Thought process behind the redesign

[Crispy]

I'm thinking somewhere in a Sprint boardroom, in a galaxy far far way, a long long time ago (ok not really), it went down like this -

"We need to change the design to look more like an Evo, so it has to be a brick, none of that cool looking curved look.

Needs a kickstand, and has to be metal, so goodbye unibody polycarbonate shell.

But wait, NFC won't work then. No problem, lets make the top half plastic!

That's perfect, then we can put the kickstand in the middle. And make it red!

All done guys. Ship it!"

 

[Droid800]

I'm thinking somewhere in a Sprint boardroom, in a galaxy far far way, a long long time ago (ok not really), it went down like this -

"We need to change the design to look more like an Evo, so it has to be a brick, none of that cool looking curved look.

Needs a kickstand, and has to be metal, so goodbye unibody polycarbonate shell.

But wait, NFC won't work then. No problem, lets make the top half plastic!

That's perfect, then we can put the kickstand in the middle. And make it red!

All done guys. Ship it!"

You apparently don't know how these things work.

 

[Crispy]

I should probably have put a few in there. Sarcasm is hard to convey on the Internets.

But I was only half kidding. My reasons for the design choices are correct.

 

[Droid800]

I should probably have put a few in there. Sarcasm is hard to convey on the Internets.

But I was only half kidding. My reasons for the design choices are correct.

Sprint would have said 'design us an Evo' and HTC would have taken it from there. You're placing far too much blame on Sprint; HTC chose the materials, HTC chose the design, and HTC chose the style.

 

[crzycrkr]

Sprint would have said 'design us an Evo' and HTC would have taken it from there. You're placing far too much blame on Sprint; HTC chose the materials, HTC chose the design, and HTC chose the style.

Chose the design that was approved by Sprint maybe. THis was without a doubt a joint venture. HTC does not in any way have sole decision making abilities here. HTC is not Apple. Doesn't work that way

 

[Crispy]

I'm pretty sure Sprint would have told them to make it an Evo. It's impossible to believe HTC wouldn't want to keep the same branding and design as the One X.

 

[Droid800]

Chose the design that was approved by Sprint maybe. THis was without a doubt a joint venture. HTC does not in any way have sole decision making abilities here. HTC is not Apple. Doesn't work that way

Sorry, no. This is an HTC design for an HTC brand. Any changes from the OneX are ones HTC would have chosen.

 

[Droid800]

I'm pretty sure Sprint would have told them to make it an Evo. It's impossible to believe HTC wouldn't want to keep the same branding and design as the One X.

Wrong. Evo is an HTC brand. It is a distinct product line for them, just like the One line.

 

[Crispy]

Sorry, no. This is an HTC design for an HTC brand. Any changes from the OneX are ones HTC would have chosen.

So you're saying the carrier has no input on a carrier exclusive phone, esp one that's as imp as the Evo brand.

Sorry but I don't believe you.

 

[crzycrkr]

Wrong. Evo is an HTC brand. It is a distinct product line for them, just like the One line.

Not from what I have read. It is a Sprint brand as Droid is Verizon. I have reaad articles in the past that we may see non HTC EVO's. And, as previously stated in just about every thrread in this forum, lol, you are crazy if you think Sprint had no hand in the design at all. Again, there is only one company out there that can tell carriers they'll make what they want, and it most definitely is not HTC

Edit, after a bit more digging, HTC has trademarks on the names of the specific EVO phones, but I wasn't able to find anything for the EVO name itself. It still makes no difference one way or the other as buyer and seller obviously both have input on the device

 

[Droid800]

So you're saying the carrier has no input on a carrier exclusive phone, esp one that's as imp as the Evo brand.

Sorry but I don't believe you.

The Evo brand is owned by HTC. It is not carrier exclusive.

 

[hoovhartid]

I have been to release parties for different phones for both Sprint as well as Metro PCS. I had the chance to speak with reps from LG as well as HTC and Samsung who have all confirmed that the process works as follows;
1) Mfr will present a phone design to the carrier ...this is normally the phone outfitted in its top of the line components. (gorilla glass 2, micro arc oxidized case, quad core processor, etc)
2) Carrier will then request a phone with a list of components they want included from the original design cues and (this is the most important part) the target price point they are willing to pay for the phone.
3) Mfr will then present the carrier with phone, and list of components they are willing to include at the price point the carrier wants to pay.

The negotiations go back and forth many times, but ultimately the design is determined by what the carrier is willing to pay for the components available. Had sprint made the cost of the phone higher, they would have had more play room for a better case design.

The bottom line.... Sprint made the decision to have this phone the way it is. HTC has the parts to make the phone however Sprint orders it. HTC doesn't just decide to design the phone however they want. HTC is TOLD what Sprint will pay them to make the phone, and based on PRICE they will design a phone within Sprints budget.

