Your Evo So Far

[Bomix]

Android, 8MP 4G,(well soon), 4.3 screen, So the light leaks at the bottom, really to most users, it's not a problem. Battery, is so ok, I have two spare TP2's that share the same battery, so i always have a full charge. For now in this season, it's the best for me.

Only complaint is the Extra $10 a month.. ARGH!

 

[swazedahustla]

Complaints?? ZERO

Great Battery, Huge Screen, No issues and now running CM6 Froyo, I don't want to say its perfect, but its almost there. EVO ROCKS!!!!!!!

 

[mrrob]

Stock EVO with sprint screen protector and a plain simple rubber case. I never had any problems with screen pop or light leakage. The battery is a bit of a problem for me but I always have a charger hanging around. I used it to take pictures for 4 hours straight before it started complaining. So, not bad battery, just wish it would be better. But the positives far outweigh the negatives. Absolute best phone.

 

[The Dorian]

My phone is a freak. You guys wouldnt believe the batterylife I get with my evo. Last weekend I reached 3 days, and used the evo heavily, tons of pictures, videos, gps, 4g, and today I just charged my phone and it was at 2days 10hours and had 20% left.

I've got HW 003, Damage Control 3.0 and its the greatest thing i've purchased in a long shot.

I'm sorry but this post is just complete BS.

83% of your battery drain came from your phone sitting in your pocket.

You're not using it. Of course the battery will last forever.

 

[MrPassion]

2 days, 10 hours... Or a total of 58 hours and change. Your snapshot shows actually using the OS, and not in "cell standby" for 6%, which translates to approximately 3.5 hours of use over 2.5 days. Not exactly what most people consider heavy usage.

Ive seen similar standby time on my phone going from a Sat 8am unplug until Tuesday night at 11pm. However my system history was very similar at 4 or 5% and over 50% was cell standby. That is very little usage, not a bad thing, simply not as you have stated it to be heavy usage.

More interesting issue is what your uptime is actually working at your job if you concider 3.5 hours of playing with the Evo to be light usage.

 

[kmoon89]

I've had my Evo for about three weeks now and I love it, but it does have its quirks. My phone's accelerator is very wonky. It works great after factory resets, but after a while, it gets less and less responsive, which leads to another hard reset...Such a pain. I don't really know what's wrong with it because other apps that require moving the phone work perfectly fine, it's just going from portrait to landscape that isn't working too well.

I've been playing with ROMs recently, so I've been reseting it a lot, so the accelerator is fine now, but who knows when it'll stop working again. I also have light leakage with the buttons on the bottom, but it doesn't really bother me that much to be honest.

Battery is much better now due to the new ROM, as well as speed. Overall I'd say that this phone has met my expectations thus far.

 

[htmlcssguru]

I've had NO issues with hardware (2 EVO's in the house). This is easily the best phone i've ever owned and me and cell phones go way back to the Motorola brick. My first car phone had a 10 number memory and cost $1300. We've come a long way, baby.

About the battery, all I want is a full day of 'normal' use out of it. Normal doesn't mean playing racing games and watching movies all day. On ANY phone or handheld device those activities are battery sucking monsters. My iPod Touch dies after watching one movie or playing Yahtzee for a couple of hours. While your screen is lit up you are sucking the most possible juice from your battery possible.

I get up around 8:30am and my phone is charged. When I unplug it the 100% goes to about 92% in just a few minutes. Not sure what's causing that but someone told me that the phone starts working under its own power when charged via the wall plug and reaching 100%. If that's true then the 100% is a 'false' reading and the 92% is reflective of the time the phone used its own power during the night. NO BIGGIE as I simply plug it into my computer for about 15 mins and it's at 100%. Then it goes down very slowly depending on use.

Yesterday I had an appt. with a client about 35-40 mins away so I thought i'd try out the navigation. I put this beast into the windshield mounted phone holder and plugged in my car charger (not required but why not?). Did a voice search for the location and hit Navigate on the screen and it took me on the voice/turn route precisely. What was cool is I was able to move around the various home screens, launch other programs, use some widgets, etc. while the navigation voice was spewing out instructions in the background. A simple 'hold' of the Home button to display my running apps, press on Navigate and i'm right back at the turn-by-turn map never missing a beat. The guy behind me must've been impressed as the huge screen is impressive and easily spotted. Since I didn't have my Bluetooth with me I simply hit 'tap tap' on the Home button, went to my widget screen and hit the Car Mode widget/app that makes all incoming calls answer through the speakerphone automatically. If I wanted to, I have a tether cord to attach my phone to my onboard stereo system (via the Auxillary mode) and I can play whatever media I have on my SD card (or even YouTube vids and other online media) right through my car's system.

