Edmund's Technoblasts

HTC Evo 4G
The talk of the town for the moment is HTC's Evo, the first 4G offering exclusively available on Sprint. I have had this phone for about a week and I can say that I am very pleased. Boasting a 4.3 in LCD display, the Evo sports the largest screen on a U.S. mobile phone to date. The phone weighs 6oz, at .5in thick, 4.8in high and 2.6in wide. I have to admit that the phone has weight to it whenever I have it in hand, though I do not experience the reported wrist fatigue that iPad users have complained about. Included on the back is a kickstand so you can watch videos hands free (great for air travel) and use the device as a digital alarm clock. Also on board is Android 2.1 with HTC Sense with a 1GHz Snapdragon processor powering everything. Detailed specs are here. One caveat is the fact that 4G coverage is not widely available and being forced to pay a $10 "premium data" surcharge is definitely not palatable. However, the capabilities of the phone outweigh that small caveat, and Sprint plans to roll out 4G coverage to all major U.S. markets in the near future. Keep in mind that Sprint is the only U.S. mobile carrier with unlimited data plans. AT&T and Verizon have ceased unlimited data plans, only offering capped plans at tiered prices. Personally, the capped option would not have worked for me. I stream a lot of video and audio content on a regular basis as well as upload from my smart phone so it would not have been advantageous to continue with AT&T. $69.99 plus the $10 fee brings the base total to $79.99. Once taxes (NYC) and fees are tabulated my monthly total is approx $98/mo, which is about $15 cheaper than what I was paying with AT&T using a Blackberry Bold. Even if you were not planning on purchasing an Evo, Sprint is still the better option when it comes to smart phones. Back to the Evo. The Evo has two cameras. There is a 1.3 MP front facing camera that will allowing for voice conferencing and low-res self portraits. The back camera is 8MP and also records 720P HD video. Featured on the phone is HTC's Qik application. Qik allows you to seamlessly share video across multiple social networks as well as specific people you select from your contacts list. YouTube HQ is included so you can watch HD video on the brilliant 4.3 in screen. Sprint TV is robust and is a nice added feature especially during playoff time. Full episodes of prime time shows does not hurt either. Google is said to be releasing Froyo (Android 2.2) in the coming months. Notable attributes is the ability to use your device as a HotSpot, bypassing Sprint charging you $29.99 to use their HotSpot option. Other attributes include Adobe Flash 10.1, free syncing via cloud technology, as well as improved social networking capabilities. HTC, however is known to be slow to offer Android updates to their phones, but they have promised that this will not be the case with the Evo 4G; time will tell. Overall the HTC Evo 4G is currently the must have device. All of the features that are packed into this device make it one that can survive the voracious technology appetite of late; which causes the disease of obsolescence rather quickly. Once Sprint rolls out 4G nationwide, the full capabilities of the Evo will be realized.

My rating for this device is 4 stars out of a possible 5. The fifth star may come once 4G is rolled out to the NYC metro area.

Quick note: Many people have intimated issues with battery life. I did notice a significant lack of battery life until I installed a free app (Advanced Task Killer), which improved my battery life by 40%.

Edmund

Comments and suggestions are welcomed and encouraged.