Best Cell Phone I Have Ever Owned February 22, 2011

Reviewer:  T. Soptick  (Lenexa, KS) -

I upgraded to the EVO 4G Shift about 2 weeks ago from my Blackberry 8330 Curve. I was a loyal Blackberry user for several years and was concerned about upgrading to an Android phone. I wanted a bigger screen, a faster processor, and 4G internet speed. I almost bought the EVO, but considered it too big and expensive, plus I wanted a physical keyboard. So I was excited when the EVO Shift 4G came out. I thought the Samsung Epic was too expensive. I am really happy with the upgrade! Going from my Blackberry to this Android phone is like going from DOS to Windows or a PC to a MAC.

Positives: Everything is so visual! 7 Big and beautiful screens to display your apps! 1 tap and your app starts immediately! Love the touch screen! The processor is like jumping from a Celeron to the latest quad processor. 4G speed in my city is incredible! I love the keyboard and am now texting almost half as fast as my 17 year old - a big jump in speed. The number and quality of Android apps is amazing! I have found only 1 app that I cannot replace from Blackberry. I have downloaded almost one dozen apps and haven't had to pay one dime! You Tube videos and my videos look great and play well. The quality of the pictures using the 5.0 megapixel camera shots and videos are a big improvement from my old Blackberry. Last, but not least, the call quality is the best I have had in any cellphone!

Negatives: Battery life! This is the reason I am giving it 4, not 5 stars.I used to be able to go a day and a half without charging my Blackberry. I have to charge this phone twice a day and do not consider myself to be a heavy user, only moderate. With all the incredible features built into this phone, HTC should provide a longer lasting battery to support these wonderful features!

Slightly annoyed by: the volume control. It's easy to accidentally hit it when you are pulling out the keyboard. Also annoyed by the slanted on/off power button at top. It is a little inconvenient and difficult to use.

Bottom line: Buy this phone! In general, I am very pleased with it.

If you are a loyal Blackberry user like was: - go for it! The overall upgrade from Blackberry to this Android phone has been great! I do miss the themes, and Company names,titles,and Groupings of contacts don't transfer well into Gmail (a requirement for Android phones). So you will have to adjust your contacts once in Gmail. But this was not a huge problem for me. What you get in return is a much better overall experience.

Note: If you upgrade to a larger micro SD card from the 2G card it came with, you must transfer the files on the old card to the new card before replacing the original card in your new phone. You need to do this so your phone will recognize the new card. I learned this the hard way. The retail associate who installed the 8G card I bought did not know this.

Update: The EVO 4g Shift recently got the Gingerbread(Android 2.3)update and battery life is now much better. I no longer use Juice Defender.

Feature-loaded, user friendly: smart choice in a crowded smart phone market February 12, 2011

Reviewer:  35-year Technology Consumer "8-tracks to 802.11"  (Mid Atlantic, USA) -

We've been using mobile telephones in our house since 1995, and the parade of discards since then represent choices made to deliver basic services (phone calls, and with the ones just retired, text messages) and at the cheapest prices.

The HTC Evo Shift 4G was only added to Sprint's lineup a month before we bought it ago, making us early adopters of this model, even if smart phones are decidedly mainstream now...

Much of what is good --or bad-- about using 3G/4G/WIMAX services is going to be very dependent on your service provider's network relative to your current location (and indeed, many of the commercials we watch are not about the phone, but about the network) and the applications you interact with.

So while your experience my vary, our experience with this phone in the places we use it has been awesome at every turn. Great features, intuitive interface and --since we still use it to make phone calls too-- good call audio quality.

While the screen is smaller that its Evo 4G product line companion, this is largely mitigated by the slide-out full QWERTY keyboard...a blessing for those who can't seem to master soft keyboard displays.

The phone ships with an impressive array of apps, and the Android marketplace makes finding and installing new ones simple. Two strong performers are Google-powered Voice Search and Navigate: both are eerily good at delivering search results and driving/walking directions. Thi phone's voice-to-text interface is also very good. Surprisingly, a voice-based dialing app that is part of the operating system's collection of widgets seldom gets one right.

