Greatly appreciated, EarlyMon, especially the spot metering link. You effectively rehabilitated most of my CONS & added a big PRO in battery life. I'm just going to come right out & say it. IMHO this puppy is the best possible option for those of us looking for the ultimate, pocketable physical KB device. I'll go you one better. Despite the naysayers tagging it a midlevel entry, my take is it's one of the best smartphones period. Yes, more dual cores are coming. No, you shouldn't have to pay $10 more/month for the 3G coverage you'll get in a lot of areas (including ours). But once it's rooted, I believe this dog'll hunt. The Galaxy S phones are impressive, but they just don't have the build quality of HTC. They're more what I'd expect my teenager to have instead of a business professional. I want Gingerbread ASAP, so that's another strike against Samsung. Being an Evo should give it excellent upgrade pecking order status as Evo was the 1st carrier phone to receive Froyo (after Nexus One). And I'm a filmmaker on a Mac, so that's another nod to HTC. I prefer the color accuracy of LCD compared to the oversaturation/bluish whites of SAMOLED. And the hardware limitation of AMOLED pentile matrix allows for only 2 RGB colors/pixel instead of 3, resulting in 2/3 of the 800x480 resolution & fuzzy pinch-to-zoom (another PRO) text. I'm picking mine up tomorrow.
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EVO Shift reviews
- Thread starter Remixxx
- Start date
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- htc evo shift 4g
We lack your forests and hills, but I hoped you liked the sunset pictures from central NM in that link. 
Putting your stuff from your Shift together with a Mac will present _zero_ issues to you. There are plenty of links on this.
I just grabbed it and did a 5 sec recording to check out the codecs and format - audio is still AMR mono, the video files still go out as .3gp containers.
Ok - probably you know / have what you need already, but just in case:
I just noticed this - it does 720p using H.264 - the entire lousy MPEG4 codec is gone! woot!
Putting your stuff from your Shift together with a Mac will present _zero_ issues to you. There are plenty of links on this.
I just grabbed it and did a 5 sec recording to check out the codecs and format - audio is still AMR mono, the video files still go out as .3gp containers.
Ok - probably you know / have what you need already, but just in case:
- if you just want a quick converter and if you need codecs, I _highly_ recommend:
- Squared 5 - MPEG Streamclip video converter for Mac and Windows links here for Win codecs, I recall
- Perian - The swiss-army knife of QuickTime components
- until I remember to cross-post this in the right thread, viewing 3gp files from this phone is a breeze on Linux, Macs and PCs with VideoLAN - VLC media player - Open Source Multimedia Framework and Player
- USB xfer of movies is fastest, but AndFTP will haul out large movie files in a jiffy via wireless, built-in server on Mac or Linux, just a tad more to set up for Windows
I just noticed this - it does 720p using H.264 - the entire lousy MPEG4 codec is gone! woot!
I don't expect much from a phone camera & even less from cmos video capture (making it HD is sort of a joke), but your shots show me that in a fallback position (no real camera handy), you at least have something you can work with. How's that for elitist & snooty? Nice composition BTW. Cheers.
WifelyMon and I just planned out our whole strategy for a shoot-off between the Shift and the Evo.
Sometime next week, we'll post results.
Sometime next week, we'll post results.
330D
From My Cold Dead Hands
Laughing @ WifelyMon. Sweet, I look forward to reading! Thanks for the quick response. I got to play with the Shift at the Sprint store the other day, but it is tough to see how good the camera is in a well lit store...
I have to say that this seems like the little phone that could, I was totally impressed with the performance I saw in the short time I had to mess with it. As long as they don't have some big crazy new fangled phone to announce on the 7th, I think this will be my next device.
OK - I couldn't resist and took 5 minutes for some snaps. I chose the kitchen area of our house - it's flooded with southern sunlight and full of all sorts of colors, both muted and vibrant.
I found in this situation that I needed to up brightness one notch. I played with a few other things, but wasn't too happy with the results, so I set all else back to normal and used the spot metered as I'd mentioned.
I used the full 5 MP resolution and then held the phone up and while in gallery full-screen view, used pinch-zoom until I had each object in question same relative size on screen as in view far-field behind the phone. In other words, I was comparing candles, cups, paper flowers, statuary, plants, wood carvings, baskets, etc, etc, etc (WifelyMon has a lot of et ceteras) to their same-size image.
