Evo 4G vs Epic 4G

[dan330]

agreed, not as accurate, but not unusable for basic navigation... If I was hiking in the wilderness, I'd want the evo's gps, but for basic route navigation, the epic is plenty capable, in my opinion.

If I'm 200 feet off course and can't find the restaurant I want, I'm a moron.

i dont have an epic...

but.. 200ft can be a lot... that is more than half a football field. if you are traveling down a highway that you dont know.. it could put you on the service road or vise versa.
or near downtown.. you can be on the wrong road.
this can completely miss you up! while trying to navigate roads you are not familiar too... and cause accidents.

i hate it when my phone has me off 50ft... and sometimes have me on the next road over....

 

[RickJ]

From what I gather is that when the Epic gets a lock in fair to optimum condtions, its accuracy / tracking is just as accurate as any other device (despite the 30 metre reporting bug).

That being said accuracy/tracking as well as reliable updating will also be affected by the low (very low) snrs. The phone will not use sats with numbers below a certain threshold consequently adversely affecting performance.

Additionally it seems that the Epic can only pull ephemeris data through the data network, not from the sats themselves and cannot work in a standalone mode. That in itself probably is inconsequential since in most situations you would need a data connection to pull the map.

I dont expect any fix for the low snrs, however a fix for automatic refreshing of the cache, or even getting sat ephemeris/almanac wouldnt be expecting too much. Should that be corrected then under at least fair conditions the gps should work as well as those who frequently toggle, or manually refresh/reboot report.

Someone earlier mentioned that they dont expect any fix since there has been plenty of time to fix since the Moment. It seems that the Epic does not suffer from the same problems as it's predecesors or brethren so I wouldnt discount it yet. On another note it seems that the leaked version of froyo has created more problems with the gps. Not the final release, so it doesnt mean much, but still doesnt sound good.

The Evo suits me perfectly so I wouldnt trade for the Epic, however if fixed I will get an Epic for my wife and certainly will have copious amounts of fun with it! The other reported issues like comparatively slower data and weaker reception probably wouldnt affect her. I have had phones with major variations of reception on the same network and since I spend a fair amount of time in the boonies I can't handle a lesser performer.

Funny thing. The only head to head I did was when I came home from the shore. Main highways were packed so I took back roads for two hours. Epic on one side of the center dash, evo on the other.

Both phones took the same amount of time to get a route. Both had the tiny circle around the indicator. Both rerouted within a second or two of one another and tracked the same. I as expecting to see the epic get blown away from what I had read. This was about a week after it's release when I was taking pics of both screens in that bright summer sun. Once in a while I'll get the slow to lock, but I normally keep gps off so I don!t really have that issue. I tend to keep things off until I need them.

Outside of that lock/cache issue, is there a problem I'm missing?

 

[vodo]

Oh well..I decided that I will be returning the EVO and cancelling my upgrade. The EVO is a very good phone but in the end the $10 monthly premium just irked the hell out of me. Especially since I always have 4g off to conserve battery life. I tried asking a sprint rep to just deactivate my 4g service (not even sure if that's possible) but that didn't work. It's not even really the money so much as what I feel is a sleazy business move. Maybe I'm just being petty...

 

[RickJ]

Sorry to hear that, just out of curiosity, what phone will you be going back to or getting in its place?

Im sure it's of little consequence, and you've heard it before, but the $10 is not for 4g per se, but rather the expected extra data usage that a device like this <likely> will consume regardless of 4g or not.

** FWIW this is not to say that blackberry (or other smart phone) users absolutely will consume less data, however it seems reasonable to assume that the target demographics for this and other similar multimedia phones are likely to consume more data than others. IMO it is a reasonably fair way of passing on the cost.

Calling it sleazy considering equivalent plans for other carriers (which are no less than equal and generally more expensive) isnt particualrily fair. That being said, if one is not making use of the features that the phone was designed around, maximizing its value, then it may not make sense economically to keep it.

 

[IOWA]

Oh well..I decided that I will be returning the EVO and cancelling my upgrade. The EVO is a very good phone but in the end the $10 monthly premium just irked the hell out of me. Especially since I always have 4g off to conserve battery life. I tried asking a sprint rep to just deactivate my 4g service (not even sure if that's possible) but that didn't work. It's not even really the money so much as what I feel is a sleazy business move. Maybe I'm just being petty...

Kind of. I mean, I know it's been said, but sprint STILL is the cheapest out of everyone while maintaining excellent service.

 

[Caloy]

Sorry to hear that, just out of curiosity, what phone will you be going back to or getting in its place?

Im sure it's of little consequence, and you've heard it before, but the $10 is not for 4g per se, but rather the expected extra data usage that a device like this <likely> will consume regardless of 4g or not.