We discovered one minor issue with the placement and size of the call volume buttons at the bottom left of the QWERTY tray when it's extended. Your left thumb will inadvertently press them by accident, resulting in the related on-screen display briefly appearing on the screen. It's a minor issue that you will quickly self-train to avoid.

Finally, a note about pricing if you are considering this or any other high-end phone: comparison shop and pay attention when you're ready to upgrade. For the hardware purchase, you can expect to find considerable differences in the prices (even when upgrade discount and rebates are included) from different vendors. Be sure to check out each each of your provider's "store" (brick and mortar, by phone and online), big box stores and even Amazon's new wireless store. It's worth investing a couple minutes in this research to save a considerable amount on the purchase price.

Becoming a smart phone user begins with shopping smartly!

The Best Phone I Have Ever Owned! March 27, 2011

Reviewer:  C. Dooley  (Birmingham, AL USA) -

I absolutely love my HTC Evo Shift 4G! I went from a standard flip phone about month ago to this and added an all inclusive plan of text and data - will never go back to a standard phone again. I carry this phone everywhere and because of all the apps I can download for it, I always have music, books, games, camera, camcorder, phone, text, email, internet, weather info, alarm clock, notebook, GPS, etc with me all the time. The battery seems to last a little longer than I expected being that I am always on my phone doing something, but I keep it charged each night. I love the voicemail feature of this phone.. instead of having to dial into it, your voicemails are saved like recordings to your phone with a time and date stamp - you touch the "play" button and listen to them and then there is a "delete" button you can push to remove them from your phone - more convenient than having to call the voicemail, enter a code, listen to the time and date, etc and waste minutes. I also love the slide out keyboard feature - I hate typing on a screen, so this was a must for me when looking for a new phone and adding unlimited text to my plan. The graphics are awesome on this phone and the screen is a nice size for viewing picture, videos, etc. Basically, this phone is like a mini, portable computer. If I ever need another phone, I will definitely get this one again or one comparable if this particular model is not available.

Finally my Perfect Phone January 29, 2011

Reviewer:  J. L. Miller 

Love this phone. It has everything I want and nothing more. I mean seriously who even uses a front facing camera??? I sure don't. Second, as easy as touch screen typing is, sometime i want to be able to see the full screen of the device when i'm typing and this is what the keyboard is great for. I also really like the touch pad which basically replaces the arrows keys and is really nice for navigating around the web.

Other than that this thing is faaaast and I would imagine that it does get better battery life than the Evo, but I've never owned an Evo. The benchmark tests show that the 800MHz processor is actually faster than the 1Ghz in the original since it is the second generation of the processor. Seriously have enjoyed this phone so far. You should also note that HTC phones upgrade to the newest Android versions far earlier than all other Android manufacturers.

[...]

HTC EVO or HTC EVO Shift January 27, 2011

Reviewer:  The Fallen Angel with a broken Wing "I Cry Out But No One Can Hear Me ..."  (Dark Corner Deep Within the Mind) -

I just recently got the EVO Shift and it's an awesome phone. The main difference between the EVO and EVO Shift is that the EVO has a bigger screen and dual cameras *Front & Rear* where as the EVO Shift is smaller in size, only has one rear camera, and a slide-out Qwerty keyboard. The differences are very subtle and not really gonna make much of a difference between the two. If you're gonna watch alot of videos/multimedia then the EVO might be best but if you're just looking for a phone of general tasks like texting, web-browsing, etc. then the EVO Shift might be better. In my honest opinion the Slide-Out Qwerty keyboard isn't really necessary. The set-up for the on-screen keyboard is so simple and easy that you'd rarely use the slide-out keyboard. My old phone *LG RUMOR* had a slide-out keyboard and I got so used to using a slide-out I didn't wanna go back to using a touchscreen keyboard like I do on my iTouch. So I got the EVO Shift instead of the EVO. I still like the EVO but I found I'm rarely using the slide-out keyboard bcuz the on-screen keyboard is better made than the iTouch that mistyping happens very rarely. The word recognition is great that you don't have to type the whole word. So the slide-out keyboard loses it's purpose. Overall it's a great phone and I think I'm gonna be pretty happy with it.

