My HTC EVO Concerns

[scott99]

I am really in love/lust/obsessed with the HTC EVO, just like I was with the iPhone in 2007. So much so, that I'm looking into dumping AT&T, and the iPhone to get one. I have a few concerns though (no phone is perfect). Here are my concerns, and maybe someone can answer some questions, or alleviate the concerns.

1)Sprint Network- I left Sprint in 2007 to get an iPhone. At first, the reception blew away Sprint's reception in NYC and Jersey City where I work. I bought the 3G iPhone in 2008, and my service was still great. Since 2009, I can't say that anymore, in Jersey City, I have to turn my phone to Edge just to have a somewhat functional phone. How is Sprint's reception in NY and Jersey City. Obviously I'll have a month to test it out. But from what I've read, Sprint is only behind Verizon in NY.

2) Apps- I'm an app-oholic, I have over 300 apps on my 16gb iPhone 3G. One deal-breaker for me, is that you can't save apps to SD cards on Android 2.1 (I know they said you can in 2.2, but the facts are kinda wishy washy). Also, obviously the Android App store is way behind Apple's, so they are missing some of the main apps I use a lot, like Amazon Kindle app, games (If you haven't played Daredevil Dave, go do it now, so fun), etc. Of course, I could always get a cheap iPod Touch and go that route, though that defeats the purpose of having a smart phone (or all-in-one phone). I also have almost 5meg of music.

3)Data and Phone at the same time- I'm so used to looking stuff up while on the phone with friends, will I be able to do that on the EVO ? The Sprint Rep in NYC said that NYC doesn't have 4G just yet, and from what I understand, you have to be on 4G to be able to do both at the same time.

4) 65k color screen-Truly not a deal breaker, but why make an iphone-killer phone that can't even match up to the first iphone's color screen capacity ?

I think those are my main concerns. I originally got an iPhone so I don't have to cary several devices around, so an EVO and iPod Touch seems like a dumb move. But if great phone reception and the great features of the EVO make sense, I may just do so.

 

[chum1600]

If nothing else, get an EVO and try it for 30 days with Sprint. If its what you want then go back to your Iphone. I don't think you will be disappointed.

 

[neodorian]

Service depends on location. I've found all urban and suburban areas covered but check the map on their site for sure.

Apps are plenty but not a ton of 3d games if that's your thing.

You can use Wifi or Wimax data while on the phone. The EVDO (3G) radio isn't set up to support it so if that is all you have you will not be able to. I have never seen anyone do this but if it's important to you, make sure you have Wifi or Wimax available to turn on.

As far as colors, once again, check it out in person. Everyone I know who has seen it says it looks amazing. Don't let specs get in the way of the experience. If you try it and it looks crappy to you, ditch it after 30 days. If not, keep it.

I don't foresee a problem personally but the 30-day thing lets you see for yourself if it's what you want.

 

[katmandoo122]

I am really in love/lust/obsessed with the HTC EVO, just like I was with the iPhone in 2007. So much so, that I'm looking into dumping AT&T, and the iPhone to get one. I have a few concerns though (no phone is perfect). Here are my concerns, and maybe someone can answer some questions, or alleviate the concerns.

1)Sprint Network- I left Sprint in 2007 to get an iPhone. At first, the reception blew away Sprint's reception in NYC and Jersey City where I work. I bought the 3G iPhone in 2008, and my service was still great. Since 2009, I can't say that anymore, in Jersey City, I have to turn my phone to Edge just to have a somewhat functional phone. How is Sprint's reception in NY and Jersey City. Obviously I'll have a month to test it out. But from what I've read, Sprint is only behind Verizon in NY.

This is a legitimate concern. Every area is different. TO be honest, the best carrier really is Verizon but my luck nationwide has always been better with Sprint, especially since sometimes I roam on Verizon's network.

2) Apps- I'm an app-oholic, I have over 300 apps on my 16gb iPhone 3G. One deal-breaker for me, is that you can't save apps to SD cards on Android 2.1 (I know they said you can in 2.2, but the facts are kinda wishy washy). Also, obviously the Android App store is way behind Apple's, so they are missing some of the main apps I use a lot, like Amazon Kindle app, games (If you haven't played Daredevil Dave, go do it now, so fun), etc. Of course, I could always get a cheap iPod Touch and go that route, though that defeats the purpose of having a smart phone (or all-in-one phone). I also have almost 5meg of music.

