I've had a Palm Pre (well, several, actually...) for about a year and a half. The current one is now charging only erratically, so time for a new phone in the next couple days. My (EPRP) Sprint k goes through November 2013 due to an upgrade on another line, so only looking at phones on Sprint.
No offense, but my preference would definitely be to wait to see what's up HP-Palm's sleeve at the Feb 7th announcement, because I think webOS is all kinds of brilliant. But facts on the ground preclude waiting, and part of me thinks that webOS is today's NeXT or Amiga: a good idea that catches on with some people big but doesn't and won't get mass traction and the interesting apps that come with mass traction. (Well, NeXT finally did, but we call it OSX now.)
So, like pretty much everyone considering a new phone on Sprint today, I'm looking at the following three: HTC Evo 4G, Samsung Epic 4G, and HTC Evo Shift 4G. A smaller no-real-keyboard smartphone, such as my mom's LG Optima, does not interest me.
Right now, I use my phone for texting, nav, email, scheduling, and web browsing (NYT, Slate, ESPN, that sort of thing; more text than graphics) when I'm out and about and waiting somewhere. Not much else, really. I have zero interest in phone gaming, and I listen to music on the go on other devices (iPod, iPod shuffle), but I wonder if I might be doing more with the phone if there were useful apps for me.
Yes, I've read reviews, which frankly confused more than clarified. Also, I've looked at all three in the store. But honestly I have no idea WTF I should be looking at. None of them are, unfortunately, world phones, so my ancient BB 7100t is what I will still use outside the US. (If any of the three were world phones with an unlocked GSM slot, that would decide the matter for me.) My impressions are just the following:
I like the HTC Evo Shift's price best, and I prefer the blue highlights to solid black. The keyboard feels nice, though I wish someone would do a vertical slider keyboard like the Pre or the new BB on AT&T. Much easier to use one-handed. But I travel a bunch, and part of me thinks I might actually Skype with the front camera. (Other parts of me say "who cares - that's what the EyeSight built into your MacBook's screen bezel is for.") Also, the slider mechanism feels cheap. The action itself is just unassisted which is fine, maybe preferable. But a more positive locking feel would be nice. After living with a Pre I really don't want niggling doubts about build quality.
The HTC Evo 4G has the best apparent build quality, and from what I was told in the store the HTC Sense software does the same facebook contact/picture updating thing that webOS Synergy does. I like white, too... Also, my sister likes it, which from a practical standpoint means that if Sprint has an iPhone out when her upgrade is due in November or so I can hand an Evo down to her and pick up an iPhone at the new-k price. (Sorry guys, I'm an Apple fanboy first.
)But it has no real keyboard, and I text a lot.
The Samsung Epic 4G has the best-looking colors (at least as adjusted by Sprint store personnel) and the keyboard slider has a nice, a positive action. But...somehow the Evo "feels" nicer I think. And I think you have to manually link all of your FB contacts, instead of the phone pulling them from the ether and doing it automagically. Also, I've read that Sammy isn't the best about getting software updates out.
According to some tests I've seen, it seems that the speed, etc. goes Epic > Shift > ur-Evo. How much that matters for my uses, I have no idea. All three seemed snappy enough in the store. And all three passed the "do you fit in the hip pocket of my 1998-vintage Helmut Lang Classic Cuts" test just fine.
I get the feeling that the in-store "audition" is kind of like "listening" to a piece of audio kit in a salon. Vaguely important, but generally doesn't tell you much except what to categorically exclude.
So, what should sway me in one of the three directions?
No offense, but my preference would definitely be to wait to see what's up HP-Palm's sleeve at the Feb 7th announcement, because I think webOS is all kinds of brilliant. But facts on the ground preclude waiting, and part of me thinks that webOS is today's NeXT or Amiga: a good idea that catches on with some people big but doesn't and won't get mass traction and the interesting apps that come with mass traction. (Well, NeXT finally did, but we call it OSX now.)
So, like pretty much everyone considering a new phone on Sprint today, I'm looking at the following three: HTC Evo 4G, Samsung Epic 4G, and HTC Evo Shift 4G. A smaller no-real-keyboard smartphone, such as my mom's LG Optima, does not interest me.
Right now, I use my phone for texting, nav, email, scheduling, and web browsing (NYT, Slate, ESPN, that sort of thing; more text than graphics) when I'm out and about and waiting somewhere. Not much else, really. I have zero interest in phone gaming, and I listen to music on the go on other devices (iPod, iPod shuffle), but I wonder if I might be doing more with the phone if there were useful apps for me.
Yes, I've read reviews, which frankly confused more than clarified. Also, I've looked at all three in the store. But honestly I have no idea WTF I should be looking at. None of them are, unfortunately, world phones, so my ancient BB 7100t is what I will still use outside the US. (If any of the three were world phones with an unlocked GSM slot, that would decide the matter for me.) My impressions are just the following:
I like the HTC Evo Shift's price best, and I prefer the blue highlights to solid black. The keyboard feels nice, though I wish someone would do a vertical slider keyboard like the Pre or the new BB on AT&T. Much easier to use one-handed. But I travel a bunch, and part of me thinks I might actually Skype with the front camera. (Other parts of me say "who cares - that's what the EyeSight built into your MacBook's screen bezel is for.") Also, the slider mechanism feels cheap. The action itself is just unassisted which is fine, maybe preferable. But a more positive locking feel would be nice. After living with a Pre I really don't want niggling doubts about build quality.
The HTC Evo 4G has the best apparent build quality, and from what I was told in the store the HTC Sense software does the same facebook contact/picture updating thing that webOS Synergy does. I like white, too... Also, my sister likes it, which from a practical standpoint means that if Sprint has an iPhone out when her upgrade is due in November or so I can hand an Evo down to her and pick up an iPhone at the new-k price. (Sorry guys, I'm an Apple fanboy first.
)But it has no real keyboard, and I text a lot. The Samsung Epic 4G has the best-looking colors (at least as adjusted by Sprint store personnel) and the keyboard slider has a nice, a positive action. But...somehow the Evo "feels" nicer I think. And I think you have to manually link all of your FB contacts, instead of the phone pulling them from the ether and doing it automagically. Also, I've read that Sammy isn't the best about getting software updates out.
According to some tests I've seen, it seems that the speed, etc. goes Epic > Shift > ur-Evo. How much that matters for my uses, I have no idea. All three seemed snappy enough in the store. And all three passed the "do you fit in the hip pocket of my 1998-vintage Helmut Lang Classic Cuts" test just fine.
I get the feeling that the in-store "audition" is kind of like "listening" to a piece of audio kit in a salon. Vaguely important, but generally doesn't tell you much except what to categorically exclude.
So, what should sway me in one of the three directions?
