User Reviews + first impressions

[RAdroider]

Is all the crapware going to be deletable? Or just some?

 

[novox77]

One of the reasons Avatar's 3D was widely considered as good was because they didn't do the gimmicky stuff too much. Every scene they made, they tried to make sure the important subjects in the frame fell within the 3D window (basically the close and far distance from camera that causes little eye strain). I remember forgetting that I was watching a 3D movie because it felt so comfortable, especially the scenes where they were flying on those creatures. I was so sure they would do some exaggerated pop-out effects there, but they didn't.

 

[Fubie]

Glad you have the phone. Keep feeding us the info!!! I can't wait to get my hands on one...Friday.

 

[yourfriendmat]

ive got 2 50 inch panna plasma displays that are 3D. ill hook up the evo 3d to the sucker via the mhl and see what i get...

Can I have one?

Is all the crapware going to be deletable? Or just some?

Depends on what you consider crapware. HTC thinks their stuff is important, so you can't really remove any of that, but besides that, there really isn't much on it.

 

[marctronixx]

waaay OFF topic and part bragging rights:

i work in the tv and film industry and i am friends with the guy who operated Steadicam on avatar. we both operate Steadicam's and he sent me a photo of the 3D rig he flew back when he was shooting the flick a couple years ago. it was two hybrid panavised F900 cameras heavily modified.. the panavision F900s are basically shoulder cameras (think of TV news crew cameras you see on the street) modified with panavision lenses. these were the cameras lucas used on star wars when he did them in digital..

anyway the tech was so new he had to sign an NDA. also what was interesting was he could see the CGI characters each actor played in realtime on his monitor. this allowed him to frame the scenes properly since the CGI characters were much larger than humans. Essentially he was flying X/Y'ed cameras which were just black square boxes with an imager inside and a huge panavision prime lens on each one. they look nothing like a camera.

Ive flown 3D rigs a few times for ESPN 3D and some other productions and also with Turner Broadcasting. there are so many of them out there now (3D rigs). in some circles im whats known as a stereographer operator.. cute name...

back on topic....

 

[Cajunkid]

Wow, we can remove bloatware from our phone. Lol, this is serious especially since they are allowing us to remove NASCAR. Some people may have a heart attack over this.

Watch, Apple is going to follow suit next. Copycats! I wonder if this was a Sprint/HTC/Android commonality.

 

[yourfriendmat]

waaay OFF topic and part bragging rights:

i work in the tv and film industry and i am friends with the guy who operated Steadicam on avatar. we both operate Steadicam's and he sent me a photo of the 3D rig he flew back when he was shooting the flick a couple years ago. it was two hybrid panavised F900 cameras heavily modified.. the panavision F900s are basically shoulder cameras (think of TV news crew cameras you see on the street) modified with panavision lenses. these were the cameras lucas used on star wars when he did them in digital..

anyway the tech was so new he had to sign an NDA. also what was interesting was he could see the CGI characters each actor played in realtime on his monitor. this allowed him to frame the scenes properly since the CGI characters were much larger than humans. Essentially he was flying X/Y'ed cameras which were just black square boxes with an imager inside and a huge panavision prime lens on each one. they look nothing like a camera.

Ive flown 3D rigs a few times for ESPN 3D and some other productions and also with Turner Broadcasting. there are so many of them out there now (3D rigs). in some circles im whats known as a stereographer operator.. cute name...

back on topic....

So are you steadicam over on the SP forum?

 

[JinCA]

Call quality isn't that bad. My girlfriend said I sounded fine when I called her, and I only had 2 bars. She sounded kind of saticy once in a while, but that could be the fault of low signal. I'll try more tomorrow, but by then, I'm sure all the SP peeps will have theirs.

When you say "isn't that bad" do you mean it's not that good either? do you have the evo 4g? which one sounds better to u? the evo 4g or the evo 3d? I'm really picky with phones and to me there is no excuse for a "high end" phone to not do the phone part right, thanks for taking the time to answer questions by the way that's nice of you.

 

[yourfriendmat]

When you say "isn't that bad" do you mean it's not that good either? do you have the evo 4g? which one sounds better to u? the evo 4g or the evo 3d? I'm really picky with phones and to me there is no excuse for a "high end" phone to not do the phone part right, thanks for taking the time to answer questions by the way that's nice of you.

I can't really compare it to my Evo at this point (for obvious reasons), but I never really made a lot of calls. I talk to my mom maybe once every week or two for an hour.

I guess "not that bad" would mean that I could hear her just fine and it didn't cut out, but it wasn't like I was sitting right next to her. Making calls really hasn't been at the top of my list since I don't really use it for that purpose. I really think "cell phone" isn't the appropriate name for a device like this. It's a mobile communication/entertainment platform. They become more like laptops every day, and I use it more in that manner.

