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User Reviews + first impressions

Coming from the Samsung Moment, so this is a huge improvement. I really like everything about it. My Moment would maybe get maybe 4 or 5 hours of battery, but yesterday I was well over 10 hours and 60% charge left.
Mainly, I wanted the larger screen and faster processor(s) so those goals are way exceeded. I obviously haven't played with everything, but I did find a few minor annoyances:
  • world clock - Home is America/Bahia_Bandera??
  • world clock - Finds the small town I'm in, but most places I searched are not listed
  • 4G shows "good" on Sprint's website for my location, have yet to connect
  • power/standby placement - I really liked activating the screen with my thumb and doing some tasks one-handed, looks to be pretty impossible
  • power/standby - almost recessed too much for my liking, sometimes hit it a few times to get it
  • search button - I've already hit this too many times just handling the phone, seems very sensitive
Overall, 98% thrilled though, I just need to find more time to use it. I did notice my Hyundai Sonata still connects bluetooth with the address book reversed, so I have to say "Call Smith Bob". Not sure if this is an android issue, car issue, or what. I think the iphone does the same, know my Moment did as well.
 
Holding them both next to eachother the EVO 3d camera is constantly refocusing vs the 4g camera. Both 2 and 3d mode. Very annoying.
When focusing on a keyboard or this screen from a distance while both make words and type fuzzy the old 4g actually is slightly better at being able to read text. 8mp camera difference maybe?

Oh yeah it doesn't appreciate it when you forget it is in SD mounted mode an unplug it.
imag0205g.jpg
 
So I have had the EVO since wednesday and have had some time to play around with it and here's my review:

(back ground: orginally got the hero when it came out, loved the phone, appalling battery life which made me return it and get the samsung moment which was a mistake but I lived with it for a year. Then the EVO came out, wanted it, but wanted a keyboard as well and waited for the EPIC instead, much better then the moment, beautful screen, but broken gps among other issues. Now I have the EVO 3D. very pleased so far.)

3D: yes, this is a gimmick but it is a very cool gimmick. I have been taking more 3D photos than I thought I would.

Software: HTC put way more thought into this than samsung. Usually the first thing I do is slap on handcent, but haven't done that yet this time. Everything is fast and fluid. I wish I could turn the carousel effect off though.( Is there a way to do this?)

MUSIC: I am a sony whoar when it comes to music players. I have owned shure se500, slc 4, panasonic hje900's when it comes to headphones and currently using sony mdr-ex700's. USING POWER AMP (i specify this because power amp has an equalizer) the EVO sounds awesome and rivals my sony player, signal is clean and detailed. I may finally stop carrying a phone and separate mp3 player.

4G: I live in Newark NJ and get a very good 4g signal. I also work from home two or three days a week and have been using an Overdrive pro. I added the mobile hotspot and am using it today. Signal is better than on the overdrive and much more stable. (i get dropouts with the overdrive). I was able to play cod black ops last night without any lag. I also get good 3g speeds. i will be canceling my overdrive and using this instead.

BATTERY: when I don't need them, I turn 3g and 4g off. I did this with the EPIC and I'm doing it with this. With the epic, the phone still used an amazing amount of battery in just standby. Last night, with 3G and 4G off, I didn't plug in the charger. When I woke up, the battery indicator had not moved. I understand 4G is battery intensive, i don't mind turning it off and on as needed. What I don't like is a phone that eats away at battery when I am not even using it. So far, it seems that the EVO is not one of these phones.


Call quality is decent, speaker could be louder. The Camera takes nice 2D photos.

I haven't missed not having a keyboard so far. There is the htc keyboard and a swype keyboard although you can enable swype features on the htc keyboard (called trace). Although I haven't really had to write any long emails yet.

Had I not dropped the epic in the toilet (don't ask) a month ago, I probably would have kept it a little longer (i had to go back to the moment, what a tortuous month, lol) but now, I am glad that I did. This is the best phone that I have owned and HTC might have a loyal customer from now on.

nice small touch: app call "mirror" which uses the front facing cam to do exactly what it says.
 
