I went to BB today to get a new case for my Incredible, and asked the BB Mobile salesman if they had a mockup of the EVO. He said "no, but we do have a working EVO, if you want to check it out" He handed me the EVO, and I spent about half an hour playing with it. The EVO feels very solid in the hand, with the weight being "just right". Fit and finish was about equal to my Incredible, which looks tiny next to the EVO. The size of the EVO, imho, is not too large, although with a big case such as a Body Glove case, it may approach being too big for some. Performance was great, as expected, and 4G was available, with download/upload speeds on Speakeasy showing just shy of 4 mbps. Impressive. The screen was bright and detail was good, although BB had fitted a screen protector on the EVO, which really compromised screen feel and look. The BB guy said that the screen was plastic, which is why they put the protector on...I told him that it was glass, and that they really should remove it. I'm not sure why HTC reversed the power, and volume button positions on the EVO, but being left handed, I prefer these locations on the Incredible. Also, after hitting the power button, the only way to unlock the screen on the EVO, is to swipe down...hitting the "menu" button as on the Eris and Inc. does not unlock the screen. The back on the EVO that I used today was not really what I was expecting. I had read that it was a soft touch rubberized plastic. The back on this EVO was soft touch, but not at all grippy, and did not feel rubberized. I use a lot of apps that the trackball really comes in handy for, and I did miss this feature on the EVO. Lack of a trackball is not a deal breaker for me, but it would have been nice if HTC had included one. I was not able to take it outside, but a side by side brightness test (with auto brightness off, and set to the highest level) appeared that the EVO and the Inc. were comparable in brightness. The Inc. is useless in direct sunlight, and I assume that the EVO would be similar in bright sunlight. Detail on both was pretty comparable, with the EVO's display being a bit more washed out looking, compared to the OLED Inc. screen, but every bit as good as an iPhond 3Gs. All in all, I was very impressed, and can't wait for June 4th to get mine and put it through it's paces. I think that Sprint has a winner. Forgot to mention: Even with the stock HTC keyboard (I prefer Swype), it was a total pleasure to type on the EVO, even in portrait mode. The larger screen size on the EVO made typing a breeze. Best virtual keyboard experience I've ever had.
the side of the volume rocker is switched because, when the phone is on the side using the kickstand, the volume rocker would get in the way and throw off the balance of the phone if it remained on the left side. so now, its on the right so it can lay flat on its left side while in kickstand mode.
I'm thinking of driving to my local Best Buy shortly and seeing if they have one available as well...
Not quite. Since it is an LCD screen, it is a lot better in bright sun. Still not as bright as those old Treos and stuff were in the sun but way better than OLED.
Heh - save yourself the trouble of potential disappointment and call first. Not all stores have received/put their demos out yet.
