Customer Reviews

Sprint HTC Evo 4g Android Cell Phone

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Before addressing the hardware and functionality of this phone, let's address quickly the five-part equation that makes up your overall smart phone user experience:
(1) the hardware...the phone itself
(2) operating system software
(3) installed applications
(4) the network (overall, and where you happen to be using the phone at a particular time)
(5) the service provider

In some cases, there are serial dependencies on the factors above, as many phones are tied to specific operating systems or service providers. Or perhaps you spend a lot of time in an area without 4G service. Just remember that even if you make a great phone choice, deficiencies in the other areas can diminish your overall user experience.

Don't move to a smart phone without some research into these choices. Which provider? Which mobile operating system? Who can offer me the best service, or the best combination of value and service? The rest of this review assumes you've already figured out why a phone with the Android operating system might be a better choice for you than an iPhone, a Blackberry or a Windows-based smart phone solution...

Bottom line for the HTC EVO 4G: feature loaded, user-friendly and a hard choice to go wrong with in a crowded smart phone market.

The phone ships with an impressive array of capability and apps, and finding and installing new ones from the Android marketplace is easy even for non-techies.

Two very strong performers in the pre-installed applications are Google-powered Voice Search and Navigate: both are eerily good at delivering search results and driving/walking directions. This phone's voice-to-text interface is also very good, and can be used for both composing text messages and delivering search results without typing. Surprisingly, a voice-based dialing app that is part of the operating system's collection of widgets seldom gets one right. The Evo's on-screen keyboard is adaptive to your compositions over time, and will suggest auto-completes for words you frequently type.

The phone includes two cameras: an outward facing high resolution (8 megapixel) still/video camera, and a front facing 1.3 megapixel camera for video applications. It ships with an 8 GB microSD card. One surprising oversight of this phone is the placement of the microSD card inside the battery compartment. Although you can move files to an from it via the USB port, this phone would be improved if the card were accessible without removing the back cover.

In addition to the USB port, the phone has a 3.5mm aux audio jack and an HDMI port.

The rear of the phone includes a "kickstand", allowing you to stand the phone on a horizontal surface when viewing the display in landscape mode (great for using the speakerphone or watching videos).

Customization of the scrolling display screens is intuitive. In our house, even less technically savvy users were re-arranging icons and applications in no time.

Each of phone, video and still image quality are satisfactory.

The overall finish of this phone is --literally-- quite slick. It can go sliding easily on leather car seat, and both the screen and frame will attract and display fingerprints. Whether or not you opted in to the damage/loss insurance that most providers offer, I'd strongly recommend both a screen protector and some case or holster to offer a modicum of protection to the phone.

Mnay options exist for protection, but for our multiple Evo phones we've found the following to provide a good mix of protection and price:
--"Fishbone" protective case (red linked here; other colors are available)
--SGP STEINHEIL Anti FingerprintSprint Screen Protector (Anti Fingerprint)

Let these protective devices soak up the wear and tear instead of your phone and display.

Other reviews have discussed battery life, and it's worth addressing. This phone has five separate radio transmit/receive devices:
-the standard cellular (3G/CDMA) transceiver
-the 4G transceiver
-Bluetooth (for short-range use of hands-free devices and data exchange)
-GPS receiver
-Wifi transceiver
Each of these devices will exert its own demand on the battery. Selectively turning them off when not needed, along with setting a shorter time to turn off the display (2 minutes or 1 minute) will go a long way to mitigate the battery issue. Additionally, there are extended life aftermarket batteries (usually with an accompanying modified case cover to accommodate their their additional bulk) that will easily get you through your work day away from external power.

A note about apps:
Android is a Google operating system, and access to the Android marketplace for additional apps requires entry through a Google/Gmail account (either existing or one you create when setting up the phone). In return for the apps, be aware that you surrender significant personal information on your phone, your location (at minumum the nearest cell tower, and in some cases your GPS-derived location) and details of how you used the phone and applications. Providing this information is the cost of admission for functionality of the apps. I'm not offering a value judgement on this...just pointing it out for your information.

