But the real question is: why didnt HTC or Qualcomm go with the 45nm QSD 8650 A for the EVO? I will let it slide for the Inc, but the EVO? A phone with a bigger screen, 4G chip?
Thats a revision, not even a different chip model. I have seen revisions on PC motherboards get pushed out as soon as they get manufactured.
Only insiders know for sure, but I'll give my guess:
Up until now, there's a been a normal process - whatever it is - to develop new phones. I'm kinda sure it's a combination of things including proposals from the makers, requests and negotiations with the carriers, etc, etc, etc. And that's a worldwide dance, not just for us. I saw once, years ago, how that worked in one country, but only just a little. I'm not expert on it, so I don't want to rant further.
However - this was a different case entirely.
I believe that Sprint sent out a request for combination EV-DO/WiMAX (3G/4G) phones to their supplier network.
So far as I know, I've only been able to find two WiMAX phones in existence before - the HTC MAX 4G (originally for Russia only, then spread to the UK) (GSM/WiMAX) and the Nokia N810 (WiMAX only?).
HTC - Products - HTC MAX 4G - Overview
http://www.nokiausa.com/find-products/phones/nokia-n810-wimax-edition/specifications
I wasn't there, but the challenge to the suppliers had to be:
* fast to market
* lots of features typical for US market
* proven form factor for the US market
OK, if you're Samsung, you're already coming on strong with the Galaxy. You're going to release to your bigger customer, T-Mobile, with the S, first. That didn't happen until May, and getting the S Pro out is going to take longer.
OK, for HTC, that's Sense/Android and bigger phone. And we already know from the backstory that recently enough, HTC had to turn to LCDs because their supplier - Samsung - "couldn't meet customer demand." (Samsung's building a new fab to counteract this, at some $2.2 billion, btw.)
And HTC is already producing the Droid Incredible (to name but one) using that 65 nm tech.
So - if you were HTC, and you wanted to be the first in the US market with a 4G phone, and you had a stable, proven 65 nm platform that was very successful in the US, and were already facing supply chain issues, what would you do?
Hold back and invest in new supply? Use your existing, proven supply of components?
Remember - you're not serving the largest US carrier with this phone, you've got new costs rolling in for the new features and size, you've got design work costs - and TSMC is just down the road cranking out those 65 nm Snapdragons at an attractive price. Maybe there's even excess inventory of them (I have no idea).
Do you add to your costs and timeline and risk Samsung catching you?
Or do you get to market first, knowing that you can play leapfrog with new models having solid differentiation?
And - you're phasing out your 65 nm product supply, so this is a chance to get that last bit of return on your investment in the line.
What do you do?
I think the entire decision was just good economic sense.
I don't think they cheaped out. I think this was going to be inevitable path for any supplier with the earliest 4G phone.
It's not like we had a lot of 45 nm superphones just laying around, ya know.
And if I were building the first one, I'd expect it to have a short life cycle - the others will be gunning for me anyway.
I'm a chiphead, I got the EVO, I knew exactly what "old" tech I was buying.
I knew I was going to have product integration issues buying the first 3G/4G phone. That's just common sense.
I didn't mind one bit that it was based on long track-record tech - in fact, that seemed like a risk mitigation in my purchase.
Anyway - I pulled all of that out of thin air.
I could be totally be drinking the Kool Aide on this one!
Obviously, I didn't think so or I wouldn't have bought one.
A big PS - Look at how Sprint is marketing 4G. Are they showing gamers going nuts and rocking out? Or are they showing people downloading movies? The latter. The coming-on-strong market.
And H.264 720p, 24 fps movies roll just fine out of the HDMI port on this thing.
Here's what they promise and pitch for 4G:
http://now.sprint.com/nownetwork/4G/?id9=SEM_Google_P_4G
http://now.sprint.com/firsts/evo4g/
It may not do everything you expect after a Hero or an Incredible - but it's not junk, either.