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Evo 3D 'pro' reviews

That might be true; but most of us aren't overly concern if the 3d feature of the phone is flawed. Nor are we concern about benchmark scores. As "themouse" (poster above) pointed out we are concern about possible bad reception and very bad call quality.
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Anyways that's my take on folks comments on various threads and it certainly matches my concerns.
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I normally dis pcmag but i have to say his review is one of the betters I've read. It actually explains the issue he has had relative to other SPRINT 4g phones and why they concern him.
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It's linked above but this reivew is actually worth reading so I'll link it again :)

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2386925,00.asp

I have to chime in fellas. 3D gives you headaches correct. Well, when I had to do NVG training in a Lockheed Martin flight simulator I got headaches but after a few simulator flights on NVGs my headaches went away. An instructor told me way before I had the training that some folks get headaches but its because their NVGs aren't sighted properly. Mine were sighted perfectly, its just my brain and eyes had to adjust to the NVGs.

My point is your eyes and brain has to adjust to the 3D through continuously looking at the 3D content daily for certain periods of time for about a week. The headaches will go away.
 
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and back on topic with reference to the review above:

"if I left 4G on, or took a lot of 3D videos, the phone could be dead after about 12 hours of use."

That sounds fine to me, personally I'm always close to a charger, so that kind of battery is fine.

The mobile net problem is a concern but this is the only review I've seen that mentions it and it's made clear the reviewer had a pre-release non retail version of the handset. I'm sure another review said call quality was fine at both ends?

"pictures weren't awful; you'll just get a better shots with a dedicated digital camera"

No kidding? ;)

I would hope that reviewers feed back to manufacturers, if only to see if the issues they've found are being addressed, so it's possible the connection issues (if they apply to all units) will be sorted before it hits retail.

No review has slated the Evo 3D, but it does seem that some of them don't know how to sum it up because it's offering something brand new.
 
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and back on topic with reference to the review above:

"if I left 4G on, or took a lot of 3D videos, the phone could be dead after about 12 hours of use."

That sounds fine to me, personally I'm always close to a charger, so that kind of battery is fine.

The mobile net problem is a concern but this is the only review I've seen that mentions it and it's made clear the reviewer had a pre-release non retail version of the handset. I'm sure another review said call quality was fine at both ends?

"pictures weren't awful; you'll just get a better shots with a dedicated digital camera"

No kidding? ;)

I would hope that reviewers feed back to manufacturers, if only to see if the issues they've found are being addressed, so it's possible the connection issues (if they apply to all units) will be sorted before it hits retail.

No review has slated the Evo 3D, but it does seem that some of them don't know how to sum it up because it's offering something brand new.

The internet connection thing scares me, but your right, this is the only review that said that.

These reviews shouldnt be coming out until they have retail devices in hand, cause right now these scores are all over the place. One says the camera in 2d sucks and another says in good/great. One says call quality is terrible and another says there were no problems. One says connectivity is trash when no other review says it.
 
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The internet connection thing scares me, but your right, this is the only review that said that.

These reviews shouldnt be coming out until they have retail devices in hand, cause right now these scores are all over the place. One says the camera in 2d sucks and another says in good/great. One says call quality is terrible and another says there were no problems. One says connectivity is trash when no other review says it.

Why are you so concerned about what people have to say? If you like the phone after testing it out, buy the phone. If not, get another phone.

If I was concerned about what everyone in Texas thought about Toyota Tundras I would have never purchased one. Texans are all about Ford and Chevy. After arriving in Abilene, TX in 2008 you wouldn't see a lot of Toyota Tundras on the road. I return from an 8 month rotation and pull up to a light in my truck and there is 4 Toyota Tundras sitting at one light. Now everyone and their mama has a Tundra in my city because Toyota builds realiable cars and trucks.

You are a grown man I think (teenies on this forum), do what you want. I'm getting this bad boy and we are headed to California to live the day after. I doubt I'm going to have any reception issues on my road trip.
 
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The internet connection thing scares me, but your right, this is the only review that said that.

