Gonna get one

LUMtnHwk said:

- Is there any significance between phones with the different brandings? For example, Best Buy apparently has them with just "HTC" on the front, RS at my mall has them with Sprint branding, etc... one guy said he ran in to issues with the Sprint branding, but I'm guessing since it's just one guy it's not a prevalent thing? The branding is simply a matter of preference yeah?

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There is no difference except what's printed on the outside

- Battery life is solid, but what can I do to go further? Disable 4G, 3G if not in a 3G area, disable WiFi when not at home/school/places with WiFi -- correct?

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It depends if you're going to use the stock battery or an extended battery. If you get the 3500mAh+ batteries, I would just disable 4G unless you need it, other than that, that battery will last you all day.

Also depends if you're going to keep your phone stock. If you root it and/or flash custom ROMs, you can apply battery saving tweaks such as disabling one processor while the screen is off. Use WiFi whenever you can.

- Suggestions on a MicroSD card? So far between this forum and the Evo 3D forum I've seen a lot of consensus on 16GB, Class 10.

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I personally am just using a 16gb Class 4 and it has given me no problems whatsoever so you don't really need a class 10.

- Different keyboards? How does that work? I'm using a VZW phone from like 2007 right now, with a iPod Touch to message my friends with iPhones, so the concept is really foreign. Suggestions on a keyboard to try if I don't like the stock?

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This is dependent on preference. Some people like Swype keyboards, some don't. I like the pure ICS keyboard (free from the market) or if you're willing to spend a couple bucks, I use A.I. Pro keyboard, set to iPhone style because of the spacing and the clean look. It also intelligently adjusts to your style of typing (the way you speak). Like, it'll learn common words/slang that you use and will present those words in your predictive typing section of the keyboard as you're typing.

- To case or not to case? Historically I've been a no-case guy as they add bulk and silicon cases can be tough to pull out of my pockets.

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This is another personal preference question. If you're anal about cosmetic damage or in an environment where it may get damaged, you might want to use a case. TPU cases typically add the least amount of bulk and offers good protection.

- Is the 3D camera capable of producing stereoscopic gifs? Whether stock or via an app, I'm not too particular about that.

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As far as I know, it only captures 3D video through the camera app. Maybe there's a program out there that produces these but I doubt you can do it directly from this phone.

- Point me in the direction of an "Android for Dummies," particularly to Sense 3.6 and/or ICS? The last time I messed with Android was in 2010, writing code with help of the SDK.

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There's videos on YouTube that has walkthroughs (I recommend videos by phonedog, Aaron particularly). There's a video titled "HTC Sensation XL Ice Cream Sandwich Walkthrough" that he posted a day or two ago that uses both ICS and Sense 3.6.

- Must-have apps? I don't plan on gaming much, mostly taking pictures and the occasional video, Skype, email, etc.

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This is also another personal preference question as it solely depends on what kind of user you are. The market can be browsed by category (games, productivity, etc.)

Hope this helps somewhat.

Best Buy versions still have Sprint logos too. There are no VM branded ones yet and there is no expectation for there to be any difference anyhow. In fact, if anything, the Virgin ones will be cheaper quality.

Battery life is good.
A good rom helps. There is also larger, internal batteries like Anker. You will easily make a day on a charge though once you get over the new toy feeling.

If you go cheap, you want class 10.
If you go Sandisk, a class 4 will work. 16gigs are pretty cheap, but so are 32gig these days. Check Newegg for good prices. I paid $25 for my 32gig Team, which was unclassed, but in the phone it matches a class 10 for read and is only 15% slower on write.

Touchpal keyboard has been my favorite. Other good ones are Swiftkey and Slide It (my second favorite). Swype was my favorite, but it has issues with Firefox and downloads lately.

Cases are a personal decision, I use a generic screen protector and call it done.

3d gifs? probably not.


Must have apps...
Quickpic - replaces Gallery
Adfree - if you are rooted
A good backup program - I prefer Mybackup Pro
Wifi Tether - so you can tether for fre.

Oh the higher the number for sd class the better? I actually never paid attention to stuff like that.

higher the class the better the speed. for storage i dont think youll notice that much of a difference. large files and if youre trying to record 1080p onto it, im sure youll care.

thebryceee said:

Oh the higher the number for sd class the better? I actually never paid attention to stuff like that.

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SD Card Speed Guide best to read about it.

thebryceee said:

Oh the higher the number for sd class the better? I actually never paid attention to stuff like that.

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I meant lower the number. Been drinking.

thebryceee said:

I meant lower the number. Been drinking.

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Just read that link. I'm dumb.

You can see a speed difference on large apps that you move over and also transfers with our larger internal storage, it's less of an issue on apps though. OPm the OV, you needed the speed because almost everything ended up on the sdcard.

LUMtnHwk said:

Hey all,

I'm about to take the plunge and switch to VM and the Evo V. I've been doing some reading here and I've noticed some things, and have some questions.

Some of the questions might seem simple but bear with me, I'm a college kid strapped on cash and I want to do all the homework before I drop 300 bones on something which could turn out to just be a shiny paperweight - and there isn't one thread with all the answers in one spot.

============

- Is there any significance between phones with the different brandings? For example, Best Buy apparently has them with just "HTC" on the front, RS at my mall has them with Sprint branding, etc... one guy said he ran in to issues with the Sprint branding, but I'm guessing since it's just one guy it's not a prevalent thing? The branding is simply a matter of preference yeah?

