Epic vs Evo vs Shift

**Possum15** · 03-12-2011, 08:00 AM

I am due an upgrade and have narrowed it to the EVO, Epic and Shift. Here's my problem. I worry about the EVO's battery life and lack of keyboard. I worry about the Epic's 'loose' slider giving out and I worry about the shift's screen size being unfriendly to my aging eyes(I don't wear glasses but use reading glasses in the evening on the computer). Wed I made my mind up to get the EVO but couldn't get to the store. Thursday I made my mind up to get the Epic but BB was having a problem with their system and yesterday I just decided to get the Shift and be done with it

. The reason I am posting in this forum is because I have leaned toward the Epic most of the time. Any help from ones who have had all or at least 2 of them? Or anyone, for that matter. I plan on getting one today!

**RBrown9180** · 03-12-2011, 08:43 AM

Wife has an evo and I have an epic. Here's what I have seen. Battery life is about the same (stock). Evos screen is bigger but much harder to see outside. Can't really comment on the hinges as I use swype almost exclusively. The shift has the same size screen as the epic and it's keyboard doesn't have a row of keys just for numbers. i prefer the epic as does my wife.

**|-KGB-|CaptHowdy** · 03-12-2011, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by unvme9180

Wife has an evo and I have an epic. Here's what I have seen. Battery life is about the same (stock). Evos screen is bigger but much harder to see outside. Can't really comment on the hinges as I use swype almost exclusively. The shift has the same size screen as the epic and it's keyboard doesn't have a row of keys just for numbers. i prefer the epic as does my wife.

the shift is a 3.6 inch screen. The epic is 4 inch. The epic has one of the best cpu and gpu out there. The amoled screen is way better than standard lcd and i dont think htc makes that great of stuff. I had 3 evos the first week they came out. I am still on launch day epic. The epic is hands down the best. I work for sprint at a corporate store and i have mine rooted with custom rom and overclocked kernel. extended life battery was for me and they are 20 bucks on ebay

**inkdup102586** · 03-12-2011, 08:58 AM

I would get the epic, screen is just amazing to look at. evo and shift look so dull next to the epic. I havent had any problems with the keyboard. i drop my phone often. keyboard actually comes in handy when ur fingers are greasey or dirty(pretty much any fast food). With the right ROM on the epic, youll love it even more.

**capitaltpt** · 03-12-2011, 09:06 AM

I would go for the Epic. With the custom ROMs out now, you will not find a smoother experience anywhere and battery life with them is great. Even with heavy usage, I get AT LEAST 12 hours out of my phone.

As far as the hinges, I've had no issue with them loosening what so ever. I have a Seidio active X case which I had replaced just recently because I had a clip break and even after taking it off, no looseness in the phone slider. If you're not in a huge hurry, you can also wait and see what the Galaxy S II offers in a few months.

Originally Posted by SCGeek15

I am due an upgrade and have narrowed it to the EVO, Epic and Shift. Here's my problem. I worry about the EVO's battery life and lack of keyboard. I worry about the Epic's 'loose' slider giving out and I worry about the shift's screen size being unfriendly to my aging eyes(I don't wear glasses but use reading glasses in the evening on the computer). Wed I made my mind up to get the EVO but couldn't get to the store. Thursday I made my mind up to get the Epic but BB was having a problem with their system and yesterday I just decided to get the Shift and be done with it

. The reason I am posting in this forum is because I have leaned toward the Epic most of the time. Any help from ones who have had all or at least 2 of them? Or anyone, for that matter. I plan on getting one today!

**Possum15** · 03-12-2011, 09:21 AM

Thanks for all of the replies so far. Keep them coming.

**dweeks** · 03-12-2011, 11:04 AM

I just recently upgraded to an Epic and am very happy with it. My wife has one too and loves it. She was lucky enough to get the android 2.2 update before it was pulled, which gives the phone a lot of new features especially voice dialing. I miss being able to dial from my BT headset, but hopefully the 2.2 fix will be out soon. As for the EVO, I've read some reviews and the keyboard on the EVO Shift is not that great.

**Donmeister85** · 03-12-2011, 11:36 AM

Originally Posted by inkdup102586

I would get the epic, screen is just amazing to look at. evo and shift look so dull next to the epic. I havent had any problems with the keyboard. i drop my phone often. keyboard actually comes in handy when ur fingers are greasey or dirty(pretty much any fast food). With the right ROM on the epic, youll love it even more.

Lol, and if you stay away from the greasy fast food, you won't have to use the physical keyboard as often! Lol... I seldom use the physical keyboard because the screen for me is big enough to type on the virtual keyboard either in portrait mode or landscape mode. The virtual keyboard on this thing is that good. As as side note, I use the gingerbread keyboard though. Even so, with the physical keyboard, there are no wobbles going on.

