Hi guys! I know I haven't been around this forum for a while, I've been over at xda developers. If you have any problems or anything, just ask me and I will do my best to help you!
I'm running on my Evo 3D now (just switched to Ting, an MVNO on Sprint). While I still love the Hero for its historical importance and its very usable form factor plus track ball feature, I can't ever see going back to the Hero as my primary phone. The 3vo's processor is so much faster. I ended up buying another one for less than $90, also in very good condition and clean ESN. So if I lose or damage my current phone, I've got a reliable back up.
Remember when software was always pushing hardware in the Windows world? And then about 4 years ago you could see that software stopped increasing its gluttony, making newer hardware run even faster, allowing one to keep hardware longer before upgrading? That's starting to happen in the cellular world. Yes, LTE is faster than 4G... but for the average person, is it really necessary? I think not, based on typical phone usage. Also, LTE is far more power hungry than 3G, which means shorter battery life. So, while people keep itching for the latest iPhone or Android phone, quite capable phones get passed over. A used Evo 4G LTE tends to cost about $225 on average, when LTE presence is still not that great.
I'd been getting by on 3G for over 2 years. Now I'm on 4G and... well, it's so much faster. And for me, fast enough. I don't download ROMs or full movies off the Internet from my phone--I do that on my PC. Most of my Internet use is just a little web browsing and text messaging. I may start VoIP as well, since 4G gives it enough runway to work.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that for "not much money", you can put an Evo 3D in your hands and you will definitely appreciate the experience over the old Hero.
Yeah, I kept my eye out for one in very good used condition without box & accessories and I lucked out with a reasonable price. I figured for the price it would be worth having as a backup, instead of relying on the Hero. It's hard to go back to that smaller screen and slower processor! It's running 4.0.3 and working fine, but after loading it up with software a bit I'm now interesting in making it more power efficient. I'll definitely give MeanROM 2.6 a try--thanks. Sense 3.6 is very nice and fine enough for me (not aching for 4.0). Did you V6 SuperCharge it? I've also seen chatter about making the CPU run at a lower voltage. Apparently there's enough of a margin in the architecture to allow for it without a performance or reliability hit.Wow, so now you have two Sprint HTC EVO 3D handsets? Nice. I was a bit out of the loop on the latest stuff on mine. I just went through and fully updated it to the latest firmware and radios. Now it is running MeanROM 2.6, which based on the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with HTC Sense 3.6. It is pretty much stock, but with under the hood tweaks for performance and battery life. I like it a lot so far. HTC Sense 3.0 ROMs running Gingerbread were always very smooth, but this is noticeably smoother. You should give it a shot. I think you would like it.
Makes sense. I'm definitely in no hurry to adopt LTE, especially if it's such a hit on battery life with the present architectures. I'm guessing there are ways to configure the handset to drop back to 4G when not actively using the phone (seriously, 3G is all you need for routine data updates anyway).A large part of why LTE uses more power than 3G, right now, is because most of the chipsets do not not have the LTE modem embedded on the same SoC. The modem is separate which is quite a bit less efficient. I actually still get great speeds with Wi-Max on my Sprint HTC EVO 3D. There is no LTE rolled out for Sprint in my area, so I am glad I still have a handset capable of Wi-Max.
Yeah, I kept my eye out for one in very good used condition without box & accessories and I lucked out with a reasonable price. I figured for the price it would be worth having as a backup, instead of relying on the Hero. It's hard to go back to that smaller screen and slower processor! It's running 4.0.3 and working fine, but after loading it up with software a bit I'm now interesting in making it more power efficient. I'll definitely give MeanROM 2.6 a try--thanks. Sense 3.6 is very nice and fine enough for me (not aching for 4.0). Did you V6 SuperCharge it? I've also seen chatter about making the CPU run at a lower voltage. Apparently there's enough of a margin in the architecture to allow for it without a performance or reliability hit.
Makes sense. I'm definitely in no hurry to adopt LTE, especially if it's such a hit on battery life with the present architectures. I'm guessing there are ways to configure the handset to drop back to 4G when not actively using the phone (seriously, 3G is all you need for routine data updates anyway).
I'm also finding that the WiFi signal strength is better on the 3VO than the Hero. I didn't realize that voicemail will still download via the WiFi signal in lieu of the mobile network, which is great. Doing most app downloads on WiFi from home will keep my data usage very low, although I'm curious to see how much data is drawn when using TeleNav software over the mobile network when on the road.
Anyway, the 3VO is definitely a fine phone, despite a history of complaints about various things. I guess over time they got worked out, but the paper trail of woes is still out there (apparently the first firmware was seriously flawed, people had PRL and other radio update problems that caused terrible signal strength, and battery life wasn't very good either [although often this is a user issue]). From what I've experienced so far, it's a real "best buy" when it comes to used 4G Android phones.
You are correct about the Wi-Fi signal strength. I have noticed that it gets noticeably better reception than my old Sprint HTC Hero. That could, of course, just be that that the Sprint HTC EVO 3D is being generous on how it is reporting it or vice versa for the Sprint HTC Hero. Unfortunately, the Sprint HTC EVO 3D is an underrated handset. The specifications are very good, but everyone got hung up on the 3D part and that bred distaste for it. Sprint responded to that by not supporting it very well and ultimately discontinuing it very early. I doubt it will ever see an official Jelly Bean based update from HTC even though the hardware could EASILY handle it. Jelly Bean just enhances the capability of even very old hardware, so the Sprint HTC EVO 3D would see a big jump in performance. By the way, Xevious, are you on Twitter? I enjoy having these conversations with you.
Alright, so all it does is drain battery? Ok. I hate sprint's 3g speeds right now, can't even watch some 360p videos . Will sprint roll out a lot more 4glte this year? I fear that if they don't, everyoje will kove to tmobile since they now have a truly unlimited data plan with hspa+, which isn't as cheap now. What should I do with my hero now?
Could very well be that they report signal strength differently, but I've definitely experienced better performance in my home. I actually don't mind the Evo 3D being underrated and discontinued early, because it means plenty of very affordable handsets available. As for Twitter, I'm on it but don't use it any more. Seems like it's well suited for celebrity and high profile types who have to keep a large number of people apprised of their activities. My life is too far below the radar for that! Do you use Twitter much?
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