EVO 4G LTE Owners, I need your help!!

[eehg01]

Hey Everyone!!

I currently own an original HTC EVO 4g and I do love it...I'm well over-due for an Upgrade but I'm having serious trouble deciding between the EVO LTE and the Galaxy S3. I've researched and researched, watched reviews/comparison videos, etc. I even spent an hour in the Sprint store today trying to decide between them, (The Sales guy was confusing me and even all the employees could not 'decide' between the two)

Here's what I need/want from my next phone:

1. Long Battery life (I need to be able to use my phone for HEAVY web browsing, emails, texts, voice recording, for 6 hours a day without having to recharge during that time)
2. The Battery life must also be able to hold up to a Day (12-16 hours) at Disneyland, meaning it can handle poor signal strength, a few calls and texts, some camera usage and app use without needing to be plugged in throughout the day.
3. a Camera that can shoot pictures/videos in LOW LIGHT *like Fireworks, Nighttime outdoor shows and dark indoors shots*
4. Voice to Text

I know, there's not a lot on my 'needs' list but really, I will not be buying either of those phones for the 4g LTE part of them...It's been 2 1/2 years since I bought my original EVO 4G and I've NEVER been able to use the 4G part of my phone. In the San Francisco Bay Area, LA, Anaheim, SoCal...NO 4G for me LOL. So really even though both of these phones say 4g LTE, I just take it to mean, "3G until 2014-2015, when '5G' comes out and then maybe by 2018 you'll have 4G"

I did like some features of the S3, like the S-Voice (Even though, I know there's an app like that in Google Play for all android phones), the fact that the battery is removable, the Popup Play video feature and there seems to be more phone cases/accessories for the S3 than the EVO 4g LTE. I've never owned a Samsung phone so I'm nervous of the whole Touch Wiz interface/Samsung 'quirks'.

Also, Is the white HTC EVO 4G LTE/Galaxy S3 ONLY available through Sprint? Sprint is the most expensive for either of these phones, (They're in the $100-$150 range from Amazon, Target, BestBuy, RadioShack) but Sprint seems to be the only place besides BestBuy that offers a Marble White S3 and Sprint is the only place to buy a White EVO LTE that I've found

I would like to stay with HTC if I can, but I do NOT want to have 'phone envy' 3 days after I buy the EVO LTE either.

ETA: I also need a phone that has the loudest speaker, my EVO 4G is super quiet compared to the iPhone/other phones and I want to be able to listen to music/videos/calls using the phone's speaker, which is really hard to do now with my current phone.

 

[cyanogen-man]

If I were you I would switch to at&t and get the one x

INSPIRE AOKP ICE COLD SANDWICH ROM

 

[eehg01]

I'm not switching to AT&T, the coverage in my area is even worse than Sprint, and there's no way that I could go without Unlimited data. Plus, I've been a Sprint customer for 8 years... I'm just going to ride this company out LOL

 

[crxssi]

Your requirements can be easily met by either the Evo LTE or the Galaxy S3. There is no clear "winner" when comparing the two (anyone that says otherwise is probably not very objective). They both have very similar specs (performance, software, battery life, radios), with the Evo having a better screen, better body/build, kickstand, and camera button but the Galaxy having more RAM and a removable battery. It comes down to playing with them and just picking one.

 

[xxDeklinxx]

I have the same dilema. I spoke with a girl at Sprint the other day who had both: she currently had GS3 because she won it. She liked EVO better and confirmed you can use in the sun.

That being said, you won't get you need without a bigger battery and apps. I got fast burst camera for lightning pics but have not had storms. I think both phones have this.EVO has a optical zoom as well. I bought a Canon camera with shutter control to handle the hard stuff. Good luck

Sent from my PG86100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[eehg01]

They both have very similar specs (performance, software, battery life, radios)

That's my point...What I really want to know is they're basically the same on 'paper'/specs, but in the day to day usage of the phone, which would fit my needs more?? And really unless I go and just buy both of them, there's really no way to test/play with the phones in store. The sales people would either grab the phones out of my hands any time I was testing them out (to 'show' me some feature) or the security measures on the phone would affect the display model so much that I couldn't access most features on the phone. (Really...who puts a big plastic sticker security thing right on the screen of a TOUCH screen phone!?!? LOL) Put it this way, I went in to buy a S3 and/or a EVO LTE...The only phone I got a solid 2 minutes of test time with was an iPhone 4s

 

[TraderGary]

The S3 outsells the EVO LTE 10 to 1. Sadly that simply reflects on the gullibility of the American public to advertising.

