Evo 4G vs Epic 4G

[Krik]

I bought an EVO a few weeks after launch knowing that the Epic was on the way but still had no release date. I would have ordered 2. One for me and one for the wife. But the wife is coming from a Blackberry Curve and insisted that she had to have a physical keyboard. The EVO was out for her and the Epic was in.

So she stayed with T-Mobile while I went to Sprint and I painfully waited and waited for Sprint to finally announce a release date on the Epic. Finally, we went to Best Buy last weekend to take a look at the Epic and wouldn't you know it. She didn't like it. Not one bit.

She said it wasn't really any smaller than the EVO but it had a smaller screen. Now this is my wife. She couldn't care less about GPU this or Hummingbird that. She is your average consumer. She picked it up and was turned off by how it was too easy to accidentally slide the phone open and didn't like the feel of the keyboard. She said the phone felt cheap and promptly set it down.

Told me to find her an EVO instead. Thanks babe! Could have ordered 2 EVO's a couple months ago easy. Now they're nowhere to be found!

 

[dan330]

Told me to find her an EVO instead. Thanks babe! Could have ordered 2 EVO's a couple months ago easy. Now they're nowhere to be found!

hahaha lmao

who's the bitch now??



jk

 

[vud911]

I bought an EVO a few weeks after launch knowing that the Epic was on the way but still had no release date. I would have ordered 2. One for me and one for the wife. But the wife is coming from a Blackberry Curve and insisted that she had to have a physical keyboard. The EVO was out for her and the Epic was in.

So she stayed with T-Mobile while I went to Sprint and I painfully waited and waited for Sprint to finally announce a release date on the Epic. Finally, we went to Best Buy last weekend to take a look at the Epic and wouldn't you know it. She didn't like it. Not one bit.

She said it wasn't really any smaller than the EVO but it had a smaller screen. Now this is my wife. She couldn't care less about GPU this or Hummingbird that. She is your average consumer. She picked it up and was turned off by how it was too easy to accidentally slide the phone open and didn't like the feel of the keyboard. She said the phone felt cheap and promptly set it down.

Told me to find her an EVO instead. Thanks babe! Could have ordered 2 EVO's a couple months ago easy. Now they're nowhere to be found!

You bring up a good point. Near Christmas when even better specced smartphones are released -- dual cores, and more, the better phone still might not sell, say an iPhone, even when it is far inferior by that point, even if it cost the person more.

 

[IOWA]

The lag performance comes from using Samsung's RFS filesystem (it cannot buffer). The lagfix creates a virtual ext2 filesystem to buffer it.

The processor itself is quite good, and currently rated the *best*.

Got anything I can read to enlighten myself about this a little more?

 

[fiyah]

The lag performance comes from using Samsung's RFS filesystem (it cannot buffer). The lagfix creates a virtual ext2 filesystem to buffer it.

The processor itself is quite good, and currently rated the *best*.

This is all well and good, but misses my point entirely. I was not trying to say the processor wasn't currently the best out there. What I was saying was that there seems to be a perceived difference in lag between the Epic and its other Galaxy variants. I am throwing a theory out there that this supposed difference in lag is attributable to some variance in the version of touchwiz. If indeed the difference is attributable to a filesystem that exists unchanged in all variants of the Galaxy S models why then is the Epic viewed as being immune to the problem?

 

[Cobravision]

The Epic is not immune to any Galaxy S problem. It's just that the Epic users are much more enthusiastic about their phone than the Vibrant and Captivate users were.

 

[vud911]

This is all well and good, but misses my point entirely. I was not trying to say the processor wasn't currently the best out there. What I was saying was that there seems to be a perceived difference in lag between the Epic and its other Galaxy variants. I am throwing a theory out there that this supposed difference in lag is attributable to some variance in the version of touchwiz. If indeed the difference is attributable to a filesystem that exists unchanged in all variants of the Galaxy S models why then is the Epic viewed as being immune to the problem?

I believe they *might* have slapped a quick and dirty lag fix on the Epic. I too haven't heard of Epic being immune to this problem, anyway. The problem is, and always have been the RFS filesystem. Touchwiz itself wasn't the issue for the stall issue people were having. Its just no one like Touchwiz much. The only way the Epic cannot not have this problem is if they don't use RFS. But if they do, they will either need to apply their own lagfix or not use RFS.