Excellent phone June 9, 2011

Reviewer:  Gino  (Chicago Suburbs) -

I've ownded this phone for about 4 months now, finally deciding to write a review. Overall I do enjoy the phone a lot and it's the best phone I've ever owned (2nd smartphone) and I do like it more than the original Evo that Sprint offers. Below are the good and bad.

Good:

- Dedicated keyboard (why I bought it over the standard Evo). Works just like it should!
- Good feel in your hands
- 5 MP camera
- Lots of apps
- Good call quality
- GPS works like it should

Bad:

- When you transfer music to the phone it has to be MP3's or won't work. Even some of the MP3s don't or transfer over in bulk

- While the camera is good, the one on my Samsung Memoir was more flexible when things are moving, this tends to blur. The standard Evo has more megapixels as well.

- One the phone needed a systm update and I was given no notice and all of a sudden my pictures could not be retreived. After the updated I could retreive the ones I took going forward

- Battery life: I don't use the phone that much but it's a drainer (especially with 4g). Expect to charge this at least another hour each day to make it last after a full charge

- 4g: not that fast, eats batteries, not widely available from Sprint yet

So at the end of the day it's a phone and it does what it's supposed to very well for the most part. I'd reccoment an Otterbox case if you buy one (I went through 3 cheap ones before I bought it) and downloading the Amazon Appstore for a free paid app every day.

Best phone I've owned. March 13, 2011

Reviewer:  snrkwlr 

I am very happy with this phone. I've had it for 2 months now (bought it the morning it came out). It does everything the iphone does, but is much cheaper. I have yet to have problems with the phone. I previously owned the HTC Hero and I had to take it to be hard reset multiple times. All of the programs on this phone run smoothly. The feature I like best is the camera. It takes great pictures. I've taken pictures in complete dark using the flash and they came out.

When I wanted to design a phone, this was it. March 22, 2011

Reviewer:  CheeryLB  (Nash, TN USA) -

I'd rather give a 4 1/2 for dropped calls when on call waiting and then force close, but otherwise, fits my needs (and my hands) perfectly. I thought over the original Evo but couldn't do it without a physical keyboard and don't know if I'd like such a large phone. Might have went with the Samsung Epic but that one was a bit too big for me. I only wish it would have come with a larger sd card than 2g.

Best phone I have ever had! March 8, 2011

Reviewer:  M. Vermette  (Chicago, IL) -

The HTC Evo Shift 4G is by far the best phone I have ever had. I am a purchasing agent for a construction company and I spend most of my day professionally and personally on the phone and Evo Shift is a pleasant treat compared to the approximately 15 cell phones I've had in the past. Battery will make it all day on a single charge running numerous apps, emailing, texting, phone calls, navigation. What a wonderful phone, finally! Highly recommend.

ARGHHHHHH!!!! November 4, 2011

Reviewer:  Christopher Lee "Cartmansnuts"  (Denham Springs, LA USA) -

I have had the shift for just under a year now (Since Jan) and I first started getting problems after about 3 months. Let me list everything that has gone wrong in order;
1. All the silver letters on the back of the phone had fallen off by the 3rd month
2. A few of the clasps (I guess you would call them) on the battery cover snapped off and the cover is loose now.
3. As you down load apps for the phone, the processor speed (which is ok at first) goes out the window.
4. Sprints service and this obviously isn't the phones fault is absolutely crap.
5. As a few other reviews may have mentioned, the screen starts to scroll all on its own and you have to remove the battery and re-boot the phone. This happens at least twice a week now.
6. The charge/USB connection port becomes loose and the phone will only charge from a wall outlet and not via a PC USB connection or car cigarette lighter outlet.
7. Battery life is very poor and depending on the app you use can go dead in as quick as 30 minutes.

I guess the moral of the story here is read a TON of reviews before buying, and don't get it just cause everyone else has one.

