I purchased an Epic from a local Sprint store on Aug 31 to try this phone. I am an Evo owner since the original release day and have been very pleased with it and Android in general. Have been an early adopter of the best and greatest more than once and I am keenly familiar with the pains of adopting a new device at the time of original release. To all of you findings all sorts of ?bugs? with dismay, this is the norm. However, you can take comfort in the fact that most usually get addressed by the company with updates, and others by the brilliant hacker community on this and sister forums.
Since I own an Evo and this is my only Android device, many of my comments will reflect a comparison of similar features and how they operate on each device. This comparison seems appropriate as these are the only high end Android phones on the Sprint network to date with similar capabilities. Most of this info can be found scattered on the forum so I will attempt to summarize it here, in one place; hope this will help those of you still on the fence as to which device you should get.
GENERAL IMPRESSIONS:
1. Personally I really like the size and shape of the Epic above the Evo, to me looks more refined and phone-like. The Epic feels nice and solid, even with a slider keyboard, feels slightly lighter than the Evo. The power button location takes some time to get used to, I find myself hitting the volume keys often enough to be annoying. The power button, in my opinion, is a little small making it sometimes difficult to hit, but is a matter of adjusting.
2. The battery cover and SD card placement are quite nice. I have problems with the Evo battery cover feeling flimsy and ill-fitting at times, not so with the Epic, it snaps in with ease. The back cover is somewhat rubberized which keeps finger prints at bay and provides better gripping. The Evo?s back cover is also good but a bit smoother (read slippery).
3. One gripe abut the Evo?s design was the camera lens, it protrudes from the cover surface making the lens vulnerable to scratching when laid face up, the Epic?s seems to be a little more recessed affording some protection. Both phones offer an LED flash, the Epic has one, the Evo two. The Evo?s LED can be controlled with most flashlight apps, but the Epic is not.
4. Talking about the camera, if you are into phone photography you will be pleased to learn the Epic has a dedicated camera button on the lower right side that makes using this feature easier. The Evo lacks any dedicated hardware button for this. Some folks have described an unusual behavior of the camera app; while on the camera mode the power button does not turn the phone off, just locks the app keeping you from accidentally snapping away. To turn off the phone you first need to terminate the camera app. Feature or bug, don?t know yet.
NOTE: Had a chance to briefly compare the camera software between the two, the Epic seems to offer more in-phone choices to tailor your shots better. I routinely don?t use a phone camera so I can not tell you much about the image quality of one versus the other, one thing to consider is that for a given sensor size, increasing the pixel count beyond a certain limit increases noise oftentimes negating the benefits of higher resolution.
5. The screen is certainly smaller than the Evo?s and it shows on side to comparison; and yes, 0.3? do make a difference. Using a virtual keyboard on the Evo allows for better accuracy. But the Epic also has a physical keyboard that is both spacious and pleasant to use. The keyboard being a slider provides for some minor wiggle, giving the Evo a more robust feeling.
6. The slightly smaller screen of the Epic increases the fine detail resolution. In regards to image color, the SAMOLED screen is darker and offers deeper color saturation and contrast than the Evo, but both screens are very pleasant. When tested on sunlight, both using the automatic brightness adjustments, the Evo?s is a somewhat more readable on open sunlight and shade than the Epic, nonetheless the latter is still plenty readable under those harsh conditions so this should not be a concern. On a personal note, I think the Epic should have included a retractable stand as the Evo for video playing.
7. As far as telephone functions, the Epic so far sounds clear and loud; I have not experienced any problems with call quality with either one. The loudspeaker of the Epic is LOUD, earpiece volume is certainly adequate (I am a little hard of hearing). The phone app is virtual as the Evo?s and functional. Bluetooth operation with the Epic has been hit/miss sometimes, usually connects well to most devices but very seldom it fails and the connection has to be made manually. On two occasions I had to un-pair with my car and re-pair again for it to work. My experience with the Evo Bluetooth performance has been nothing but solid.
8. Wifi on the Epic really puts my Evo to shame. Tested them side by side using Wifi Analyzer, both on my home and office network. The Epic consistently pulled twice or more the signal strength of the Evo on every location tested. The only time the Evo came close in signal strength was when both were within three feet of the transmitter. Running programs through wifi (Pandora, RadioOne) the Evo looses reception where the Epic is strong. No contest here.
9. GPS on my Evo is fast and accurate. The one on the Epic is certainly improved from the others in the Galaxy family and is quite appropriate for street navigation with Google maps and the like. However, there are reports about lack of accuracy and potential bugs with the GPS cache that are still being investigated.