I'm a photographer and the natural color superiority and sharpness of the IPS screen and the EVO camera made my choice an easy one.

HTC EVO 4G LTE

 

[HULKchampion]

Both phones are great! Packing some heavy duty hardware to perform everything you need. I personally went the LTE route simply the screen is easier on my eyes and Beats Audio is a great little feature. I have a friend whom owns the S3 regrets it, now currently looking for a white LTE. Why you might ask? He likes Sense better and the phones "feel".

 

[ImNoPrince]

My EVOLTE Worked Great at WDW for everything I needed it to do. I Live stream from the Parks so Battery does become a small issue (easily solved with a few small Battery booster Ankers work real well) . I use 2 boosters while in the parks smallish (large pack of Gum sized) and bigger ( about deck a cards sized) and they are very easy to carry in a cargo pocket. I would think even with the S3 you would need to carry extra batteries if doing heavy Park stuff.

I just think the Evo feels better in the hand .

 

[zmann]

Both are great but you need to carry a spare battery with the s3. If you look at battery threads on the evo the average battery life is probably about 15 hours so if you need a tie breaker here and battery life is your main concern then I would suggest the evo. The one thing my s3 friends are jealous about is the battery life.

EVO-LUTION 4G LTE

 

[kronosqq]

EVO has a optical zoom as well.

Quick correction. Optical zoom is the lens elements physically moving. It's the equivalent of if you were to move the whole camera forward in terms of image quality. No smart phones have optical zoom, only digital which crops and zooms in degrading image quality in the process.
As far as the point of the thread though it all comes down to what you want. Removeable battery and more RAM or better build and superior display.

Sent from my EVO using Android Central Forums

 

[Kizzmocat]

The decision is easy!, if you like to tickle your winky, the kick stand makes it the clear choice!

Sent from my EVO using Android Central Forums

 

[HULKchampion]

The decision is easy!, if you like to tickle your winky, the kick stand makes it the clear choice!

Sent from my EVO using Android Central Forums

A better "hands free" experience?

 

[zmann]

The decision is easy!, if you like to tickle your winky, the kick stand makes it the clear choice!

Sent from my EVO using Android Central Forums

This post made me laugh with a mouth full of soda lol. Not a pretty sight.

EVO-LUTION 4G LTE

 

[jaymelz324]

The screens are night and day. Had both for a week and stuck with the EVO. Galaxy's screen is just too dim, and when looking closely, you can see little pixels

Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2

 

[Kizzmocat]

This post made me laugh with a mouth full of soda lol. Not a pretty sight.

Sorry zmann!

from my EVO using Android Central Forums

 

[gollum18]

I don't see the issue with not being able to use the s3 in the sun. I use mine in direct sunlight no problem and its not even at full brightness

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Vysse]

It's my understanding that the camera at low light is better on the s3 then the EVO. Other than that I highly recommend the EVO over the s3

Sent from my EVO using Android Central Forums

 

[Glenn]

Here's what I need/want from my next phone:

1. Long Battery life (I need to be able to use my phone for HEAVY web browsing, emails, texts, voice recording, for 6 hours a day without having to recharge during that time)
2. The Battery life must also be able to hold up to a Day (12-16 hours) at Disneyland, meaning it can handle poor signal strength, a few calls and texts, some camera usage and app use without needing to be plugged in throughout the day.
3. a Camera that can shoot pictures/videos in LOW LIGHT *like Fireworks, Nighttime outdoor shows and dark indoors shots*
4. Voice to Text

That battery life on the Evo LTE and the Galaxy S3 are both quite good, especially when compared to the original Evo. A friend of mine has the S3, and based on what he's saying, it seems that the Evo LTE has a better battery life. Both should be able to handle your first two requirements.

