sprint branded vs. virgin mobile branded evo v

[smartphone45]

Hi everybody,

I wonder does it really make a difference if they really took the evo 3d with the sprint logo on the front and flashed it with virgin mobiles software vs. getting the phone with virgin mobile branded on the back no sprint logo on the front... i pre-ordered the phone from RS and will receive it no later than wed the 6th and I'm hearing from people on this forum say that there is just the sprint logo on the top of the front of the phone and it doesn't have virgin mobiles name on it....what do you guys think....should i have waited till they came out with virgin mobiles name on the phone?? Will the pre-ordered phones be better or worse than later stock???

 

[OverByter]

Just from cost reasons I would expect that except for silk screening they are identical.

 

[agentc13]

I'm guessing that the difference between the Evo 3d and Evo V 4g is just software (that has been pretty much assumed by many people for a while).
So if the Evo V 4g's with the Sprint branding were originally Evo 3d's then there should be no real difference besides that is says Sprint instead of Virgin Mobile.

Until some folks get the ones with the Virgin Mobile branding there really isn't any way to compare them yet.

 

[G19]

If anything I'd expect the sprint ones to be better.

 

[Darkencypher]

If anything I'd expect the sprint ones to be better.

Why? They are the EXACT same. In the factories they just put some branding on a evo 3d.

 

[Cheno1115]

They made no hardware improvements or changes what-so-ever. They are still manufacturing them, they changed the front faceplate to just HTC and slapped a VM logo next to HTC on the back cover. That's it.

As for the Sprint ones, They took them all back, reflashed them, and repackaged them. It's the same phone.

 

[G19]

Why? They are the EXACT same. In the factories they just put some branding on a evo 3d.

We'll see. The optimus v had earlier and later versions that were completely different in screen appearance and over clock abilities

 

[smartphone45]

being that virgin mobile is already out of stock days after their launch date makes me suspicious....I pre-ordered mine from RS. Only one person complained that their evo v looked a little beat up out the box...this whole scenario with RS cancelling orders and whatnot makes me nervous....I just hope they are not selling refurbished units or customer returns out the box....My question is don't RS or Virgin Mobile have to inform the public if it is a refurbished product initially at point of sale..isn't there a law that compels the companys to state that is a return or refurbished??????????

 

[tcklord]

being that virgin mobile is already out of stock days after their launch date makes me suspicious....I pre-ordered mine from RS. Only one person complained that their evo v looked a little beat up out the box...this whole scenario with RS cancelling orders and whatnot makes me nervous....I just hope they are not selling refurbished units or customer returns out the box....My question is don't RS or Virgin Mobile have to inform the public if it is a refurbished product initially at point of sale..isn't there a law that compels the companys to state that is a return or refurbished??????????

Mine seemed completely brand new. It was in a sealed Virgin Mobile box too. Had a screen protector/peel off plastic on the screen as well. I wouldn't doubt that it is a sprint device that they flashed with the virgin firmware since it says Sprint, but that doesn't really make it refurbished in my eyes. It's not a customer return or broken phone that they fixed and released as new.

 

[EdAndInn]

I read somewhere that HTC EVO 3D existing stock was pulled from shelves of Sprint stores. Is it possible that the same stock was sent to lab / warehouse /factories where it was reflashed with new software (aka Android Ice Cream Sandwich and HTC Sense 3.6)? It makes perfect sense for Sprint to sell of the existing inventory of HTC EVO 3D as HTC EVO V 4G.

Was HTC EVO 3D sold as 4G phone by Sprint on Sprint? If yes, then there is not much change for Sprint. Only ICS + VirginMobileUSA related S/W Changes

 

[OverByter]

I don't even think that it comes down to selling the "Sprint" branded ones first, they were the only ones in country. All of Htc's phones were apparently being held in customs because of Crapples lawsuit. The US Customs apparently did not make the distinction between offending items and held them all until the ITC allowed Htc to import the phones on Thursday. All of the Sprint versions went to RS to alleviate that fiasco. That is why on all other sites including Virgin's they were listed as backordered. As for being refurb's, yes federal law requires retailers to disclose that prior to purchase. Installing new software certainly wouldn't make them refurbished.

 

[savage321]

Just got off the phone with Virgin Mobile and they said the first batch will have Sprint branding and the next batch will have Virgin Mobile branding. They weren't sure if I would get the first or second batch (my phone is being shipped tomorrow from vm's website.) but they the lady I talked to thinks I will get the 2nd batch.

