How To: Sprint HTC Evo 4G Impressions

Spent the weekend with Sprint's new phone, the HTC Evo G4. Specification wise, it's better than Verizon's Incredible and T-Mobile's HD2. Apple will be announcing the new version of their phone this week. If it's comparable to leaked phone shown over at Gizmodo, then to say which phone is better is debatable. The iphone might have a better battery life but the Evo has an unlimited data plan, unlike AT&T's new tier pricing structure.

Positives:

• 8 megapixel camera with dual flash. 
• 1.3 megapixel front facing camera.
• Can record videos in 720p.
• HDMI output so you can stream directly to your TV
• 1 gb processor, 512 ram, 1gb internal storage + 8 gb storage card
• 1500 mAH battery, whatever that means.
• Android Operating System 2.1
• 4.3" (800x400) Touchscreen
• Kick Stand
• Tad smaller than an ipad
• 4G in some cities, Los Angeles later this year.

Negatives:

• 3G in Los Angeles
• Phone gets hot
  
• Lakers lost yesterday
• Battery life barely gets through a day
• +$10 extra charge per month for data, regardless if your city is 4G or not.
• +$30 per month if you want to make your phone act as a wireless router and share your internet connection.
• Can't uninstall some programs unless you root your phone.
• In 3g, there is video lag for youtube and Sprint Tv.

Overall we are very impressed with the phone. We came from a  voice only, no data plan that we have had for years to this so it was a big change. I've dealt with plenty of iphones and Blackberries for work, but never felt the need to update to them. Either the plans were too expensive, or the gadgets too slow, or the keypad too small for my tastes. I was also looking for a solutions where we didn't have to carry a cell phone, a digital camera, and/or a small camcorder every time we went out just in case we wanted to record something. Having all of these in one phone is extremely convenient.

With a 4.3" screen, is the phone too big? That was my first question before getting the phone. If it's not portable, then why bother, right? Here is a chart we made so you can figure out if it's too big or small for you:

Truthfully, it doesn't feel that big. It's about the size of an iphone, so if that's ok with you then you'll have no problems with this phone.

The phone is very fast and responsive. In other phones like the blackberry, when you pressed something, there would be a delay in registering the input and that's frustrating. You're left wondering if you pressed it correctly or if you applied the right pressure and often you do it again and again, overwhelming the phone. The Evo reacts almost instantly to the touch and opens programs very quickly. Sometimes that becomes a problem because one might unconsciously put their thumb in the search or the home key and quickly send the user somewhere else.

The picture quality varies. In good lighting conditions, it is very sharp. In less than ideal, the pictures come out very fuzzy. The flash does a very good job lighting things properly instead of overwhelming them with light. Picture and video navigation is also very easy and divided into categories for faster browsing. Pictures with the phone:

Network performance is very good. The phone registered 2.3 down and .7 up on a speed test but I don't think it was that fast while browsing the internet with the phone. The android OS has some issues with websites, like randomly not being able to watch videos if they are not youtube, or being able to enter information in a text field (the phone would freak out and kick you out of the text window). Wonder howto displays perfectly but entering text is another matter. But this was also the issue on any site with similar input properties, like Capital One.

Battery life is less than optimal. No matter how you look at it, you'll have to charge it every day. If you use its features extensively, like watching videos for hours, the phone gets a little hot on the back so be careful. There are 3rd party solutions that offer better batteries with longer life times, so if you're thinking of getting an Evo set some money aside for a battery upgrade. Having a car charger is also highly recommended. This might sound like a negative, but it's well worth it for all the features you're getting with this phone. Once 4G comes to Los Angeles that will drain the battery life even faster, so do consider a better battery.

Being new to the Android OS, apps are great. I won't bore the people who have been on iphones and apps for years now, but I really like them. So far we've gotten free apps only, since there are so many. Sprint also has this neat Sprint TV app that lets you watch at least four live channels. I used it for around two hours on the weekend while house cleaning and loved it. The audio and video does go out of sync though, but overall great in being able to watch something live. They do have a $10 25+ cable channel package that includes most major cable networks like comedy central, but that's probably best for long commuters.

Useful Links:
Everything you need to know about 4G
Meet the HTC Evo 4G - Neogaf Thread
Sprint Coverage (Just type your city and you can see if you have 4G coverage)
Sprint 4G Rollout City Release Schedule