These reviews shouldnt be coming out until they have retail devices in hand, cause right now these scores are all over the place. One says the camera in 2d sucks and another says in good/great. One says call quality is terrible and another says there were no problems. One says connectivity is trash when no other review says it.
For what it's worth, I'm almost certain these are not pre-production units and are going to feature the same hardware and firmware that you can pick up in a store.
 
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I would hope that Sprint would provide a 'final' version of the phone to reviewers. I mean what's the point of giving reviewers the phone early if has known major issues ?
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You have to read the specifics. The person who said the 2d camera was poor was very specific why it sucked (flare). The final version will have the same issue but you will only be impacted by it if you shoot into contra-light.
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Several reviewers have noted the reception on 4g and 3g is weaker than other sprint phones. Naturally impact depends on the threshold of the signal strength. Last but least (ala iphone 4) impact on signal strength might depend on how the device is held or the type of material used in a building.
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Read the text not everything is provided but most of the reviews actually include at least one sentence that describe why they had issue with a feature (camera, reception, ...).

There is no doubt in my mind that this device likely has worse reception than (for example) evo 4g. How much worse is hard to tell. Why it might be worse would require a more detailed analysis (interference from other components; new antenna design; case material; ...). I clearly do not expect general reviewers to go to this level of analysis but eventually some geek will.
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I also wonder if there is interference of some sort with call quality. Maybe they needed better shielding around some specific component ?
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The actual reason why there might be issues is purely speculative on my part and I might be totally off. There might be a totally different explanation such as a setting on the phone or firmware issue.
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Anyways if sprint decided to give REVIEWERS a pre production phone with known issue or bad settings I would blame sprint not the reviewer.


The internet connection thing scares me, but your right, this is the only review that said that.

These reviews shouldnt be coming out until they have retail devices in hand, cause right now these scores are all over the place. One says the camera in 2d sucks and another says in good/great. One says call quality is terrible and another says there were no problems. One says connectivity is trash when no other review says it.
 
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Why are you so concerned about what people have to say? If you like the phone after testing it out, buy the phone. If not, get another phone.

If I was concerned about what everyone in Texas thought about Toyota Tundras I would have never purchased one. Texans are all about Ford and Chevy. After arriving in Abilene, TX in 2008 you wouldn't see a lot of Toyota Tundras on the road. I return from an 8 month rotation and pull up to a light in my truck and there is 4 Toyota Tundras sitting at one light. Now everyone and their mama has a Tundra in my city because Toyota builds realiable cars and trucks.

You are a grown man I think (teenies on this forum), do what you want. I'm getting this bad boy and we are headed to California to live the day after. I doubt I'm going to have any reception issues on my road trip.

I read reviews for info, not to make up my mind based on what reviewers say. I'm concerned only with someone saying net connectivity is bad because I do a lot of browsing so its important.

Dont get me wrong, I'm still getting it because one, the net issue is all over the place with different people so I believe my experience will be similar to other devices ive used. and two, ive experienced in the past with reviewers saying things about a phone that simply wasnt true for me so I WILL find out myself
 
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I'd be curious to see what Sprint does about the feedback on these reviews. If for instance there is determined to be a problem with poor call quality or reception, hopefully they'd research to find out how to fix (if they are deemed to be an issue), and hopefully any of those issues could be fixed by a software update shortly after launch.

So it would be interesting if anyone hears whether Sprint DOES acknowledge whether any of the reviewer concerns are in fact problems, and also what (if anything) they plan to do about it.

Even if there are issues at launch (which honestly the only one's I'd give any thought to are the call quality and reception issues), but Sprint confirmed them and said they would be fixed by a software update shortly after release, that would make everyone planning on getting the 3D that more comfortable.
 
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For all of you people who keep saying "most people don't care about 3D" and also those supporting the reviewers that keep spewing the same nonsense, lets put some facts to this.

We'll ignore the fact that all the best movies are in 3D, with more and more 3D movies every year. And we'll ignore the fact that all the best tv's are 3D, with more and more supporting 3D every year.

