The Best of Both Phone, and Tablet
-
"Another Evo, Another Specs Monster!" on by K-Rivera
Pros: + Dual LED flash
+ Dual core processor is fast
+ Call quality has been excellent
+ Slightly slimmer than the original and feels great in the handCons: - Much of the hype is on the 3D feature
- Screen would be more vividSummary: When the Evo 4G came out, it was a beast like nothing before it. Even a year later, the Evo 4G isn't too shabby. It just received Gingerbread, the latest Android update and is one of the few Android phones right now that can stream Netflix.
Edit Broken Link:
A little history on myself, I've generally had the top Sprint smartphone since the Mogul, then to Touch Pro, Palm Pre and in the last year, I've used mainly the Evo, with a few months of the Epic.
Onto the 3D: HTC's follow-up to the blockbuster Evo 4G is to give us a feature that nobody was asking for: a 3D capable display with stereoscopic cameras. The 3D effect is pretty cool. You do have some blur until the camera adjusts. While it's something you've probably never seen, short of the Nintendo 3DS, it just not something most people will find impressive. At no point have I thought wow, I'm really glad my phone can do this. You do have the option to turn it off and take regular pictures. The 3D has dual LED flash, just like the first Evo and the standard pictures come out sharp. Speaking of the LEDs, it is missing the flashlight app, but I'm sure HTC will add that in for a future update.
Ok, that's out of the way. What else does this phone have? Speed. The dual core processor is fast and you will notice it from the first boot-up. Subsequent boot-ups take about 12 seconds to get to the home screen. My Epic Galaxy S, not a slow phone by any means, takes over 30 seconds to boot to the home screen. Even when downloading my 30-40 apps from Market, there was no lag. You have 1.15GB of internal memory for apps, so you won't have to worry about running out of space like the first one. HTC is still only throwing in an 8GB micro SD, but it's class 4 speed this time. 16GB cards are cheap, so that's a worthwhile upgrade for those that want to put a lot of media on their phone.
HTC's Sense interface has been a popular feature and with Sense 3.0, a lot of improvements are made and there's a lot to love here. I don't care for the carousel effect when flicking screens and you still don't have an option to remove screens (I don't need 7). The notification bar has a quick settings tab that let's you toggle all your data widgets. I will eventually go back to Launcher Pro, but for now I am enjoying the new Sense. The lock screen has the ability to go to certain apps, and to display weather or other items that you can personalize. It's a welcome integration and you no longer have to rely on a third party app for this function. You will notice other little things like the segmented app drawer pages.
Call quality has been excellent, just as the original. From when I've checked, I'm getting at least 4 bars throughout the greater Los Angeles area.
So is it worth it if you have an Evo 4G, or an Epic 4G? Not if what you have is still going strong. It is an improvement, so if money isn't an issue, by all means, get it. The 3D is slightly slimmer than the original and feels great in the hand. I prefer the matte finish on the side and the new case design, but this is subjective. I absolutely love the giant camera button. The power button is very soft and doesn't take much effort to push. You might have to get used to that, but I now prefer it over a button that is harder to push.
I do like the phone a lot. Like the original Evo, it is a beast in the specs, as well as performance department. I gave the original 5 stars and the 3D is better but I can't give it 5 stars because so much of the hype is on the 3D feature, which I will hardly use, same as most people. You have to compare it to what is here now and the Evo 3D isn't far ahead of any other phone, like the original was. The masses would have preferred that HTC just left out the 3D all together, make it thinner and lighter, maybe leave in the kickstand. The screen would be more vivid, with better viewing angles, since it would closer to the glass. The camera is not flush with the rest of the back, which can be annoying, just like the first Evo, if you didn't use a case.
So the Evo 3D is great but most users that want a big screen will opt for Samsung's Galaxy S II, once it's an option.
*** P.S. If you will buy this HTC Evo 3D I suggest at: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0054LECV8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=***************&********=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&************=B0054LECV8
Updated on Sep 27, 2011
If you will buy this HTC Evo 3D I suggest at: http://beam.to/HTCEVO4G -
"A very nice upgrade from the Evo 4G!" on by Khemistry84
Pros: Super LCD/qHD screen
1.2GHz dual-core processor
Gingerbread 2.3.3 OS
Sense 3.0
Dedicated camera shutter button
3D capabilitiesCons: Location of microSD/charge port
Slightly slimmer width of deviceSummary: I nabbed my very own EVO 3D on launch day. The phone has a really solid feel and its design is slimmer than the EVO 4G which makes it easier to hold. I had no problem with the size of the EVO 4G, but, I know many others did. The screen is ever-so-slightly slimmer than the original EVOs, but the phones overall size is slightly taller.
