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newb in need of assistance

hg_lmg

Newbie
Sep 19, 2010
12
0
I've been researching phones, thats how I found the forums. I've been reading through them and there are a lot of very knowledgeable and friendly people here so I thought I'd join in and ask for some advice.

At the moment I have a blackjack 2 and I'm looking to venture into Android. It's come down to the Evo and the Epic. Both seam like great phones and I've found them online for the same price. Never having a smart phone before it's hard for me to say what exactly I'd use it for but this is, at the moment what I see my self doing with it.
1. Surfing the web, Job hunting online while I'm at work (it's seasonal so I have to line up my next job)
2. E-mail,sms
3. Showing my portfolio on my phone.
4. Social networking, facebook twitter and so on.
5. music, podcasts online video
6.I hope to get some cool games though at the moment I cant claim to be a gamer.
7. Google maps

The screen on the epic is brilliant and since I want to do a slide show of my art for when I have an unexpected pitch it looks the right one. My concerns are
1. It seams like the physical keyboard is a point of failure. I'm not sure I have a need for the physical keyboard, swype seams great but maybe I'll like the keyboard because it will open up the screen when writing.I guess is hard to know without owning it for a while.
2. It sounds like the phone gets bad 3G reception that's a big deal.
3. Battery life, sounds like it's a bit better than the Evo, thats good.
4. GPS I keep reading that there is a problem with it.
5. Lack of kick stand, it just seams like a great feature.

Please let me know if there is anything you think is worth noting be it praise or concern, thats why I'm here.

Thanks in advance for any help. I do realize that there some threads that discuss this subject but they are ongoing and I got a bit lost in them.

I apologize for such a long post I know they are both great phones and considering what I'm coming from I'm sure I'll be happy with ether, I just want to be informed.
 
In regards to your concerns.

1) I've yet to see the physical keyboard as a point of failure. Swype also comes, as you mentioned, preinstalled on the Epic. With the Evo, you have to go through the Beta to get it (legally... which is the only way allowed to be discussed on these forums).

IMO, EPIC wins hands down here.

2) I've got no 3G reception issues. However, all Epics currently have a bug that limits UPLOAD of content. Minor issue for me personally, but I can see where that's a problem.

EVO wins

3) Battery drain varies, as I'm sure you know. The battery for the Epic last longer for calls. The Evo battery lasts longer for browser use.

Draw

4) I have yet to use my GPS... no comment.

5) Personally, I can't see myself NOT getting a phone due to a lack of a kickstand. That being said, WHY do you want a kickstand? If you want it to watch movies, just know that number of colors for the Evo screen impacts the quality of the movie. Personally, I feel the kickstand is a cool gimmick but rarely used.


Obviously if you were to ask these same questions in the Evo forum, you would get different results.

I have access to both phones and personally prefer the Epic. My wife prefers the Evo. It all comes down to what YOU prefer!!! If you have any specific questions, let me know!
 
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I had my Epic side by side with my bro's Evo today and the screens looked like night and day, it was no contest. Ill give my opinion on your concerns, as I debated both phones too before dropping the hammer on the Epic

1. The keyboard is not a point of failure, its actually a very good keyboard, one of the best out there with 5 full rows. It also comes in handy with any emulators. I have Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Genesis, etc and the buttons are mapped to my keyboard. makes thinks a lot easier.
2. havent had a problem with 3G at all, what you heard could be an isolated incident or just a bad area for Sprint coverage. My service has been really good
3. I'm not sure what battery life is like vs the Evo but trust me, its bad with any smartphone. I previously had an iphone 3G and I had a charging cable pretty much anywhere I went. luckily with both of these phones, you can buy a spare battery. I got one for my Epic and it comes with its own charging station. charge it till the lights green and then when one dies out just swap batterys, you should be good for the whole day with an extra battery. it really becomes a non issue.
4. I dont use the GPS much but the 2 times I needed it, it located me just fine and was pretty spot on.
5. I wish it had a kickstand too, but its a sacrifice I guess, as is the lack of an HDMI port. I hear there is an adapter for that, i havent figured out how to set up the DLNA feature.

another + for the Evo is that it has Froyo already, but hopefully we get it sometime in the next 10 days as I think samsung said the update would arrive sometime in september
 
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