Review: HTC Evo

For quite some time I have wanted a smart phone, but I am fundamentally not an Apple fan.  (I truly hate iTunes, and I generally want to have options regarding how I deal with my media.)   So, for a host of reasons, I knew that the iPhone was not the choice for me. I have been wanting an Android phone, and when I heard about the Evo I knew it was the choice for me.  So I admit to a bit of bias before I begin this review.

The Evo is a smart phone built on Android and on the Sprint network, so I will review the hardware first, then my experience with Android, then Sprint.

Hardware

Size – I know this is the first thing anyone notices about the Evo.  It is about twice as big as the phone I have been carrying for the last 3 years.  So it initially felt large in my hands.  But now that I am used to it, I don’t think about it.  If it were much bigger I would have issues.  But I am a grown man, there’s plenty of room for it in my pocket and I think the large screen helps me hit the right keys when typing.

Speed – It is quick.  I only notice lag in a couple of applications, they all open up quickly though.  I blame the applications rather than the phone.

The screen – is pretty much beautiful.  Admittedly, I haven’t seen the iPhone 4 yet, but the Evo has the prettiest screen I’ve ever seen on a phone.  When I showed it to my Granny the first thing she said was, “One thing about the phone, you can see it.”

The Camera – It has an 8 mp camera.  In good light it takes pictures at least as good as my Fuji finepix.  Also the shutter lag is almost non-existent after the camera is focused.  It has a good flash and is by far the best phone camera I’ve ever used.

Battery life – I did not expect much from the battery life on this phone, but it is so much worse than I expected.  I would describe it as abysmal.  With wi-fi and GPS turned on it won’t make it through a shift a work. (And I only work 6 hour shifts.)  I love the phone, but a charger is needed at work, in the car, and by the bed.  This phone is an addict for electricity.

Android

Apps – I know the talking point that there are 200,000 apps in the Apple app store and only 20,000 android apps, but I’m satisfied.  I have not paid for any apps yet and there is a wide variety of free ones.  The Facebook app is not great, but I really like seismic for Twitter.  The only thing I can think of that I haven’t found is a tilt-shift app so I can make neat pics. Also as far as I know there is no IMDB app, and their site is not very friendly to super small browsers.

Integration – I love how android integrates with the social networks, and with my gmail contacts.  I did not have to import any settings from my old phone.  No need to move any numbers, because everyone from my Google contact list is available. (as is Facebook.)  Google voice integrates perfectly with android as well.  It’s like a dream how well that works.

Intuitiveness – I am not a n00b with computers. I am sure I am more advanced than the majority of the people who have this phone.  But there are a few things I have not figured out yet.  There are 6 home screens, I don’t know if it is possible to move them around or to delete one.  I would very much like to.  One of the home screens has bookmarks.  I have not figured out how to change any of those.  Otherwise, I find everything easy to do.

Sprint

Customer service – The only cell phone company I have ever dealt with is AT&T/Cingular.  On a customer service level, Sprint is great compared to them.

Coverage – I know that coverage is unique to your area so I will just say that I am satisfied with the coverage.  It is not good at my house, but they are sending me a femtocell for free, so that should soon be remedied.

Speed – At home I have DSL (1.5 mb/s) Over the 3G network I can’t notice any diference while surfing the web, updating seismic, etc.  There is maybe a bit more latency, but the speed is adequate.  I haven’t used tethering or made any downloads but it seems acceptable.  I watched an episode of prizefight comparing the Evo with the Incredible streaming over 3G and it was perfectly acceptable.

Overall – I love my new phone.  I hope that was a thorough and not too technical review.

Rant about my Phone

Every so often I enjoy writing a rant.  It is a good way to take out some anger against some person,  thing, or circumstance.  Back in the fall I wrote a rant about fire ants but I never posted it.  When I'm feeling angry about them later, I will.  The fire ants will never read it, so it doesn't help anyone but me.  Today the object of my ire is my wireless phone.  The LG CU720.  This rant may be slightly tongue in cheek, but the complaints are all very real. Dear LG Shine,

I cannot wait until my contract with you is finished.

I chose you as my current phone because my previous phone, a Sony Erickson,  quit working after 3 years of use.  I was drawn in by the allure  of your shininess.  And you are very shiny. That shine is diminished significantly by a phenomenon that is not your fault, smudges  I should have known that any polished silver phone with a flat glass front would be easy to smudge with fingerprints and face grease, but I guess I was too impressed by the look and your slick sliding format.

I know what you are thinking, CU720, I could greatly reduce the amount of  smudges if I would just use your built in bluetooth and pair it with a headset.  Good thinking, I wish I had thought of that myself.  Oh, I did.  Your bluetooth doesn't work at all.  Maybe once every 75 tries you will pair with a device, but you are too finicky to be useful and I just gave away my headset so that someone would get some use out of it.  Thanks for helping me throw away that $50.

Your lack of bluetooth is made into an even more awesome feature because your speakerphone functionality is so excruciating.  So loud and warped is the sound, that I can hardly understand anybody, and you have such a weak microphone that everyone asks me to repeat everything when you get more than a foot from my mouth.

At least once a day, you turn off when I slide you open.  Do you know how frustrating it is to race to the phone and open it up just in time to find out nobody is there because the phone shut down?  It doesn't matter if I open you gently or with force, it's the same thing.  Regularly you just decide that I apparently don't need to talk to the caller at this time.  Maybe you just need a rest.

Another feature I particularly enjoy is the way your battery goes from fully charged to empty with no warning whatsoever.  I'm sure something like this is going on in your little phone mind.  "What?  I know you just charged me last night, but I'm jonesing for some more of that sweet, sweet electricity.  Come on, if you don't plug me up right now, I will bleep at you every 15 seconds until the battery is fully discharged even quicker.  I know I said I had a full battery just 10 minutes ago, but I NEED that electricity."  Unfortunately I have no choice but to indulge your addiction.

Any time I'm in a different part of the country the internet is hit and miss.  I suspect this is actually AT&Ts fault, but when you say you are on 3G, I should at least be able to check my gmail.

Finally, your camera is an utter piece of garbage.  Just thought your should know.

Sincerely, An unhappy customer