New EVO 3D owner coming from iPhone

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Hi All,
I just wanted to introduce myself as a new member of the Android Central community. I picked up my first Android handset last weekend, the EVO 3D. A little background: I've had a work issued Blackberry for over 6 years and sported an iPhone for fun/personal since 2009. My most recent phone was an iPhone 4. I also have an iPad 2 and a Verizon Xoom that I got from my company.

I am not loyal to any one company or OS. I am a big fan of gadgets and there is no doubt, this is the best time ever to be an electronic gadget customer. I've been wanting to try a handset with the Android OS as my primary device for a while now. I have to be honest and say that the Xoom did not instill confidence that I would find the Android platform adequate. Maybe it was the particular device I had but the frequent forced closes and lag on my unit left a lot to be desired. When I tried the EVO 3D in the store however I was very impressed with the speed and display so I took the plunge.

I've been very happy with the device so far. There is still a ton for me to learn as far as the OS goes but the raw bruit strength of this thing is breathtaking. I really like the freedom in the OS to change almost everything. And it is a blast learning the nuances of Android. It seems I'm constantly finding things to tweak that add to the overall experience. The only thing that I'm a little concerned about is the battery life. It's not terrible and I sit at a desk all day anyway, but watching the battery rapidly decrease in front of my eyes during heavy use periods in a little disconcerting.

That said I see the following reasoning stated in fanboy pissing matches on Engadet and the like all the time, but IMHO it really is true; just for comparison the iPhone is optimized to have a pretty good battery life. It's one of its selling points. But the reality is the processor is underclocked, the OS is linear and the GUI is about as minimalist as you can get. The EVO 3D is definitely not underclocked, it came with live wallpaper enabled! and the Android/Sense GUI obviously has a lot going on via widgets/shortcuts and animations. I build my own PCs and upgrade constantly because I love that power and don't really care about form factor. I think I've reached that point with Smartphones. I'd rather slap a 3500 mAh battery on this sucker, crank the brightness on that huge screen and let all the usefull processes run (even when I'm not using them) because I don't want to compromise and I don't care about having a pretty skinny phone. I want the fastest, most powerful phone and I think I got one of these with the EVO.

Sorry for the long post. I'm sure ill have some question in the future especially when i attempt to root this thing which I am really looking forward to BTW. and judging by the little I've read so far here at AC there won't be a shortage of answers. This is one of the strongest tech blogs I've visited.

Cheers
Joe

 

[charlie hustle]

Well, im glad you saw the light. And welcome here. I am not loyal to any one product either. As a matter of fact i own an ipod touch, 2 ipads (one got stolen though), had three blackberries and three android phones (evo, shift for my wife, and i have a 3d now). I try to keep my horizon broaden.
I noticed that on other sites they call android "ghetto" or "unfinished". Even the RIM employees which BGR posted said that Android has a major flaw compared to them or apple. But they seem to forget that as an open source OS, these devices has the best of both worlds. They seem to forget that people are not flocking to android because it is "cheap", its because our voices are being heard. And the hardware can now support the software and everything shines.
Im more then sure that you will love this phone and its features. Look around the forum and any question you have has already been addressed, if not put one up and it will be answered.

Again welcome.

 

[CarrieK]

Hi and welcome to the fold and the forum. There are a lot of knowledgeable and helpful people here and I am constantly learning something new!

 

[MannyZ28]

Now that's what I call a good first post! Welcome to the Forum!!

Funny to hear RIM people saying that Android has major flaws. Last time I checked, Blackberries from 2004 still look like current Blackberries, and uhm, nobody buys their stuff, and....well, the stock is taking a major dive! That's kinda like a broke guy giving a rich guy tips on investing.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Well, im glad you saw the light. And welcome here. I am not loyal to any one product either. As a matter of fact i own an ipod touch, 2 ipads (one got stolen though), had three blackberries and three android phones (evo, shift for my wife, and i have a 3d now). I try to keep my horizon broaden.
I noticed that on other sites they call android "ghetto" or "unfinished". Even the RIM employees which BGR posted said that Android has a major flaw compared to them or apple. But they seem to forget that as an open source OS, these devices has the best of both worlds. They seem to forget that people are not flocking to android because it is "cheap", its because our voices are being heard. And the hardware can now support the software and everything shines.
Im more then sure that you will love this phone and its features. Look around the forum and any question you have has already been addressed, if not put one up and it will be answered.

Again welcome.

Thanks a lot for the welcome. I think that's a great point about the hardware needing to catch up to the software. From what I've heard and I could be wrong, but that was a weakness of Android in the early stages. Now we get devices like this, amazing that I haven't had any processes hanging yet, every touch has been instantaneous no matter what other processes are running. The extra core definitely seems to really help Android from what I've read and now experienced. And to think we will have quads coming in not too long.

I find that perception of Android being a budget phone kind of funny coming from a Blackberry supporter. RIM has two segments right now. The business sector which is slowly shrinking and teeny boppers. This is based on my observations in and around Boston, MA and a few articles I read. A BB Curve can be had for nothing and those 16 year old high school girls get great security Android is an everything phone because they fill every segment minus maybe the feature phone?

 

[iEd]

My path has been for the past 4 years. Original Iphone>Iphone 3GS>Blackberry Tour 9630>EVO3D.

I f I would have stayed with AT&T it would have been Iphone4. But I'm more than happy with the EVO3D and I really like HTC Sense.

The only thing I didn't like about my IPhones was not being able to change the batt. With no service wifi almost never on my 3GS batt will last about 12 hours on standby and much less if I run any music. My only options would have been to crack it open but a new batt in or go to Iphone 4.

So like the original poster I like the fact of have having a powerful device that I can slap a extended batt in I'm looking forward to it

 

[enthuz]

Wow. One of the better posts here. I like that it is spoken true and not from a "fanboy" perspective. Welcome to the Darkside. I am new too from company issued BB. It is night and day. However BB's seem to be good for business (straight to the point with no real flare). I still have my BB and will for as long as they are still in business.

I'd rather slap a 3500 mAh battery on this sucker, crank the brightness on that huge screen and let all the usefull processes run (even when I'm not using them) because I don't want to compromise and I don't care about having a pretty skinny phone. I want the fastest, most powerful phone and I think I got one of these with the EVO.

Now this is where I find a kindred spirit. I am waiting for one to be release so I can open this baby to full throttle!

 

[.46caliber]

. The EVO 3D is definitely not underclocked

Little known fact, but the EVO 3D is actually underclocked for battery savings. The chipset is a dual-core 1.5GHz underclocked to 1.2GHz. The 3D is using the MSM8660 chipset which is asynchronous dual Scorpion cores for up to 1.5GHz or faster with overlcock. HTC dropped it down to 1.2 for battery. Here's the proof:

HTC Mobile Phones - EVO
http://www.qualcomm.com/snapdragon/specs

If you think the customization and tweakability is nice now, wait until we have a publicly available root solution (read jailbreak) as well as an unlocked bootloader. Custom ROMs and kernels will really turn this beast up to 11. (That's one more than ten if you're counting or haven't seen Spinal Tap)

I would also suggest reading up about CyanogenMod. It's a great group of developers that build a custom OS for many of the higher end Androids. I'm sure at some point, the EVO 3D will be added to that line up. It is a great ROM for newcomers as well as the guys that really want to tweak their phones to hell and back. I used it on my Droid and will be using it on my EVO 3D so long as it comes out.