The Super LCD/qHD screen is rather nice. The phone boots up significantly faster than the EVO 4G. I turn my phone on and blink a few times and it's already at the home lockscreen. All of the hype that I had been hearing about Gingerbread 2.3.3 and especially the new Sense 3.0, was definitely warranted. The EVO 3D is extra snappy and responsive, thanks to its 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor. The lockscreen using Sense 3.0 is amazing! A live weather animation flashes across the screen upon turning the screen on. From there, you have four options: (1) placing a phone call or accessing your phonebook; (2) accessing your email; (3) activating the 2D/3D camera or video camera; or (4) accessing your text messages. My favorite feature of the new Sense 3.0 is that missed calls and emails are finally displayed on your screen. The older versions of Android/Sense didn't do that... at least not on the phones I've had.
The carousel effect of the new Sense 3.0 is really neat. It's nice not having to scroll between seven screens one way and then being stopped abruptly and having to go back the other way... you just go round and around and around endlessly, if you want. And if you spin the homescreens really fast, a really neat animation effect, will occur.
The new homescreens are really nice. There are many different stock homescreens that you can choose for the overall theme of your phone. If you don't like the weather clock the shows the time and the weather beneath it, you can change the theme to one that replaces the weather with Facebook updates from your friends.
The call quality has been really good for me. Calls on the other end of the line say that I sound really clear and the internal speaker is noticeably louder than on the EVO 4G. The EVO 3D has a new feature that I really liked on my old Touch Pro2... when you flip the phone onto its back, the speaker activates its self.
Now, to the feature everyone is wondering about... the 3D! I have to say, that I find the 3D to be pretty good. The phone comes pre-loaded with some professional 3D pics and videos that you can sample. The pre-installed content looks AMAZING! I was really thinking that amateur photos taken by myself, would look really cheesy, but they actually look really good. Whatever you're taking a photo of, pops off the screen and you can really get a sense of 3-Dimensions and depth. The camera also has a dedicated two-stage shutter button that makes taking photos a breeze. I have been aching for a shutter button on a high-end smartphone. Finally, someone listed! There is also a dual LED flash with the EVO 3D. I also like the fact that I can connect my EVO 3D to my Sony 40" 3D LED HDTV and view all of my EVO 3D content on there as well.
The phone comes with adequate memory, including 4GB of internal memory and an 8GB Class 4 microSD card. I purchased a 16GB Class 6 microSD card beforehand, as I wanted more memory and faster processing speeds. Those two things were sorely lacking on my EVO 4G.
The battery is 'okay'. It's better than the EVO 4Gs battery initially was, at least in my opinion. Certain things will drain the battery fast, especially when downloading apps from the Android Market. But when I received my phone, the battery was more than half dead, and even thought I played around with it a lot as well as used the navigation system, the battery still had juice left before I needed to worry about charging it. Hopefully HTC will release an update soon to correct any battery life issues.
This phone is a nice upgrade. I was very happy with my EVO 4G and i wouldn't try to make anyone with one jealous of not having the new EVO 3D, as both a really great and solid phones. But, I am very happy with my new upgrade and I'd recommend either phone to anyone. Gingerbread and the new Sense 3.0, alone, make it a reason to upgrade to the EVO 3D. I think a lot of people are under the impression that the 3D is the main feature of the phone and that it MUST be used. That's not the case. The phone is primarily a 2D device, the 3D is optional and can be turned off. The 3D is only functional for taking/viewing pictures, videos, and certain games. -
"Terrible integration with Android software." on by GKG81
Pros: - 1.2 Ghz SnapDragon core processing speed is fast.
- Great QHD screenCons: - Phone turns off randomly. You won't even know the phone is off
until you try to see if you've missed any calls or texts. Not a
battery issue as it has been replaced several times.
- Texts arrive several days later.
- Several software integration issueSummary: Overhyped phone that has terrible integration with Android software and battery issues. Would never buy this again. Twenty phone calls and five visits later, Sprint has recommended I exchange phones.
-
"Dont do it! A phone still needs to be a phone!" on by ohreli
Pros: Fast, nice screen (except in direct sunlight, see below), Sense 3.0 is beautiful and robust.