Android is getting better but it is still second in quality and quantity. Still, I think the tide is turning. Having said that, 300 apps is crazy. I can't think of 300 apps I'd want. But 2.2 should solve the SD issue as long as the programmers update their apps.


3)Data and Phone at the same time- I'm so used to looking stuff up while on the phone with friends, will I be able to do that on the EVO ? The Sprint Rep in NYC said that NYC doesn't have 4G just yet, and from what I understand, you have to be on 4G to be able to do both at the same time.

The Sprint rep is right. CDMA does not allow simultaneous talk and data. If you are on 4G, the CDMA uses voice and Wimax uses data, in theory.

4) 65k color screen-Truly not a deal breaker, but why make an iphone-killer phone that can't even match up to the first iphone's color screen capacity ?

I doubt you'll notice the difference. Now, if you want to complain that it isn't a SuperAMOLED, I'm with you.

I think those are my main concerns. I originally got an iPhone so I don't have to cary several devices around, so an EVO and iPod Touch seems like a dumb move. But if great phone reception and the great features of the EVO make sense, I may just do so.

Seriously, you may just be an iPhone person. Nothing wrong with that. Having said that, do what the next posted said and try it out. Don't like it...get th iPhone 4D and return the Evo!

 

[eric3316]

I am pretty sure there is an app called app2sd that put's programs on your SD card. Your device needs to be rooted, but that shouldn't be a problem as it is already done on the EVO.

I can't imagine someone saying that AT&T's service is better then anything.

You cannot use data and voice simultaniously on Sprint's 3G. My impression is it is still being tested for 4G. Not sure if is working yet.......

There is a thread regarding screen colors and the consensus is you wouldn't even be able to tell the difference between the 2 on a screen that small so I wouldn't worry about it....

As far as apps, Android is blowing up right now and I would only the app store will keep growing in large numbers and we will see all the same apps that you see on the iPhone. Especially considering we have better hardware with the EVO. Plus everything has to be better on a 4.3" screen alone!

 

[fiskadoro]

You're coming from a similar background to me, except I have an even older iPhone.

Like you, I was on Sprint (I guess it was Nextel then) and it was good, despite my phone being as fat as a chunk of lard (but hey, it had disco lights!), then moved to Cingular and hence AT&T. I've found I barely get even Edge reception since I've moved cities, so I'm trying a network switch and the EVO too. I'm more excited about the Android device capabilities, but like you, a little worried about Sprint's network capabilities, but we'll just have to wait and see. The 30-day trial chum1600 mentions is a real benefit for sure.

I wonder about the display thing a bit too, but the EVO 4G display, from all the reviews and videos, looks amazing, and I'm hoping the color 'reduction' will be barely noticeable. AMOLED is crisper probably on the Incredible or new iPhone, but that extra screen real estate on the EVO could make a real difference legibility-wise. If I want to use the EVO in the car for GPS too, the old-school LCD screen might be a bonus, especially in bright sunlight.

Looking forward to the next few weeks when my pre-ordered EVO finally arrives. We'll have to compare notes on our 'switch', scott99.

 

[Jordus]

I also have almost 5meg of music.

.

If nothing else, I think the Evo will be able to hold your 1.5 songs.

 

[SprintFun]

You can simultaneous data and voice over 4G and Wifi - just for clarification.

 

[Rigmaster]

I'm on ATT switching too, but I've been looking to switch since before Evo so here's what I've found in over a year of not moving b/c Sprint didn't have a worthwhile phone:

1) Coverage seems to be as good and better in many cases. I have a lot of spotty coverage here in central NJ so this can only get better. Close friend of mine never complains and says his coverage is strong everywhere except in some campsites that he knows are pretty removed from cell towers.
2) I have a lot of apps and music on my iPod Touch. I'll still keep and use it when that's my #1 interest. You can use your iPhone as a touch unless you're going to a great price by selling your iPhone.
3) Data and phone only when 4G is available. Not a deal killer when I think of all the times I could but don't do both simultaneously. Once NYC 4G is live, it will make even the iPhone experience seem awfully slow.
4) Screen color isn't going to be that big of a deal. In part, I think that's why they probably even have the micro HDMI. On a big screen, it will matter and 720p out will make sense. On a 4.3" screen, I can get over it.

