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Review: htc.EVOlution's Evo 4G, Seidio Innocase II, Screen Protectors, Programs

htc.EVOlution

Android Expert
May 10, 2010
929
839
Public Announcement:
My original thread got merged with some other threads so I had to make a new one after contacting the Mods.
(http://androidforums.com/776723-post2.html)

What was originally in that thread has been all moved over here. I will be also adding some details to my reviews and adding new reviews. Please check back to comment or for new updates! Thanks



Hey guys/gals,

Most of you may not know who I am, but I
 
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Below are some pictures straight from Evo's Camera:

http://androidforums.com/786291-post264.html



Edited: May 22nd, 7:47PM
The most anticipated pictures. I happen to have a itouch sitting in the house that i have not opened yet. i used the itouch as a comparison with the evo. Since the itouch screen and the iphone screen is the same i think the pictures below can show you how huge the screen is. also the itouch had a sticker with the graphics of it on, i peeled it off and stick it on the evo screen for better comparison.


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Seidio Innocase II

I will get the Innocase before the shipping date advertised on Seidio's Website. Seidio Rep was nice enough to send me a cover for review.

Come back on Friday!
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Pre-Intro: Seidio Inc was founded in 2002 in Houston Texas. They first started as a company that designed unique and quality products for PDAs, which slowly evolved into Smartphones. They has a passion for innovation and this lead them to become the leading manufacturer of Smartphone accessories.

They are also very well known for their rubberized cases. Many online forums and review sites have reviewed and vouch for their products. Their products are known to be built for quality and endurance.

Currently they are carrying a variety of cases for the Sprint HTC Evo 4G, Ultimate Screen Guard Protectors, Spare Batteries, Chargers, Cables, and many more. You can visit their site here for all the details and see a list of their products (Seidio - Your Single Source for Premium Smartphone Accessories).

Specs of Innocase II for EVO:

Innocases have quickly become one of the most popular products Seidio manufactures. Crafted from a hard yet flexible material, it provides an amazingly thin layer of protection without adding the excessive bulk of other cases. The Innocase II consists of interlocking top and bottom pieces that fit your phone snugly, and Seidio's signature soft touch finish provides a great feel and better grip without attracting lint. It is also available in a combo, which includes a matching holster.

- 1mm thin case provides scratch protection without adding much bulk
- Designed from a hard, yet flexible material with Seidio's signature soft touch coating
- Unique slide-in design consists of top and bottom interlocking pieces that fit your device snugly
- Precision cutouts for ports, controls, and kickstand
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First Impression:

HOLY!!!, I GOT IT, I GOT IT!!!!! I GOT IT, I GOT IT!!!!!
The little brown square/cubed box arrived at my door early this morning. I was like "wow", quality service from Seidio. It was very nice of them to send me a review unit early before shipping date. I must take my time to thank them once more.
As I took the products outside of the packaging, I saw the plastic looking case for the Innocase II. The product showed very well through the plastic container. It was definitely screaming at me to put it one. But before I did that, I took my dSLR camera out and started to snap some shots with my camera.

One thing that I thought I would do better is move Seidio's Logo a little high above the inside background. You can't really see the Seidio logo from the packaging.

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Build Quality:

Definitely not cheap. The build quality of the thing was hard. I wouldn't say hard as a rock, but it's definitely hard plastic. It was harder than those cheap eBay cases that you can get for 10 bucks shipped to your door. The rubberized feel of the case was also very good on your hands. It felt smooth and prevented the phone from slipping out of your hand.

There was no sharp edges around any corner. or on the inside of the case. The inside of the case was very well thought out. They put some felt cloth in the backing so that it will prevent the back cover of the Evo from being scratched up.

I also tried to double check on their advertised specifications by using a mm gauge to measure the overall thickeness of the phone before and after installing the case. You can find those pictures below.

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Fitment:

I slipped the case and the Evo and it clipped together nicely and firmly. The right side and the left side of the case fit snuggly together and it fits the Evo flush on both sides.

The cutout for the LED, Camera, and Speaker is perfect. There's enough space for the all three hardware specs. The camera glass is now protected because the case brings up the level to a point where the camera is indented inside the cutout location. No more worrying of scratching the camera lens when you put it on the table.