I found the colors to be quite a bit more true than I'd anticipated, with the exception of deepest reds and bright yellows - those were just slightly brighter. For the finicky, that ought be easily adjusted on a desktop.
How much accuracy there is in any of that is also affected by the built-in screen I was viewing on.
That said - my opinion is that two things you want in a camera, especially a point and shoot, are clarity and good color. With that criteria, I'd say the built-in camera on this phone serves well.
You'll get no kick from me.
The worst camera is the one you don't have when you need a camera.
I found in this situation that I needed to up brightness one notch. I played with a few other things, but wasn't too happy with the results, so I set all else back to normal and used the spot metered as I'd mentioned.
I used the full 5 MP resolution and then held the phone up and while in gallery full-screen view, used pinch-zoom until I had each object in question same relative size on screen as in view far-field behind the phone. In other words, I was comparing candles, cups, paper flowers, statuary, plants, wood carvings, baskets, etc, etc, etc (WifelyMon has a lot of et ceteras) to their same-size image.
I found the colors to be quite a bit more true than I'd anticipated, with the exception of deepest reds and bright yellows - those were just slightly brighter. For the finicky, that ought be easily adjusted on a desktop.
How much accuracy there is in any of that is also affected by the built-in screen I was viewing on.
That said - my opinion is that two things you want in a camera, especially a point and shoot, are clarity and good color. With that criteria, I'd say the built-in camera on this phone serves well.
You'll get no kick from me.
The worst camera is the one you don't have when you need a camera.
Like the keyboard. D Pad will be better for gaming on emulators, and I like how it slides out like the Droid. That way seems the best IMO.
Just for the keyboard I would pick this over any other current Android phone that has a slide out keyboard. And if it does compare to the Droid 2 in battery life....this will be a definite step up. I think the Droid 2 has the best battery life of any current Android phone.
This looks to be a real winner.
Just for the keyboard I would pick this over any other current Android phone that has a slide out keyboard. And if it does compare to the Droid 2 in battery life....this will be a definite step up. I think the Droid 2 has the best battery life of any current Android phone.
This looks to be a real winner.
another great REAL review from FlossyCarter. he gives real reviews like his original review of the shift above. follow up video. he said he gives the shift a 10 and smashes the epic 4G
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF1jBAxafXo&feature=feedu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF1jBAxafXo&feature=feedu
dbpaddler
Android Expert
The shift gets all the fees regardless. It's deemed a premium phone. It's all moot since the 29th has passed.
I like using the shift, but I think I'll go back to my epic in the grand scheme. I don't mind losing the number row, but I don't necessarily like the placement of all the fn options. Symbol on the spacebar kills any long number runs with spaces, and I just wish there was some standard layout that would be adopted. I also don't need a menu key sandwiched in there either. It's easy distance on the screen. Cursor keys are easier than the d-pad. Dedicated camera key would've been nice too. Don't like filling up my homescreens with shortcuts I shouldn't need. That segways to the toggles in the dropdown menu on the epic. I'm back to switchpro. The homescreen, and I have no 4g toggle on it which is odd. It doesn't scroll as smooth as the epic. It's just as fat and heavy as the epic even though it's footprint is smaller. The angle back helps the feel in the hand though. And a 3ft drop onto somewhat soft linoleum already chipped the metal surface.
Considering I use a lot of 3rd party apps that negate the ones in Sense, I prefer some of the touchwiz niceties over Sense.
Other than that, I can't say anything bad about the Shift. I do think it's too long. Wasted bezel below the capacitive buttons as well as on the sides of the keyboard. I just expect slimmer at this stage even if it does feel nice.
I like using the shift, but I think I'll go back to my epic in the grand scheme. I don't mind losing the number row, but I don't necessarily like the placement of all the fn options. Symbol on the spacebar kills any long number runs with spaces, and I just wish there was some standard layout that would be adopted. I also don't need a menu key sandwiched in there either. It's easy distance on the screen. Cursor keys are easier than the d-pad. Dedicated camera key would've been nice too. Don't like filling up my homescreens with shortcuts I shouldn't need. That segways to the toggles in the dropdown menu on the epic. I'm back to switchpro. The homescreen, and I have no 4g toggle on it which is odd. It doesn't scroll as smooth as the epic. It's just as fat and heavy as the epic even though it's footprint is smaller. The angle back helps the feel in the hand though. And a 3ft drop onto somewhat soft linoleum already chipped the metal surface.