Almost Perfect Phone June 1, 2011

Reviewer:  R. Alembik "Baudelaire"  (DECATUR, GA United States) -

Overall excellent phone. I don't ever see myself getting an iphone unless Apple includes a slide-out keyboard for it. The one negative about this keyboard is that it's got three rows of keys while my old HTC Windows Mobile phone had four (numbers on the top row). Because I have to use the function key to type numbers, and because the letter "o" (as in "Oscar") corresponds to the number "9" (using the function key) I keep making errors that should be avoidable with slightly better engineering. (OK, and better attention on my part, too. But I've got to whine about something.) Also, it's annoying that the space bar also has a function key assignment to it (symbols). Anyway, these are the only bad things I can really say about the phone. Overall very solid feel to it, like a Motorolla. And just plain easy and fast. I'm also waiting to pair this phone up with a Samsung Galaxy Tab when it comes out in software version 3.0. Finally, one last bad thing -- Sprint's 4G service. I think the "G" should stand for "Get Real" because there are very few spots in the Atlanta area in which the 4G signal is strong enough to be usable. Sprint needs to address this if it's going to try to keep up with AT&T/TMobile. For now, though, I'm satisfied with Sprint and believe that it's really improved its service since I last dumped it about 10 years ago.

Great Phone, Highly Recommend it. February 24, 2011

Reviewer:  Bill 

I agree with most of what everyone said. The phone is just great. The HTC email app gets messages before my Outlook mailbox. The keyboard is worlds better than the old droid and a joy to use. The construction is solid. The volume rocker is easy to accidentally press, but this is so minor. The screen resolution is the same as the Evo 4g but at a smaller size, so the quality looks better. Although, as I noticed in the store and out and about, this phone does not get as good reception as the original Evo. Fortunately I live in a city and mostly get 5 bars, but out in the suburbs is only at 1. Luckily, the sprint call quality is still good at 1 bar, in fact, better than my old at&t phone at 5 bars. For the battery: I keep the 4g and wifi off, HTCs "friend stream" up and the weather widget up, and still get a full day of battery at about 30%. I send/recieve about ~30 emails a day, some angry birds at lunch, 10 texts and 20 minutes of calls.

If you have a Sprint store or dealer around you, try the phone out. The lower specs and screen size may seem like a loss to the Droid X and Evo 4g, but this is a more enjoyable phone in my opinion. Plus, the 5 star keyboard makes it an obvious choice for me.

the ThinkPad of cell phones! (review + comparision w/ iPhone) April 29, 2011

Reviewer:  vincent_anton  (Texas) -

I've had my HTC EVO Shift (w/ Sprint service) for 4 months and am extremely happy with it. I think it's like the ThinkPad of cell phones because it actually does useful things (!), has great build quality, places substance over style, and doesn't need to be babied by placing it in a case.

I heavily use the phone for work communication (email, downloading work documents in Word / PDF) and personal communication (chatting w/ MSN, Gchat,

My ***favorite*** feature is that I'm notified INSTANTLY when I have new messages w/ Yahoo! (via Yahoo! Mail app) or Gmail (via Gmail app). iPhone does not even have a Yahoo app, and I thought it's Gmail app was lame. The instant notification can come via (depending on your customization):

1 - flashing light
2 - vibration
3 - beep

For my line of work, I need to see email messages within about 10 seconds of receiving them, so this phone is PERFECT for that.

Summary of pros:
(1) great build
(2) awesome physical keyboard (and I prefer on-screen options to iPhone too)
(3) screen size is a good compromise between being big enough to use but small enough to fit on your pocket
(4) Android + HTC's Sense user interface is intuitive and customizable
(5) multitasks flawlessly

Summary of cons:
(1) volume can be a little low
(2) occasionally the notification light is buggy and will flash after I've already read the notification. Doesn't happen often enough to be a problem, and only happens with chats, not with email.

**Comparison w/ iPhone 4:

I bought an iPhone when Verizon released it. I was planning on keeping both phones. However, I ended up dislking the iPhone so I returned it to Verizon.