Lets just look at the numbers.
Survey: 3DTV adoption to hit 15 million next year | The Digital Home - CNET News

According to that article, 5 million 3D tv's will be sold in the US this year. By the end of next year, 15 million homes in the U.S. will have a 3D tv.

So if this Evo 3D is the only 3D phone on the market, don't you think those millions of people with a 3D tv right now DO care about the 3D on this phone?

The 3D on this phone is the main reason I am getting it. I want my pictures and videos to be in 3D, and I have a 3D tv to view them on.

These reviewers are totally clueless when they say things like 3D is a gimmick, or actually bash the phone for having 3D.

I'm not saying everyone with a 3D tv is going to run out and buy this phone on launch day. But you can bet that anyone on Sprint who has a 3D tv will be strongly considering this phone when they are eligible for an upgrade. And if they can get a few of the people who own a 3D tv but use another carrier to switch to Sprint, even better.

3D is not a gimmick. It is the next evolution of tv and movies. The only people calling it a gimmick are people who don't own one. With more and more people buying a 3D tv every year, it is here to stay.

I guess the point of my rant is this: any review acting like the 3D isn't a major feature on the phone is clearly missing the point. Take that review with a grain of salt. And any poster saying the 3D isn't a major feature of this phone is obviously not speaking for everyone. While it's true that you may find 20, 50, or even 1000 posters online who say they don't care about the 3D or would even prefer it didn't have 3D. You can also go to just about any of the millions of 3D tv owners in the U.S. and ask them if they would like their cell phone to be able to shoot 3D pictures and videos. You'll find millions of potential customers. And if this phone sells millions, it would have to be considered a smashing success. I'm not saying it will sell millions (people are locked into contracts with other carriers, not eligible for upgrades on Sprint, don't like Sprint for various reasons, etc) but the potential is there.
 
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+1 BlackDynamite, very well said!

And I'm not liking that the reviewers have odd expectations on viewing angles, etc. And there are plenty of guides on the web for the headache prone on viewing tips to avoid the 3D headache - have been since Avatar was first in theaters.

I've stated that I'm flatly not for 3D. But I've also posted hereabouts that I've got an open mind, will try it a bit because I've changed my mind before.

If you're into 3D HDTV, this is a great addition. If there's a chance you might go that way within the next year or two, this gives you your first media device to plug into that new TV.

And if you never like it, don't argue about gimmicks, just don't use it - like the probably dozen or more features that we already will never use on our existing phones (note, list of dozen varies by user, but I'll bet it's at least a dozen).

Given that I would never go to Engadget or CNET for a TV review, I don't care how they feel about the 3D screen on the 3vo, good or bad. I still think they're not reviewing the phone as a phone properly. And I'd like to see someone decent on the AV side review the 3D, not the phone.

Just like the Evo was two devices - a phone and a mini-tablet - the 3vo is three devices - a phone, a mini-tablet and a 3D box.
 
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For all of you people who keep saying "most people don't care about 3D" and also those supporting the reviewers that keep spewing the same nonsense, lets put some facts to this.

I think there are a few things at play. Pending any major problems with the 3VO, when it's released it will probably be the most powerful device for Sprint customers, so a lot of people might get it whether or not it had 3D. I think reviewers' (gizmodo) ignoring that fact and focusing only on the 3D capability is doing it a disservice.

I am also underwhelmed by the reviewers' ability to understand how stereoscopy works at the most fundamental level. The PCMag one says "This is also 'fishbowl' rather than 'popping-out' 3D. The 3D images have depth within a plane; they don't seem to jump out of the screen" doesn't get that this effect is totally dependent on the media and somehow turns it in a negative for the 3VO.

Another problem is that "gimmick" is a loaded word. Stereoscopic 3D in a flat-panel display is not the same as real life or holographic stereoscopic vision, because the optical depth is different from the parallax depth -- in that way, it's imperfect. Some people have problems seeing 3D, and a close-up handheld device may exacerbate this effect more than a movie theater screen (since the optical depth is so much closer). And even when it works, its enhancement to the viewing experience is inconsistent from movie to movie and from person to person. So "gimmick" has too many meanings to be a good choice of verbiage, but the underlying criticisms aren't necessarily invalid.