I've also took specific pictures of each cutout location around the case to show you how they go around the buttons, insert holes for the charger, HDMI, power button and volume button. All those edges fit without gap in between and have been well covered with the rubberized layer to protect the phone.

Forgot to mention, it covers all screen leaks from the edges.


Protection:


With the pictures showing 1000 words. I don't need to say much abut protection. They thought out every aspect of the phone do the point where there's felt inserts on the backing to protect the back cover. I wish they did one thing with the inserts though. They should have put the felt cloth all the way wrapping all aspects of the inside including the curved edges of the phone.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, the case lives up to the standard of innovation. They really did make a case that protected the phone real well. The design is slick and they did not have to include a bunch of artwork to make it attractive. It also keeps the phone low profile and gives the Evo a high class look while your on the phone or when the phone is sitting on your table.

People always complain that getting a case at a high price isn't worth it. Or they complain that they want their phone naked. I think the reason they say it is because they can't get themselves to click the buy button. Some people settle down with cheap cases from ebay. But if you want a cheap case, that's your decision. If you want a high quality case built with precision and design to innovate, this is definitely the case to buy. Buying a cheap case from ebay would make your $450 phone look cheap also.

They offer many different colors, so go to their site to check it out!
The only thing I wished I had the honor of reviewing was the accessory that came with the case, "The holster". I didn't get a chance to get the holster so I couldn't test if the holster made the case even better. I'm sure the holster would give the case additional points!

Please enjoy the quality photos of the case.



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Q&A (from the thread):

Great thread!

Two questions for when your Seidio arrives:
1. Can you slide the EVO into your pocket with the Seidio case (or is it sticky like rubber)?
2. If price is not an issue, would you still get this case? Thanks!
Hey, I got the case in hand right now. It is rubberized, not sticky or hard to slide in pocket @ all.

If price wasn't an issue, I would buy it, under the condition that they had my color WHITE. The build quality is nice. It also has felt inside the case to prevent scratching!

Very nice!

How sturdy & secure do the two halves feel to you? That's my biggest concern, the two halves popping apart. I had a poor experience with a different brand hard case with a Treo, which kept popping apart.

Believe it or not! I was concerned of this problem as soon as I put the case in my hand. I took the Evo and put it in the case. Snapped the connectors together and layed it on a flat glass table. I took both sides with my hands and started pulling outward. With some force, it stayed pretty tight and it did not give out due to force. I would say it would stay together pretty nicely. If you want to remove the case, you would need to press the center of the backing in order to pull it out.


Looks like it covers the front led and speaker grille. Any difference in call volume? Is the led visible?
Thanks!

It will block a little of the silver grill but it does not affect the LED notification, nor does it affect the sound quality
Is the Seidio case thick enough to stop the camera lens from contacting surfaces when the phone is laid on it's back?
yes! it prevents the camera from touching the flat surface. definitely protects the camera glass from being scratched!

I wonder if the Seidio case will case the edges to get cut up and debris build up. I had a slide on case like this for iPhone (not Seidio brand), but it messed up the edges of the phone.

I had this issue for ipod case. the back cover got sratched form dust. but I can't give you details until i get debris build up inside the Innocase to give you details


looks like seidio has a winner on their hands. nice
Seidio does have a winner in their hands...
Can you give any negatives about the case? Would it stand up to some punishment? Is there anything NOT good about it?
Yes there are. After fiddling around with it for half and hr. I found some negatives about the case. I wish they used the felt cloth, all the way around the inside of the case... Because the cloth is located only in the center (check pictures) it will wiggle the very top of the phone and the very bottom of the phone when your pressing on the screen. the cause of this, where there isn't cloth, the case has an empty space causing a slight wiggle room. This means that the very top and very bottom will have some gaps and it isn't flush to the screen. Also a potential problem for dust. If they include cloth insert (all around, fully) it will prevent the gaps, the phone would fit more snugly... AND it will give less of an impact when dropped. this is the only negative, but it shouldn't be much of a problem for most people. 90% of the case is snugly fit (except the very tip of the top and very tip of the bottom.

Ultimate Screen Guard Review!