Because it's so hyped and because people are in love with their iPhones, I fully expected to love mine as well. Actually, the only positive things I can say about it are:
(1) it's shiny
(2) the Netflix streaming app worked flawlessly on Verizon 3G and it was a fun app (Android does not have this app)

Other than that, I pretty much hated the iPhone. I think a debate between iPhone and HTC Shift is akin to iPad vs. ThinkPad.

The iDevices are shiny and the Shift and ThinkPad are black and not exciting looking. I'm interested in durability and basic functionality, so I'm sticking with my Shift and ThinkPad! When I tried to do (what I thought) were very basic things on the iPhone, I was so disappointed.

Here's a list of the basic things I wish I could have done with the iPhone:

(Some people might point out that it's possible to do these things with the iPhone... I'd like to point out that I was able to do ALL of these things with my HTC within 10 minutes of taking it out the box! And without having to search online about how to do it!)

1. Hold the phone without dropping it
2. Get a notification that I had a new email
3. Utilize a dedicated Yahoo Mail app
4. Utilize a dedicated Gmail app w/ the same features and setup as web Gmail
5. Surf YouTube and view smooth videos without pauses or skipping
6. Multitask and toggle between open programs with a couple finger motions
7. Use chat programs (QQ and Gchat) running in the background

Also, a couple of my apps in Android can be buggy, and I know that Apple has a more stringent process for apps so I assumed that the iOS version of the same apps I used on Android would be better on the iPhone. Wrong! Several of the apps that were buggy on my Android were just as buggy and two that I use a lot were even more buggy!

Oh yeah... my experience is that the iPhone on Verizon 3G was significantly slower than HTC on Sprint 3G. Obviously this will not be true everywhere, but it was true for me where I live. Weirdly, the Netflix app streamed videos flawlessly to my iPhone but I could not get the iPhone to show smooth YouTube videos. General movement between programs is faster on my HTC.

I do not play games or use my phone for much entertainment, so I can't speak to those aspects of the HTC or the iPhone. However, if you're looking for something that's durable and reliable for heavy communication use, I'd highly recommend the HTC.

I love this phone! February 15, 2012

Reviewer:  Derek L. Schneider "Derek"  (Mahopac,NY) -

I have had this phone for almost a year now and I do not have too many complaints. This is my first HTC phone and I am very happy with it. I know everyone is freaking out and going out and buying the iphone, but I love the slide out keyboard and don't think I could do without it. This phone is pretty durable, seeing as I drop it all the time at work so it is a little banged up. The only thing that has happend to it over just about a year is the keyboard is getting a little loose. This most likely has to do with being dropped so many times though lol. I do think that they should have included a frontside camera though. I mean it isn't a big deal at all because I don't think I would use it too much, but it would be a cool feature. Overall I would definetly recommend this phone over the standard Evo and the iphone to anyone who loves a slide out keyboard.

Excellent Phone November 13, 2011

Reviewer:  Carol Wright  (Chicago, IL United States) -

This phone is a magnificent device. There are many useful features, not mentioning the amazingly fast 4G speed and voice recognition application. There is also a "Places" app, easy access to Google maps, a high resolution camera, and, my favorite, a free cloud. All you need is a gmail account to sync up documents, photos, calenders, contacts, and more to and from your phone. I would highly recommend getting a case for your phone as soon as you get it- it has a very sleek, delicate surface and is easy to drop. I suggest [[ASIN:B004K3PF9O HTC Hard Shell Case - 1 Pack - Retail Packaging - Blue/Black]]. It's easy to hold, durable, and inexpensive.

HTC Evo Shift 4G September 30, 2011

Reviewer:  Grace M.  (Minnesota, USA) -

When I upgraded my phone after my contract was renewed I got some cheapo standard android phone thinking it would do just fine. I was super wrong. The phone glitched out and practically died after a couple of months. I then researched into the newest and best looking phones Sprint had, knowing it would be worth the money to have something that actually works well. When comparing the newest phones, I found that hands down the HTC Evo line had all I was looking for in a phone. I've bought the Evo shift 4g about five months ago and I literally love this phone. It's especially perfect for people into social networking like I am. Here are some of the best features that I discovered:

- Blazing fast 4G speeds are not overrated, you'll smile when you first experience it. It also makes for browsing on normal non-mobile web pages tolerable.