Finally, a note about pricing:
Comparison shop and pay attention when you're ready to make the move to a smart phone. For the hardware purchase, you can expect to find considerable differences in the prices (even when upgrade discount and rebates are included) from different vendors. Be sure to check out each each of your provider's "store" (brick and mortar, by phone and online), big box stores and even Amazon's new wireless store. It's worth investing a couple minutes in this research to save a considerable amount on the purchase price.

Becoming a smart phone user begins with shopping smartly! )
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My Samsung phone Android experience was slightly different than my HTC Android phone experience. HTC is definitely better, more stable, browsing is better, battery life is worse but the overall quality and the sturdiness of the phone in question is penultimate. Let me try to tell you why I am so enamored by this phone.

1. The browsing is excellent, the downloading is quick, the web pages load in seconds and even on 3G the phone is super fast, I have never switched on the 4G for more than an hour and feel it should only be done when you're downloading a very big file. You may wonder what the purpose of 4G is, so well, although the 4G function is there, this phone is faster than any 3G phones available on the network by a mile (Hero, Moment, Optimus S to name a few) So the browsing is excellent.

2. I used GPS once while trying to locate a bar a friend of mine was at in downtown. Anyone who's been to downtown manhattan knows what a headache directions are there but using this I got there just in time. Yes, it takes a bit of getting used to and yes if you forget to switch the GPS off, the phone is going to complain and be really hot.

3. Of maybe the seven or eight phones I've used in my life time, this one has the loudest speaker when using Pandora. It is very clear at the same time. While the EPIC may have a louder speaker, the Evo has the clear one, for hours at a time I let it play at volume level 2 with the screen switched off and it is the most delightful jukebox. There are several applications for music and the phone's customization and level of speed and concentration is nothing short of excellent. It never confuses between two running apps and multi-tasking is the best on any phone. Credit to Android and HTC Sense developers.

4. The kickstand is a unique feature which can be helpful once in a way, the back of the black EVO is smooth and a pleasure to hold in your hands. The QWERTY touchscreen is really good and I have almost mastered it. When I was using the Nexus S, the touchscreen keyboard was awful. The touchscreen on this phone is the best i have seen on any phone. It is maybe better than my ipod touch too which now is a device i never touch. I don't need to use SWYPE cause I'm fast enough holding the phone vertically.

5. The alarm feature is just awesome and I had to make a point about it because even if you're listening to music it will give two sounds, one for the music, the other for the alarm, functionality and customization again get a big score here. The NOTIFICATION bar is the best I've seen on any Android phone.

6. The BATTERY life is horrid. Worse than Samsung phones. I have a solution that will cost you money. There is a Seidio battery which goes into your phone but doesn't require an extended back. Get that and you will get a day with your phone. With the STOCK BATTERY, there is no use using your phone.

7. One of my BIGGEST COMPLAINTS with this phone is the earphone speaker being way too low. When I'm in a busy room full of people, I always have to get up and go out. With my Blackberry or Samsung I never had to this. So yes, this is not the best phone in the world to talk with. It's a very big flaw and makes me dislike the phone immensely. When you plug in headphones, it is loud enough of course but who does that everyday or all the time? not me i guess.

8. Ships with 8GB memory, the touchscreen is flawless and never skips a single beat, the phone never freezes and yes, it has restarted itself once or twice since I have had it but I have never had a phone that doesn't ever reboot once in a way so can't complain. I don't use any app killer, at night i keep my brightness to the lowest level, I restart my phone daily to kill any apps running in the background. I use Winamp for playing music. There are several shortcut and widget options. The phone has a beautiful time display, weather display and quite a sense of humor too. The four capacitive buttons always work.
The GREEN NOTIFICATION light is friendly and not too urgent like the Blackberry's RED. I know it is silly to compare but I am silly. The camera is just awful to be honest. Though better than the Blackberry, it is still very difficult to take pictures in the night. The flash is too flashy and washes out the face. Netflix runs smooth, I haven't cracked the screen yet but I've seen several cracked Evo's. I didn't bother rooting it or any of that nonsense.