A word of advice - don't take 3D videos and immediately run to your monitor to tell others about how great it is. Your head will explode.

3D impressions later.
 
Oh is there two notifcations too like the EVO 4G we used wimax notifer for text only? I used wimax notifier and had a red and green flashing light over to the right when I got a text. I know the light was meant for 4G and they decided not to use it. But I think I read this won't have the extra notification spot but I forgot what was said about it and I didn't think I saw it in pictures.

MyFishWagon said:
Congrats to all the new EVO 3D owners !

Quick question, does the LED message notification light finally blink when you receive a text/notification, WHILE the phone is charging ?

(as opposed to the Evo 4g)

Thanks all ! :cool:
Click to expand...
 
Hey! I just purchased an evo 3D, made the jump from an evo 4g. This is my take on it.

The new evo is narrower but taller, its more rectangle than square. It is the same thickness as the old evo. Another thing I noticed was that the sides on the evo 3d are more rounded out. With the new form factor the evo 3d feels better in the hand than the old one.

The screen is pretty good, the best feature is the bump in resolution. The colors are good and visibility in the sun is still like the old evo, hard to see in direct sunlight(as most cellphone displays are except the iphone). 3D should not be your main reason for purchasing this device. Just so you know, it only works in landscape mode, go portrait and the 3d effect is gone. You only use the 3d in camera, pictures, video, and games. The 3d itself can sometimes be optically challenging, because you have to look for the right angle to get the 3d effect properly. The 3d effect compared to the nintendo 3ds is about the same.

The camera button is a welcome addition, it is metal with a 2 stage trigger.

HTC sense 3.0 is awesome, and thats coming from an android purist. Especially the lock screen.


What do you guys think of the evo 3d?
 
cobalt said:
1. Yes. (Note I'm fairly new to HTC devices, but there's a Voice Dialer which seems to allow these various commands like "open calendar", and there's the standard Google-based stuff like search in both web and maps. This seems to be the same thing I've seen in the EVO Shift.)
2. Yes. (Again, not sure how it compares to other devices, but it's there and by default seems to have Footprints, Voice Search, Search, Navigation, View map, and Make a Call buttons.)
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Cobalt you are the man!
 
my critical review on the "Only" negative issue for me*:
* your experience may vary...

I hate the location of the charging port. Stupid, stupid, stupid.... Previously, I could charge the phone and hold it to my ear to make a call.. Now, the cable keeps slapping me in the face or the ear, depending on which ear I use. Also, I keep the phone in a window suction cup mount when in the car. Previously, the cable dropped straight down with no strain on the charging port at all... Now, the cable sticking out the side, interferes with practically all the car radio/air conditioner controls, and puts tons of strain on the jack, as the cord is being pulled down via gravity for the amount of time it's plugged in... Stupid, stupid, stupid... Note to HTC... Only allow mechanical designers who have real world experience to design your phones....

Venting off...
 
Anyone notice the camera pod getting pretty warm during general use?

Just picked it up an hour ago and can't keep it out of my hands - which brings me to this question: has anyone noticed the camera button catching on your hands? This thing is SHARP! I think with the right angle and force, this thing can slice some skin. I'm also afraid I'm going to rip the button out of the socket.
 
3volut1on said:
Anyone notice the camera pod getting pretty warm during general use?
Click to expand...

I played with it for about 2 hours and I did not notice any heat.

I will say this, I have an EPIC 4G as well, if I am using the phone while it is charging it gets extremely hot. (Either through Wall or the PC)

Is that perhaps what you are doing?
 
I would like to point out one thing.... Flash runs butter smooth on this phone. I watched a bunch of movie trailers last night and it was a desktop experience and actually better than some of my older PCs in my office.
 
EvoMax said:
my critical review on the "Only" negative issue for me*:
* your experience may vary...

