Hero Owner Plays With The EVO - Impressions

[mslisaj]

Just thought I would share my impressions of the Evo from the Hero point of view. I have had my Hero for five months now and have rooted and DC romed it. It's very fast and works 100%. My friend got the new Evo and asked for my help. Well yes it's bigger then my Hero and that's about it. I like the look and feel better on my Hero but this is my phone. After all the hype about the new phone I just didn't see that much to get excited about. Sure it has the snappy snap dragon processor but apparently it eats the battery alive. I spent the first five minutes toggling off all the things I could turn off and I think this will help but, frankly it's going to take more then that phone to get me out of the Hero. My friend handled my Hero and liked the smaller size better too. The interfaces were the same and the only difference to the lay person is the size. I believe if I had the choice again and all things in pricing were equal I would choose the Hero again. Much more happier with my phone today after this experience.

Just wanted to share that as you all have been so helpful sorting out my phone. But a rooted and customized Hero will go to toe to toe with the Evo for now...........

Just my opinion.........

Lisa

P.S. Plus she is paying $10 a month extra for 4G and doesn't even have the coverage yet in this area. Way to go Sprint!

 

[xevious]

Thanks for sharing your impression of the EVO with us, Lisa. Nice to see another person still happy with their Hero afterward. I'm convinced that you've got to root your Hero to make the most of it.

Btw, speaking of battery life conservation, when I was examining the Hero in the Sprint store I was trying to find a way to turn off Internet/Network connectivity while leaving voice communication still functional. I couldn't find anything related except Airplane mode (all communication is shut off) or WiFi (doesn't affect network). I'm wondering if the rooted firmware opens up more options, or I simply missed this with the OEM firmware. Is there a way? I do this all the time with my Lotus to cut down on battery usage, as I don't need to see constant updates--prefer to do it on-demand.

 

[mslisaj]

There are greater experts then I here, but there is a widget that turns on and off the mobile network and if you go to Settings> Wireless & Networks> and scroll down you will find a box to check that will turn off the Mobile Network too. This may help you. Personally I'm into constant 15 minute updates on email, I believe Text Msg. is a push thing where there is something there and my weather updates once an hour. I do get about 10 hours of good solid use out of the phone before I have to plug it in. But maybe that will help..........

Hero for ever for me for now!

Lisa

 

[tazcollins]

They're also htc widgets in the phone you can put on your home screen. I use the bluetooth one, plus you have one for wi-fi, gps, airplane, and mobile network. TC

 

[bluemark]

I was playing with a friends EVO the other day and although it's a beautiful piece of tech, it's just too darn big to be practical for me. I know it may sound ridiculous to some but I wouldn't trade my Hero for one.

 

[domochomo]

A week ago I went to the Sprint store to check out a new upgrade phone. I'd read all sorts of hype about the EVO, and I'd heard good things about the Hero. I checked them both out side by side, and I honestly wasn't nearly impressed enough with all the bells and whistles in the EVO to justify the steep price difference (at least for my own budget). I'm not hard to please. The Hero is already obsolete, but I'm not a tech junkie who always upgrades to the best. EVO has a lot more in the specs department, and many more features, but it's just too damn expensive (especially considering I don't get 4G in my area yet), and when I tried to put it in my pocket it felt bulky and weird as hell. I ended up getting a Hero instead, rooted a few days after I got it and I'm glad I did.

 

[Bnice]

I get to play with the EVO because my girlfriend has one and i can honestly say i like it if i was eligible for an update i would get it no question ask,i know alot of folks going to say its to big and it has the same ui but i get to see it side by side by my hero(that i like )but the phone is a beast ,the speed and browsing experience on the screen is just a joy for me.When you get to play with this phone on an everyday base you coming to the realization its not that big or heavy,lets be real these phones only weigh a few ounce and if your screen size is 3 inch to the 3.7 then 4.3 is not that much .just my feeling.