I know everyone has a different viewpoint, but I kind of feel like complaining about a cell phone not making good phone calls is like complaining that a laptop doesn't fit on your lap I wouldn't expect it to broadcast radio quality audio just like I wouldn't expect ESPN quality sports broadcasts from my cell camera. Just sayin...

/rant

 

[jerofld]

When you say "isn't that bad" do you mean it's not that good either? do you have the evo 4g? which one sounds better to u? the evo 4g or the evo 3d? I'm really picky with phones and to me there is no excuse for a "high end" phone to not do the phone part right, thanks for taking the time to answer questions by the way that's nice of you.

From reading what YFM said, it sounds like outgoing sound (the E3D's mic) is good. Incoming sound (the ear piece) has some static. I wonder how much of this could be corrected through software. It shouldn't be horrible.

If I am interpreting that correctly, that is. I think we'll have a better understanding of it when some of the audiophiles get their hands on it.

 

[wake69]

Wow, we can remove bloatware from our phone. Lol, this is serious especially since they are allowing us to remove NASCAR. Some people may have a heart attack over this.

Watch, Apple is going to follow suit next. Copycats! I wonder if this was a Sprint/HTC/Android commonality.

I am glad NASCAR is there. That is part of the reason I love my Sprint phone. I often have to go to brunch with my gf and her fan and love that I can sneak away and catch a few laps and the leaderboard

 

[Vanquished]

I am glad NASCAR is there. That is part of the reason I love my Sprint phone. I often have to go to brunch with my gf and her fan and love that I can sneak away and catch a few laps and the leaderboard

There are definately nice apps. I like using the football app they have, but I don't watch NASCAR so to me it's a waste of space. It's nice they allow you to remove it now.

 

[yourfriendmat]

Man, this is the kinda crap I have to deal with over there:

How can you give a full review of the phone and only 1 of you talk about the signal of the phone? I mean it is a phone right? i know it does more but in the end don't you think you need to make calls with it? Out of all of you 1 and i say it again 1 of you has posted about the signal strengh of the phone.You had a EVO i mean it would take what 2 minutes to make a call and see if you had as many bars with your evo as you do now with the 3D? i mean if you are going to review a phone at least try.

So I asked him not to be rude, and I get:

Yeah i knew what you posted and trance posted how the difference was with his EVO 3D and the hero he said he got 2 bars more with the hero then the 3D.Now Matt sounds like he is a sprint employee now lolz there will be 3 people coming in the store to buy them? you do understand there is no shortage right?.But when giving a review of a phone you would think the first thing someone who gave a full review like matt did would post how the signal of the phone is.NOT the quality but the signal.But i read yours Jeallen and ill wait to see how yours is in your office but most likely ill just have to review it myself tomorrow when mine comes.I just found it odd that Matt did not give a review of this when he gave a full review of everything else then he thinks i am being rude which i am not.And with being a reviewer from all the past times they have done this the people who gave reviews talked about the phone and how it makes calls and how the signal was since that is a big reason to have a cell phone right?.

So i am not trying to be RUDE sorry matt has to take it as i am being RUDE but if you can't handle a question of why you did not list about the signal of the phone when you listed everything else about what it does then you should not be a tester if you are going to be offended when someone asks a question that you take as being Rude.

Sorry JEALLEN but the question was not meant to you i read where you said you were going to try it in your office tomorrow and i hope it is close to the EVO cause if it is really that bad mine will go back and i guess Matt has 3 people lined up ready to buy them Thanks Jeallen

I just don't understand some people...

 

[MahaloCat]

homescreen -> menu -> settings -> system updates -> htc software update ... If you find a box for updating the system with a "check now" - give it a go. If they're planning an ota on friday, it's likely already on their servers ready to go.

According to sprint support, on 6/24, there's the minor update i'd posted on earlier, to 1.13.651.7.

omg - fingers crossed for this! :d

 

[lafester]

Do you use a lot of apps? Do any of them react badly to qhd resolution?
Do you really have to remove the battery to get the sd card out?
Does the battery cover squeak, creak or feel loose in any way?

thanks

 

[yourfriendmat]

Do you use a lot of apps? Do any of them react badly to qhd resolution?
Do you really have to remove the battery to get the sd card out?
Does the battery cover squeak, creak or feel loose in any way?

thanks

I do use lots of apps, but haven't had a chance to install many yet. I did install the Photobucket app briefly and it was terrible. It was a little box at the top of the screen

You do have to remove the battery to get the SD card.

The back cover is awesome, IMHO. It feels like some sort of hard rubber. It's very flexible, and fits nicely on the phone. I was a bit scared trying to remove it at first. It was a little snug and I was scared of breaking it, but I just yanked it off and realized how sturdy it was.

Interesting note is that the Power and volume buttons are built into the back cover.

 

[lafester]

thanks... that is very interesting. I suppose with all the qhd devices coming it won't be long before the apps get updated. hopefully there aren't too many affected.

