Should I upgrade from Hero - Lag & Battery ?

[RollBravesRoll]

I bought the Hero last summer &, at first, I loved it. My battery wasn't great but I read up on everything on this site & really got things rolling w/it. Then the upgrades came &, along with d/l new apps now & again (I've probably got btw 15-20 all together, but I did remove all the Sprint bloatware), the lag & the battery life just became too much to handle. I've since rooted my phone, use Fresh Kitchen, but it's at the point now where I just want to give up with it. It's ALWAYS dead. And the phone part (you know, the main function of a cellphone) is just useless. It takes up to 30 seconds, after I've clicked on a number, for it to actually call out.

I love the idea of the Android, & I do think it's getting closer & closer to being something you don't have to spend an hour a day researching in order to best use it, but as the hardware upgrades come, so do more & more things that drain the battery, so I'm wondering if the problems I'm talking about are still a problem w/the Evo or not. I just don't have the time to figure out how to tweak everything every time I D/L a new app, or every time something changes.

For the "common" Android user, is the Evo a huge step in the right direction or does it still have the same annoying problems? I told myself 3 months into my Hero experience I was going back to the BB once I was upgrade eligible now, but now that I am, the damn Evo just looks like so much fun!

 

[ThatNewAndroidGuy]

Yes. Get it. Got a guy at work who uses the hero, and wants my Evo pretty badly, and is thinking of paying his ETF just to get it. And remember, you have 30 days to try it. And you're right, it is a lot of fun, the 4.3 inch screen just makes everything more enjoyable vs any smaller screen. Also take a look in the Reviews section if you haven't:

EVO 4G - Reviews - Android Forums

Some useful things to read in there as well. But as far as battery life goes, I can work 11 hours and still get home with some juice left, going on the internet every hour or so and texting, and a little gaming. It varies. It's just minor tweaks, even the common ones, like wifi, GPS, 4G, Bluetooth to be off when not using it. Do you leave your house with the lights on? For lag, there is a major controversy over the 30 FPS cap, but honestly, you're not going to be playing games 80% (if you are then might as well get a gaming device) of the time. But to make the menu's and transitions smoother, I downloaded an app called Spare Parts, by Android Apps, and changed the Window and Transition animations to fast, makes it snappier and quicker. EDIT: And I think they're going to finally support GPU accelerated UI, rendering, etc in Gingerbread (3.0), which isn't supported right now. So expect even less lag when it comes time for that.

Jus my 5

 

[kmoon89]

I didn't come from the Hero or any Android device, but I definitely think this phone is certainly one of the best out there. The level of customizing to your liking is just overwhelmingly satisfying.

You'll probably have some battery issues until you start tweaking and calibrating your battery and settings, but it still gets a the job done. Unless you're on frequent camping trips with no electricity, it always lasts the entire day -- for me, at least. For the common user, it should still be just fine. Just be wise about not using it for streaming, browsing and streaming for hours on end.

As for lag issues, what lag issues ? There is absolutely no lag at all with the Evo. If you decide to take some time and really tweak it with custom ROMs and kernels, it's an unstoppable beast.

 

[Essex]

Yes. Get the EVO! As a former Hero owner, I wholeheartedly recommend the upgrade. I basically agree with what ThatNewAndroidGuy said but I'd like to add a to the discussion a bit.

In terms of hardware, the EVO is noticeably faster than the Hero and EVO's screen is bigger. The only plus that the Hero has over the EVO hardware-wise (IMO) is the trackball. When I had the Hero, the trackball admittedly went unused 90% of the time, but it really came in handy for web browsing. Some will disagree, but (disregarding the plain difference in speed) web browsing felt smoother on the Hero because I could use the trackball to click on links and navigate web menus. I tolerate having to constantly zoom and tap while browsing on the EVO because the phone makes up for it in other areas.

All that said, I would never trade my EVO for a Hero. I'll just wait for the EVO 2 and hope that it has a trackpad like the Incredible, Desire, Legend, etc....

 

[t0ast3d]

EVO over Hero forever, in every way.

 

[NWFLYJ]

I just went from Hero to EVO. Simply put. I will never look back.

 

[mfalk22]

Once you get over the battery, this phone is the most amazing thing since sliced bread. The sad thing, is that the NEW hottest phones coming out still are not as good as the EVO, I strongly recommend, and personally love the phone.

 

[higgins14]

My wife and I switched to Android phones in June. I got the evo, she got the hero. The hero is a piece of laggy junk compared to the evo. We waited too long to trade it, so she us stuck with it. My evo has been great for me.

 

[ARR22]

My wife and I switched to Android phones in June. I got the evo, she got the hero. The hero is a piece of laggy junk compared to the evo. We waited too long to trade it, so she us stuck with it. My evo has been great for me.

Hero a laggy piece of junk? Before the Evo the Hero was the best Android phone on sprint. Before the 2.1 update the Hero was a little beast.

 

[cabbie]

I never was a gadget geek till I got my Hero. I credit the phone for that, it took my geek virginity and it opened up a whole world of things I could make my mobile device do...customization, GPS, games, all that.

It was because of the Hero that I was there at 4am on EVO launch day to get it, because its just such a better phone in every aspect. I still lovingly have my Hero...I told myself I would sell it to help pay for the EVO since I had to pay the full $450...but I still haven't parted with it out of sentimental (it gave me my new hobby) and practical reasons (if the EVO ever craps out, I have a backup phone that I know inside and out till I get a new one)

Hero to EVO is a no-brainer. Hero:EVO::CooperManningeytonManning

 

[freeza]

Trust me when I tell you going from the Hero to the EVO is like going from the Mogul to the HD2

Well, maybe the Touch Pro to the HD2.