** FWIW this is not to say that blackberry (or other smart phone) users absolutely will consume less data, however it seems reasonable to assume that the target demographics for this and other similar multimedia phones are likely to consume more data than others. IMO it is a reasonably fair way of passing on the cost.

Calling it sleazy considering equivalent plans for other carriers (which are no less than equal and generally more expensive) isnt particualrily fair. That being said, if one is not making use of the features that the phone was designed around, maximizing its value, then it may not make sense economically to keep it.

Since I got the phone way back in June, I only used up 5GB of data the first month, after that I've been averaging 1.5 GB of data a month. I don't even use 4G since it consume too much battery to be practical. It's a good thing that I love the phone too much so I just live with the 10 dollar premium (or whatever you call it). Only time will tell if I'll stay with Sprint after my contract is through, it will depend on the phone on offer and what carrier offers the best signal when we finally move to another city nearby.

 

[C_Dub]

Well the speaker blew out on my EVO and although I loved it while I had it, I'm on my way to switch to an Epic. A friend is giving me the hook-up at $300 for his wife's Epic (only a few days old) so I'm jumping on it. It was time for a change anyway but I'm disappointed it'll still be on 2.1 heh.

 

[Thefoodman52]

Well the speaker blew out on my EVO and although I loved it while I had it, I'm on my way to switch to an Epic. A friend is giving me the hook-up at $300 for his wife's Epic (only a few days old) so I'm jumping on it. It was time for a change anyway but I'm disappointed it'll still be on 2.1 heh.

Get used to rooting if you're going with that one. That is, unless you just wanna sit on old software. Samsung is notoriously bad with keeping gone date with upgrades, leaving most people out to dry dealing with old software until they get a new phone all together. 2.2 is available if you root, but only that route. I remember with the moment, the only way to make it remotely usable was root or have nothing or next to nothing installed. The GPS is still an issue as well....

(If you can't tell, I have a vendetta against Samsung and anything they release. They're always last to the race, they've always got some glaring issue in their phones, and they never have a solid fix, or they throw out a solid fix after the phone has already been dumped for better things.)

 

[toomuchgame441]

Evo all the way!

 

[rumiat]

I've been doing the same Evo vs. Epic back and forth that is pretty familiar around here. Researched them both a lot, to the point that it is a bit of a blur. On paper, and in reading user comments, I would really like to go with the Evo. However, hands-on, I can't get over how much more responsive the Epic feels, and the how much better the screen looks. The Evo just feels like it lags and jerks a little more to the touch, than the Epic. Is this a correct assessment? Oddly enough, I really appreciate this feature. Maybe because I've been a Palm Pre user, and am so tired of the lag.

So, I would appreciate advice from users on why the Evo is a better decision (particularly users who have used both?). I don't play games on the phone. I surf the web, do email, texting, sometimes movies, and the apps. I don't need a physical keyboard, but could deal with it. I need to tether, and don't want to pay anything for it (wired is ok, wifi is better).

Thanks.

 

[jimdroid]

I have no lag whatsoever on my Evo. It's stock and I have 80 applications loaded.

I too debated between the Evo and the Epic. The Epic's screen is brighter, but to me, the colors looked artificial in comparison with the Evo. The Evo's screen is great, very clear and sharp.

The Evo is the most solid phone I've owned (and I've owned dozens and dozens). It's not flashy, but it just works. There are only a few things I could think of to improve the Evo.

Having Froyo is really nice (better app availability, apps can be moved to SD card). I don't think the Epic has Froyo yet (though it's promised soon).

So, I can't talk you out of the Epic, but...

 

[AmericanTemplar]

The Epic feels hollow to me like a Nintendo controller.

 

[mdizzle99]

Sounds like you're going to be rooting your phone in order to get what you want. Although both are good phones, with root, any perceived lagging will be gone and you will be able to wireless tether. One plus with the Evo is the support it receives. The Evo received Froyo much earlier than the Epic - same will be true of Gingerbread. That alone would make me lean toward the Evo over the Epic. You'd be fine with either one though.

 

[Rigmaster]

I have a stock Evo. Go to Sprint store. Handle both. Buy Evo.

 

[Drew5150]

there is also this option Sprint Newsroom | HTC EVO Shift? 4G fact sheet

but I say go for the evo. the lag differences you feel are really just the difference in the UI. and I've seen the opposite of what you posted in the op.

samsung doesn't give the best support either. we had froyo very early august and we have had 3 updates since then.

 

[MissJennell]

I have both in my possesion right now. I had to use my Epic today for a little bit and hated it compared to my EVO. I absolutely love my EVO. The Epic feels so cheap compared to the EVO. I don't like that. It also isn't as snappy as my EVO.