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Here's my $.02:

As for the branding, it likely makes no difference at all. Sprint discontinued the Evo 3D shortly before Virgin announced they would begin selling it. Basically, the Sprint branded phones are the unsold Sprint phones that have been flashed with VM software (ICS and Sense 3.6).

While some claim the VM branded phones will be better and others claim they will be worse, honestly they are likely to be exactly the same.

LUMtnHwk said:

- Battery life is solid, but what can I do to go further? Disable 4G, 3G if not in a 3G area, disable WiFi when not at home/school/places with WiFi -- correct?

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As others have mentioned, you can buy a larger battery and disable 4G and WiFi unless you are using them.

There is also an app, Juice Defender, in the Google Play Store (which is the new name for the Google App store) that many like that saves battery life. Basically, it turns the various antennas on the phone off while the screen is asleep and turns them on intermittently (how frequently depends on the settings you choose) to check for text messages, email, Facebook, etc.

LUMtnHwk said:

- Suggestions on a MicroSD card? So far between this forum and the Evo 3D forum I've seen a lot of consensus on 16GB, Class 10.

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In case you aren't aware, the phone comes with an 8 GB microSD -- though I believe different people have gotten different brands. Personally, I had a SanDisk included, which is typically considered one of the best brands.

How large you need depends on what music, videos and photos you want on your phone. As for the speed of SD cards, the larger the Class number the faster the card (essentially it is 1 MB x Card class per second transfer rate -- so a Class 4 is 4MB/sec and a class 10 is 10MB/sec).

LUMtnHwk said:

- Different keyboards? How does that work? I'm using a VZW phone from like 2007 right now, with a iPod Touch to message my friends with iPhones, so the concept is really foreign. Suggestions on a keyboard to try if I don't like the stock?

Click to expand...

The keyboard seems to be based on personal choice. Several people seem to like the keyboard that comes with this phone, and it does have a Swype-style capability. Other people like Swype (if you don't know of it, there are plenty of videos on YouTube about it), where you can type without lifting your finger between letters. Personally, I'm using Thumb Keyboard.

The advantage of the 3rd Party keyboards is they tend to have many more customization options.

LUMtnHwk said:

- To case or not to case? Historically I've been a no-case guy as they add bulk and silicon cases can be tough to pull out of my pockets.

Click to expand...

If you don't like cases, my guess is that you won't want to have a case here, either. The only thing I worry about not having a case is, with the camera sticking out, that it might get scratched up. I'm guessing I will likely get a "screen protector" for the back camera, some of the companies (such as Phantom Skinz) include a protector for the back camera with their screen protector.

LUMtnHwk said:

- Is the 3D camera capable of producing stereoscopic gifs? Whether stock or via an app, I'm not too particular about that.

- Point me in the direction of an "Android for Dummies," particularly to Sense 3.6 and/or ICS? The last time I messed with Android was in 2010, writing code with help of the SDK.

- Must-have apps? I don't plan on gaming much, mostly taking pictures and the occasional video, Skype, email, etc.

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Others have answered about the gif and an "Android for Dummies". The only thing I will add is that there seem to be some knowledgeable people here willing to answer questions.

I can't think of any "must have" apps, so much seemingly depends on what you like and what you want your phone to be able to do. I will recommend the Amazon Appstore for Android -- they offer a free app daily.

Two apps you would probably like to have is the flashlight app and the FM radio tuner. These are two apps that, I believe, were on the Evo 3D that, for some reason, Virgin didn't include; the threads have instructions on how to install the apps.

Personally, I like the Kindle and Nook reading apps, 3G Watchdog (to track Internet usage -- and it will track Wimax), App 2 SD Pro, Barcode Scanner, IMDB, Netflix, Google Play Music, Pandora, Slacker Radio, Speed Test, and Wikipedia.

Hope this helps.

Leslie Ann said:

Best Buy versions still have Sprint logos too. There are no VM branded ones yet and there is no expectation for there to be any difference anyhow. In fact, if anything, the Virgin ones will be cheaper quality.

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Bought mine from Best Buy Wednesday, VM branded, works flawlessly!

Manicor said:

Bought mine from Best Buy Wednesday, VM branded, works flawlessly!

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It would appear you are the first to report in on the VM branding. Kind of glad I grabbed one before that showed up.

If you are gonna have a 3d phone, the app Phereo is a must. Let's you browse uploaded 3d photos.

can you please post your software version, prl version, baseband, radio, etc. so we can compare with sprint branded ones. thank you!

armeN0317 said:

can you please post your software version, prl version, baseband, radio, etc. so we can compare with sprint branded ones. thank you!

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Software 1.13.6652.2 710RD
Baseband 1.06.00.0426
PRL 61008
Hardware version 0002
PRI 1.53_144

Manicor said:

Software 1.13.6652.2 710RD
Baseband 1.06.00.0426
PRL 61008
Hardware version 0002
PRI 1.53_144

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EXACTLY the same as the sprint branded phones, who called that one xD

Faydes said:

EXACTLY the same as the sprint branded phones, who called that one xD

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that's good to see

KryptoNyte said:

It would appear you are the first to report in on the VM branding. Kind of glad I grabbed one before that showed up.

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the guy with the vm branded phone should get one of those spec apps so we can see if any of the components are different.

It would have absolutely no difference internally you can quote me on that.

Manicor said:

Software 1.13.6652.2 710RD
Baseband 1.06.00.0426
PRL 61008
Hardware version 0002
PRI 1.53_144

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Hey, Manicor, can you throw up a quick photo of that thing, front and back, so we can see what we're looking at here.

Thanks.