I just recently (2 days ago) received my EVO 3D in the mail, and I just switched off T-Mobile. This is a very, VERY interesting thread. One thing that's perfectly clear is that depending on where you live, YMMV. Here's what I have observed.
First off, I am coming from T-Mobile where I had an HTC G2 overclocked and SetCPU throttling my CPU when needed. I live in Raleigh, NC and live in the downtown area. I have been a T-Mo customer ever since I was bought out from my former carrier (whose name I can't recall). I am a heavy data user for reasons others have noted. I listen to Spotify, use my phone to work at odd places over Remote Desktop, I download ROM's regularly (100 MB a pop). I am also used to an unlimited nationwide calling and data plan for my wife and I.
The following is a summary of what I have observed after beating my EVO 3D to death for two days now:
- T-Mobile has a far superior data network here in Raleigh. I don't take this lightly. I am used to having a 4G connection everywhere I go. It's generally uninterrupted. I can start a download or listen to some tracks on spotify and drive from home to work (2 miles) and it has a solid 3+ bar signal. Running SpeedTest from various locations, even in my office, I was used to seeing 4 Megabit - 6 Megabit download and 2+ Megabit upload speeds with 40-50ms latency. This is what I was accustomed to. With the WiMax 4G service offered on the EVO 3D on Sprints network, this if quite the polar opposite. I have a terrible signal in my house, sitting by a window. The 4G signal is just awful. 1 bar in my house. When it drops, I have to manually have it try to reconnect. I have rooted the phone and adjusted some settings (removing the Sprint proxy and other small things), but that made only minor improvements. Driving in to work, where I listen to HQ streams of music, the 4G signal drops.. many times. I re-scan, and it latches on, only to fall off again. it's not until I'm outside my building downtown (off Fayetteville St.) that I see a strong 4G / WiMax signal. This really irks the hell outta me. On top of that, running speed test, most of the time, I'm seeing 1-2.2 Megabit download and 200k-1.1 Megabit upload with a 150ms or higher latency with WiMax. With the strongest signal today, outside my building, I clocked a measly 2.8 Megabit download and 1.9 upload speed. Inside my building, it's even worse. This is just sad.
- The call quality over the CDMA network is inferrior to T-Mobiles GSM network. I have had many conversations on the phone in the past two days... all of them experienced more glitches, warbly codec related artifacts, and dropouts. I found a hack to override the codec when I place calls, which I haven't tested, but I shouldn't have to do that. The call quality, side-by-side really is bad. Reminds me of my first PCS cell phone.
- The battery life of the HTC 3D EVO is pretty bad. The battery life on my G2, with the custom ROM and SetCPU was quite respectable. I could charge overnight, use it all day on and off, listening to music, get home at 6:30 and it would have a 40% charge that would last me into the night. if I charged it at work, I would never have to worry about it. With the 3D EVO, it wants to die on me not too long after lunch time.. which is just bad. I'm still shaving off stuff from the OS and I do feel there is hope for improvement with a newer kernel that can play nice with SetCPU, but the stock OS and configuration is sad. BTW, I never have GPS on unless needed. BLutooth only in the car.
Other things that I noticed:
- The signal tends to hop around way more than I ever saw with T-mo. In fact, i can walk around my building dowtown and observe it hopping towers at a maddening rate with OpenSignal (an app). Fortunately, it seems to hang on to calls fairly well.
- The whole deal with having to treat the 4g/WiMax service as a "use it only when you need it" is a royal pain in the ass and a huge leap backward from a data user perspective. It's a hassle that just frustrates the heck outta me. I'll be listening to something in the car, and it will just start the track over. I unlock the screen to see what happened, and I notice that it switched from 4G to 3G.. grr. Or vice versa. Also, having two radios to deal with is another reason the battery likes to die quicker. Toss in the WiFi radio and you've got yourself a nice handwarmer.
Over the last 3 years as being a customer, I experienced T-Mobiles infrastructure go from OK to pretty darn good. I had data service, and phone service all up the East coast through NY. Even two weeks ago, my phones data service in Manhattan was fabulous. It runs circles around this WiMax stuff I'm seeing today.
I should also mention that I talked to T-Mo about the data throttling. They did indeed start throttling me at 2GB a couple months ago. I also found out that they have a plan, for just a few bucks more, that gives you 5 GB unthrottled.
Regarding Google Voice, I got confirmation today (from a Sprint support person) that whether you choose to use your Sprint # or your existing GV #, all calls to and from the GV # (From the phone) will be treated as mobile-to-mobile. (There was some issues a couple months ago that caused GV integration to see calls as land-line to mobile, thereby you would be billed landline minutes if you used GV integration)
I hope this helps someone. All the 4G hype doesn't mean anything to me. The proof is in the pudding. In this case, I personally feel a little buyers remorse. The smooth compatiability of the 3G/4G service and great performance of the T-Mobile network here in Raleigh is astounding.
Anyway... I still have a solid 3.5 weeks to play this game. I absolutely love the 3D technology and the phone itself. I do tinker with Android development, so this phone is a great addition. The display is pretty nice too (for reading, etc.). But all things considered, I'm seriously starting to reconsider. Even if I do save a few bucks a month, the subpar network in this area is killing me.