When I got to my destination I simply unplug the power, Hit 'tap tap' on the Home button to turn off car mode, hit Back Back to exit out of the Navigation and all is cool. My phone actually charged up during that time. My client brought his laptop with him to look at some stuff. It was so fricking slow.. So, whipped out the EVO and blew circles around him while he's surfing for info. Turns out he's a Sprint customer using an old Palm Treo lump of crap ( I had one of those). I'm sure he headed down to the Sprint store to pick up an EVO after that.

Last night I downloaded the Coupons app. Cool! Turns out there's some places I use often that have great savings I never heard of. Another cool feature!

My wife ran out of this supplement powder she uses and her primary supplier was closed for the day. No problem! Scan the bar code, quick search... BAM! Found a place about 15 minutes from us that carries it. Cheaper, too!

I live around the Seattle area and wanted to get local news on the phone. No problem! Opened the news app and added a feed. Searched quickly for the Seattle Times which produced a variety of feed types. BAM! Had the top 20 headlines in seconds.

Now, this is one day's worth of activity and adventure with this phone. About 9pm I sat down on the couch with about 82% battery left and played some games on XBox 360. While in between rounds of play I surfed the web on the phone. About 1am I called it a night and was at 63% battery.

No one can say I didn't use the phone. And, with some forethought, was able to use all the features without draining the battery (GPS Navigation, etc.). I've NEVER had a device, phone or otherwise, that when used to its max capacity didn't drain the battery quickly. Anyone that thinks they can jump start a 747 with their phone and not have battery drain is kidding themselves. Anyone who bought this phone as a 'gaming device' is fooling themselves. With some simple awareness and education about your phone's battery usage and app management you can get hours of use out of it daily.

 

[Barats]

I love it! This is my first smartphone so I can not compare it to anything but I really could not ask for more. I get real good pictures and can adjust all kinds of settings. Basically an app for anything I need. Internet works great and so much customization you can do. Battery life could be better but I have learned to deal with it.

 

[zpilot]

Battery life and lag are my only two complaints.

 

[farrellcollie]

I have had mine since launch day. I came from a touch pro. I love it. The battery is fine for my use and I am usually near a computer or outlet to charge it if need be. I added and then removed the battery percentage app because it stressed me more than helped and really I have never run out during the day where it is my main work phone number. I have slight light leakage, but with my cheapo case on, I can't see it. I agree that the voice dialer is awful exp in terms of voice recognition and the one area where the touch pro did better. The only other problem I have had is that sometimes while listening to audio books, the music player will kick on and music will play at the same time the books are playing.

 

[jonhcox]

Had mine since Friday and still amazed at all the things it can do, of course I'm coming from an iPhone 3G.

Question- what are you guys doing to keep fuzz out of the ear speaker grille? I'm anal about keeping my phone looking good. I just ordered a Seidio Innocase Active 2 case and a Steinheil screen cover.

 

[Traviswf]

So there seems to be a lot of conflicting opinions on the battery life of the Evo, even in this thread.

Some people say they got 4 hours. Others say they go all day and have battery to spare. Are there any tricks to getting better battery that don't include turning everything off and not using the phone very much?

What are the chief reasons people root their phone? What about rooting improves the battery life?

Are people happy enough with their phone without rooting it?

Thanks so much for everyone who posted their opinions. For the most part, it seems that people are extremely satisfied with the phone. It's good to know that the phone still comes out on top after you get beyond the initial impressions and hype.

 

[spec3racer]

I have had my EVO for about 2 weeks. I moved up from a Treo 755p. Here are my impressions.

PRO
- Excellent web browser
- Very clear display
- The Sense UI interface is well done and easy to use
- The App marketplace has numerous apps that are worthwhile
- Custom ringtones that I can actually recognize through the speaker

CON
- Voice dialer is way too slow. It is easier just to go through your contacts.
- Battery life (discussed at length in this forum)
- Mail & Calendar apps are a bit clunky, but are useable
- Can't find a way to do video chat Phone to PC. Apparently Skype is only for Verizon Android phones and the function has been removed from Fring.
- $10/month for 4g which is not in my area (again, discussed at length in the forums).

I was looking for a device that could do it all. The EVO definitely fit the requirement. Overall I am very happy with the phone. All that is left is to find a decent case and screen protector.

s3r

 

[hemdroid78]

in short.

love it and the battery sucks.

 

[fredsmith]

Got it on the first day it was available and love it. My only complaints aren't Evo or Android related: I'm really looking forward to a netflix streaming app and an app that will allow me to read Adobe Digital Editions ebooks checked out from my local library.

 

[freefallellen]

I love it, only one issue, getting it away from my husband! He wants one too.

 

[Z-Ster]

I've only had my Evo for 3 days but I'm extremely happy with it. I've done a ton of reading about the phone months before it came out, read the actual user reviews, etc. The phone has exceeded every expectation that I had. Granted it has only be a few days. I've had my share of smartphones from Blackberries, iPhones, Droid and so on. This is by far the best phone/toy I've ever owned. I may even stay with this phone for the entire contract (that'll be a first).

