HTC Evo 4G Week One

Sunday

Jun132010

Sunday, June 13, 2010 at 11:19AM

It's now been one week and two days since I picked up my new HTC Evo 4G and that means that it's time to share some impressions of the device. Here's a link to some pictures I took of the device this morning. Read on past the break for the good, the bad, and the not so ugly.

To give you some background information on how I approach devices such as the Evo let me tell you that I have been using hand held PDA's going back to the Palm Vx (circa 1999-2000) and smartphone type devices for a little over thirty months now. I have experience with Palm OS, Windows CE, Windows Mobile, WebOS, and now Android. Last year I fell in love with Palm and its WebOS as it offered an innovative interface and approach to multi-tasking and the Pre had some interesting hardware ques. While I may have loved that new platform, at least initially, Palm screwed it up so badly with developers and poor build quality. I'll save my rant about Palm for another entry but let me say that I still think WebOS is a platform with potential. However, after having used two Android devices I have a hard time figuring out how anyone short of Apple and RIM (maker of Blackberry devices) will be able to compete in the smartphone market. The Evo along with the other third generation of Android devices (Nexus One, Droid Incredible, et al) are showing just what Google and its hardware partners can and want to do.

Anyway, on to the Evo!

HTC Evo Hardware

The most noticeable bit of hardware on the Evo is the beautiful 4.3 inch capacitive screen! Pictures do not do this thing justice! It's the largest screen on a phone that I have ever personally handled and it simply looks great in person. The screen responsiveness to touch inputs is fast and fluid, no doubt helped by the fast 1Ghz Snapdragon CPU that is the heart of the Evo and multi-touch works perfectly as well. Colors are rich and there is no problems inside or outside with viewing the screen, although I have to turn the screen brightness all the way up in sun light.

At the bottom of the screen are four touch sensitive buttons (Home, Menu, Back, and Search) that are flush with the screen. I personally like this sort of arrangement as they work perfectly for me and I'm not a huge fan of hardware buttons on the front of a device like this. Gone is the trackball found on most early Android devices. I cannot stand trackballs or optical trackpads on a touch screen device. They serve a redundant purpose to no good end and offer a point of hardware failure. At the top of the screen is a 1.3MP front facing camera, light and proximity sensor. Along the right hand side of the phone is a volume rocker switch. The top has a power button that is also used to turn the screen off as well a 3.5mm headphone jack. The bottom has a micro-USB and HDMI port. The back of the device is home to an 8MP camera with dual LED flash, speaker, and kickstand.

Thanks to the large screen the Evo is a large device in the hand. I have large hands so that is not too much of an issue for me but based on the comments of a few friends who have handled my Evo I can see how fatigue could become an issue for some. It's also a bit heavier than most devices in this class which could also be an issue for some. The Evo is not a terribly thick device but it is a handful for most folks. Perhaps in thanks to its size and heft it is a very solid feeling device. There are no creaks and groans that I have become accustomed to with some of my previous smartphones. Yes, the housing is plastic but it still has a solid build quality to it. Perhaps the best I've seen next to most Motorola devices.

The back of the Evo is a soft plastic that is easy to grip but the sides are a smooth, easy to slip plastic. This is why one of the first things I did was put the phone in a Body Glove case for better grip and to help protect it. The screen is a glass one and I've got a Zaag Invisible Shield covering it.

Performance

The Evo is the first 4th generation wireless device sold in the United States using Sprints WiMax network that they share with Clearwire with a fall back to 3G when a 4G network is not available. It also has WiFi (802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth 2.1EDR, a FM radio, and aGPS. I'm lucky in that I live in one of the available 4G markets that Sprint has turned on in the last year so I am able to take full advantage of all of the phones features.

As with any newly launched wireless network there are areas that will not have a good signal but I've had fairly good experiences with the WiMax coverage in my area. It's not perfect but I'm a tech head and I understand that this is a new network and I expect some short comings. In fact it's been better than I had expected. If it's not better by next year then I might not be so understanding.

An interesting note is improved 3G speeds with this device. I'm getting speeds using 3G that are as fast as my home DSL connection! I've read theories that it's the Evo hardware or that it's part of the extra $10 per month "improved" data experience. Either way, I'm not complaining!

The Evo is perhaps the fastest phone I've ever used. Applications launch instantly, there is no trace of screen lag, animations are fluid, and everything about the phone is more responsive. Further, this is a very stable platform in that it does not require daily reboots like every other smartphone I've ever used.

I've read lots of various articles, reviews, and forum posts complaining about battery life on the Evo. Personally I've not had any issues and in fact have been getting better battery life than I initially expected to have. Then again, I'm used to good power management in that if I'm not using something like Bluetooth or GPS I turn those radios off as well as setting the screen to the minimal usable brightness. I'm making it through the whole day with juice to spare and that includes a good amount of data usage as well as using the hotspot capabilities to provide an internet connection to my iPad.

Early Conclusions

It's only been one week with the Evo so all my conclusions and impressions are early ones and things may change as I use the device more over the coming weeks and months. I'm holding off anything more detailed like the Android 2.1 experience and camera performance until I've had more time with the device. I will say that so far this is the best overall experience I've had with a smartphone, both hardware and software wise yet. In other words check back later for more impressions and reviews of various features!

Remember, you can click here for more pictures of the Evo.

Good

4.3 inch capacitive touch screen
1Ghz CPU
4G WiMax radio
Fast 3G speeds
8MP back camera with dual flash and 1.3MP front facing camera
Very stable

Bad

A bit large in the hand for some

Ugly

4G network is not available for all yet

Mike P. |

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Reader Comments (6)

Nice review. I was trying to figure out if the improved 3G was from the Snapdragon finally being able to match the radio capability.

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