Originally Posted by capitaltpt

I would go for the Epic. With the custom ROMs out now, you will not find a smoother experience anywhere and battery life with them is great. Even with heavy usage, I get AT LEAST 12 hours out of my phone.

As far as the hinges, I've had no issue with them loosening what so ever. I have a Seidio active X case which I had replaced just recently because I had a clip break and even after taking it off, no looseness in the phone slider. If you're not in a huge hurry, you can also wait and see what the Galaxy S II offers in a few months.

And I can vouch for the custom ROMs and the Active X case. There are some ROMs out there that will get you INSANE battery life and performance. Just do a lot of reading and ask questions.

The Seidio Active X case is SUPER protective. I've had my phone for a little over 3 months and have dropped my phone three times. Off my desk at work, off the bed when I was fluffing the covers, and fumbled it off my side and had it hit a concrete floor. Thing is still going strong. Probably some of the best protection out there for this phone.

**crump84** · 03-12-2011, 11:57 AM

I'm using the Shift and it is an absolute beast. Just stock the thing is fast but rooted and overclocked it's ridiculous. I have played with friends Epics and their keyboard seem loose and flimsy but I've never been a fan of samsung anyway. I've only had the Shift about 2 months but the keyboard is still as tight as when I got it. I'm also a big fan of the Sense interface over Touchwiz, but that's just me. They are all great phones, I don't think you can wrong either way. The only negative I can think of is the screen size, but I actually like the size.

**ink883** · 03-12-2011, 12:01 PM

I can't speak about the epic as I have a ego 4g that I just bought a couple of weeks ago. After my experience with wobbly sliders on several palm pre phones, I really wanted a phone with no moving parts. The large screen on the ego is great. You get use to it very fast and quickly learn to appreciate and enjoy the size.

I have never been a fan of horizontal sliders as the keyboards don't work well in a car dock. I understand virtual keyboards can be used as well as speech recognition, however, at that point, I think the larger screen is better.

Good luck - I am sure there is no wrong choice.

**inkdup102586** · 03-12-2011, 12:23 PM

Originally Posted by Donmeister85

Lol, and if you stay away from the greasy fast food, you won't have to use the physical keyboard as often! Lol... I seldom use the physical keyboard because the screen for me is big enough to type on the virtual keyboard either in portrait mode or landscape mode. The virtual keyboard on this thing is that good. As as side note, I use the gingerbread keyboard though. Even so, with the physical keyboard, there are no wobbles going on.

i also work with cars, plumbing, chemicals, and oils. I was just speaking of the average person

**Possum15** · 03-12-2011, 02:42 PM

Well I made a trip to RS and they had dropped the price of the Epic to $99 for upgrade so I jumped on it. Came home and signed in a few things then decided to run the Smartbench 2010 and it scored 725/2484. Also, salesperson told me the shift will drop to $69 from 3/13-3/19. Anyway so far so good. The screen is J
A
W.....
Thanks for the help as I'm sure I'll be back with plenty of ??'s
What is the best setting for the maximum battery life?

**carraser891** · 03-12-2011, 02:47 PM

Originally Posted by SCGeek15

I am due an upgrade and have narrowed it to the EVO, Epic and Shift. Here's my problem. I worry about the EVO's battery life and lack of keyboard. I worry about the Epic's 'loose' slider giving out and I worry about the shift's screen size being unfriendly to my aging eyes(I don't wear glasses but use reading glasses in the evening on the computer). Wed I made my mind up to get the EVO but couldn't get to the store. Thursday I made my mind up to get the Epic but BB was having a problem with their system and yesterday I just decided to get the Shift and be done with it

. The reason I am posting in this forum is because I have leaned toward the Epic most of the time. Any help from ones who have had all or at least 2 of them? Or anyone, for that matter. I plan on getting one today!

go for the Epic 4G. Best screen (the colors are beautiful and its the perfect mid-sized phone, not to small like the Shift 4G, not to big like the EVO 4G), best hardware. Only bad thing is we don't get updates. Thats why we root so much!!

**Possum15** · 03-12-2011, 02:49 PM

And for those wondering...it has 2.1
I know there was someone that said they received one from Sprint with 2.2 today. I can't complain, 2.1 runs excellent on this so far. And for anyone wondering about the size, think PSP Go. That's what it reminds me of.

**dwaynewilliams#WN** · 03-12-2011, 04:59 PM

I like the Epic 4G. Even though Touchwiz doesn't seem to be the best looking UI. I saw the screen of the Epic and was very impressed. Also, games seem to play very well on the Epic. I'm a little skeptical of HTC products. The build quality isn't always the greatest. I had an Evo and the phone creaked all the time. My D2G is so solid in comparison. Plus I read some bad things about the Shift's keyboard.

