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I'm looking to upgrade to either the EVO or Epic soon and I'm not sure which to buy. I've had the Hero (not rooted) since March and have gotten pretty used to the ins and outs of the phone. Things I like: HTC Sense, how nice & sleek the phone feels, Android (as if it actually needs to be said), the integrated Facebook contacts. I was really leaning towards the epic after reading all the evo bashing but now that it's 250 I'm having second thoughts, after all I am a college student. Things I DISLIKE: how it can't keep up with my texting speed, how it gets bogged down all the time, how long it takes to dial out a call (minor) , how long it takes to flip through contacts (minor), the low phone memory to download apps. I was just hoping I could get a few answers to some questions I have.

1. Does Samsung really have that many problems with their phones?
2. Is Froyo coming to the Epic soon?
3. If rooted (which I plan on doing), does the Froyo update matter so much?
4. Is touchwiz that different from HTC sense?
5. Are there any things touchwiz can do that sense can't or vice versa?
6. Does the EVO lag on the texting like the Hero?
7. The EVO has swype, right?
8. Will the AMOLED look that much better than the EVO screen?
9. Lastly, Sprint doesn't have another new 4G phone in the works to be released soon does it? I don't want to buy it & then next month there is a better phone out.

Sorry for so many questions but I want to make sure I make the right decision.
 
1. Does Samsung really have that many problems with their phones?
2. Is Froyo coming to the Epic soon?
3. If rooted (which I plan on doing), does the Froyo update matter so much?
4. Is touchwiz that different from HTC sense?
5. Are there any things touchwiz can do that sense can't or vice versa?
6. Does the EVO lag on the texting like the Hero?
7. The EVO has swype, right?
8. Will the AMOLED look that much better than the EVO screen?
9. Lastly, Sprint doesn't have another new 4G phone in the works to be released soon does it? I don't want to buy it & then next month there is a better phone out.

Sorry for so many questions but I want to make sure I make the right decision.

Man... what a list. I'll try and answer these as unbiased as possible.


1. Yes and No. Yes, Samsung (like all phone producers) has produced phones with problems, just remember there has never been a phone produced that was 100% problem free. It all depends on the side of the pond you are throwing your rocks from. If you like HTC, they will seem to make better phones to you, and vise-versa. No, Samsung phones are not immediately crippled by bugs/problems. It can be frustrating, but for the most part they will work on fixes for said bugs. As it stands now, the only problem with Galaxy S phones is GPS performance, and Samsung is working on a fix for that, with a release date slated for September.

2. It has been stated that it (Froyo) will be released for Galaxy S phones in September.

3. Not so much, there are likely Froyo kernels in the making as we speak.

4. Eh, its really a matter of which one you like better. Touchwiz is not as flashy as Sense, it is more an emulation of iOS interface, with several small difference. Though the main point is still simplicity. I prefer Sense (it's really pretty and just works)

5. I'm not too sure, I'm betting someone else will know better though.

6. We don't know yet... Captivate and Vibrant are using a different internal memory stucture (we think) and as such it's hard to base a conclusion on those.

7. Yep Epic has Swype, along with a standard virtual k/b and the physical k/b. EVO is limited virtual k/b.

8. A recent reviewer compared it to going from SD (EVO) to HD (EPIC). With similar reviews saying just about the same all over the web, I think it's pretty credible.

9. That's a tough one, while nothing is announced at this moment, I'm betting that we will have news of something better/comparable coming out by October, which will put a release date within the year (possibly November/December) By the time that device is released there will be news of something better coming out a few months past that... It's a never ending cycle, and if you choose to wait for the best, a never ending wait.

Cheers!
 
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Man... what a list. I'll try and answer these as unbiased as possible.


1. Yes and No. Yes, Samsung (like all phone producers) has produced phones with problems, just remember there has never been a phone produced that was 100% problem free. It all depends on the side of the pond you are throwing your rocks from. If you like HTC, they will seem to make better phones to you, and vise-versa. No, Samsung phones are not immediately crippled by bugs/problems. It can be frustrating, but for the most part they will work on fixes for said bugs. As it stands now, the only problem with Galaxy S phones is GPS performance, and Samsung is working on a fix for that, with a release date slated for September.

