HTC EVO 4G - 1GB - Black (Sprint) Smartphone

The best thing about this phone is definitely the display. It's extremely high-resolution for the size. The touch screen is pretty good for resistive technology (as opposed to capacitive screens like the iPhone or Pre). The only other resistive screen phones I've used are the LG Versa and Voyager, and it feels like HTC has just done it better somehow, especially with sliding/scrolling.

HTC also did a spectacular job of making Windows Mobile usable with your finger by way of the TouchFLO 3D interface. There is a stylus included that slides nicely into the bottom of the phone, but I've found that I rarely need to pull it out. It's pretty, but it's also very functional as well. They did a great job on the different text input methods that are available as well. The full QWERTY is probably not practical for anyone but those with the tiniest of fingers, but I find the compact QWERTY setup pretty usable. If that doesn't work for you, you can switch to the phone keypad style and T9 it.

The text messaging interface does have a few quirks. When I tap on a message in the TouchFLO interface and it goes into the messaging screen, the keyboard pops up but doesn't want to type in the text box until you hit it. When you do hit it, sometimes you get a little dance where the keyboard isn't sure that it wants to stay up or not. I can usually tap the text box again before the keyboard goes away and then everything is fine, so it is a minor annoyance.

The camera seems to work fine; I've seen a lot of reviews that say it sucks but the performance seems pretty standard as far as most phone cameras go.

Overall, performance-wise, it is not as bad as I was expecting. I've experienced a few versions of Windows Mobile on different devices, and I know how sluggish it can get, but aside from a few isolated incidents where the device just seemed to lock up altogether (prompting me to perform a soft reset), the performance was actually better than other WinMo phones I've used. It's got a decent processor and plenty of memory. It's no 3GS but I wasn't expecting that.

Will be looking forward to my next upgrade so I can experience a newer HTC model, but until then I will be enjoying myself with the Diamond, especially with how cheap I got it without contract incentives.

The Evo is THE alternative for those not wanting to put up with the iPhone restrictions or AT&T's well publicized shortcomings.

As a proud owner for more than a month, I can honestly say the Evo lives up to the hype - and then some. A warning though: the Evo is much larger than the iPhone and pretty much any other phone out there. For tall/large folks with large hands this is actually wonderful, but for those who like the tiniest, sleekest toys to go along with their midget hands, this thing isn't it.

Regardless if you live in a Sprint 4G area, you'll pay an extra $10 fee. If you haven't already, you also need to upgrade to one of Sprint's more expensive plans.

Also, keep in mind that, as with all Androids, you can turn off and/or customize almost any feature you don't like. The Evo is not quite as intuitive to learn as the iPhone but it's also a lot more capable and powerful. The growing Android app marketplace really helps with this.

PROS.....
-Gorgeous, gigantic, super bright, crystal clear screen. Best. Screen. Ever.
-Truly fast at everything - apps launch instantly, everything is just "zippy".
-Powerful enough to run a bunch of stuff simultaneously without slowing down at all.
-Very modern and "hip" interface.
-Fantastic integration with all things Google (Maps, Gmail, Google Voice, etc.), Social Networks (Friend Stream is amazing), and GPS.
-Call quality is excellent.
-WiFi works very well.
-Touch screen is VERY sensitive and fast. Could be Pro or a Con.
-Videos are unbelievably large and crisp on this thing - no other phone comes close yet.
-Has lots of options and customization features.
-An 8 Megapixel camera AND HD video camcorder (!) surprisingly good quality for a phone.
-Does eBooks very well (need free eBook reader).
-Android app market is huge and growing fast. Downloads and installs are super simple and fast.
-Everything about this thing is just fast.
-Casing/back doesn't show fingerprints or lint much at all (screen is another story, see below).
-Did I mention it's FAST?

CONS.....
-Battery Life. This makes sense as the gigantic screen by itself likes to eat up juice when in use. WiFi, Bluetooth and certain auto-updating apps also drain the battery.
**Suggestion: turn WiFi OFF when you leave your house. Keep the default timeout setting to 1 minute or so to make sure the screen turns off after a short time of not using the device. Turn Bluetooth off if you're not using it. Reduce screen brightness, it's set to Auto by default when you get the Evo.

Default email client not super intuitive, plus polling intervals can not be set to anything shorter than 5 minutes. Email client can easily be replaced with other apps if you wish though.

Touch screen is VERY sensitive and fast. Some folks might need to get used to how fast/sensitive it is. Could be a Pro or a Con.

Soft keyboard has some minor quirks, mostly in terms of intuitiveness. Hard to describe here.

For people with larger hands like me, the Evo is perfect. For someone with very small hands, this device could be a nightmare to use. Seriously - it's LARGE.

Like all touch devices, the touch screen is a fingerprint magnet

SUMMARY......
If you are on Sprint (or considering switching) and want the fastest and arguably best device out there at this time, the Evo is it.

The EVO does everything it says it does, and very well too. I bought this phone without ever trying it out or using a droid phone until it arrived 2 days later. I was worried that I may have spent alot of money on a piece of junk, but when I activated it over the phone and started using it, my doubts were quickly put to rest.

PROS:
It does everything. All at the same time, and very well. Seriously, you can be in the middle of playing tetris and listening to Pandora- you get a call from work, it's your secretary needing some info from you. Have her forward you the word and spreadsheet documents via email, then open, edit and send those documents back while still on the phone with her, and when the work issue is resolved, you hang up with the secretary, and Pandora unpauses as you jump back into your game. The video chat and calling features are cool too. I have not once had an issue using any of the apps I have downloaded or any of the ones included on the phone. Runs great, and FAST!