10. 3G signal on the Evo seems stronger than my Epic, I have noticed several instances where I get network timeout errors when browsing that I never get with the Evo. I have no 4G signal on my area, but reports from other people suggests the opposite behavior for 4G, the Epic?s radio seems better.
11. In terms of overall performance and ?snappiness? the Epic feels great, there is no lag flipping screens, scrolling and opening apps is reasonably quick. It hangs occasionally when awaken during background syncing, but usually lasts a few seconds and starts responding; this I don?t see on the Evo. Interestingly, when I placed the browsers side by side and turned on wifi, the Epic ?outloaded? the Evo every single time, likely related to the better wifi performance. While on 3G, the opposite was true (in all fairness the Evo has Froyo which makes the browser faster so this will surely change when the Epic gets Android 2.2). A minor issue are the capacitive buttons, as compared to the Evo?s they are a less sensitive requiring a firmer press ~ not a biggie but takes some time to get used to.
12. In terms of bundled software the Epic has some nice goodies over the Evo. It has dedicated toggles for the radios built-in the notification drawer ~ very neat and useful. It comes pre-loaded with a full featured document editor (ThinkFree Office) that not only reads but also edits and creates new documents (that costs about $20 in software to provide this functionality on the Evo). It also includes ?My Files?, a built-in SD card file utility, is nice and capable for basic file management. Also has a shortcut to the built-in task manager that can be accessed from the task switcher (press-hold home button), it allows you to see/termnate running programs, nice touch. In regards to widgets, the Epic is certainly spartan, and the widgets don?t seem as refined as those found on the Evo ? however this is more a matter of taste.
13. The version of TouchWiz on the Epic is different than the other Galaxy phones and lacks on some GUI functionality. On the Epic you can not rearrange or delete home screens, or change the apps on the fixed launcher at the bottom of the screen as seen on other Galaxy phones.
14. In terms of internal memory the Epic wins. I have exactly the same number of apps installed on both and same capacity SD cards and the only widget running on both is the Beautiful clock/weather widget.
Evo:
Internal memory ? max capacity 427.62MB / free 202.68MB / used 224.94MB
SD Card ? max capacity 15284MB / free 6249.37MB
Epic:
Internal memory ? max capacity 498.38MB / free 337.45MB / used 160.93MB
SD Card ? max capacity 15082MB / free 9933.06MB
The Evo comes with an 8GB SD card, the Epic with a 16GB.
Since I own an Evo and this is my only Android device, many of my comments will reflect a comparison of similar features and how they operate on each device. This comparison seems appropriate as these are the only high end Android phones on the Sprint network to date with similar capabilities. Most of this info can be found scattered on the forum so I will attempt to summarize it here, in one place; hope this will help those of you still on the fence as to which device you should get.
GENERAL IMPRESSIONS:
1. Personally I really like the size and shape of the Epic above the Evo, to me looks more refined and phone-like. The Epic feels nice and solid, even with a slider keyboard, feels slightly lighter than the Evo. The power button location takes some time to get used to, I find myself hitting the volume keys often enough to be annoying. The power button, in my opinion, is a little small making it sometimes difficult to hit, but is a matter of adjusting.
2. The battery cover and SD card placement are quite nice. I have problems with the Evo battery cover feeling flimsy and ill-fitting at times, not so with the Epic, it snaps in with ease. The back cover is somewhat rubberized which keeps finger prints at bay and provides better gripping. The Evo?s back cover is also good but a bit smoother (read slippery).
3. One gripe abut the Evo?s design was the camera lens, it protrudes from the cover surface making the lens vulnerable to scratching when laid face up, the Epic?s seems to be a little more recessed affording some protection. Both phones offer an LED flash, the Epic has one, the Evo two. The Evo?s LED can be controlled with most flashlight apps, but the Epic is not.
4. Talking about the camera, if you are into phone photography you will be pleased to learn the Epic has a dedicated camera button on the lower right side that makes using this feature easier. The Evo lacks any dedicated hardware button for this. Some folks have described an unusual behavior of the camera app; while on the camera mode the power button does not turn the phone off, just locks the app keeping you from accidentally snapping away. To turn off the phone you first need to terminate the camera app. Feature or bug, don?t know yet.
NOTE: Had a chance to briefly compare the camera software between the two, the Epic seems to offer more in-phone choices to tailor your shots better. I routinely don?t use a phone camera so I can not tell you much about the image quality of one versus the other, one thing to consider is that for a given sensor size, increasing the pixel count beyond a certain limit increases noise oftentimes negating the benefits of higher resolution.