 

[Zardos]

Cyanogenmod. That is all.

 

[Tempusfugit]

I have a stock Evo. Go to Sprint store. Handle both. Buy Evo.

Funny Story

I bought an evo online. Couldn't stand the wait while it was shipping. Went to a sprint store to play with an evo. After a little bit I picked up an epic. Someone was playing the asphalt demo before me so it was up and running- I made one turn and the damned thing went flying out of my hands - luckily it was attached to the anti theft cable... I haven't dropped my Evo once

 

[chum1600]

Cyanogenmod. That is all.

I can not say enough about this. I had a small amount of lag with Sence, but since I swiched to cyanogenmod I have had no problems.

 

[aburgthing]

My experience with both phones (my wife's Epic and my Evo) are night and day comparisons. I won't even be so kind to say that the Epic is close; it is not. There are some nice elements to the Samsung UI, but it doesn't compare to Sense and I don't even use that. GPS is still hit or miss though it has gotten a little better on the Epic, on the Evo it's automatic and locks on in the house or wherever you are. The physical keyboard on the Epic works for my wife, I hate it; it's a waste of time. And the new Gingerbread keyboard is accurate, fast and good for thumb typing on the Evo. Support and development for the Evo is off the charts. Probably second only the the original N1. My personal experience is the Evo is just a good solid phone that is so good at all the things it can do, you almost long for another phone to be just a phone (but the Evo makes good phone calls too). If you take the plunge and root it (Evo), it will open up a whole new world and make you love it that much more. Thats my biased .02 cents worth but reading the Epic forums there seems to be a lot of regret and anger with the lack of promptness the Epic receives i.e. upgrades vs. the Evo.

 

[dan330]

i want to add in...

when you root the evo...
there are choices and choices and choices...
dev community extremely active!

epic.. not so many choices.

 

[stevcha]

I was planning on getting the Epic when I decided to upgrade my BB Curve. I went to the Sprint Store and played with the Epic and Evo. I loved the screen on the Epic and coming from BB I liked the physical keyboard. The screen size on the EVO was a big plus and the fact that it already had Froyo really swayed me. In the end the huge EVO development community and HTC quick release of updates made my decision. I love my EVO. I don't miss having a physical keyboard bc the Gingerbread KB is just that good imo. Go EVO you wont regret it.

 

[linkman741]

So, Seeing as we are right around the corner of the end of the 30 Days since purchase of us Evo owners... i want to hear what you guys have to say about the upcoming Epic 4G? are you going to stick with your Evo? or will you be waiting for the Epic?

as for myself... i like the thought of having a qwerty hardware keyboard, the Super AMOLED looks beautiful and that Hummingbird Processor is begging me to buy it (gpu is better than Snapdragons)... BUT i know i will miss that extra .3" real estate and Sense UI... also, as many others, i really don't like the look of the Epic 4G (especially with a name like that!) it looks like one of those phones you can get for $50



So what are YOUR thoughts?! i also would have added a poll here, but i haven't a clue how to

I had the Epic for 2 weeks. Hated it. The slide out keyboard is crap. It will skip over letters you type. My texts would come out like "hy whats p" and all the Epics I have tried, did it. So it wasnt just my phone. I switched to the Evo and like it a lot more!

 

[a-dogg]

On Monday, I will either be buying an Evo or Epic from Sprint. I've been researching these phones to death online... First I was going to get the Evo, then I decided on the Epic (slightly faster processor, amoled screen), but now I'm thinking Evo could be the way to go. I don't do much in the way of gaming, so if that's where the Epic's SLIGHTLY faster processor shines, it's irrelevant to me. And, of course, I've read all about Samsung's bad track record with support/updates, as well as the Epic's GPS issues. And, conversely, how HTC support is great.

My question is about the displays of the two phones. Does the fact that the Evo "only" shows 65k colors actually matter? Is the difference between that and the Epic's 16M actually discernible by the human eye? Initially, the Epic's amoled look brilliant to me, like it left the Evo's LCD in the dust. But I remembered back to when I was shopping for a TV. I settled on a plasma, since it looked more life-like, whereas the LCD/LEDs looked cartoonish. Would you say this is the same situation with the Epic's amoled display?

I'm just wondering if the amoled screen is actually a better screen (as far as natural color reproduction), or if it's just "stealing the show" because it pops so loud. (I do understand there are apparently apps that can modulate the amoled screen to tune down it's over-saturation)

Not trying to start any Evo vs. Epic wars here, just trying to educate myself.

Thanks!

 

[Roq]

I've had an EVO since launch and my girlfriend has had the EPIC since launch. It basically comes down to if you want a keyboard or not. I think the Epics screen looks better, but it's not a deal breaker. Also I put the leaked Froyo release the Epic and it runs fine.