Anyone gone from an EVO to an EVO Shift?

lordofthereef · Jan 27, 2011

Was wondering if any of you have gone from the original EVO to the Shift, and what your thoughts were. I have an EVO, and didn't think I would get the itch, but I certainly am. The things keeping me from the jump are the front facing camera (holding on for the idea that we will get skype sooner rather than later) and the large screen. I suppose the main selling point would be performance and perhaps battery life. Any thoughts?

EarlyMon · Jan 27, 2011

WifelyMon just got a Shift - I find it VERY favorable and worthy of the Evo name.

Check out this thread - http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-shift-4g/254006-evo-shift-reviews.html

Worth your while, great stuff in there, especially the first external review and that down-to-earth user review. As always, my comments included.

docss26 · Jan 27, 2011

I made the switch. I was sick of the EVO's size. It started to bother my hands when holding it to text/talk. Also, I feel like the battery life was very poor on that device. I'm really glad I made the switch, because the shift, imo is much faster. I loved the fact that it had a significantly smaller screen and battery life. If size is an issue, definitely make the switch.

Matty Mo · Jan 28, 2011

I had the Evo and the Epic... I love my shift more then any of these. The Evo was too big, shift is just right. Has a better keyboard then the Epic. Its the best of both worlds!

lordofthereef · Jan 28, 2011

Size is an issue but the other way around. I would be most bummed about losing that camera and going to a smaller sized screen. I have tweaked my phone to where I have 60% battery left on an average day, and 20% on a heavy use day, by the time I am home, so battery life isn't REALLY an issue; it is more a case of "I want more even though I don't need more". We are getting a lot more games flowing over to Android. I guess performance-wise I am wondering how those compare.

zombiepete · Jan 29, 2011

I just made this switch today; traded my EVO during the 30 day grace period after activating my service. I liked my EVO, but the battery was an issue and I really wanted a keyboard despite really liking swype. I have no regrets. The screen is the same size as my iphone 4 was, so it's not as jarring as it might have been.

Matty Mo · Jan 30, 2011

Went to best buy today and looked at the eve vs the eve shift and made me think about how much i like my shift!

Androidalltheway · Jan 30, 2011

For those of you that had the evo, and now have the shift, I would like to know if there is a noticeable difference in performance, meaning going from screen to screen, accessing apps, playing games, etc...

EarlyMon · Jan 30, 2011

I don't play games (except Angry Birds on my Evo). I find the Shift is VERY responsive. My Evo is kinda tuned by a custom kernel for better performance and rooted with the bloatware removed (still using a stock rom tho). I did _not_ tune my Evo for top performance, neither for lowering the clock to extend the batter nor overclocking to make it scream. It's tuned and balanced, imo. The Shift, unrooted and with bloatware - and with lot of HTC widgets (I use few of those on the Evo) and with Background Data and wifi/gps/3G radios alway on (I manage those discretely on my Evo) - is the basic equivalent of my Evo in overall performance.

The one thing that is silly is that the big ads, such as presented when viewing AF without logging in, kinda do the hula dance when rapidly moving a page - they're not accurately pinned to the page and lag in catching up to their proper location by a few millimeters at each move. I can't compare that to my Evo without uninstalling adfree, tho.

It's speed benchmarks are very good, a little lower on the CPU side, higher on the GPU side - and unlike the Evo, having the GPS radio on does not degrade speedtest results for either wifi or 3G response (as noted in the Evo forums).

About the only customization I'm certain to go for with this smaller beastie is the proxy removal (Sirius/XM fix, discussed here and in the Evo forum) as that tends to increase web response in all cases (without impacting speedtest).

These are just my non-scientific personal impressions.

zombiepete · Jan 30, 2011

Androidalltheway said:
For those of you that had the evo, and now have the shift, I would like to know if there is a noticeable difference in performance, meaning going from screen to screen, accessing apps, playing games, etc...

Screen transitions and stuff seem a hair smoother; in truth it feels pretty much the same to me. The radios seem weaker, but that's something that I think we'll see a fix for in an update. As of day two I can tell you that I have zero regrets. I truly love this phone (as much as you can love a phone, I guess).

NX1NO · Feb 8, 2011

I felt that this thread is worthy of my first post

After pressure from a friend, I switched from the iPhone 4 to the Evo. I always hated on Android phones because of the battery issues I've had in the past with them when I first had one (first Android phone was a Hero). I learned, once I got the Evo, that I just didn't know how to use an Android phone.