 

[jim2point0]

I believe they *might* have slapped a quick and dirty lag fix on the Epic. I too haven't heard of Epic being immune to this problem, anyway. The problem is, and always have been the RFS filesystem. Touchwiz itself wasn't the issue for the stall issue people were having. Its just no one like Touchwiz much. The only way the Epic cannot not have this problem is if they don't use RFS. But if they do, they will either need to apply their own lagfix or not use RFS.

There are enough videos of the Epic to see for yourself. I've owned the Epic from release date. Never played with a vibrant or captivate. I also own an EVO (I can't get rid of it... I like it too much). All in all, I would say the Epic is a snappier phone. I notice no lag or stuttering. This was something I complained about a lot when I first had my EVO.

The EVO came first... and most people on Sprint that wanted a good phone bought the EVO. Therefore the Epic will definitely have a smaller dev community. It has less users. It's also different from all other galaxy S phones due to 4G\TW 2.5. Also, the reason most people flash custom roms on their EVO's is to get it up to speed and fix a lot of the issues the EVO has (like removing sense, fixing 30 fps cap, faster speed, etc). So far, I haven't even given a thought to flashing a custom rom on my Epic. I'm also... kinda trusting Samsung to fix some of the Epic issues.

The Epic does have its problems. Unfortunately I'm new to the android phone scene, so I know very little about samsung. I'm worried that their issues won't be solved. I haven't personally had a problem with the GPS. It has successfully navigated me to 3 location that I didn't already know how to get to. Win for me. But I did notice a circle of "questionable accuracy" around my position. I dont have this on my EVO.

I enjoy playing with my Epic more. I find myself wanting to pick it up more often than I did with my EVO. I really enjoy the screen ( it is beautiful) and speed of the processor. I will take this time to point out that I'm a gamer. For gamers, the Epic is a clear win. And don't tell me people don't play games on phones a lot. 6 million+ people purchased angry birds on the iPhone. People love handheld gaming devices. For me it is a great way to kill time when I'm bored and don't have access to my PC\PS3.

I also replaced Sense with Launcher Pro on my EVO... same thing with the Epic. For people that prefer Launcher Pro, the Sense vs Touchwiz argument is moot. Launcher Pro feels just as smooth on the Epic as it does on the EVO. Except for the app drawer. My EVO still lagged a bit when swiping quickly through my apps.

Another thing I like to do is throw movies on my phone and watch them while I'm at work. I had to convert every single video I wanted to watch on my EVO... but the Epic plays divx\xvid AVI files, as well as 720p\1080p MKV files. That for me is enough of a reason to buy a phone. Saves me time.

I also find myself LOVING the option of a physical keyboard. When typing website URLS, usernames\passwords, search queries for games with odd titles... I'd much rather have a physical keyboard. But with swype, most texting is much, much faster.

So.... everything I just said is clearly a matter of preference. I think it is ******ed to try and say one phone is better than the other. Each phone has a unique feature set that makes it stand out. Feels like people are arguing here as if the EVO is an iPhone and the Epic is an android phone. If you already own the EVO, chances of you switching are very slim. Therefore you'll likely want to defend it to the death. Personally, I'm just glad that Android has 2 amazing phones like this. We should be embracing each other as brothers!

 

[fiyah]

So.... everything I just said is clearly a matter of preference. I think it is ******ed to try and say one phone is better than the other. Each phone has a unique feature set that makes it stand out. Feels like people are arguing here as if the EVO is an iPhone and the Epic is an android phone. If you already own the EVO, chances of you switching are very slim. Therefore you'll likely want to defend it to the death. Personally, I'm just glad that Android has 2 amazing phones like this. We should be embracing each other as brothers!

*embraces jim2point0*

 

[novox77]

And don't tell me people don't play games on phones a lot. 6 million+ people purchased angry birds on the iPhone. People love handheld gaming devices. For me it is a great way to kill time when I'm bored and don't have access to my PC\PS3.

I don't think people are saying phone games aren't popular. It's that the Epic's GPU is geared toward showing a huge difference in 3D applications, including games requiring 3D rendering. And there aren't a lot of these kind of games for mobile phones. Like Angry Birds. 6 million d/l on the iPhone. but it's a 2D game, and it runs perfectly smooth on my Evo. Plants vs. Zombies: not even available on Android despite its incredible popularity on iPhone/iPad. Again, a 2D game.

I'd argue that phones are only good for casual gaming, like you say, to pass the time. I don't ever expect to see Starcraft or COD Modern Warfare on my phone, and even if they did go mobile, it would be such a pain to interact with the game (small screen, horrible input interface).