Any camera can shoot pictures and video in low light. Whether or not they're good is another matter. In general, I would not expect the low-light performance on a phone camera to be great. It's a simple matter of not having a large enough image sensor due to the physical limitations of a cell phone. That said, I have not tried taking pictures/videos of fireworks with my phone--my digital camera has 12x optical zoom and a larger image sensor, which I find to be more useful in such situations. Otherwise, low light performance on the Evo LTE is passable, though nothing to write home about.

As for voice to text, nearly all Android phones can do that, as long as you have a data connection.

In the San Francisco Bay Area, LA, Anaheim, SoCal...NO 4G for me LOL.

Really? Most places I've been to in Southern California has had 4G WiMAX since at least early last year. I just rarely turned it on because it was such a battery hog. I live in Orange County and typically are in the areas of Irvine, Costa Mesa, and Fullerton, as well as in LA County in the San Gabriel Valley and Downtown LA. Got around 9mbps in downtown...

I've yet to find any hint of Sprint's LTE network, though. Supposedly, they've completed around 12% in LA County already, and will launch in October. Orange County is not expected to begin LTE build out until November. We'll see.

Also, Is the white HTC EVO 4G LTE/Galaxy S3 ONLY available through Sprint?

As the Evo LTE is only available for Sprint, it is also the only carrier that has the white version of it. AT&T has the HTC One X, which is essentially the same as the Evo LTE, minus the kickstand, microSD slot, 2000mAh battery, camera button, and aluminum back. AT&T does have a larger LTE network than Sprint, though. And they do have the white version of the One X.

Verizon does not currently have a version of the an HTC One series phone, though they might in the future. T-Mobile has the lesser spec'ed HTC One S.

The white S3 is available on all carriers, AFAIK.

 

[eehg01]

As the Evo LTE is only available for Sprint, it is also the only carrier that has the white version of it. AT&T has the HTC One X, which is essentially the same as the Evo LTE, minus the kickstand, microSD slot, 2000mAh battery, camera button, and aluminum back. AT&T does have a larger LTE network than Sprint, though. And they do have the white version of the One X.

Verizon does not currently have a version of the an HTC One series phone, though they might in the future. T-Mobile has the lesser spec'ed HTC One S.

The white S3 is available on all carriers, AFAIK.

Oh sorry, I wasn't clear...I meant, like online retailers...I know the EVO LTE is only a Sprint phone, but what I meant was that the White version seems to only be available at the Sprint stores/Sprint.com...Sites like BestBuy.com (BestBuy) Amazon, Target, they only have the black version...So for me that's kind of a con because I can get $99.99 EVO LTE from Amazon, BestBuy and Target, but if I wanted the white one, I could only get it from Sprint for $199

Also, I noticed that a lot of the online retailers only have the Pebble Blue for the S3 so I was just wondering about that whole thing.

Really? Most places I've been to in Southern California has had 4G WiMAX since at least early last year. I just rarely turned it on because it was such a battery hog. I live in Orange County and typically are in the areas of Irvine, Costa Mesa, and Fullerton, as well as in LA County in the San Gabriel Valley and Downtown LA. Got around 9mbps in downtown...

Oh yeah, the last time I was in SoCal/Anaheim, my OG EVO was basically a Brick, like not even the 3g would work, and to make matters worse my mom's Blackberry wasn't working either. (It SUCKS to be on vacation and have literally NO working phones) Of course I called Sprint and they told me, "Well you're in a good coverage area, you shouldn't be having these problems. You should even be able to have 4g on the EVO..." and then before I could reply, my EVO dropped the call because that's what it was doing, losing signal every 30 seconds LOL. Finally after 15 tries to the call center and several reboots later, I was able to make/receive calls again. Needless to say after that whole drama, I was afraid to test out the 4g availability


And a sidenote about the camera, I know the EVO LTE's and the S3's cameras will never be as good as say a high end regular camera but I will say this, the iPhone 4s camera does REALLY REALLY well in low light and with firework displays. Seriously if someone could make me a Frankenstein EVO LTE that had the iPhone 4s' camera, that would be my perfect phone LOL

THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE for all your replies and useful information