 

[Z-Ster]

I keep hearing and reading about how bad the battery is but I haven't noticed it yet. I don't have my twitter up and running all the time though and only gmail running. I use ATK. Maybe my battery consumption expectations are different. Eh oh well. My .02

 

[Spridal]

I love my EVO so much that I plan to divorce my wife and marry my EVO.

 

[artierob]

Had it for a month. Unreal, cannot stop adding to it. Use it for everything. Every app I found is great. Battery drains in half a day even with advanced app killer. I use cal cord and outlet at home to keep phone going cause I use it for everything

I tell my friends (and its true) this is my ipad. Its a great mini computer-4g works fast or switch to wi-fi (both drain battery) that's why need external power.

Someday I hope they make the real all day battery.

 

[mbell75]

I've had mine since launch and I still love it. It does everything I need it to and more.

This.

 

[aeiou]

Great phone, only complaints are

1. Speaker volume. Way too low, and i am constantly asking people what did they say.

2. Camera. For it to be 8mp it takes grainy pictures. Yeah i know you can adjust the settings and blah blah, but it shouldve been ready to go out the box.


Other than that, i cant complain.

 

[jmaeishi]

I love my EVO.

The three things I mostly don't like are:

1) Sprint, both their apps and their customer service
2) EVO autoloads Bluetooth connect on bootup and perhaps at other times
3) Still cannot find ways to easily select, copy text

EVO makes it easy for me to keep on top of my mail for the first time. I don't use "social networking" site but the Gtalk feature is nice.

The GPS seems to work fine. I use both the maps and the Sprint app for navigation.
The syncing function works well. I totally control when it is used.

I have restored factory settings twice since my purchase. I did this because I had the task killer and wanted to get rid of it. I have learned more about the phone and now save battery by accessing setting as needed. This way I get a couple of days off a charge on my phone. To do this I keep major settings handy on the homepage--sync, settings, running apps--that way I can check instantly that they are turned off when I am not using the required service, and turn on when needed.

I'd like the EVO to replace my computer, ultimately. I want to attach a Bluetooth keyboard and monitor and then I'll be all set. And root it will be necessary to get max performance, because if I use it this way then I will definitely need that space that is taken up by the Sprint and social networking apps.

I think the Evo is the closest thing to the ideal kind of device for user like me. Simple games don't require HD; go to connect TV or monitor if you really want that. Myself I still use my rollei projector and MF slides for that "high resolution" experience (projected to 6' x 6' screen--but looks even better, larger).

I wish there were more apps that ran well in Flash or whatever it is (chess, flood-it, mahjong), they should also be very easy to share with a person next door or online and lightening fast.

I mostly use an simple apps, mail and gps. For that, the EVO is extremely reliable. I love the voice feature and got Listmaster. It's a riot to make lists by voice there.

The phone feature itself is a little crazy, but that's partly because I haven't studied its features. I use the voice dialer instead.

It will be fun to get custom rom on this device and make it work exactly right. That might take a year or so though. For now, manually monitoring everything is great. I still learn my EVO.

If someone can recommend a program that will help me access the bluetooth share setting so I can alter it so that it doesn't auto re-boot, that would be nice.

Finally, I'd like to add that when am around certain employees of other carriers they smirk and cop an attitude toward me and my EVO. Others demonstrate authentic curiosity. So I am pretty sure my EVO decision was the right one to go for at this time. 2 year contract til next consideration.

Jay

 

[Nayogod]

I use to own a palm pre before I switched to HTC EVO. I think the evo is a great phone but the two things I missed so much about my palm pre is the camera and the sound qualities.
The EVO is said to use 8MP for its camera but honestly the camera quality is nothing compare to the palm pre. Simply put, the camera and the sound output on the evo sucks.
You can clearly notice the difference between the pictures I took using the pre and the evo. The pre gives far better picture quality and also better sound output. I always enjoy plays my sounds or using pandora on my pre, but with the evo the different is the case. The sound quality with the evo is horrible even when plugged to good speakers.
I bearly take picture with the evo because I am used to good picture quality with my pre.
I have had the evo for less than two weeks and i am seriously thinking of returning it because of these two issues.
I really want to know, is this poor picture and poor sound qualities a thing with the evo in general or is it just with the particular evo that I got.

 

[twilighter]

I've had my Evo about a month now and although I LOVE my phone, it does have some issues. First of all, it drops calls. Not sure if this has anything to do with the phone itself, or if it is Sprints fault, but this never happened with my old sprint phone. Its very annoying as I'm talking on the phone and the next thing I know, there is no one there. Also, the person sound clear at first and then after a few minutes, I can barely understand them. Not sure what is up with that.

Other than these issues though, the phone is fantastic.