2. It has been stated that it (Froyo) will be released for Galaxy S phones in September.

3. Not so much, there are likely Froyo kernels in the making as we speak.

4. Eh, its really a matter of which one you like better. Touchwiz is not as flashy as Sense, it is more an emulation of iOS interface, with several small difference. Though the main point is still simplicity. I prefer Sense (it's really pretty and just works)

5. I'm not too sure, I'm betting someone else will know better though.

6. We don't know yet... Captivate and Vibrant are using a different internal memory stucture (we think) and as such it's hard to base a conclusion on those.

7. Yep, along with a standard virtual k/b and the physical k/b

8. A recent reviewer compared it to going from SD (EVO) to HD (EPIC). With similar reviews saying just about the same all over the web, I think it's pretty credible.

9. That's a tough one, while nothing is announced at this moment, I'm betting that we will have news of something better/comparable coming out by October, which will put a release date within the year (possibly November/December) By the time that device is released there will be news of something better coming out a few months past that... It's a never ending cycle, and if you choose to wait for the best, a never ending wait.

Cheers!
7. Epic, not EVO has a physical KB And I'm sure SWYPE is on the Epic by default too.
 
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HTC and Sense has a better track record. Not saying that means the Evo will be better than the Epic, just that HTC has more experience doing it.

Never experienced TouchWiz, so I don't know how that is, most articles I've seen seem to say Sense is better, but I guess that is personal preference.

I do beleive you can download the Droid X keyboard on the Evo, and that supports multitouch, which may help with the texting speed.
 
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others have pretty hit the points for you, but you can't go wrong with the EVO. as others have said, you can try different keyboard apps to replace the stock.

i have a feeling that most people coming from sense, will not like touchwiz. i had an EVO for almost a month, loved it, used swype (probably not fast enough for you, although i remembered samsung had a commercial a while back showing a dude flying through swype), and had no problem with the screen display of text, pics or video (4.3 inch of goodness). you can't go wrong with the EVO, but...

the Epic has a slider keyboard which might be better able to keep up with your fast texting. the screen is smaller than the EVO, but i have personally compared the two at arms length (screen of the Captivate vs EVO) and the SMOLED is better.

Also, not sure if HTC will change or able to change the 30fps limitation on the EVO, that could also be something to consider based on your usage.

edit: just watched the slashgear video hands-on demo and at 2:50, the sprint guy said something incredible about the speed of swype. YIKES!!!
 
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i have a feeling that most people coming from sense, will not like touchwiz. i had an EVO for almost a month, loved it, used swype (probably not fast enough for you, although i remembered samsung had a commercial a while back showing a dude flying through swype), and had no problem with the screen display of text, pics or video (4.3 inch of goodness). you can't go wrong with the EVO, but...


edit: just watched the slashgear video hands-on demo and at 2:50, the sprint guy said something incredible about the speed of swype. YIKES!!!

I know you can adjust the speed vs. accuracy in swype, but I don't know the affect. I tend to leave it more on the accuracy side. I do okay with it, but its apparent the qwerty setup was not designed for swype (obviously). I love the keyboard, but I do get "wasn't" a lot when trying to type "want" and a lot of "if's" insead of "of's".

If I don't stall to check the accuracy in swype, I can go real fast, but there will be errors. Less errors than on a standard keyboard, but then again, in some cases, a misspelled word is easier to understand, as an error in swype means the wrong word is inserted. At least with a mispelled word, the recipient is more likely to know what you mean.
 
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The way Swype "recommends" you to Swype is to go as fast as you can (not waiting for the words to actually show up before you start the next word) and then go back at the end and double-tap-to-correct the wrong words. I think it's supposed to be a flow thing where you don't interrupt your rhythm which ultimately makes you more accurate and faster in the end even with double-tap corrections.
 
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