 

[momoceio]

I'm with Bnice...the EVO is an amazing phone. I get tired of my laggy ass Hero sometimes...would be nice to have that snapdragon.

 

[tazcollins]

A week ago I went to the Sprint store to check out a new upgrade phone. I'd read all sorts of hype about the EVO, and I'd heard good things about the Hero. I checked them both out side by side, and I honestly wasn't nearly impressed enough with all the bells and whistles in the EVO to justify the steep price difference (at least for my own budget). I'm not hard to please. The Hero is already obsolete, but I'm not a tech junkie who always upgrades to the best. EVO has a lot more in the specs department, and many more features, but it's just too damn expensive (especially considering I don't get 4G in my area yet), and when I tried to put it in my pocket it felt bulky and weird as hell. I ended up getting a Hero instead, rooted a few days after I got it and I'm glad I did.

My phone is "obsolete"! OMG and I've just had it six months! OMG
TC

 

[glen4cindy]

The Evo is just okay in my book, a little too big for my pocket though. The Hero fits just right. Having come from an Insticnt, I'm in heaven with the Hero, thought I really liked the Instinct for the most part, the Hero does lots of things better.

The primary thing keeping me from the Evo, is that it's $440 over two years is way too much to pay for a phone! And for Sprint to chain me to a phone and force me to KEEP paying for it on a continous basis is something I'm not willing to do just yet, though I see in the future that might be something that future phones will come with. The Evo might be just the first of many phones from Sprint that we will be forced to buy and keep paying for as long as we have them. I hope not, but, if they have the "advanced features and fresh experience" that the Evo comes with or better as technology improves, then Sprint will feel like it has the "right" to charge us for those advanced features. Lets hope I am wrong about this.

 

[barnacles]

Thanks for sharing your impression of the EVO with us, Lisa. Nice to see another person still happy with their Hero afterward. I'm convinced that you've got to root your Hero to make the most of it.

Btw, speaking of battery life conservation, when I was examining the Hero in the Sprint store I was trying to find a way to turn off Internet/Network connectivity while leaving voice communication still functional. I couldn't find anything related except Airplane mode (all communication is shut off) or WiFi (doesn't affect network). I'm wondering if the rooted firmware opens up more options, or I simply missed this with the OEM firmware. Is there a way? I do this all the time with my Lotus to cut down on battery usage, as I don't need to see constant updates--prefer to do it on-demand.

You can hold down "power" to display a screen of options. From here you can power down, change vib/ring, turn on airplane mode, and turn on/off mobile network. And yes with this turned off you can still send and recieve sms and make phone calls

 

[dmm5157]

I'm with Bnice...the EVO is an amazing phone. I get tired of my laggy ass Hero sometimes...would be nice to have that snapdragon.

Yup, and as fast as the Hero is with root and custom 2.1 roms, remember you can also root the Evo. Fresh is now focusing primarily on Evo development and others are following suit.

Knowing 2.2 will come out for the Evo and it's still uncertain for the Hero is reason enough for me to consider upgrading to an Evo. I'm available for my next upgrade in September. For the past 3 years, Sprint has had pretty decent releases around that time, so there may even be another option around then. I'll wait to weigh my options and will likely spring for an upgrade then.


Until then, I do love my Hero. It's still an excellent phone and very functional and serviceable, but I would really love a bigger screen.

 

[Slovak]

I played with the EVO for a bit in the store when I payed my bill this weekend, and to be honest with you, I really see no difference between the two phones, except the EVO is slightly faster responding than my Hero, and it is just simply way to big for a phone for my liking. IMO, not worth the pricey upgrade price, and the fact that it would cost me yet another $10 per month for 4g coverage that I don't even have in my area yet just isn't worth giving up my Hero yet.
I do like the bigger screen due to my large hands, but hate the size of the phone, just way to big for my liking to carry around every day. Other than 4g, it does nothing my Hero doesn't already do.