Considering I use a lot of 3rd party apps that negate the ones in Sense, I prefer some of the touchwiz niceties over Sense.
Other than that, I can't say anything bad about the Shift. I do think it's too long. Wasted bezel below the capacitive buttons as well as on the sides of the keyboard. I just expect slimmer at this stage even if it does feel nice.
OK, After 9 days out w/the phone, here's my 2cents worth:
(Or just look at Flossy Carter's videos)
PROS: 1) Freakin' Fast & Smooooooth, dude
2) Good, solid slider that stays shut when closed 3) Very Good, ergonomic KB about as good as anything out there unless a dedicated number row is you're dealbreaker 4) Very competent camera/video (I'm a filmmaker) for a phone; better than most (Hero) & comparable to Evo OG (See EarlyMon's spot metering technique above & say FUHGETTABOUTIT!!! to a dedicated shutter button 5) Excellent call quality 6) Fantastic mp3 audio quality on my $5 RCA dollar store headphones 7) Very good battery life; better than Evo OG & Hero 8) Has pinch-to-zoom over Epic 9) 2.2 Froyo (full Flash) NOW, not on a wish & a prayer over Epic 10) Pocketable/feels good in the hand over Evo OG & Epic 11) Everything good about Hero/G2 (except optical trackpad) & almost everything good about Evo OG 12) Plays well w/PC's & Macs 13) Solid build quality 14) Very good useability/functionality factor
CONS: 1) Way too ez to accidentally hit return/home w/KB out 2) Screen: I am somewhat disappointed with the comparison I did w/my Hero. I already knew the Shift was not as brilliant as the oversaturated SAMOLED Galaxy S phones, but I felt it made up for it in color accuracy & full RGB spectrum compared to Samsung's 2/3 resolution pentile matrix. However, at identical 50% brightness adjustments, not only was the Hero noticeably brighter, it also displayed whiter whites (less yellow, more blue) & deeper black levels making the Shift's blacks look like dark grey. The more you view the screen at an angle, the yellower it gets. But on it's own, the IPhone IV-size Shift LCD looks fine 3) No video zoom (yes, Virginia, digital zoom is crap compared to telephoto, but the Hero had it built-in without having to use an app 4) Pwr button takes some getting used to, but no way is it going to turn itself on in your purse/pocket 5) Some YouTube videos won't play. Sprint Advanced Tech Support tells me this is a YouTube issue & they are working on it. So there you have it. To sum it up, this is a killer phone. The Pros easily outweigh the Cons without even mentioning the fact that HTC's virtual KB is, hands down, the best around. If you're still on the fence about this phone, it's time to jump the shark. Which way you jump depends on if you're waiting for tonight's "BIG" Sprint announcement & something better around the corner. WSJ has it on good authority it will be the Kyocera Echo dual screen smartphone that hinges (2) 3.5" screens together for a 7" notebook effect, while Engadget is predicting HTC's Arrive, the 1st Windows 7 CDMA 4G smartphone. Not of much interest to us Droidaphiles. And , yes, there will always be something "better" just around the corner, Skippy.
(Or just look at Flossy Carter's videos)
PROS: 1) Freakin' Fast & Smooooooth, dude
2) Good, solid slider that stays shut when closed 3) Very Good, ergonomic KB about as good as anything out there unless a dedicated number row is you're dealbreaker 4) Very competent camera/video (I'm a filmmaker) for a phone; better than most (Hero) & comparable to Evo OG (See EarlyMon's spot metering technique above & say FUHGETTABOUTIT!!! to a dedicated shutter button 5) Excellent call quality 6) Fantastic mp3 audio quality on my $5 RCA dollar store headphones 7) Very good battery life; better than Evo OG & Hero 8) Has pinch-to-zoom over Epic 9) 2.2 Froyo (full Flash) NOW, not on a wish & a prayer over Epic 10) Pocketable/feels good in the hand over Evo OG & Epic 11) Everything good about Hero/G2 (except optical trackpad) & almost everything good about Evo OG 12) Plays well w/PC's & Macs 13) Solid build quality 14) Very good useability/functionality factor
CONS: 1) Way too ez to accidentally hit return/home w/KB out 2) Screen: I am somewhat disappointed with the comparison I did w/my Hero. I already knew the Shift was not as brilliant as the oversaturated SAMOLED Galaxy S phones, but I felt it made up for it in color accuracy & full RGB spectrum compared to Samsung's 2/3 resolution pentile matrix. However, at identical 50% brightness adjustments, not only was the Hero noticeably brighter, it also displayed whiter whites (less yellow, more blue) & deeper black levels making the Shift's blacks look like dark grey. The more you view the screen at an angle, the yellower it gets. But on it's own, the IPhone IV-size Shift LCD looks fine 3) No video zoom (yes, Virginia, digital zoom is crap compared to telephoto, but the Hero had it built-in without having to use an app 4) Pwr button takes some getting used to, but no way is it going to turn itself on in your purse/pocket 5) Some YouTube videos won't play. Sprint Advanced Tech Support tells me this is a YouTube issue & they are working on it. So there you have it. To sum it up, this is a killer phone. The Pros easily outweigh the Cons without even mentioning the fact that HTC's virtual KB is, hands down, the best around. If you're still on the fence about this phone, it's time to jump the shark. Which way you jump depends on if you're waiting for tonight's "BIG" Sprint announcement & something better around the corner. WSJ has it on good authority it will be the Kyocera Echo dual screen smartphone that hinges (2) 3.5" screens together for a 7" notebook effect, while Engadget is predicting HTC's Arrive, the 1st Windows 7 CDMA 4G smartphone. Not of much interest to us Droidaphiles. And , yes, there will always be something "better" just around the corner, Skippy.