I witnessed lag when using an Epic - a menu didn't show up for about 15 seconds. Not sure if it's the same root cause as the lag reported by others, but it was something I'd never experienced on the Evo.

Overall, I did like the phone, but I don't see it being this super-awesome phone that completely overshadows the Evo. I'd say they are pretty even, both having points stronger than the other. I would never upgrade from one to the other. Not enough difference to make it worth the $$.

 

[vud911]

The Epic is a great phone, but I do not think they have fixed the stall issue on the Epic. I've read Epic owner saying their phone stalls. But it isn't as if you can't fix it yourself, just not completely.

It does help, but my Vibrant still suffers from minor stall at times. Given time, I expect this issue to get fixed official or through xda.

Yep, I believe there's much to be had for the GPU as well. BOTH 2D and 3D capabilities is better on the Samsung Galaxy over Evo. It is just that the 3D is several times more powerful than the 15%-20% or so from the 2D increase, so people tend to talk about the 3D and dismissing them for games only. The 2D is also better, folks. I'm really looking forward to Froyo for the Flash to see how my Vibrant will run on it .

 

[Cobravision]

I'm also... kinda trusting Samsung to fix some of the Epic issues.

You are very... trusting. I hope it doesn't bite you in the butt.

BTW, Rockplayer plays divx and xvid files without the need for conversion. 720p mkv stuttered in 2.1, but I haven't tried it since upgrading to 2.2. It's kind of moot for me because most of my 720p movie collection is over 2GB anyway.

 

[jim2point0]

You are very... trusting. I hope it doesn't bite you in the butt.

BTW, Rockplayer plays divx and xvid files without the need for conversion. 720p mkv stuttered in 2.1, but I haven't tried it since upgrading to 2.2. It's kind of moot for me because most of my 720p movie collection is over 2GB anyway.

Rock player couldn't play high def MKV files. Video was REALLY slow and glitchy looking even on CM6 + overclocked. Otherwise it is a nice movie player. However this is NOT a fault of the EVO, as rock player runs the EXACT same way on my Epic. But anyways, I mainly watch 720 tv shows. They come in at 1GB a piece. I have enough space on my SD card to last a whole work day.

On the subject of games that use the GPU... the thing is, the iPhone app store has a LOT more 3D intensive games. They've had the hardware from the beginning. The games keep getting better as their phones get better. The same could be said for android. However, we're just NOW seeing phones that can handle really intense 3D games. There is an unreal engine game coming out for iPhones, as well as ID Softwares new shooter Rage. Will we ever see that on Android? Eh. Doubt it.

However, now that we finally have good hardware, we might start seeing better 3D intensive games from android developers. But it's doubtful, as they will want to cater to the less powerful phones as well Just sucks that we're so far behind due to phones continuing to ship with snapdragons and other outdated processors.

Oh and as much as I love the EVO... it's the main reason Angry Birds is still in beta and not releasing

 

[Cobravision]

Rock player couldn't play high def MKV files. Video was REALLY slow and glitchy looking even on CM6 + overclocked. Otherwise it is a nice movie player. However this is NOT a fault of the EVO, as rock player runs the EXACT same way on my Epic. But anyways, I mainly watch 720 tv shows. They come in at 1GB a piece. I have enough space on my SD card to last a whole work day.

OK, then there's no need for me to test it out.

I also have a 32GB card, but I can store three avi files to one mkv file. I have 17GB of videos. If they were mkv, it would overrun my SD card. Not to mention the time it would take me to transfer those files wirelessly.

Just curious, does the default video player save your position in the file like Rockplayer does? Because I tend to pop in and out of videos all the time, and Rockplayer picks up where I left off for all files.

 

[Krik]

Oh and as much as I love the EVO... it's the main reason Angry Birds is still in beta and not releasing

Can you direct me to a link or article that substantiates this claim please?

Nevermind. Found it. But please tell me you aren't implying that the EVO doesn't have the hardware to run Angry Birds.

 

[vud911]

The Samsung Galaxy saves the position of the last movie you played only. All others are lost.

I personally transfer while I charge via USB cable, I don't like transferring anything over wireless that have to do with media. 720p videos aren't that big, anyway. Its like 300ish MB for about 30 minutes or so.

 

[Cobravision]

30 minute shows are 500MB, full hour are 1GB (although without commercials it's really like 22 and 44 minutes).