Cheers!
-Sean
Raleigh, NC
First off, I am coming from T-Mobile where I had an HTC G2 overclocked and SetCPU throttling my CPU when needed. I live in Raleigh, NC and live in the downtown area. I have been a T-Mo customer ever since I was bought out from my former carrier (whose name I can't recall). I am a heavy data user for reasons others have noted. I listen to Spotify, use my phone to work at odd places over Remote Desktop, I download ROM's regularly (100 MB a pop). I am also used to an unlimited nationwide calling and data plan for my wife and I.
The following is a summary of what I have observed after beating my EVO 3D to death for two days now:
- T-Mobile has a far superior data network here in Raleigh. I don't take this lightly. I am used to having a 4G connection everywhere I go. It's generally uninterrupted. I can start a download or listen to some tracks on spotify and drive from home to work (2 miles) and it has a solid 3+ bar signal. Running SpeedTest from various locations, even in my office, I was used to seeing 4 Megabit - 6 Megabit download and 2+ Megabit upload speeds with 40-50ms latency. This is what I was accustomed to. With the WiMax 4G service offered on the EVO 3D on Sprints network, this if quite the polar opposite. I have a terrible signal in my house, sitting by a window. The 4G signal is just awful. 1 bar in my house. When it drops, I have to manually have it try to reconnect. I have rooted the phone and adjusted some settings (removing the Sprint proxy and other small things), but that made only minor improvements. Driving in to work, where I listen to HQ streams of music, the 4G signal drops.. many times. I re-scan, and it latches on, only to fall off again. it's not until I'm outside my building downtown (off Fayetteville St.) that I see a strong 4G / WiMax signal. This really irks the hell outta me. On top of that, running speed test, most of the time, I'm seeing 1-2.2 Megabit download and 200k-1.1 Megabit upload with a 150ms or higher latency with WiMax. With the strongest signal today, outside my building, I clocked a measly 2.8 Megabit download and 1.9 upload speed. Inside my building, it's even worse. This is just sad.
- The call quality over the CDMA network is inferrior to T-Mobiles GSM network. I have had many conversations on the phone in the past two days... all of them experienced more glitches, warbly codec related artifacts, and dropouts. I found a hack to override the codec when I place calls, which I haven't tested, but I shouldn't have to do that. The call quality, side-by-side really is bad. Reminds me of my first PCS cell phone.
- The battery life of the HTC 3D EVO is pretty bad. The battery life on my G2, with the custom ROM and SetCPU was quite respectable. I could charge overnight, use it all day on and off, listening to music, get home at 6:30 and it would have a 40% charge that would last me into the night. if I charged it at work, I would never have to worry about it. With the 3D EVO, it wants to die on me not too long after lunch time.. which is just bad. I'm still shaving off stuff from the OS and I do feel there is hope for improvement with a newer kernel that can play nice with SetCPU, but the stock OS and configuration is sad. BTW, I never have GPS on unless needed. BLutooth only in the car.
Other things that I noticed:
- The signal tends to hop around way more than I ever saw with T-mo. In fact, i can walk around my building dowtown and observe it hopping towers at a maddening rate with OpenSignal (an app). Fortunately, it seems to hang on to calls fairly well.
- The whole deal with having to treat the 4g/WiMax service as a "use it only when you need it" is a royal pain in the ass and a huge leap backward from a data user perspective. It's a hassle that just frustrates the heck outta me. I'll be listening to something in the car, and it will just start the track over. I unlock the screen to see what happened, and I notice that it switched from 4G to 3G.. grr. Or vice versa. Also, having two radios to deal with is another reason the battery likes to die quicker. Toss in the WiFi radio and you've got yourself a nice handwarmer.
Over the last 3 years as being a customer, I experienced T-Mobiles infrastructure go from OK to pretty darn good. I had data service, and phone service all up the East coast through NY. Even two weeks ago, my phones data service in Manhattan was fabulous. It runs circles around this WiMax stuff I'm seeing today.
I should also mention that I talked to T-Mo about the data throttling. They did indeed start throttling me at 2GB a couple months ago. I also found out that they have a plan, for just a few bucks more, that gives you 5 GB unthrottled.
Regarding Google Voice, I got confirmation today (from a Sprint support person) that whether you choose to use your Sprint # or your existing GV #, all calls to and from the GV # (From the phone) will be treated as mobile-to-mobile. (There was some issues a couple months ago that caused GV integration to see calls as land-line to mobile, thereby you would be billed landline minutes if you used GV integration)
I hope this helps someone. All the 4G hype doesn't mean anything to me. The proof is in the pudding. In this case, I personally feel a little buyers remorse. The smooth compatiability of the 3G/4G service and great performance of the T-Mobile network here in Raleigh is astounding.
Anyway... I still have a solid 3.5 weeks to play this game. I absolutely love the 3D technology and the phone itself. I do tinker with Android development, so this phone is a great addition. The display is pretty nice too (for reading, etc.). But all things considered, I'm seriously starting to reconsider. Even if I do save a few bucks a month, the subpar network in this area is killing me.
Cheers!
-Sean
Raleigh, NC
Upvote
0
