The Sprint HTC EVO 4G Review
by Anand Lal Shimpi on June 28, 2010 6:04 PM ESTFinal Words
I really wanted to love the EVO 4G, but as I just described to a colleague of mine the experience is very bipolar. It ranges from wonderful when watching movies or reading a webpage, to frustrating when it comes to battery life or performance.
Where the EVO shines is in its screen. I can’t help but feel that all of those pixels are put to waste on smaller displays. The 4.3” screen is a great balance of pixel density and physical size. Throw in great contrast ratio and you’ve got the makings of a wonderful display. It’s still a bit oversaturated for my tastes but compared to most LCDs on the market you’ll fall in love.
It’s not pushing the limits of resolution nor is it great in direct sunlight, but the screen is awesome for watching videos. In fact the screen size makes the EVO 4G the ideal video playback smartphone. Including the kickstand was a wonderful design decision on HTC’s part, it really makes this phone perfect for movies. If you want a smaller alternative to carrying a large tablet for video playback I’d say the EVO 4G could work.
The large screen size also makes the EVO 4G great for reading websites. I’d argue that it’s even better than the iPhone 4’s screen for browsing the “regular” web simply because of its size. It’s also better at interacting with websites. Posting comments or using web administration tools is far easier on the EVO than on any of the smaller phones. Typing on the EVO is also better than on any other Android phone I’ve used thanks again to its screen.
The OS is extremely flexible and HTC’s Sense adds enough functionality to genuinely improve it. The EVO feels solid and is well designed. I appreciate that HTC ditched the trackball/optical sensor from previous designs and kept it simple this time around.
Both Sprint and HTC were forward looking enough to pair such a powerful phone with a (potentially) very quick network. The 4G support is nice on paper however in practice it didn’t work out so well for me in Raleigh, NC.
Sprint’s 4G network is nice where there’s coverage, but at least around Raleigh most of the time you’re better off sticking to 3G. The performance on WiMAX simply ranges from horrible to great while Sprint’s 3G coverage is far more consistent. However Sprint’s 3G is far from speedy, usually delivering well below 1Mbps on the EVO in my testing. If you do have spectacular 4G coverage and speeds where you live, this may end up being more of a positive than it was for me.
For travelers, the EVO 4G simply doesn’t have long enough battery life to be used as a truly mobile device. In my opinion even 5 hours of battery life isn’t enough and the EVO comes in well below that for anything you’d do with the phone. If you travel for work and have to be away from a power outlet for the majority of the day this is going to be a problem. If you’re in school or work from home and can top off the battery every couple of hours then the problem is less severe. Luckily the EVO 4G does have a removable battery, so if you are dedicated you can make this thing work. Just carry an extra battery or two, keep them charged, and you'll be fine. If you don't like that idea, then look elsewhere - the EVO 4G won't cut it.
The EVO 4G is also slower (from an OS/UI standpoint) in day to day use compared to the Incredible or even the Nexus One. I’m not sure what’s going on here but HTC went from a highly optimized software stack with the Incredible, to something that’s arguably worse than the Nexus One. Scrolling and animations are both laggy and choppy. Then there’s the occasional inexplicable slowdown - something I haven’t encountered on either the Nexus One or the HTC Incredible. There’s a lot of optimization work that has to be done.
I believe we’re seeing the beginnings of real divergence here. While there’s an argument that can be made for smaller devices, it’s just as valid to push for the creation of larger screen devices like the EVO 4G. The interest in sub-10” web tablets alone indicates that users want the features of a smartphone but paired with a more user friendly screen size. The EVO 4G attempts to go after that crowd and does reasonably well for a first attempt.
While I believe the best overall Android phone is still the HTC Incredible, if you're willing to put up with the EVO 4G's issues then it can be a good alternative. It really boils down to what you want to do with your smartphone. If you’re going to be watching movies and need to do a lot of productive/interactive web browsing, then the EVO is at a definite advantage. You can overlook the battery problems if you carry around a spare and you can get used to the performance if the screen size matters enough to you. And if you happen to be in an area with good 4G coverage, that sweetens the pot considerably. It's like driving an SUV. Sometimes the added space helps, but it's up to you to determine whether or not the gas mileage and sheer size are worth it to you.
Personally, I'm still searching. I like the EVO's screen, the Incredible's smoothness and the Nexus One's build quality. While I'd be willing to carry something the size of the EVO, I'd need it to be perfect in order to make that tradeoff.