Cons: Poor phone reception , mediocre voice quality, tinny speakerphone with very low volume. (A phone still needs to be a phone!!) Mediocre battery life (standby life is much better than EVO, bu t battery life still sucks if you use it!) Screen is narrower t
Summary: I upgraded to this from the original EVO. But due to the cons above, I traded it in for a Motorola Photon, and am very glad I did. Although Motorola's interface is not as slick as Sense 3.0, I was able to generally compensate for that by sleuthing out third-party widgets on the Android Market. The Photon is just as fast as the EVO 3D, and in almost every other way (phone reception, speaker quality and volume, battery life), the Photon is a vastly superior phone.
-
"High Quality phone" on by Jason_Franco
Pros: - Battery management built in
- Application / Memory management built in
- QHD screen which displays full web page like as desktop pc
- Build quality
- 800mhz frequency added to this phones radio
- The 3d works which in my opinion makes it more than a gimCons: - Would prefer more internal storage.
- High resolution display makes the icons smaller which you may not like coming from a phone with a lower resolution display because it may strain your eyes.
- Not full root capable at this time but HTC is working onSummary: Summary of the Pros:
HTC has just announced that The EVO 3D along with the HTC sensation, should receive the update which will unlock the boot loader sometime near the end or August early September... I can't wait!
I have always been a fan of HTC sense and its widgets. It provides a user experience like no other. There are days were I like to position or day trade in the stock market and the HTC stock widget app is great for monitoring stocks current trading price and it includes charts. I also make use of the HTC calendar for scheduling my appointments with clients. It is beautiful to look at and it works well.There is a battery management system included (go to menu,settings then power...) to enable power efficiency or power saving profiles that you can tweak to your needs. I like this because it eliminates the need to install a third party app. When you pull down the drawer from the top of the screen and touch "quick settings" at the bottom, there is an option that reads, "total memory".Touch "total memory" top open a list of currently running programs which you can move to the sd card, stop select programs from running, or touch the "kill all" button on the bottom to shut off everything that is listed, this is another great accessible feature that will do well on its on without the need for a third party task killer.
The QHD screen is very responsive and great for web browsing. I know a lot of people have been reading the reviews on the Samsung Galaxy s2 and its super amoled plus screen. I went to an at&t store and looked at the samsung infuse which uses the same super amoled plus screen as the samsung gs2. Yes the colors look more rich than the QHD display, but it some areas the amoled was over saturated. Supposedly the new gs2 will feature a way of turning down the saturation. In short the difference was not enough for me to claim the super amoled plus screen as vastly superior to a super LCD QHD display. Plus this phone build quality is solid, another improvement over the origanal EVO 4G. The photos you see on the web on this phone due not do it justice. I looks much better in person.
This phone has an upgraded radio which supports the 800mhz band. What this means is that when Sprint is done migrating the IDEN network used for Nextel, this phone will be able to make use of the 800mhz frequency. What does that mean to you? Basically your reception will increase inside buildings because lower radio frequencies penetrate through walls better.
I have viewed 3d content such as the green hornet, yes like most people have said what you see is depth in your viewing. But, there are times where you do have images that look like they pop of the screen. To have an idea what I am talking about watch the scene were Kato goes into the frig to get two beers, when he spins off both of the bottle caps you do see the affect where it looks like the bottle caps came at you off the screen. There are also plenty of you tube content in 3d.
Summary of cons:
In comparison to the samsung gs2 and the photon this phone comes up short on internal memory but I guess thats the trade of for the 3d cameras.
My other issue is the higher resolution screen. While I like the better view of webpages and increased legibility of text, I have a hard time texting with one hand because the characters on the keyboard are smaller. Not that big of an issue but I do make more mistakes now then I did before with the original EVO.
Conclusion:
This phone is a smart purchase. I did not buy this phone for its 3d capabilities but for its dual core processor, gpu and ram. I had considered waiting for the samsung gs2 and photon to be released before I made by decision but I decided to go with the EVO 3d because my experience with HTC has never been negative. In comparison to the Samsung, the latest samsung designs tries to hard to be an iphone clone, which just annoys me regardless of what hardware they have. The motorola photon just seems boring, its only strong points is its GSM support and Internal storage. GSM is something I will barely use. The EVO 3D does everything I need, fast and with style. It has a rich feature set for all types of users.
Updated on Jul 11, 2011
Write a Review
Compare to other smartphones
Compare Selected
Check coverage in your area 
%20-%20Smartphones%20-%20CNET%20Reviews&srcUrl=http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/htc-evo-3d-sprint/4852-6452_7-34554507.html&x_breadcrumb=8900:3488:3504:6452&x_arw_bkts=MAD:high_wireless_switcher){kind=small}