You can find a movie here and there that's under 2GB, but they're mostly 2GB and up.

 

[jim2point0]

Just curious, does the default video player save your position in the file like Rockplayer does? Because I tend to pop in and out of videos all the time, and Rockplayer picks up where I left off for all files.

It doesn't remember positions. That is why I use act1 video player. It remembers the position for an unlimited number of videos.

For some reason, the Epic doesn't launch with the same video player as other Galaxy S phones. I believe it's because they limited the Epic to Touchwiz 2.5. The music player is also different. Rumor is that the Epic will receive the better apps with the Froyo update. Hopefully the dev community can get them back sooner though. This was a VERY unnecessary omission, and a lot of people refused to buy the Epic based solely on the Epic's lack of standard Galaxy S features....

But please tell me you aren't implying that the EVO doesn't have the hardware to run Angry Birds.

NO NO NO. The game just force closes. The EVO can easily play the game. Some lucky EVO users managed to find a way to make it work, and it runs fine. Rovio hasn't given out any details as to why their game force closes... but a majority of their issues are coming from EVOs. I'm guessing it's the million different kernels\roms people are flashing I've noticed that rampant rom flashing tends to cause a little instability... but it's so much fun.

 

[Cobravision]

I have the stock froyo ROM and non-rooted, but I still have to restart a dozen times before I can play. But it plays just fine.

 

[novox77]

NO NO NO. The game just force closes. The EVO can easily play the game. Some lucky EVO users managed to find a way to make it work, and it runs fine. Rovio hasn't given out any details as to why their game force closes... but a majority of their issues are coming from EVOs. I'm guessing it's the million different kernels\roms people are flashing I've noticed that rampant rom flashing tends to cause a little instability... but it's so much fun.

I doubt the issue is due to custom ROMs and kernels. Rooted Evos are way in the minority of the total Evo-owning population. As a game developer, I would focus on making it work on the stock Evo.

Interestingly, I downloaded the beta for my Evo, and it worked fine. Great graphics, especially compared to the game on my wife's iPhone 3G, runs smooth and fast. And I'm rooted and running a custom kernel. Wonder if the problem is due to the 0002 vs 0003 hardware specs out there.

 

[EarlyMon]

Two cents - there are lots of various issues on other phones running the Angry Birds *beta* and more threads than Santa Claus can visit on that alone right now in AF alone.

Personally - I think I'd hold off guessing what's up with the phone when the app's still in beta....

 

[vud911]

30 minute shows are 500MB, full hour are 1GB (although without commercials it's really like 22 and 44 minutes).

You can find a movie here and there that's under 2GB, but they're mostly 2GB and up.

Depends on things such as bitrate. I have 3 Naruto Shippuden episodes here and its about ~23 minutes, 720p. Its about 268 MB each. There's no way it'll go over 400 with 7 minutes tacked on. The biggest one I have is 350 MB encoded by a different group, again ~23 minutes. Somehow I doubt 7 minutes will push to 500. It'll be about 430 MB or so. The included Avatar that should be 720p (advertised as HD) is around 1.4 gb and its 2 hours and 35 minutes.

I think the point is...the time saved to convert it is better than converting it then transferring it to the phone. Again, I don't think anyone would be considering 17 GBs over WiFi. Waste of time and battery. You can fit a good amount of videos in there on a 32gb. I only have 16 GB and it more than suffice to hold all the videos I need since I haven't been able to watch it all before the battery dies. Being Divx certified have its perks .

http://www.gadgetvenue.com/samsung-galaxy-divx-hd-certified-08254006/

My ideal phone would be a smartphone that doesn't need ANY conversion to watch videos. Samsung Galaxy is a good start but it can definitely be improved. I absolutely love this perk and main reason why I hated my old HD2 phone, which is a pretty decent (though dead end) phone.

 

[madmak]

Rooted evo running fresh 3.2 - Angry Bird runs smoothly without any issues

 

[Cobravision]

If you downloaded anything other than anime, you'd know that the 500mb and 1gb sizes are standard for 720p network and cable TV shows.

 

[vud911]

I watch Entourage? Did you know different groups uses different bitrate to encode it? I found 200ish MB all the way to 700ish MB per episode. Each episode is about 27 minutes.

It depends the bitrate they used. Animes doesn't magically become smaller just because they're animation. The encoders use less bitrate in their encoding. If you want me to find you animes that are 700ish MB per episode as well, just let me know.