dbpaddler
Android Expert
I'll disagree on the smooth. It's speedy, but the epic is smoother. Will also disagree on it feeling better in the hand than the epic. I also prefer my oversaturation and black crush to blown out highlights and color accuracy. I'll save my accuracy for my pj and living room set. Both technologies would benefit from the ability to do some basic calibration.
And the echo is lame. It could be even worse than samsung when it comes to updating and fragmentation. So not worth a major event. Wasted money.
And the echo is lame. It could be even worse than samsung when it comes to updating and fragmentation. So not worth a major event. Wasted money.
Fair enough, db. You're certainly entitled to your opinion. I completely agree w/you on the Echo. The Engadget pic has that hinge looking like a crude door hinge. The Epic has an amazing looking display & that number row. You can check every available review, but, in the end, between two closely competing models, your selection will come down to a matter of personal taste. With Best Buy's $99.95 pricing, we're now talking about the difference between a $100 & $250 handset. I have spent a great deal of time analyzing the two & my taste leans towards HTC. It's only my opinion, but if it can aid others in reaching an educated buying decision without having to spend as much research time, I've accomplished my goal. The Epic may indeed be smoother, but I have yet to experience a single glitch w/the Shift. Since you brought up the slow updates, I will say getting 2.3 Gingerbread ASAP was a critical factor for me. That combined with reported GPS issues & the fact that the device just looks & feels cheap sealed the deal in my mind. To each his own. I believe anyone who reads this entire thread will be led in the right direction.
dbpaddler
Android Expert
The Epic is $99 on Amazon for new individuals and upgrades and $150 on wirefly (probably $99 on their F&F site). And you're also equating lightweight with quality or lack of it. Good use of plastic can outweigh bad use of metal. And the finish on my Shift chipped off easier from a 3ft drop onto linoleum compared to my Epic. Plastic does have some advantages.
And it all comes down to personal taste. Not everyone wants a 4" plus screen. Not everyone wants a 3.6" screen. There's only so much size they're willing to carry. I have about 24 lines on our account, and only three of us are using an Evo or an Epic, and I gave two others Shifts.
And your opinion is only one side. So you're not saving them research. If they do their due diligence, they'd look in the forums of their other options since everyone is going to be biased towards the phone they own. And I like to think I'm a little less biased than others because I tend to own most of the phones I compare and contrast, not just own one and play with others if I'm in a store or using a friend's for a few moments. I set both phones up the same way and give them equal time. And I'll probably switch up the the Shift again to play some more for a week.