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JimmiG - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
Amazing how expensive plans are over there compared to where I live.I have unlimited data at 6Mb/s and make calls for the equivalent of 5 cents a minute. That costs $26 a month (plus the cost for any calls or texts). There are cheaper alternatives if you only need 1GB or 5GB of data month. Sure, there's no subsidized phone included, but I just bought an unlocked HTC Desire (~Nexus One), it costs about the same as a high-end netbook.
Over 24 months I pay maybe half of the quoted prices, one-time cost of phone included.
chriscusano - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
Where is there?DigitalFreak - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
Considering he's getting 6Mb/s, I'd have to assume somewhere in Europe. :-)JimmiG - Thursday, July 1, 2010 - link
I'm in Sweden which is why I was even more surprised. Everything tends to be more expensive here, not cheaper.Another operator offers 1GB/month at 6Mb/s for $9 a month and 5GB/month at 10Mb/s for $16 a month. But I choose unlimited data over the higher speed since stuff like HD video is kind of pointless on a 3.7" screen.
Of course you don't always get those speeds. Some 3G areas, especially in rural areas, don't support HSDPA so you only get 384Kb/s. But most built-up areas have at least 2Mb speeds and the entire city where I live offers the full bandwidth.
strikeback03 - Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - link
So what would it cost for about 1500 minutes, 6000 SMS, and 200 MMS?Gamingphreek - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
Anand,I have found SIGNIFICANT performance and battery improvements in using LauncherPro by Federico Carnales on my HTC Hero <www.launcherpro.com>. I would be interested to hear if you notice the same thing.
Additionally, while it is only for root users, Autokiller is a terrific application for modifying the Android's preset memory limits.
Finally, regarding internet use, Dolphin Browser HD 2 is head and shoulders above the stock browser in every aspect. You may consider trying and seeing if that makes a difference in the browsing tests.
Great review regardless, but as a long time Android user, I have found these to make a significant positive impact on my overall experience with the device.
I know adding different applications to review can get out of hand very quickly, but is there any chance we might hear about your experience with some of these aforementioned applications?
Thanks,
-Kevin
chriscusano - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
Hey great thoughts. Well I don't have an android myself, but maybe you guys might want to consider writing up an article (after official 2.2 release I'm thinking) with a phone "fully optimized" using some of the best (and cheapeast/free) apps out there. I think a phone with these apps will be sigificantly better than a stock phone. It's *almost* like comparing an oem computer out of the box to a customized computer (with a few performance tweaks). All serious computer users as well have their own customized setups that make their experience much, much better than a standard one (choice of web browser w/ addons/extensions, cutomized start bar, useful desktop gadgets, etc). Truly the experience can be totally different when things are customized. I'd image the same is the case with a phone like this.Also, man I've been looking for some VOIP 4G tests. Help me out guys! I may try to downsize to one internet carrier for home and phone but my major concern is I NEED VOIP for work. Can 4G cut it if the signal strength is strong (from a static location)? Does tethering via USB to the computer affect internet speeds? If so, how is VOIP from the computer when tethering via USB? Anyone? Anand ? :)
-Chris
Gamingphreek - Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - link
I have an HTC Hero, so I'll have to run all the tests over before I do it with the apps, but I would be more than happy to run a couple tests and send in a short little article for Anand's consideration. I can post it in the forums too just for general knowledge.My undergraduate research prior to my graduation this past May was on the Android OS (More specifically how secure it was from an IT Security perspective).
Impulses - Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - link
There's a ton of things you can do to optimize battery life, from alternate launchers, to custom ROMs, to simply configuring the stock sync settings for the various accounts. Something Anand made no mention of, and it's one of the more obvious tweaks, the stock settings are actually pretty poor if you wanna preserve battery life but they're easy to change from 2-4 hours to 8 hours or daily or w/e.The latter alone made a difference for me, but some of the custom ROMs and such make a very very noticeable difference as well. It's really quite amazing what some of the user devs come up with, it puts Google/HTC's stock builds to shame. I've no idea if the iPhone jailbreak community delves into that kind of low-level optimization but the stuff they're doing on Android's end is awesome.
misaki - Monday, June 28, 2010 - link
Froyo is now getting rolled out officially, so I hope you guys will include it in your browsing comparisons since the speed gains are so drastic ;)