 

[wigginst]

Kinda funny that there is not a vm branded one of these in the wild yet..

 

[ZAXIS]

gotta give some thought to what g19 says, cuz the op v's did have two different kinds, i bought my ov during the black friday sale, and it was different from the ones that had originally gone out (first batch), i wasnt able to overclock that sucker past 600 for long without heat and other issues while i would read that people with models that preceded mine would be oc'd at 806 w/out any issues, i had wondered if they had used cheaper chips with more contaminated sand to meet demand, but that was just my personal experience, and while others would post of also not being able to oc past 600 couldve just been been our small group which can be justified in the so many that there were, and the ov had been out for quite a while before they had the black friday sale....... just a thought

 

[septembersrain]

gotta give some thought to what g19 says, cuz the op v's did have two different kinds, i bought my ov during the black friday sale, and it was different from the ones that had originally gone out (first batch), i wasnt able to overclock that sucker past 600 for long without heat and other issues while i would read that people with models that preceded mine would be oc'd at 806 w/out any issues, i had wondered if they had used cheaper chips with more contaminated sand to meet demand, but that was just my personal experience, and while others would post of also not being able to oc past 600 couldve just been been our small group which can be justified in the so many that there were, and the ov had been out for quite a while before they had the black friday sale....... just a thought

They'll use the same processor but just as all electronics go, there will be bad batches. You may have got one that had chipsets with minor flaws. Probably were flawed before they even went into the phone. They only test them for their ability to handle what they consider "heavy load".
We all know that's nothing compared to what people like us consider "heavy". =P

You never really know the quality you are getting until you get it. It's a gamble. These Sprint flashed Evo V's are definitely slightly buggy software wise but hardware wise they seem very well built.

 

[hollap]

I may be way off base here, but does it seem that RS had a "deal" with VM to scoop up the Flashed Sprint EVO 3Ds in order to offer them earlier than their competitors?

 

[septembersrain]

I may be way off base here, but does it seem that RS had a "deal" with VM to scoop up the Flashed Sprint EVO 3Ds in order to offer them earlier than their competitors?

They likely had a deal to be offering them first. They probably didn't foresee this HTC storage due to Apple. That's why Radio Shack made such huge errors in their distribution of this phone I bet.

So I think these re-flashed Sprint 3D's may have been a desperate measure to meet demand.

 

[ZAXIS]

So what's the likely hood of us being able to trade in ours for a vm branded one, assuming there are slight differences, say I return mine within the thirty days, or I buy the warranty from rs and tell them it has issues, would they give us a new vm one or is it more likely that they'll give some sort of refurbished one..... Either way that's assuming a vm one is superior, which no one has yet

 

[swerver32]

They likely had a deal to be offering them first. They probably didn't foresee this HTC storage due to Apple. That's why Radio Shack made such huge errors in their distribution of this phone I bet.

So I think these re-flashed Sprint 3D's may have been a desperate measure to meet demand.

The shortage because of customs was a pretty recent issue. If that did affect the vm evo shipment, I don't see how they would have had time to go get some sprint evo's, open them up, change software, and repackage them, all on such short notice. I think it was part of the plan all along, to get rid of the excess sprint stock first.

 

[agianne]

Was HTC EVO 3D sold as 4G phone by Sprint on Sprint? If yes, then there is not much change for Sprint. Only ICS + VirginMobileUSA related S/W Changes

They also changed the version of HTC Sense.

The hardware seems to be the same, but the software is completely different. You are describing some pretty significant changes.

 

[EazySteve]

I heard the ROM was changed from 4 to 1gb? Can anybody confirm

 

[kagevazquez]

It's 4gb for internal but only 1gb for the user the other 3 are used for the system

 

[EazySteve]

It's 4gb for internal but only 1gb for the user the other 3 are used for the system

Thanks, so no real difference then? Other than the branding? I also heard another rumor that the Sprint branding might have more signal & sms issues?

 

[koopakid08]

Thanks, so no real difference then? Other than the branding? I also heard another rumor that the Sprint branding might have more signal & sms issues?

No, they are the EXACT same.

 

[OverByter]

I just received a Virgin branded phone, this being the only way to get a replacement back cover at this time. Both phones are physically identical except for the silk screening and at least in my location they are functionally identical also.