 

[Thefoodman52]

Lag is going to go away. Battery life in ALL android phones (maybe not the cut-down budget ones) is bad across the board, so don't come expecting miraculous jumps and leaps forward, like being able to use your phone all day for 3 days straight. Those that DO get 2 days life without a charge aren't using their phone but for a paper weight. I use it all day, and get 16 hours on a good one, 12 or less if I'm punching emails, calls back to back, messaging, and using it as a music players as I do normally. Nothing 2 batteries for $10 from Hong Kong off Ebay can't fix.

 

[TheAndroidWorks]

As has been said... YES, get the hero. I had a hero before my EVO and it is amazing how night and day the experience just taking in the faster processor and larger, clearer screen. Let alone all of the other added features. I did miss the trackball... for about 12 seconds. Just get a couple extra batteries and enjoy the blue hell out of the EVO... although I am pretty fond of the EPIC as well, so you may want to look into it.

The point is, that Android is a remarkably better experience on faster hardware!

 

[unwallflower]

I had a Hero... HAD. For a few months. Had to get rid of it because it was totally worthless to me.

The Evo isn't perfect. Sometimes it gets a bit laggy since I updated it to 2.2 (but nothing like the Hero). The battery life is far from perfect, but I have a charger in my car, at home, and at my desk at work so I've never had a problem.

I think it's definitely worth it to upgrade, but that's coming from someone who wanted to run over the Hero with a semi truck.

 

[dan330]

As has been said... YES, get the hero. I had a hero before my EVO and it is amazing how night and day the experience just taking in the faster processor and larger, clearer screen. Let alone all of the other added features. I did miss the trackball... for about 12 seconds. Just get a couple extra batteries and enjoy the blue hell out of the EVO... although I am pretty fond of the EPIC as well, so you may want to look into it.

The point is, that Android is a remarkably better experience on faster hardware!

i am on the fence about the epic or evo.. both have great specs. it makes it so hard...

Epic has the power
EVO has the finesse

went to BB to check out the epic... that screen is very nice.

but there are 2 things that keep me from changing.

1. GPS.. maybe an issue
2. the power plug... it is on top of the phone! this is just a bad place. think of using a car mount, that just dont look right with the cable coming out the top of the phone into your field of vision. also how many times has the phone need to be charged in the car .. and you need to make a call? now put that up to your ear and the cable has to come around to the top of the phone... it pulling and torquing the usb connection plug. Try to hold it.. between your shoulder and head.

 

[HiDef]

I just went from Hero to EVO. Simply put. I will never look back.

Ditto....

 

[Thefoodman52]

I know it might be early for me to say this, but based on Samsung's two releases with Sprint, their stuff looks awful purdy on paper, then turns into a nice little turd wrapped in silver foil that falls apart the more you hold it and realize what it is...

The Moment was, on paper, superior to the Hero. Now, people that buy the Moment hate it and are almost always looking at other phones after they get it.

From these already early issues that are, indeed, quite big, and might I add are present on the WHOLE Galaxy S line, things don't bode well. The Epic also has the WiFi strength issue the Evo had on release as well. One dude posting over there was only getting 1 bar 2 feet from his router, like we were before that patch.

Samsung can still dig themselves out of the hole, but if they continue to just let things slide like a big brown log, it'll be nasty when things hit the bottom.


-edit-

Anyone on the line between the Evo and Epic, just wait it out with your current phone and see if the Epic gets it's problems worked out. Samsung hasn't ever (okay, hardly, I'm exaggerating) been good with keeping up on top of updates and fixing problems, so I'd wait and see what they do with this new flagship device of theirs. You don't want to buy into something based on attractive writing to find out the substance behind said paper is less than half what you were expecting. That's what happened with me and the Moment... I dropped it for the Hero.

 

[TheAndroidWorks]

I dropped a moment to get the Hero and was MUCH more pleased with a less buggy device. Now that I have played with the EPIC for a little while, I think I am going to continue using the EVO as my daily phone...

 

[Wilswan]

I bought the Hero last summer &, at first, I loved it. My battery wasn't great but I read up on everything on this site & really got things rolling w/it. Then the upgrades came &, along with d/l new apps now & again (I've probably got btw 15-20 all together, but I did remove all the Sprint bloatware), the lag & the battery life just became too much to handle. I've since rooted my phone, use Fresh Kitchen, but it's at the point now where I just want to give up with it. It's ALWAYS dead. And the phone part (you know, the main function of a cellphone) is just useless. It takes up to 30 seconds, after I've clicked on a number, for it to actually call out.

I love the idea of the Android, & I do think it's getting closer & closer to being something you don't have to spend an hour a day researching in order to best use it, but as the hardware upgrades come, so do more & more things that drain the battery, so I'm wondering if the problems I'm talking about are still a problem w/the Evo or not. I just don't have the time to figure out how to tweak everything every time I D/L a new app, or every time something changes.

For the "common" Android user, is the Evo a huge step in the right direction or does it still have the same annoying problems? I told myself 3 months into my Hero experience I was going back to the BB once I was upgrade eligible now, but now that I am, the damn Evo just looks like so much fun!

Yes, you should make the jump to the EVO. I started with the Hero, and I was in the same situation you are now. I weighed the options for weeks, but finally made the decision.Very wise decision

The Hero has lag in the function where the EVO still has some but compared to the Hero, it's non existant. All the functions are entirely more fluid and the screen size is a definite plus on the EVO.

It's a no brainer on the decision to switch now after doing it, but I was like you and nervous about it.