In any case, I loved the Evo when I switched. The stock ROM I used ate battery, no matter what I did. I rooted and put CM7 on, and that made a difference. I also purchased an extended battery for the phone from Sprint. I usually got a day and a half to two days of actually using my phone. It was great, however, I was carrying around a brick. The phone was huge, the back was now huge, and I wondered what's different that this Evo I'm using, and a Galaxy tablet...

I switched to the Shift over the weekend. It's completely stock. The battery it comes with easily gives me a day of actual use. The keyboard is AMAZING (I love swype, but nothing beats a hardware keyboard). The keyboard shortcuts like .com are really convenient. Little things like that greatly affect my perception of the phone. The camera, even though 5MP, seems just as good as the Evos. As I stated, I'm used to an iPhone, the form factor of the phone is great. It doesn't bother me in my pocket, and feels good in my hand, whether just using the screen or the keyboard. The phone is SNAPPY! No lag what so ever. I noticed with my Evo, sometimes when sliding to unlock, it would get stuck, etc. I have not had this phone lag on my one bit. I can't express how much snappier the OS is. When opening/closing apps, when sliding screens, everything just feels so much more smooth than the Evo.

The only cons I have about my phone is that when using the keyboard, the screen feels like it wobbles a little. Also, the placement of the volume rocker seems silly to me. When closing the phone, I notice that I hit the volume rocker a lot (my fault really).

This, to me, is the BEST Android phone I've used. I've heard that if you purchase a case for the phone (most people prefer the Seidio), it negates the "wobbling" issue. I think I'm going to exchange for another Shift if the case doesn't fix it.

Hope this helps. I'm glad to answer any more questions

sdalby · Feb 9, 2011

NX1NO said:
I felt that this thread is worthy of my first post

After pressure from a friend, I switched from the iPhone 4 to the Evo. I always hated on Android phones because of the battery issues I've had in the past with them when I first had one (first Android phone was a Hero). I learned, once I got the Evo, that I just didn't know how to use an Android phone.

In any case, I loved the Evo when I switched. The stock ROM I used ate battery, no matter what I did. I rooted and put CM7 on, and that made a difference. I also purchased an extended battery for the phone from Sprint. I usually got a day and a half to two days of actually using my phone. It was great, however, I was carrying around a brick. The phone was huge, the back was now huge, and I wondered what's different that this Evo I'm using, and a Galaxy tablet...

I switched to the Shift over the weekend. It's completely stock. The battery it comes with easily gives me a day of actual use. The keyboard is AMAZING (I love swype, but nothing beats a hardware keyboard). The keyboard shortcuts like .com are really convenient. Little things like that greatly affect my perception of the phone. The camera, even though 5MP, seems just as good as the Evos. As I stated, I'm used to an iPhone, the form factor of the phone is great. It doesn't bother me in my pocket, and feels good in my hand, whether just using the screen or the keyboard. The phone is SNAPPY! No lag what so ever. I noticed with my Evo, sometimes when sliding to unlock, it would get stuck, etc. I have not had this phone lag on my one bit. I can't express how much snappier the OS is. When opening/closing apps, when sliding screens, everything just feels so much more smooth than the Evo.

The only cons I have about my phone is that when using the keyboard, the screen feels like it wobbles a little. Also, the placement of the volume rocker seems silly to me. When closing the phone, I notice that I hit the volume rocker a lot (my fault really).

This, to me, is the BEST Android phone I've used. I've heard that if you purchase a case for the phone (most people prefer the Seidio), it negates the "wobbling" issue. I think I'm going to exchange for another Shift if the case doesn't fix it.

Hope this helps. I'm glad to answer any more questions

I believe it is a defect with the Evo Shift because when I returned my phone, the new one had absolutely zero wobble in it. I did purchase the Sprint Store case which is cheaper than the Seidio and fits better (Seidio has some weird issue with not snapping on properly) It also retains the HTC logo and I like the color it comes in. I HIGHLY recommend you buy it. The phone feels especially sturdy with a case on too

Hope this helps!