I hate the location of the charging port. Stupid, stupid, stupid.... Previously, I could charge the phone and hold it to my ear to make a call.. Now, the cable keeps slapping me in the face or the ear, depending on which ear I use. Also, I keep the phone in a window suction cup mount when in the car. Previously, the cable dropped straight down with no strain on the charging port at all... Now, the cable sticking out the side, interferes with practically all the car radio/air conditioner controls, and puts tons of strain on the jack, as the cord is being pulled down via gravity for the amount of time it's plugged in... Stupid, stupid, stupid... Note to HTC... Only allow mechanical designers who have real world experience to design your phones....

Venting off...
Click to expand...

I actually had the opposite problem with my Evo 4G :p I keep the phone landscape in the car, so the port coming off the bottom of the phone really put a lot of stress on it and made keeping cables tidy a problem. I never really talk on the phone while it's charging (cable is too short and I like to walk around). If I did, I'd have it on speaker phone. Plus, the port on the side makes watching movies and playing games TONS easier. Trying to hold my Evo 4G with the cable going between my middle and ring finger was always a good source of hand cramps.

I can definitely see how the location of the port could be good or bad depending on how you use the phone, but I think there are lots of things that have to be relearned when switching to the 3D. I, for one, am having trouble with the narrow screen making the keyboard smaller. I'm so used to thumbing out messages on my 4G that I have to really slow down on this bad boy.
 
momoceio said:
Just an FYI - a huge thread about people buying their E3D's exists. Don't be surprised if this gets merged into that....or deleted.

http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-3d/359887-i-have-mine-thread.html

http://androidforums.com/htc-evo-3d/360814-note-creating-threads.html
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The point of the two threads are different enough that they should remain separate. This thread is more for people to talk about their experiences with the phone and provide amateur reviews. The other thread is merely for letting people know they got their phone. I really don't see why helpful information from people exploring their phone and thinking critically about the new features would be deleted in favor of a thread where everyone is just saying "Mine came today."

Plus, I created this one first ;-)
 
MyFishWagon said:
Congrats to all the new EVO 3D owners !

Quick question, does the LED message notification light finally blink when you receive a text/notification, WHILE the phone is charging ?

(as opposed to the Evo 4g)

Thanks all ! :cool:
Click to expand...

I just tested it, and it doesn't seem to. The light is RED while charging. I had no LIGHT notification change when I received email and/or texts. It did chime though.
Erick --
 
dlphnfn said:
I just tested it, and it doesn't seem to. The light is RED while charging. I had no LIGHT notification change when I received email and/or texts. It did chime though.
Erick --
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why cant they fix this??? so simple...

at lest make the red light blink if you get some other notification!!!! :confused:
 
yourfriendmat said:
My biggest issue so far is really the development of 3D content for the device. Blockbuster, HTC Watch, and Gameloft really dropped the ball as far as indicating what is 3D content. I have a 3D phone!
Click to expand...

The app "3D Games" is the Gameloft store, which shows the three titles currently available (all in 3D): Asphalt 6, Assassin's Creed and Let's Golf 2.
 
Vanquished said:
The app "3D Games" is the Gameloft store, which shows the three titles currently available (all in 3D): Asphalt 6, Assassin's Creed and Let's Golf 2.
Click to expand...

Yeah they fixed it :) When I posted that a couple days ago, they had all of their games listed there, and none of them had 3D in the title. I mentioned it on the Sprint forum where I'm doing the trial and it was fixed the next day :) I have to say, I'm really impressed with the way they're handling all the issues that come up.
 
I was getting ready to download Handcent here soon. Was wanting to see what the standard messaging app was like and what was different. I sold back my OG EVO and rebought one and on the 2nd one I actually used the pop up and hadn't before and really liked it. I had a cool summer skin and it was nice.


septro said:
One issue is that Handcent SMS doesn't work with the Sense 3.0 lock screen for text popups but the native text app does.

Hopefully Handcent fixes this soon.

Oh and Kickstand how I miss thee... :(
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