Find yourself a quality stereo bluetooth headset- I use the plantronics backbeats- finding a decent headset is key not only for hands free calling, but also great for media too!!! Find one that has functions on it that allow you to answer calls, pause and fastforward music. This will allow you to easily operate basic functions while driving and multi tasking.

CONS:
10 days after I bought it, I dropped my EVO. The screen was cracked like a big spider web. Phone still worked perfectly in every way, but screen was toast. Repair only cost $35 at SPRINT so that's not so bad.

Battery life is short while running apps and junk all the time- Just using it for phone calls pandora and texting, the battery lasts very well. Once you turn on the 4g antenna, and or start: browsing the web, using navigation apps, watching videos... ect, that battery wants to die. Solution- Buy extended capacity battery for EVO on ebay... comes with new back piece for phone to fit the larger battery, and it does make the phone a bit bulkier, but this does extend the total functionality of the phone extremely... With mine, I can rock out hard all day, and after 12 hours at work, I come home and my battery is on half!!! that's alot of juice!

I like this phone because at first I was skeptical and anticipating failure, however it has met and exceeded all of my expectations as far as how a cell phone could perform to convenience me. Take this review as one big positive vote- I love the EVO!

Detailed item info
Product Information
The sleek and modern HTC EVO 4G mobile provides excellent performance. This HTC smartphone features the WiFi capability, which allows you to access the internet at a great speed. Featuring the 4.3-inch touchscreen display, this HTC EVO cell phone allows you to access every application smoothly and lets you view photos and videos too. The HTC EVO 4G mobile features 8 megapixel camera with auto Focus and 2x LED Flash, and 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for capturing your special moments. The 2.1 Bluetooth technology of this HTC smartphone allows you quickly share and transfer data with other compatible devices. This HTC EVO cell phone has 4G network, which allows you stream and upload online content from the web faster.

Product Identifiers
Brand HTC
MPN APA9292KT
Carrier Sprint
Family Line HTC EVO
Model 4G
UPC 0821793005788
Type Smartphone

Key Features
Capacity 512MB
Color Black
Network Technology CDMA
Band CDMA 800/1900
Camera 8.0 MP

Memory
Flash Memory 32 GB
Supported Flash Memory Cards MicroSD

Battery
Battery Type Lithium Ion
Battery Capacity 1500 mAh
Battery Talk Time 360 min
Battery Standby Time 144 hr

Display
Display Resolution 800 x 480 pixels

Other Features
Touch Screen Yes
Bluetooth Yes
Digital Camera Yes
GPS Yes
Email Access Yes

Dimensions
Height 4.8 in.
Depth 0.51 in.
Width 2.59 in.
Weight 6 oz

I've had an Evo since its first release last year. Bought another one for a family member. The EVO4G came out during a time when most people thought nothing's ever going to get close to the iPhone. Well, The Evo did, and in some ways even stepped above the iPhone.

The Evo is the ultimate smartphone. The 1ghz processor give you enough to multitask and run programs simultaneously. A microSD car slot allows you to expand external memory from the 8GB(pre-installed) to up to 32GB. Though it only has 1GB ROM and 512MB RAM, it's enough for the apps that can't be transferred to the SD card. And of course this was really good during the time it came out compared to other smartphones.

The Evo4G is very appealing in many ways. It's the first 4G phone in the US, it has a gorgeous 4.3 inch screen, which I personally love. It's a mobile hotspot for up to 8 Wi-Fi devices which means you can have Wi-Fi wherever you are! It's the first smartphone to ever sport a kickstand. Honestly the kickstand in my opinion is a brilliant idea considering the number of times I've searched for something to support my phone when I wanted to watch on my phone. It's one of the first phones to have a browser which supports flash, which means websites appear exactly as it would on your laptop or desktop. One good example to show the usefulness of this is when you want to watch a video in the browser, say, Youtube. With the built in flash, you can watch the videos directly inside the browser, not having to switch to the Youtube app. Of course this phone also has an 8 mega-pixel camera with dual LED flash. The camera takes awesome photos by the way. It can also shoot video in 720p HD, which was almost unheard of before this phone cam out. And lastly, the Evo has a micro HDMI port alongside the microUSB port, this is a cool feature if you want to view your photos and videos on your HDTV at home.

The EVO 4G's design is decent. Power button which serves also as the lock/unlock key is on top together with the 3.5mm audio jack, volume rocker on the right hand side, and as mentioned, the HDMI and microUSB port, and mic underneath. At the back, you have the kickstand, the camera, flash, and speaker. The battery is 1500mAH which is ok and can last you a good 10hrs, just like most phones.


The Evo first came out with Android version 2.1 (Eclair). Shortly after its release, Android 2.2 (Froyo) came out and was rolled out to EVO users via OTA (over-the-air) updates, which is another cool feature, you get software updates wirelessly. Even iPhones need to be connected to iTunes via USB cable to be updated. I heard Apple's going to implement the wireless updates in their rumored iPhone 5 late 2011. Back to the Evo. Early this year, Android released it's latest version for smartphones, Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) and the Evo's also got the update. The Android OS is not to be underestimated. As Andoid is Google and vise versa, you would already know that the Evo is a powerful search machine. It will have everything that you need whether it be out of the box or via the Android Market where you can download additional apps.

Bottomline, the Evo is a phone that leveled the competition between iPhone and Android as after its release, more of its Android cousins stepped up to the challenge, boasting similar specifications and became flagships of their respective carriers, even until now. But no other Android phone or even iPhone will create an impact in the smartphone world as the EVO 4G did.