So I completely agree with your points, but I also think such a wide range of reaction to the 3D aspects, both from reviewers and potential owners, is probably unavoidable.
 
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I sort of disagree with BlackDynamite comments. Its not so much if 3d is or is not a gimmick the question is the state of current glass free 3d (or more specifically evo 3d implementation). I've not seen it yet so I can't really comment but my guess is the current technology is not really there for quality glass free 3d on the phone.

I could be wrong; or I could be right and the situation will change in the future but my gut feeling is that if I were to purchase the 3devo it would not be because (or even for) the 3d feature.
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As I said in another thread avatar blew me away when I saw it originally. My 2d blu-ray copy just dont' have the same wow factor. So yea if done correctly 3d does have a wow factor.
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Anyways time will tell. I do not have a 3d tv right now (or a tv for that matter) but it would not surprise me if in a year or two I pick up a high end tv and it will likely have high-end 3d feature (not sure if that means glass or glass free) but today I can certainly live without it. No clue if I represent the mainstream, minority or majority of folks out there (or for that matter in my age bracket).
 
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Personally, I know I will never use the 3D on the Evo3D. I don't like any of the 3D effects, glasses free or otherwise, that I've seen so far. I'm happy for other people who enjoy it but I would prefer a HTC phone with a 8MP camera over the 3D feature. (Like a Sensation with 1GB of RAM.)

Just my personal opinion, but I still think the Evo3D should have been marketed as the Evo 2 and the 3D should have just been an added bonus feature. I think the technology is still too early to have an entire device based around it. Once these reviews get past the 3D feature and actually review the Evo3D as a smartphone they all seem quite pleased with it.

I'm not worried about the Call quality on the Evo3D anymore. Some reviews think it's fantastic and other say "it could be better"... So my guess is it's probably fine.
 
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I sort of disagree with BlackDynamite comments. Its not so much if 3d is or is not a gimmick the question is the state of current glass free 3d (or more specifically evo 3d implementation). I've not seen it yet so I can't really comment but my guess is the current technology is not really there for quality glass free 3d on the phone.

I could be wrong; or I could be right and the situation will change in the future but my gut feeling is that if I were to purchase the 3devo it would not be because (or even for) the 3d feature.
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As I said in another thread avatar blew me away when I saw it originally. My 2d blu-ray copy just dont' have the same wow factor. So yea if done correctly 3d does have a wow factor.
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Anyways time will tell. I do not have a 3d tv right now (or a tv for that matter) but it would not surprise me if in a year or two I pick up a high end tv and it will likely have high-end 3d feature (not sure if that means glass or glass free) but today I can certainly live without it. No clue if I represent the mainstream, minority or majority of folks out there (or for that matter in my age bracket).

I agree with you. It is not to say that 3D won't be the dominant force in the future, but it is still in it's infancy so to speak and not fully developed. Look back 10 years ago, High Definition was barely coming into the fold and was an option on many TV's, but only recently has it become the dominant format. 10 years ago you could buy a TV with High Def, but the technology wasn't fully developed yet and as such it wasn't the MAIN reason for buying it.

3D on the Evo is the same in my opinion. 3D is still growing and the technology is still evolving, so this device is an early adopter of that immature technology and as such isn't the MAIN reason to get it. Now in 5 years 3D may be much more prevalent and mature then it is today, but by that point the Evo 3D will be beyond obsolete and in a trash heap somewhere.

The technology and content simply isn't there right now to make 3D the MAIN factor on this phone. Sure it's a cool additional feature and an early adopter of a new technology, but in my mind that's all it is: a cool extra feature.
 
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EarlyMon's Review of 3vo Pricing on the 3D Feature:

I've heard many object to the added cost of 3D for those that don't want it. Fair enough.

In consumer electronics we know this - on each successive generation of tech, the newer generation gets cheaper for the same thing, or adds more features for the same price, or a little of each.