**BlackHawkA4** · 03-12-2011, 05:33 PM

Originally Posted by dwaynewilliams

I like the Epic 4G. Even though Touchwiz doesn't seem to be the best looking UI. I saw the screen of the Epic and was very impressed. Also, games seem to play very well on the Epic. I'm a little skeptical of HTC products. The build quality isn't always the greatest. I had an Evo and the phone creaked all the time. My D2G is so solid in comparison. Plus I read some bad things about the Shift's keyboard.

I haven't been keeping up with this thread but why not wait until the end of the month before making a decision?

**dwaynewilliams#WN** · 03-12-2011, 10:40 PM

Originally Posted by BlackHawkA4

I haven't been keeping up with this thread but why not wait until the end of the month before making a decision?

Making a decision about what? I have a D2G. I'm not going anywhwere. I like Verizon and I love my Droid. I have no issues. I was just wondering about the Epic.

**T3HKMAN** · 03-12-2011, 11:38 PM

Originally Posted by SCGeek15

Well I made a trip to RS and they had dropped the price of the Epic to $99 for upgrade so I jumped on it. Came home and signed in a few things then decided to run the Smartbench 2010 and it scored 725/2484. Also, salesperson told me the shift will drop to $69 from 3/13-3/19. Anyway so far so good. The screen is J
A
W.....
Thanks for the help as I'm sure I'll be back with plenty of ??'s
What is the best setting for the maximum battery life?

Congrats on the pickup I got mine a few days ago too and have already rooted it and added a Froyo eb13ext4 build I suggest you do the same. Not to beat a dead horse but for me it was always between the Epic and Evo due to the processor size over the Shift (even if you can overclock you will have limits due to base)

For battery life the one big thing you can do is turn off the DRM setting just check the battery life thread here. Have fun!

**Possum15** · 03-13-2011, 12:10 AM

Originally Posted by T3HKMAN

Congrats on the pickup I got mine a few days ago too and have already rooted it and added a Froyo eb13ext4 build I suggest you do the same. Not to beat a dead horse but for me it was always between the Epic and Evo due to the processor size over the Shift (even if you can overclock you will have limits due to base)

For battery life the one big thing you can do is turn off the DRM setting just check the battery life thread here. Have fun!

What is the easiest way to do the root froyo thing? and I mean EASY

**crump84** · 03-13-2011, 12:23 AM

Originally Posted by T3HKMAN

for me it was always between the Epic and Evo due to the processor size over the Shift (even if you can overclock you will have limits due to base)

Shift has a second generation processor and even at 800 MHz it's quicker than the Epic and the Evo. Check the benchmarks.

**m00nshake** · 03-13-2011, 12:32 AM

Word of warning... Samsung does not release it's source so that's why the Galaxy Vibrant still doesn't have CM AOSP whereas the Htc Inspire already has CM7 nightlies.

My advice is HTC all the way. It depends on what's important to you. The EVO 4G is slower but has great development support, a slew of roms to choose from, and a massive display. The Shift is faster but it's newer so it doesn't have as much development support and the screen is smaller.

Sent from my monster Evo using Tapatalk

**Donmeister85** · 03-14-2011, 07:10 AM

Originally Posted by inkdup102586

i also work with cars, plumbing, chemicals, and oils. I was just speaking of the average person

Was just messing around.

Your Epic definitely sees worse conditions than mine.

**jrz5024** · 03-14-2011, 08:43 AM

This is an easy decision. You only have two choices to make.

1) Do you want a keyboard? If no, buy the Evo. If yes, move to step 2.

2) You've decided you want a physical keyboard. Congrats! Now to decide between the Epic and the Evo Shift.

Hardware differences between the two are exceedingly marginal when real world performance is concerned. The only real difference between the two is form factor + keyboard, and the screen.

My personal opinion is that the Epic beats the Evo Shift on both. I love the SAMOLED screen, the larger size, and the full 5 row keyboard. I also like that the Epic has the front facing cam, which the evo shift doesn't have (this may or may not matter to you).

What you should base your decision on is simply which phone you like better. Go to the store, try them out, see how they feel. Which keyboard do you prefer, and which screen? Those are the biggest differences, and which is better comes down to personal preference, so we can't tell you what to get.

**big_bake** · 03-14-2011, 01:51 PM

Even though you already picked up an epic (great choice), it really comes down to hardware and getting on a good plan.

The android system lets everything software related be modified/customized to your liking. Don't like touchwiz (epic) or sense (evo), then grab a different launcher and make your phone your own.

Once you delve into rooting everything is up for grabs. Just make sure to do plenty of reading (and then rereading). Most methods have been done by plenty of people so don't be afraid to ask questions (after searching of course).

**Possum15** · 03-14-2011, 02:18 PM

To 2.2 or not to 2.2, that is the new question. I think I would do this more for battery than anything. So far my Epic runs great on 2.1. No complaints yet. I have used it a fair amount today starting at 6:30 and it's now3:17 and sitting at 54%. I have GPS turned on.