The Sprint HTC EVO 4G Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 28, 2010 6:04 PM ESTThe Keyboard
In my Incredible review I praised HTC for improving upon the prediction algorithm used by Google in the default Android keyboard. Overall, I felt it was a better keyboard. Brian Klug, our resident smartphone editor, politely disagreed with me in a recent article (he even asked if it was ok to disagree with me. It is). Brandon Hill, former AnandTech News Editor and current DailyTech Editor in Chief, also complained about the HTC Sense keyboard. Their complaints weren’t about the text prediction, but rather the overwhelming nature of the keyboard.
The default HTC keyboard is just very busy. The EVO 4G is actually worse here because it also integrates arrow keys into the keyboard. It gets even worse once you start typing because the autocorrect dictionary pops up and further crowds the screen.
While the overwhelming keyboard layout can be, well, overwhelming, I find that it’s something I can easily get used to once I figure out where all of the keys are. If you just can’t deal with the EVO 4G’s keyboard you can always switch to a different keyboard. Android supports the use of whatever third party virtual keyboard software you want, there’s even a good summary of the top available options today at .com.
The larger screen makes the keys on the virtual keyboard bigger. As a result typing on the EVO 4G is faster for me than any other Android phone.
The trick to the HTC Sense keyboard, particularly on the EVO, is to make sure you stay focused on your thumbs and the keys themselves while you type. If you focus on the live dictionary that appears over what you’re typing or let your focus wander elsewhere it quickly becomes an overwhelming experience. There’s simply too much going on at once. This works fine for me since that’s what I end up doing anyway and I do appreciate the live dictionary that I can choose from and automatically add to while I type. However I can empathize with those who don’t like the crowded keyboard. Functionally it works, but if HTC wants to improve the experience I would recommend focusing reducing the noise. A keyboard should be a simple thing.
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Belard - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
I'm not on Sprint... but a friend has this phone and its very nice.... and huge.If they come out with an unlocked version, I may consider it... but the size is both plus and minus. Yeah, the kick stand is handy. And doing TEXTING by voice without actually using keys is handy... he says it freaks people out because his responses are so fast :)
But with this being a "google" phone, the OS feature set should be the same on any other.
Belard - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
needed to add...Using the keyboard in LANDSCAPE mode is very easy, plenty of room... I never understood why the Apple iPhone didn't include this ability considering it knows how its orientated.
I was a bit shocked how well I can work with some webpages without having to ZOOM in (but more scrolling) while in landscape.
kmmatney - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
The iPhone has a landscape keyboard - I'm using it to type this post...Belard - Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - link
When the iPhones first came out, it didn't.It was an after thought... common sense would be Landscape.
henrybravo - Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - link
You'll have to change/clarify your comment one more time. The original iPhone had a landscape keyboard in Safari.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_ZToHMUb7k
I suppose now you'll say "The original iPhone didn't have a landscape keyboard in everything else except Safari", which would be accurate. But 3 years later it's kind of a moot point. Not sure what you're getting at.
Acanthus - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
I would hope for some kind of FroYo revisit to the EVO.Google claims 200-500% increases in performance.
chriscusano - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
Yes, please! maybe this can help the scrolling problem?Also, what if you kill all those apps running? Does it improve any? (personally I'm more of a kill the app when done using it type guy anyway)
strikeback03 - Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - link
That would require rooting, which they may or may not want to get into as plenty of users wouldn't. Plus the performance increases are in 3rd party programs that run in the VM, so I doubt the basic interface would see the kind of performance gains mentioned.chriscusano - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Spring $69.99 + $10 4G for unlimited everything?(see: http://anymobileanytime.sprint.com/?id9=SEM_Google...
DigitalFreak - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
No. It's unlimited calling to any mobile user, but you only get 450 minutes for land-line, roaming, etc.