Overall, a solid phone with 2 flaws I can live with. I am not going to deduct any marks because the phone has several stand outs.

I bought this phone right before christmas and over all the phone works really good. But the post is misleading because it says this is a new phone. This phone is not new, it is referbished and the reason why i am upset isnt because it is refurbished. I am upset because a refurbished evo 4g is $100 cheaper then this phone is. I paid 280 thinking this was a new phone and another seller was selling "refurbished evo 4g's" for 160!!!!! I am very upset because of this. Another thing is that the battery was bad. They sent me a bad used battery. Luckily i have insurance and sprint gave me a new battery for free, which would have been 40 if they didnt replace it for me, but i am very upset with this company. I love the phone but the company is HORRIBLE!

I love my EVO. I've had it since it was released. I'm now 18 months into my phone and i'm just as happy with it as i was the day i picked it up. I'm coming up on my 2 yr upgrade with Sprint and i don't have any intention of upgrading. What would i upgrade to? The I-Phone doesn't have 4g. The software has been very stable and Sprint tends to update the EVO before other phones. My only complaint is not being able to remove some of the useless apps the come pre-installed on the phone. I've been able to do most everything from my phone when i'm not in my office. Best thing i ever did.

the phone came so fast i didnt expect it, the phone looks so much better then how they say it looks,it looks fresh out the original box

I have owned an HTC Evo 3g for 1.5 years, and while I like many features of the phone I would not buy another HTC phone. For the first few months of ownership the phone worked great, then Android began updating its OS, and that is when many HTC customer's, including myself, started to feel the pain. HTC did a terrible job in trying to get the Evo phone to work properly with the Android OS updates. This was most apparent with the Gingerbread update last June. For myself and many other Evo users we lost the use of voice search, which would now only work in a completely silent environment, so forget about using it in a moving car. It took HTC months to acknowledge the problem, even though their own user forums were filled with dissatisfied customers complaining about this. Their efforts to ship a working patch to resolve this issue were a total failure. Voice search is only one of the problems, the phone's camera, which worked flawlessly when the phone was released now crashes after talking only a few pictures. It's not just the camera that crashes, you often have to reboot the phone itself after a camera crash since the whole unit bricks up. I have tried new patches from HTC to resolve these issues and THEY DONT WORK. Don't just take my word for it, go ahead and Google HTC Evo problems, particularly camera and voice search, you'll see many others who have the same problem. I feel that HTC has done little to nothing to resolve this and that their customer service is awful. I'm a Sprint customer, my next phone will definitely not be an HTC, most likely I will go with Samsung. Anyone but HTC.

I bought this HTC Evo 4G and it worked fine for a couple weeks and then one day just shut off and found out the mother board needed to be replace I would never buy from this seller again.

The gentlemen who sent this phone put a tracking number on this phone and didn't charge me extra! It was supposed to come between 14 Nov and 30 Nov, it came on 9 Nov! Very impressed. The only thing is the description said it was brand new, but when I took it to sprint, I was told it was refurbished. But the phone works great, no issues. My husband is really impressed with it. The only reason why I put 4 stars and not 5 was because the Ad was very misleading with it saying brand new.

Great seller, fast shipping, product exactly as described. Thanks! Phone calmer in box with what looked like factory covers (referb) no problems yet and I've had the phone for a month

The phone is great. Top of the line for online use and just about everything you can imagine with a smartphone. Really love the front and back camera. the only thing that bothers me about the phone is its battery life. With everything you can do on it, you can easily drain your battery.