If I never use the 3D why won't I, personally, feel ripped off?

Because my Evo was the most phone I could get for $200 on contract and $200 is my top on-contract price, even at gunpoint.

To replace my Evo, I expect to spend at most $200, period, and at the rates they soak me on the plan, no adjusting for inflation - it's $200 or the highway, tops.

If all that I only cared about was battery and lag and so forth and I were unhappy, I'd buy the upcoming Kingdom, save a few bucks, get all that, and take hit on the 4" screen downgrade because I saved a few bucks.

But - my Evo's not broken and I'm not going spend money to upgrade it some and downgrade it a little for less money than my magic 200 - because - it's not broken.

So, if upgrading, I'm doing as I do and seeing what 200 samolians will buy me. If they left out the 3D, would they have given me other stuff? Sure. Would I use that stuff? I don't know, I already don't use everything.

Improved display made by Sharp? Check. Dual core? Check. Big step up in memory? Check. Big step up in Sense? Check. Big step up in Android? Check. (By a few weeks for those of us who go with official updates only, like me.)

HTC ever getting their camera and video act completely together? Please? Oh, well, if not, it's a phone and I can play with what they fed me instead and I ate up.

That's just me - your mileage may vary, other great choices available, you're not out of the Android club if your purchasing decisions are different than mine.

Agree or tear it up - this review is just because I felt like writing a review and I don't have a phone yet. This was not written to criticize anyone in any way, whatsoever.

Maybe I'm just curious if I'm alone in thinking this way. :) :) ;)
 
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EarlyMon's Review of 3vo Pricing on the 3D Feature:

I've heard many object to the added cost of 3D for those that don't want it. Fair enough.

In consumer electronics we know this - on each successive generation of tech, the newer generation gets cheaper for the same thing, or adds more features for the same price, or a little of each.

If I never use the 3D why won't I, personally, feel ripped off?

Because my Evo was the most phone I could get for $200 on contract and $200 is my top on-contract price, even at gunpoint.

To replace my Evo, I expect to spend at most $200, period, and at the rates they soak me on the plan, no adjusting for inflation - it's $200 or the highway, tops.

If all that I only cared about was battery and lag and so forth and I were unhappy, I'd buy the upcoming Kingdom, save a few bucks, get all that, and take hit on the 4" screen downgrade because I saved a few bucks.

But - my Evo's not broken and I'm not going spend money to upgrade it some and downgrade it a little for less money than my magic 200 - because - it's not broken.

So, if upgrading, I'm doing as I do and seeing what 200 samolians will buy me. If they left out the 3D, would they have given me other stuff? Sure. Would I use that stuff? I don't know, I already don't use everything.

Improved display made by Sharp? Check. Dual core? Check. Big step up in memory? Check. Big step up in Sense? Check. Big step up in Android? Check. (By a few weeks for those of us who go with official updates only, like me.)

HTC ever getting their camera and video act completely together? Please? Oh, well, if not, it's a phone and I can play with what they fed me instead and I ate up.

That's just me - your mileage may vary, other great choices available, you're not out of the Android club if your purchasing decisions are different than mine.

Agree or tear it up - this review is just because I felt like writing a review and I don't have a phone yet. This was not written to criticize anyone in any way, whatsoever.

Maybe I'm just curious if I'm alone in thinking this way. :) :) ;)

Makes perfect sense to me! I'm in the same boat (sort of). I like the Evo4G, however for the magic $200 there is the Evo3D with many upgrades (and potentially some downgrades as well). I'll try the 3D out and see if it's worth the extra $ over the Evo4G (which even though it's a year old is STILL a great phone, and will be very cheap now the 3D is releasing).

If I like the 3D then I'll likely get it, however if I feel it has any major downgrades that are vital to me (such as worse call quality or reception) then I may spend less and instead get the original Evo4G.

More then likely I'll get the 3D though, I currently am stuck with the TP2 and won't be eligible for upgrade for another 2 years, so by that point the original Evo4G would be a dinosaur ;)
 
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