- Facebook, Twitter, and other social apps like Flickr are integrated into this phone through the picture albums and contacts making it easier than ever to stay connected.

- This phone is Android, so have a hay day with their hundreds of thousands of applications!

- Other things I love about this phone are how personalizable the screen set up is, the sturdy reliable feel--scratch resistant screen, it's wi-fi capabilities, and especially how it can have my dozens of apps downloaded and not lag.

I'm extremely impressed with how smooth operating the Evo Shift is. I still have yet to restart or pull out the battery because of glitchiness!

This phone has been more than awesome so far, so you should give it a try.

no brainer. July 23, 2011

Reviewer:  Paul S. Wilson "paul"  (Highland Village, Texas USA) -

I had previously the HTC Hero...ha, so enough said, right? Everyone hated that phone. It did nearly everything the Evo does, at about half speed.

The Evo is so much more responsive that I am really having a good time with it.
My music is all on the cloud now, and the other apps help me a lot.

Yes, the battery button is badly designed and takes me several tries and one has to deal with it all the time because of the battery saving feature that shuts the screen off.

4G is usually not to be had, and when it is to be had, will drain the battery much faster, so disappointingly, like many people I just don't try to use 4g much.

I have bad thumbs so I wanted the slide out keyboard. But funny, now that I have it, I often don't bother to pull it out and just use the touch screen.
But I prefer the smaller size of the Evo, it fits in my pocket and I don't watch movies on my phone.

The Evo Shift is a bit on the heavy side. Guess there is no way to avoid that.
Over all, a very good phone and I am not tempted to go get an iphone.

Not all its cracked up to be! November 11, 2012

Reviewer:  Vanessa "Vanessa"  (Ranson, WV) -

I've had this phone for a little over a year. This was my very first smart phone, I LOVED it at first!! Took it everywhere. Now after a year it is terrible the screen dosn't respond to my touch anymore. It randomly calls people as I am playing a game or on facebook. It has spurts of crazyness where it starts pulling up menu and picking random things. To be honest I have dropped this phone a few times never any water damage though but my keyboard wont stay open anymore. Oh and EVERY SINGLE case I buy for it brakes after 1 drop. I gave up on those.

Six months in... November 2, 2012

Reviewer:  Maui "Mikey M"  (WI) -

Not good at all. We've already sent this item in for repair to HTC once and we're already having problems with them (yes, we ordered two) just a few months later. Both phones are acting goofy and we've got over a year left on the re-newal coming around. It's a very frustrating phone.

These phones are very buggy August 12, 2012

Reviewer:  V. Acevedo "hungariangirl"  (Los Angeles, CA) -

I had an HTC phone before and it was buggy but it was working. After a year or two you have to think of getting a new phone, I guess they make it this way on purpose. Planned obsolescence. I have the Evo Shift for about a year now, and I am getting more and more frustrated with it. I chose this phone because of the keyboard, that's the only good thing about it. First my headset plug broke, so now I only hear mono. I hate to hold the phone to my head, I get a head ache. Now the camera stopped working. I didn't drop my phone, no water get into it, just simply stopped. I even reset my phone, and didn't fix it. I had to reload everything but my camera problem didn't get fixed.
The phone like other say act on his own. Sometimes the music player start when it wants, calling random people, restarts whenever it wants. When trying to read messages and going down, the scroll sometimes scrolls me back on the top and I can start from the beginning again, hoping next time it won't do it. The whole phone is sluggish, slow and sometimes doing the simple things like calling a number, redial a number or sending a simple text takes minutes. This is my last HTC, I will try to get rid of it and going back to NOKIA. I always had NOKIAS before and those phones were reliable. This HTC is like a toy, it sometimes works, sometimes not, whenever it wants to. You can't rely on it.