 

[cobalt]

Man, this is the kinda crap I have to deal with over there:

Whoah! Yeah, a simple "thanks" would seem like a more appropriate response than a rant to someone taking their time to provide helpful information. Speaking of which: thanks!

One question i didn't see much discussion - presumably many apps will have some 3d (stereo) controls. Have you seen many global settings e.g. in the main settings menu? (even a simple Disable, for example.)

 

[Vanquished]

Man, this is the kinda crap I have to deal with over there:

Over where?

 

[Vanquished]

3D Effect
The 3D is very effective, but it has a pretty narrow sweet spot. It also kind of looks like you're looking at the lenticular cover of a move or something. I understand the concepts are similar, but I thought the screen would look a little smoother. Also, the pictures used for the user interface weren't redrawn, so there is a lot of aliasing when you enter 3D mode. The only reason I think it is so noticeable is because it only affects the horizontal, not the vertical.

Exciting news: Side-by-side 3D files DO work. I put a side-by-side .mp4 on the phone. When you play it, it may not be in 3D at first, but you can hit menu and select "Play in 3D." So cool!

I can't get the Green Hornet to play on my device.

I can view 3D content from anywhere between 6 inches from my face to about an arm's length. The sweet spot is pretty narrow, but there seem to be multiple. My girlfriend was playing with the phone and I could watch it along with her.

Also, REALLY bright 3D photos don't work so well with the parallax barrier tech. Seems like the back light bleeds through the PB LCD.

Good to know. I was telling a co-worker about the phone and he said he was more stoked about it than I am...He was also telling me that he was ranting at the apple guy and said he wouldn't upgrade his iP4 to the new 5 unless it had a 3D camera. I've been trying to get him to switch to Android for a few months now.

 

[yourfriendmat]

Over where?

Sprint Premier community. Sprint gave me the phone as part of a trial program. The 5 of us have to comment on a blog in the SP community as a condition of our winning the phone. We're only required to talk about our experiences with the phone (e.g. likes, complaints, problems). I wrote slightly more in-depth in hopes that I would help some. Instead this guy complains Anyway, as I learned from this forum, the best practice is to ignore the trolls (though that's not to say they aren't annoying).

 

[mikeinatl]

I went to my local Best Buy to ask about the View 4G and ended up talking about the 3VO. I told the phone dept manager that I had pre-ordered it and he asked, "Do you want to see it?" He had a working handset that's not yet activated, so I got the chance to play with it for a few minutes. It was VERY fast and I like the new Sense.

The phone looks huge in pictures. But as we already know, it's a bit narrower and taller. It is also a bit thinner and less rounded in the back. When I saw the first picture in March, I was so disappointed that the camera protruded again, but I don't think it protrudes as far as the 4G camera - even though the camera surface is certainly larger. All that being said, it does feel a bit smaller than the 4G, at least to me.

I couldn't find the gallery of pre-loaded 3D photos, but I did get to see a few that had been taken with the phone - and take one myself. I thought the 3D depth was really pretty cool. Practical? No. Fun? Yep. I would agree the viewing range seems a bit small. I could feel it a bit in my eyes when looking at it, but I would imagine you get used to it. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see a 3D video and the Green Hornet didn't load either.

I wish I had more to share, but I didn't want to take up too much of his time. I was surprised that BB had a working model (it wasn't out on display - he had it under the counter) because they didn't with the 4G.

I love my 4G - it's been a great phone. I've never had any hardware problems. They've made some nice software upgrades, including the new GB (I waited to download it today). But I think I'm getting pretty psyched to get the phone. I have the upgrade, the phone is certainly faster than the 4G, and I really like the new Sense.

 

[Vanquished]

Sprint Premier community. Sprint gave me the phone as part of a trial program. The 5 of us have to comment on a blog in the SP community as a condition of our winning the phone. We're only required to talk about our experiences with the phone (e.g. likes, complaints, problems). I wrote slightly more in-depth in hopes that I would help some. Instead this guy complains Anyway, as I learned from this forum, the best practice is to ignore the trolls (though that's not to say they aren't annoying).

Do you have a link to the SP community?

 

[yourfriendmat]

Do you have a link to the SP community?

community.sprint.com

I think you have to be Sprint Premier to access the forum.

 

[themuffinman75]

Sprint Premier community. Sprint gave me the phone as part of a trial program. The 5 of us have to comment on a blog in the SP community as a condition of our winning the phone. We're only required to talk about our experiences with the phone (e.g. likes, complaints, problems). I wrote slightly more in-depth in hopes that I would help some. Instead this guy complains Anyway, as I learned from this forum, the best practice is to ignore the trolls (though that's not to say they aren't annoying).

Yeah, I been following a few threads over there for a couple of days and man what a different atmosphere it is compared to here. Some of those members really do come across as douchebags but that may have to do with the fact that it doesn't seem like that forum is heavily moderated so I don't know.