I'm probably going to enjoy my IPT even more. I won't look to carry more than I need to, but I have enough games, music, video, pictures etc that I don't want to rebuild or replace. In addition, I think I'll enjoy the IPT more with bluetooth permanently off. That gives it much longer battery life and isn't necessary for any of the device-loaded function (unless you want to do online/multi-play gaming).

That will leave me with Evo being an all-in-one when I want it to be that and even when I'm not planning. I've gotten so used to IPT and phone that it won't bother me to keep them both. Now I'll just have a phone that can do it all if I want the convenience.

 

[eric3316]

You're coming from a similar background to me, except I have an even older iPhone.

Like you, I was on Sprint (I guess it was Nextel then) and it was good, despite my phone being as fat as a chunk of lard (but hey, it had disco lights!), then moved to Cingular and hence AT&T.

If you are coming from the Nextel side then that used a whole different network then Sprints....Sprint is CDMA and Nextel used IDEN (think that is what it was called). Being on the Sprint side will blow away your Nextel service.

 

[eric3316]

If nothing else, I think the Evo will be able to hold your 1.5 songs.

hahahahahahahaha

 

[eric3316]

You can simultaneous data and voice over 4G and Wifi - just for clarification.

You can use data and voice over 3G and wi-fi in that case as well.......

 

[neodorian]

You can use data and voice over 3G and wi-fi in that case as well.......

I think that was his point. 1x/Ev for voice and Wimax/Wifi for data.

Think of Wimax/4G as something you turn on when you need it. It's like Wifi on your phone. If I am going to do something data intensive on my Pre, I turn on Wifi since it gets me much faster data. When I am finished I turn it off.

Same thing for Wimax except it's like having a Wifi hotspot that covers your whole city.

If nothing else, I think the Evo will be able to hold your 1.5 songs.

You need to really reconsider where you get your songs if you can fit 1.5 songs into 5meg. Lossy compression is the devil

 

[SprintFun]

You can use data and voice over 3G and wi-fi in that case as well.......

Correct. I didn't mean you needed BOTH to do simultaneous data, but you can do data and calls over 4G, or data and calls over 3G + Wifi - sorry for any confusion.

 

[Jordus]

You need to really reconsider where you get your songs if you can fit 1.5 songs into 5meg. Lossy compression is the devil

Meh. Most MP3s with average encoding come in around 3.5-4 it seems.

I know you aren't walking around with some random media player and 100GB of FLAC files.

 

[Eguy]

I know you aren't walking around with some random media player and 100GB of FLAC files.

Hey, don't criticize my music format preference!

 

[scott99]

Sorry folks, meant 5gig of music, good jokes though ! lol

 

[tmaxey1]

Were you serious about 300 apps? 300? so you have 20 home screens to sort through with no way to move them into folders on your iPhone? Are you ok with this?

300?

I cant think of 15 useful apps on any platform. 300?

I had an iPhone for a few years. I have the Hero now. I couldnt imagine not being able to put my apps into categories. That would drive me nuts.

The iPhone is a nice phone. I think most will agree with that. You may just be one of the iphone people. I think Android and the EVO is for people who want to be able to have a little more control over their user experience.

And as far as screen goes. You shouldnt say the EVO has a lesser screen than iPhone until you have used one. Most people that want this phone want a 4.3 inch screen. Plus it has a better resolution that the iphone screen.

 

[Aragorn]

1)Sprint Network- I left Sprint in 2007 to get an iPhone. At first, the reception blew away Sprint's reception in NYC and Jersey City where I work. I bought the 3G iPhone in 2008, and my service was still great. Since 2009, I can't say that anymore, in Jersey City, I have to turn my phone to Edge just to have a somewhat functional phone. How is Sprint's reception in NY and Jersey City. Obviously I'll have a month to test it out. But from what I've read, Sprint is only behind Verizon in NY.

I am also switching from AT&T to Sprint. It'll be the first time for Sprint for me. Everything I've read is that the EVO is a great 3G phone and that Sprint's network is really solid, especially when compared to AT&T's in cities like New York and San Francisco.

2) Apps- I'm an app-oholic, I have over 300 apps on my 16gb iPhone 3G. One deal-breaker for me, is that you can't save apps to SD cards on Android 2.1 (I know they said you can in 2.2, but the facts are kinda wishy washy). Also, obviously the Android App store is way behind Apple's, so they are missing some of the main apps I use a lot, like Amazon Kindle app, games (If you haven't played Daredevil Dave, go do it now, so fun), etc. Of course, I could always get a cheap iPod Touch and go that route, though that defeats the purpose of having a smart phone (or all-in-one phone). I also have almost 5meg of music.