If Sprint skimped on the case, it was to keep the price at $199 while maintaining NFC, LTE, micro SD slot, larger battery, and anything else they felt more important then the case.

They chose function over form to stay within a budget.

 

[crzycrkr]

I have been to release parties for different phones for both Sprint as well as Metro PCS. I had the chance to speak with reps from LG as well as HTC and Samsung who have all confirmed that the process works as follows;
1) Mfr will present a phone design to the carrier ...this is normally the phone outfitted in its top of the line components. (gorilla glass 2, micro arc oxidized case, quad core processor, etc)
2) Carrier will then request a phone with a list of components they want included from the original design cues and (this is the most important part) the target price point they are willing to pay for the phone.
3) Mfr will then present the carrier with phone, and list of components they are willing to include at the price point the carrier wants to pay.

The negotiations go back and forth many times, but ultimately the design is determined by what the carrier is willing to pay for the components available. Had sprint made the cost of the phone higher, they would have had more play room for a better case design.

The bottom line.... Sprint made the decision to have this phone the way it is. HTC has the parts to make the phone however Sprint orders it. HTC doesn't just decide to design the phone however they want. HTC is TOLD what Sprint will pay them to make the phone, and based on PRICE they will design a phone within Sprints budget.

If Sprint skimped on the case, it was to keep the price at $199 while maintaining NFC, LTE, micro SD slot, larger battery, and anything else they felt more important then the case.

They chose function over form to stay within a budget.

Thank you. This is what I've been trying to get across to Droid800. This is how business works. The only manufacturer out there tthat can say "this is what it is and you'll take it and like it" is Apple. Nothing else works that way.

 

[giograves]

Above all else, the lack of disclosure of an LTE rollout schedule is sending me to ATT for a ONE X. Oops just lost another one Dan.




- Sent from my HTC eVo with Tapatalk

 

[crzycrkr]

Above all else, the lack of disclosure of an LTE rollout schedule is sending me to ATT for a ONE X. Oops just lost another one Dan.




- Sent from my HTC eVo with Tapatalk

There's a Facebook page that is reporting all the cities and time frames. I believe Sprint is announcing what cities and when.

 

[Droid800]

Above all else, the lack of disclosure of an LTE rollout schedule is sending me to ATT for a ONE X. Oops just lost another one Dan.




- Sent from my HTC eVo with Tapatalk

Sprint has been very clear with their schedule for rolling out LTE. They've announced their initial cities and are in the process of preparing the network upgrades. They will do it like Verizon and att, and only announce new markets after the service has already been turned on.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

[crzycrkr]

Community Blog List - Sprint 4G Rollout Updates

This page reports the roll out. You can like them on facebook and you'll know Sprints plans. They've already announced the first batch and a bunch of the second.

 

[manonmoon49]

Above all else, the lack of disclosure of an LTE rollout schedule is sending me to ATT for a ONE X. Oops just lost another one Dan.




- Sent from my HTC eVo with Tapatalk

Although Dan will miss you, this phone WILL bring in two or three more new customers to replace those who go to AT&T. Especially when the white one is announced(which, if we go by the history of the Evo line, is only a few months after the initialy release date)

 

[giograves]

Although Dan will miss you, this phone WILL bring in two or three more new customers to replace those who go to AT&T. Especially when the white one is announced(which, if we go by the history of the Evo line, is only a few months after the initialy release date)

New customers? From which network exactly? Are we living in a bubble here where an iPhone 5 release isn't around the corner? Look let's not be naive to think that Android will always be the number one mobile OS when the next big thing from Apple is always around the corner. Was it too much to ask for at least one phone of the ICS generation to be aesthetically pleasing as well as a spec beast?

The amazing specs not withstanding, including its added geek value over the ATT version, what's the real draw here for the Joe Shmoe? This is a legitimate question, no trolling..
I see this device as the replacement for OG EVO owners, but outside of the 2% android phone geek group, not sure who else this attracts.

Also, co signed for the white version




- Sent from my HTC eVo with Tapatalk

 

[Crispy]

New customers? From which network exactly? Are we living in a bubble here where an iPhone 5 release isn't around the corner? Look let's not be naive to think that Android will always be the number one mobile OS when the next big thing from Apple is always around the corner. Was it too much to ask for at least one phone of the ICS generation to be aesthetically pleasing as well as a spec beast?

The amazing specs not withstanding, including its added geek value over the ATT version, what's the real draw here for the Joe Shmoe? This is a legitimate question, no trolling..
I see this device as the replacement for OG EVO owners, but outside of the 2% android phone geek group, not sure who else this attracts.

So you're assuming anyone who isn't an Android geek (there is no such group) automatically wants the iPhone?

Why don't you ask what the draw for the iPhone is? The 'next big thing from Apple' is going to be yet another iPhone with the exact same UI and restrictions we have today.

There are plenty of 'normal' people who make the decision to buy Android after comparing all the phones. There's a reason Android has the largest marketshare.