My impressions after a couple of days:
I'm very pleased with the phone overall. I debated whether to get this phone or wait, and I'm convinced I made the right decision by getting the phone, even though my decision to upgrade was an impulsive one, rather than the thoughtful choices I like to think of myself as making! I'm not as thrilled with it as I was with my EVO 4G, this is more of an evolutionary upgrade rather than a quantum jump like going from the Palm Pre to the EVO 4G.
The phone works well for browsing the internet and running most apps. Smooth and fast, the dual core processor lives up to the hype. I've had no trace of the reception problems alleged in some early reviews. Data reception and voice call quality are good.
These are the most important things I use the phone for, and they are fabulous! This paragraph is my most important comment, keep this in mind when I talk at length about comparatively minor negatives later.
I'm pleased with the enhancements to Sense since the version (1.0?) on my 4G. It works smoothly, and the changes are useful, though I feel a slight nagging worry that Sense is bloating up and becoming a resource hog as many feel Windows did on desktop PCs. Even so, at this point I have plenty of memory and storage on the phone. I _DID_ cut back some of the apps from my 4G that I never used, but I also didn't need to install some of the apps on my EVO because Sense has things that take care of that function--Goodbye Widget Locker and Quick App Manager! So far, I'm doing without App2SD, and I hope to be able to skip that permanently.
Battery life is okay, not fabulous. I suspect it is better than the EVO 4G, but since I've been using a huge 3500 mA battery in my old phone, I can't honestly judge.
I like the new form factor, the narrower body makes the phone a bit easier to cradle in my palm. General build quality is fine, better IMO than the EVO 4G was (and the EVO 4G was perfectly adequate build quality). My phone in general feels solid and inspires confidence. The power/sleep button functioning isn't the greatest--Too easy to push. The 2D/3D button on mine is a bit loose, but I'll never use it until/unless we get the ability to reassign it to a useful purpose. I'm totally happy with the camera button. I haven't used the camera in more than a superficial way yet, but I'm content with image quality from my quick look. If you want to do fine control of the camera (I do, I'm a hobbyist photographer), the menu structure on this phone looks like it will be faster to use than that in the EVO 4G. This is a good thing.The one good thing about 3D in this phone was that I hoped it would lead HTC to put a really good sensor in it that would give beter low-light capability (a la iPhone 4), but that didn't happen. But the camera is at least as good as that in the EVO 4G, it can be lived with.
Overall the phone is a nice upgrade. The EVO 4G was such an excellent phone that the 3D is merely "nice" rather than "WOW!!!"
The big distinguishing feature for the phone is the 3D, and that's actually a minor negative for me.
The 3D is of no interest to me, and I'd much prefer it wasn't there. I realize I don't have to use it, but the extra camera adds bulk that I'd rather see used for something useful, presumably the firmware to support 3D takes up storage I'd rather see used for something useful, and the software developers will waste time fixing/improving the 3D functions that I'd rather see used developing something useful. My biggest gripe about the phone is the diversion of resources to 3D. I resent it more than is probably justified. In fairness, I am seldom if ever thinking about that when I actually use the phone!
Besides my whining about 3D, the only significant gripe I have about the phone is that I can't turn off haptic feedback to the keyboard! I've used the process in the menus that is supposed to turn vibration off, but it is still there. I'm neurotic about the vibration when I type--Drives me crazy! And I assume it wastes battery, so this bugs me. I don't have a great deal of hope, but I'm gonna try to go by the Sprint store this afternoon and see if they can point out something I'm missing (
that problem is fixed, see below). I prefer the old HTC flashlight app that disappeared, but I have no real gripes about the market app I downloaded to replace it. I really do use my phone as an on-the-spot flashlight a lot!
The increased screen resolution is great in many ways, but also causes some minor inconveniences, especially in graphic apps that aren't adapted to it yet. Some things are just too small, text can be a bit hard to read in some cases. On the other hand, I'm liking the graphics on the phone more (in games and such I feel like I can tell a difference from the 4G's screen) and I am sure that's a benefit from the high resolution.
HTC has put out several updates in rapid succession for the phone. You can criticize that, but I think it is a positive--It shows that HTC will support the phone as they did the EVO 4G. Since the phone is a flagship for Sprint, I'm hopeful that Sprint will be supportive and will minimize interference that enhances their revenues but hurts users--The decision to make bloatware removable has few real benefits (doesn't really open up much storage), but was a big psychological step in a pro-consumer direction! I think users of this phone are going to be taken care of. And that's especially important if you are one of those poor souls who will no longer be able to get a subsidized upgrade every year!
I've talked a lot about minor negatives, but I am quite happy with the upgrade. If you're using something older or less capable than the EVO 4G, and can get a subsidized upgrade to this phone, my advice is to grab it, assuming you want a big "superphone" (and I know I do!).