Takes extreme patience and time to do this. Very very attractive to dust and almost impossible to get the dust off when you get dust on the protector. On one side of the protector it is sticky with some kind of chemical adhesive. If you touch it with your fingers, 100% fingerprint and impossible to come off. Any lint that get's on that sticky side during application will basically cause you 10 mins running water and washing the protector with soap!

I tried hard to install it. Got lint, fingerprint, dust, everything you can think of. Washed it off and tried again... Same Thing... The cutout also is weird near the speakerphone side. It's not wide enough no matter how much I tried to align it.

I was finally able to get the screen protector on with almost 0 dust. Once on, it's very clear on the screen. It doesn't have any anti-fingerprint protector on it. It still attracts fingerprint like normal. Screen usage and touch screen all normal... Nothing affected by the protector on the screen. No orange peel look. No rubbery feel. No rainbow marks.

Overall, nice screen protector... Use caution and extreme caution because of dust. Use some spray water if you have it. Last but not least, be patient


Ultimate Screen Guard
UPDATE!

As you guys may have known, I HATED!@#$% ZAGG!

I took the time this morning and peeled off that 12 dollar rip off (ZAGG) and reapplyed the USG (Ultimate Screen Guard). Did the shower trick + couple more basic. First I took hand soap and washed the protector clean and made sure everything was gone (dust/lint). Then I washed my hands and keeped it wet! sprayed bunch of those screen protector solutions on the USG protector and my hands. Applied it, aligned it, then used the Squeegee that came with ZAGG to squeeze out the air/bubbles.

Perfect application, no dust!
and! best of all, the Seidio protector doesn't catch the edges and lift up the protector!

CLEAR AS HELL! SMOOTH AS HELL!
MUCH BETTER THAN ZAGG.
but! fingerprints! OH WELL. :eek:
I'm a happy camper now until some other screen protector shows up on the market!



I am very pleased and honored to be a reviewer (just need to get my hands on the package and do the unboxing!).

 
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ZAGG REVIEW?!?!
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Ok, just finished my Zagg install. Instructions were very clear. They included sprayer to prevent dust and easy install. A squeegee which was made rubbery, not just a card.

Took me about 5 mins to do it correctly. I sprayed down my hands and the screen protector, but then I realized that the solution that they gave wasn't enough. It also dried too quickly. I had to constantly spray and apply. After 2 applications, the little sprayer seemed like it ran out of solution so I had to work my way without it.

Dust/lint? I don't know if it's my house, but every screen protector that I've put on in my life had dust in it. I couldn't avoid it. But the screen protector from ZAGG did make it easier to install. the lint doesn't give air bubbles as badly as the ones without sprayer!

The install is complete. I need to wait 24hrs for the bubbles and the stuff to dry out. Hopefully it's clear without any bubbles afterward. YES YES YES.. it's damn rubbery. Feels exactly like BodyGuardz that I have on my Touch Pro2. Perhaps a little bit more rubbery. Doesn't give fingerprints, or should I say very minimal and hardly able to tell. Orange peel? I don't see it yet, maybe after a while?

zagg update!
Hate to do this... Not recommended to be used with two part slide in cases! Therefore, I highly do not recommend using it with Seidio Case. I applied the screen protector almost perfectly (minus the dust). When sliding the case in, the protector is pretty thick and the case would catch the edge of the screen protector and lift up the edge of the screen protector (almost like a paper jam). This causes air bubbles and you would need to use a flat card to squeeze them out again. Happened to me 3 times today. Even after 10 hrs cure, the Zagg protector didn't stick enough to the screen.

Gives a horrible rubber feel. Horrible for pinch to zoom and two finger zoom out. Kills the feel of scrolling PERIOD!... Too sticky for typing!
it's FML and I will remove it as soon as I find another protector to use.

zagg update #2
REMOVED FROM MY EVO! and it will stay off for the rest of the life of the EVO

Programs!

-NetCounter:
This program is awesome. Install it from the Marketplace and it will monitor all your data usage. Not only does it monitor your usage, it also categorize it in difference categories. It will tell you how much data you used on the phone, on wifi, on usb and etc. It also tells you how much data you use by the month.