One thing I will say, if you're not one to hit up the market and replace stock apps with those of your choosing, Sense does a much better job at cleaning up Android and providing a better user experience. Though their email is still lackluster, and I don't understand why Google or the manufacturers don't embrace push email and imap idle. I don't use many stock apps so it takes Sense right out of the picture. Though even taking touchwiz out of the picture I still have the radio and silent toggles in the drop down menu. On the Shift I lose the Sense toggles when I go to Launcher Pro, and 4g toggles aren't easy to come by, and regardless, they still take up space on your home screen where they don't on the Epic. And while I like the base keyboard of the Shift, I hate the placement of their fn key and the redundant menu button as well as the placement of the secondary key functions. They're a bit of a departure from other keyboards. Samsung is no better. They have redundant keys for all of the capacitive buttons which I just don't get. Could've given the keyboard more traditional spacing without them. And i also prefer having the cursor keys to the dpad. Didn't think i would, but i was even more efficient
Updates area concern for some. I root if i'm not happy with stock so it's not as much of a concern for me. But having android since 1.5, the added functionality of the updates hasn't been the biggest deal. it's been the overall speed and smoothness of the OS that's made the user experience for me. so the overall internals meant more than the actual OS. And with the cold start gps fix, 2.1 was running pretty darn smooth on the epic. I think BT voice dialing was the only real feature missing since Flash could be had in Dolphin.
My other negative with the Shift is the microSD slot is under the battery. Don't understand why it's so difficult to design it so you don't have to pull the battery. I have quite a few microSD's so I like to use them in my real camera and then pop the card in the phone to share either on screen or to upload.
And it all comes down to personal taste. Not everyone wants a 4" plus screen. Not everyone wants a 3.6" screen. There's only so much size they're willing to carry. I have about 24 lines on our account, and only three of us are using an Evo or an Epic, and I gave two others Shifts.
And your opinion is only one side. So you're not saving them research. If they do their due diligence, they'd look in the forums of their other options since everyone is going to be biased towards the phone they own. And I like to think I'm a little less biased than others because I tend to own most of the phones I compare and contrast, not just own one and play with others if I'm in a store or using a friend's for a few moments. I set both phones up the same way and give them equal time. And I'll probably switch up the the Shift again to play some more for a week.
One thing I will say, if you're not one to hit up the market and replace stock apps with those of your choosing, Sense does a much better job at cleaning up Android and providing a better user experience. Though their email is still lackluster, and I don't understand why Google or the manufacturers don't embrace push email and imap idle. I don't use many stock apps so it takes Sense right out of the picture. Though even taking touchwiz out of the picture I still have the radio and silent toggles in the drop down menu. On the Shift I lose the Sense toggles when I go to Launcher Pro, and 4g toggles aren't easy to come by, and regardless, they still take up space on your home screen where they don't on the Epic. And while I like the base keyboard of the Shift, I hate the placement of their fn key and the redundant menu button as well as the placement of the secondary key functions. They're a bit of a departure from other keyboards. Samsung is no better. They have redundant keys for all of the capacitive buttons which I just don't get. Could've given the keyboard more traditional spacing without them. And i also prefer having the cursor keys to the dpad. Didn't think i would, but i was even more efficient
Updates area concern for some. I root if i'm not happy with stock so it's not as much of a concern for me. But having android since 1.5, the added functionality of the updates hasn't been the biggest deal. it's been the overall speed and smoothness of the OS that's made the user experience for me. so the overall internals meant more than the actual OS. And with the cold start gps fix, 2.1 was running pretty darn smooth on the epic. I think BT voice dialing was the only real feature missing since Flash could be had in Dolphin.
My other negative with the Shift is the microSD slot is under the battery. Don't understand why it's so difficult to design it so you don't have to pull the battery. I have quite a few microSD's so I like to use them in my real camera and then pop the card in the phone to share either on screen or to upload.
dbpaddler
Android Expert
Haha...no defeat. I'm just overbearing when I type. Maybe it's a sales thing Both phones have their place, and many are coming from Moments and Heros so the size is perfect for them and the performance is nigh and day. You also have frustrated Epic owners stuck on the 2.2 thing finding it tough to go backwards from that nice big screen and smoother graphics. Both in general are great, and I'd take the Shift over a droid 2 any day. At the very least the Shift retires my Pre as a backup.I have to root the thing though and haven't had time to manually do it.I like my market links when doing backups, and can easily play around and do easy restores then. Then I'll play with the Shift more and give it more time.
Both phones have their place, and many are coming from Moments and Heros so the size is perfect for them and the performance is nigh and day. You also have frustrated Epic owners stuck on the 2.2 thing finding it tough to go backwards from that nice big screen and smoother graphics. Both in general are great, and I'd take the Shift over a droid 2 any day. At the very least the Shift retires my Pre as a backup.I have to root the thing though and haven't had time to manually do it.I like my market links when doing backups, and can easily play around and do easy restores then. Then I'll play with the Shift more and give it more time.