This is a legitimate concern, but I think it will get less and less as time goes on. Android phones are starting to outsell iPhones and the developers are going to start to take notice. The reason the iPhone has so many apps is that the install base is so much larger. Once Android gets a larger market share it shouldn't be as much of an issue. As a note, Kindle for Android was announced and is supposed to come out this summer. I can't wait to see how it looks on the EVO's large high-resolution screen.

3)Data and Phone at the same time- I'm so used to looking stuff up while on the phone with friends, will I be able to do that on the EVO ? The Sprint Rep in NYC said that NYC doesn't have 4G just yet, and from what I understand, you have to be on 4G to be able to do both at the same time.

Another legitimate concern. As others have said you can't do simultaneous voice and data on 3G. However, you can do that if you're connected to WiFi. Not ideal in all situations, but better than nothing.

4) 65k color screen-Truly not a deal breaker, but why make an iphone-killer phone that can't even match up to the first iphone's color screen capacity ?

I just heard about this yesterday for the first time. I personally doubt that it will be a problem. I used to have a monitor with a 16-bit screen and I wasn't annoyed by it so I'm sure it'll be fine on a 4.3" screen.

 

[neodorian]

Meh. Most MP3s with average encoding come in around 3.5-4 it seems.

I know you aren't walking around with some random media player and 100GB of FLAC files.

No, but nor am I walking around with 128-192k mp3 either.

Correct. I didn't mean you needed BOTH to do simultaneous data, but you can do data and calls over 4G, or data and calls over 3G + Wifi - sorry for any confusion.

I'm under the impression that you cannot do voice and data if you only have a 4G signal. I could have sworn that what they meant is that the Evo will introduce voice+data by keeping voice on Ev/1x and data on Wimax. I could easily be mistaken but that's how I read it.

 

[Jordus]

No, but nor am I walking around with 128-192k mp3 either.

Sigh. 192k MP3's sound perfectly fine.

You are probably the same type of person that casts the end of their ethernet cable in cement for ultimate super duper internet security.

 

[Aragorn]

I'm under the impression that you cannot do voice and data if you only have a 4G signal. I could have sworn that what they meant is that the Evo will introduce voice+data by keeping voice on Ev/1x and data on Wimax. I could easily be mistaken but that's how I read it.

If you only had a 4G signal then you wouldn't be able to make voice calls at all. The phone doesn't route any voice calls over 4G, only 3G. But, I'm pretty sure there's no situation where you would have a 4G signal and not 3G as well.

 

[SB22]

Speculation seems to show a LOT of people moving from AT&T to Sprint (Including myself and the 2 lines I am porting over). I am going to be very curious to see the potential negative impact on AT&T's customer base.

Verizon customers on the other hand don't seem as willing to switch, (at least the ones I know), even after mentioning that Sprint is able to roam on Verizon's network.

 

[scott99]

Were you serious about 300 apps? 300? so you have 20 home screens to sort through with no way to move them into folders on your iPhone? Are you ok with this?

300?

I cant think of 15 useful apps on any platform. 300?

I had an iPhone for a few years. I have the Hero now. I couldnt imagine not being able to put my apps into categories. That would drive me nuts.

The iPhone is a nice phone. I think most will agree with that. You may just be one of the iphone people. I think Android and the EVO is for people who want to be able to have a little more control over their user experience.

And as far as screen goes. You shouldnt say the EVO has a lesser screen than iPhone until you have used one. Most people that want this phone want a 4.3 inch screen. Plus it has a better resolution that the iphone screen.

Yup, 300 apps. I've been buying apps for almost two years since the app store opened up. I must admit, Probably 1/3 are games. I have well over 75-100 games (I'm a gaming junkie). Not being able to manage my apps is probably the worst thing, but with folders coming to iPhone OS4 will help with that.

 

[ashykat]

Amazon is reportedly making a Kindle for Android app, so that's at least one down.

I absolutely hated AT&T's service. I would always have bars, but that didn't stop the calls from dropping like flies. iPhone is great for a lot of things, I cannot argue that, but I definitely say that for now at least, Android in the boat to be on due to all the possibilities you have with it.

Remember, Apple's big day is June 7 and I'm sure then you'll decide if their new iPhone is the way you want to go or stick it to the man and go Evo.