Funny I saw this because yesterday I argued that my phone was better than an iPhone 3g and my friend who is the biggest Apple fanboy every would not accept that my phone was better than his.

z28forlife · Feb 9, 2011

To say one phone is better isn't really the case. If someone really like Apple and the way they run their ios then iPhone is for them and Android will never be as good. Same goes for Android fans, but to say my phone is better then yours is all a matter of opinion.

sdalby · Feb 9, 2011

z28forlife said:
To say one phone is better isn't really the case. If someone really like Apple and the way they run their ios then iPhone is for them and Android will never be as good. Same goes for Android fans, but to say my phone is better then yours is all a matter of opinion.

Not in terms of raw specs and the capabilities of the OS

msierra519 · Feb 10, 2011

Hi All...i currently have the Hero, which i am dying to switch out..i am considering either the Evo or the Evo Shift. i looked at the specs and yes i am aware of the processor difference and size of the screen..but for those that have used both personally..what one do you prefer and why? i like the shift for its size, but i'm not sure if thats the only reason why i'd choose it. i heard the battery life on the Evo is disgusting...still its hard for me to choose..any help/comments/thoughts would be appreciated.

z28forlife · Feb 10, 2011

It's a hard decision. The evo has the front camera, kickstand and bigger screen. The shift has better battery, quicker processor, dedicated graphics chip and the keyboard. There both really good phones, if you can live with the size and battery of the evo then I say go for it. If you want a really quick pocketable phone then the shift is for you. Either way you'll have a great phone.

sdalby · Feb 10, 2011

z28forlife said:
It's a hard decision. The evo has the front camera, kickstand and bigger screen. The shift has better battery, quicker processor, dedicated graphics chip and the keyboard. There both really good phones, if you can live with the size and battery of the evo then I say go for it. If you want a really quick pocketable phone then the shift is for you. Either way you'll have a great phone.

Every test I have done, my Evo Shift beats out my mother's Evo. If that is any indication as to which is better

msierra519 · Feb 10, 2011

sdalby said:
Every test I have done, my Evo Shift beats out my mother's Evo. If that is any indication as to which is better

just out of curiosity, what kind of tests did you do? so far i'm liking what i read about the Shift.

sdalby · Feb 11, 2011

msierra519 said:
just out of curiosity, what kind of tests did you do? so far i'm liking what i read about the Shift.

Side by side comparisons. Unlocking the phone, side to side scrolling, opening app store ect. If you want true benchmark testing, look around anywhere on the internet and you'll find tons of benchmarks as well

The Evo Shift just feels a lot more "snappy" as the Snapdragon processor indicates.

xxD44xx · Mar 11, 2011

I originally purchased the Evo, and I must admit I didn't like it very much. Several friends of mine have the Evo and love it, so I got one. Even though it is a very impressive machine, for me it was just too big. The battery usage was also a major issue. Yes, I could have purchased the extended battery, but that would have made the size problem even worse.

I was very happy when the Evo Shift came out. I was able to exchange the Evo within the 30 day grace period, and I couldn't be happier. The phone is the perfect size for me. I easily get a full day out of a battery charge unless I'm using it excessively. The physical keyboard is terrific. The phone is very responsive, and I have had no trouble with lag, etc. The screen is plenty big enough for me.

This is the best phone I have ever had, and I would highly recommend it to anyone. Also, I bought the case with the rubberized back from Sprint, which fits great. It makes the phone feel even sturdier.

Hope this helps!

shantytownbrown · Mar 25, 2011

Made the switch to Sprint last summer to get an EVO for the wife and myself, love the phone, but also, like others above, dont want to carry such a big phone as I wear a Seidio belt clip or put it in my pocket, and would like the hard keyboard too. Slightly better battery life would be an added plus for those few times I needed a bit extra, but i too have tweaked my stock EVO to last me thru most days.

One other thing, is the ear piece/speaker better on the Shift? I find it hard to hear well on my EVO at times...(maybe its me??)

Reading this thread answers the questions I was going to post, and I think you have me convinced to want to swap.

my question is more along the Sprint line...when can I upgrade/change my phone? Is there a discount at a certain time of my contract? (thought i'd ask here first, will call Sprint if I have a chance later)

Also is there a market for selling my current phone? (ebay?)

thanks

xxD44xx · Mar 25, 2011

On our family plan through Sprint, one line gets a yearly upgrade; the rest get one every two years. I handle all the cell phone stuff, so my line gets the yearly upgrade. Thank goodness my wife isn't into technology!

Anyone gone from an EVO to an EVO Shift?

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