest but also exposing their ignorance or unwillingness to optimize the battery life. My suggestion to Sprint, HTC and Google would be to deliver the Evo 4G with all the battery sucking options turned off and thus avoid the unnecessary bad rap about battery life.

I have never been a fan of onscreen keyboards - until now. The onscreen keyboard on the Evo is great. It took me a little while to gain accuracy and speed, but I am now as fast if not faster than with the slider keyboards on my earlier HTC smartphones. One of the first purchases I made to complement the Evo is the Freedom Pro Bluetooth keyboard. (You also have to buy drivers for it from Google's Market service.) Couple that with any of several notes applications, email or QuickOffice and you can leave your laptop at home on many occasions. By the way, the Evo will support the new 32GB microSDHC cards.

The Evo, with an optional Sprint service, can serve as a WiFi access point for up to eight other devices. The service while seemingly pricey is half the cost of Sprint's standalone data service. Sprint levies a $10 surcharge on monthly usage fees for the Evo. Allegedly this is to cover truly unlimited data service on 4G networks. The problem I'v encountered is that Sprint's 4G service in Chicago is spotty and practically impossible to obtain indoors. When you can get 4G, It can be blazingly fast - but it can often also be no better than a good 3G connection as well. To date, I am not overly impressed with 4G in terms of actual availability.

Evo has two cameras. The rear-facing one is typical of higher end cell phone cameras. Usable, but not great, pictures. The twin LED flash helps a lot. The front-facing camera can be used with the Qik service for video calls. So far I am not impressed with Qik and the fact that are adding a surcharge for "premium" features which, in my opinion, shouldn't be considered premium doesn't help. Fring allows you to use Skype and Skype itself has promised an Android client this year.

There are many cool things about this phone. It is, in my opinion, physically beautiful. I like the large size and it fits my hand well. The Android OS, so far, has been dependable with no system crashes. An occasional application crash, but not the OS itself. The four capacitive buttons on the bottom work more often than not. The volume controls on the right side are a design error in my view, but they work well enough.

The HTC Sense User Interface, which I had turned off on my HTC Touch Pro and Touch Pro 2 smartphones has finally reached a level of maturity where it adds to the convenience of using the device.

Call quality has been quite acceptable.

Many tasks that can drive you mad on other phones are simple on the Evo. Finding and connecting with new WiFi and Bluetooth devices is as simple as it can get.

That said, the WiFi and phone receivers on the Evo seem exceptionally poor. I lose the WiFi signal in my unit, something that does not occur with my other phones or computers. Likewise my Sprint signal is far weaker indoors than with any of my previous Sprint HTC phones. This may, in fact, turn out to be a dealbreaker for me. Having had the unit for a week now, I have eliminated all the other possibilities for the poor reception - it is the Evo at fault here and I will be communicating with Sprint this next week to learn what they intend to do about the problem. The forums have been filled with complaints about these issues and, if my experience is a guide, with good reason.

Google's Android Market offers a broad array of software, much of it useful. I have downloaded a number of programs, free and paid, and found them useful.

A couple of little blessings: a kickstand on the back so you can conveniently watch videos or listen to music or books and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Overall this is an incredible piece of work. With my Bluetooth external keyboard, I can see myself leaving the laptop at home on many occasions. The Evo, so far, handles all my basic tasks smoothly, quickly and efficiently.

You have to really learn about this device in order to manage power consumption - otherwise your battery life will be abysmal. And many, including myself, are unhappy with what might be weak WiFi and cell receivers or may be a firmware problem. I am hoping that the problem can be resolved soon.

Sprint, HTC and Google have done a real number on the Sprint HTC Evo 4G. It is outstanding, a true engineering masterpiece. All the power you need for your everyday work tasks and communication fitted into the palm of your hand. On top of that, it is a great entertainment center as well, the 4.3" screen being more than adequate for watching most movies and video. Speaker volume is adequate and speaker fidelity is as bad as any other. Use headphones for your listening.

The Evo is a great device and probably more fun to play with than I am entitled to have.

Jerry