-Uninstaller:
This is an awesome app. You don't need to go through your menus and settings just to remove a program. This is a one button app uninstaller to make your life easier when you need to remove apps.

-eBuddy:
Best instant messaging service in the App Market.

-Advance Task Killer:
Some people vouch not to use apps of this sort because it will cause some problems with your Android device. I don't understand why this is so. If it's such a big problem then the reviews in the marketplace shouldn't be 4 Stars with thousands of reviews. I personally love this thing. It will free up space for me and cause the phone to perform better. Also it will kill unused stuff running in the background, possibly saving you some battery power

-AppBrain:
This thing is a must! go to www.AppBrain.com. Register and add all the programs that you want in your appbrain account. Download AppBrain from the Marketplace, Login, and your ready to sync with Appbrain. It will automatically download and install all the progs on your list that isn't currently installed onto your phone. You can quickly manage everything through AppBrain.

24 HR Battery Test Log!
So I decided to do a 24hr battery test log under the following conditions:

  • 4G Off
  • Bluetooth Off
  • GPS On
  • Brightness on Low
  • ATK (Advance Task Killer) - Autokill on Safe Mode after screen turn off. This will kill unused apps running the background (i.e. sprint apps and etc).

5.27.10 - 11:11pm PST
Fully charged! with green light indicator on. unplugged now. Full battery (100%)

5.28.10 - 8:10AM PST
Idled for about 9hrs. Still have 92% battery life. I have 2 gmail accounts using the built in gMail app. received 5 emails over the idling period. I have notification on (sound + vibrate) when email comes in. Battery doing very well with ATK running and killing task!

5.28.10 - 9:56AM PST
5 Minute use... Downloaded ShootMe App using AppBrain. Shot some photos for a forum member here. Plugged into the comp for 3 mins to get the photos onto the computer. 91%
http://androidforums.com/822368-post63.html

5.28.10 - 11:49AM PST
Just did 15 of web browsing. Down to 81percent

5.28.10 - 03:42PM PST
Down to 74%. Added another 10 mins of browsing the web. Went to my office where the basement complex is on roaming. It did some roaming and searching for radio for about 10 minutes. That could have probably run the battery down a bit.

5.28.10 - 07:39PM PST
Browsed 10 more mins on the phone... got few emails, check emails. ETC ETC... @ 70% since last night!

5.28.10 - 10:56PM PST
10 mins of more browsing, looking up stuff and checking AF on the phone...
62%... Almost 24hrs. 15 mins shy of 24. Battery is staying strong... ATK FTW
oh btw... that's 50 mins of browsing + roaming radio polling + gmal push + gps on + bunch of other aspects

5.29.10 - 08:10AM PST
32HRS later.... 50% on battery life!

5.29.10 - 04:00PM PST
Had 40% left...

I stopped @ 4pm and put the phone back on the charger because I needed some juice to show off tonight.


NO ATK! ~Battery Log!
I Uninstalled ATK and will do a quick battery test tonight.
uninstalled @ 11:14... turned off the phone and rebooted. Power on @ 11:17pm. Logged at 42% left. It will stay idled from now til I wake up. see how much battery it will run down without ATK!

Mini update! Woke up @ 8:20ish... The battery indicator showed 32%. Browsed the web for 10 mins, the battery dropped down to 17%... that doesn't really fit my battery trend when i was using ATK!



Seidio Holster
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htc.EVOlution can you give layars - goggle a try, i wish there was a better Yahoo Messenger program for Android, i will really miss it on my blackberry ::weeps::
layers for what? i've tried layers for google maps and stuff. works fine. Nothing special about it. As for Yahoo Messenger, eBuddy has the option to do that.

Hey, how's your battery life vs usage been thus far? I'd like to compare notes vs my battery drain.
hmm, do you have the evo? It can drain pretty fast when your doing a lot fo video's, camera shots, recording, music listening and etc. if idling, it's pretty darn good. I have to charge every night though.
 
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hmm, do you have the evo? It can drain pretty fast when your doing a lot fo video's, camera shots, recording, music listening and etc. if idling, it's pretty darn good. I have to charge every night though.

Yes, I received mine via eBay midday yesterday. I've been documenting my experiences in my own Review thread. Figured I'd ask about your experiences to compare notes.
 
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