5. The screen is certainly smaller than the Evo?s and it shows on side to comparison; and yes, 0.3? do make a difference. Using a virtual keyboard on the Evo allows for better accuracy. But the Epic also has a physical keyboard that is both spacious and pleasant to use. The keyboard being a slider provides for some minor wiggle, giving the Evo a more robust feeling.
6. The slightly smaller screen of the Epic increases the fine detail resolution. In regards to image color, the SAMOLED screen is darker and offers deeper color saturation and contrast than the Evo, but both screens are very pleasant. When tested on sunlight, both using the automatic brightness adjustments, the Evo?s is a somewhat more readable on open sunlight and shade than the Epic, nonetheless the latter is still plenty readable under those harsh conditions so this should not be a concern. On a personal note, I think the Epic should have included a retractable stand as the Evo for video playing.
7. As far as telephone functions, the Epic so far sounds clear and loud; I have not experienced any problems with call quality with either one. The loudspeaker of the Epic is LOUD, earpiece volume is certainly adequate (I am a little hard of hearing). The phone app is virtual as the Evo?s and functional. Bluetooth operation with the Epic has been hit/miss sometimes, usually connects well to most devices but very seldom it fails and the connection has to be made manually. On two occasions I had to un-pair with my car and re-pair again for it to work. My experience with the Evo Bluetooth performance has been nothing but solid.
8. Wifi on the Epic really puts my Evo to shame. Tested them side by side using Wifi Analyzer, both on my home and office network. The Epic consistently pulled twice or more the signal strength of the Evo on every location tested. The only time the Evo came close in signal strength was when both were within three feet of the transmitter. Running programs through wifi (Pandora, RadioOne) the Evo looses reception where the Epic is strong. No contest here.
9. GPS on my Evo is fast and accurate. The one on the Epic is certainly improved from the others in the Galaxy family and is quite appropriate for street navigation with Google maps and the like. However, there are reports about lack of accuracy and potential bugs with the GPS cache that are still being investigated.
10. 3G signal on the Evo seems stronger than my Epic, I have noticed several instances where I get network timeout errors when browsing that I never get with the Evo. I have no 4G signal on my area, but reports from other people suggests the opposite behavior for 4G, the Epic?s radio seems better.
11. In terms of overall performance and ?snappiness? the Epic feels great, there is no lag flipping screens, scrolling and opening apps is reasonably quick. It hangs occasionally when awaken during background syncing, but usually lasts a few seconds and starts responding; this I don?t see on the Evo. Interestingly, when I placed the browsers side by side and turned on wifi, the Epic ?outloaded? the Evo every single time, likely related to the better wifi performance. While on 3G, the opposite was true (in all fairness the Evo has Froyo which makes the browser faster so this will surely change when the Epic gets Android 2.2). A minor issue are the capacitive buttons, as compared to the Evo?s they are a less sensitive requiring a firmer press ~ not a biggie but takes some time to get used to.
12. In terms of bundled software the Epic has some nice goodies over the Evo. It has dedicated toggles for the radios built-in the notification drawer ~ very neat and useful. It comes pre-loaded with a full featured document editor (ThinkFree Office) that not only reads but also edits and creates new documents (that costs about $20 in software to provide this functionality on the Evo). It also includes ?My Files?, a built-in SD card file utility, is nice and capable for basic file management. Also has a shortcut to the built-in task manager that can be accessed from the task switcher (press-hold home button), it allows you to see/termnate running programs, nice touch. In regards to widgets, the Epic is certainly spartan, and the widgets don?t seem as refined as those found on the Evo ? however this is more a matter of taste.
13. The version of TouchWiz on the Epic is different than the other Galaxy phones and lacks on some GUI functionality. On the Epic you can not rearrange or delete home screens, or change the apps on the fixed launcher at the bottom of the screen as seen on other Galaxy phones.
14. In terms of internal memory the Epic wins. I have exactly the same number of apps installed on both and same capacity SD cards and the only widget running on both is the Beautiful clock/weather widget.
Evo:
Internal memory ? max capacity 427.62MB / free 202.68MB / used 224.94MB
SD Card ? max capacity 15284MB / free 6249.37MB
Epic:
Internal memory ? max capacity 498.38MB / free 337.45MB / used 160.93MB
SD Card ? max capacity 15082MB / free 9933.06MB
The Evo comes with an 8GB SD card, the Epic with a 16GB.
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