Buying a 4G Shift in a couple weeks

[Muscle Master#AC]

So I plan on buying a Evo shift in a couple weeks to replace my Blackberry Curve 3G. I plan on playing cash so I wondering where could I get it the cheapest.

Also I think I like that blue HTC branded case but I read some mixed reviews from you guys saying its junk.. is it hard plastic or does it have a "rubber" like feel?

Now heres the main thing I'm concerned with *BATTERY LIFE*

I think I can consider myself a power user (RSS feeds, Social Networking, GPS, occasional web browsing and the main thing I will be utilizing is the Media Player.. I like my music) and I'm very skeptical about battery life.. Guys realistically speaking, How much battery life am I looking at?

I plan to buy a 1750MA seidio extended battery or 2 and also plan to root my shift to undervolt/clock my cpu to save battery life while idle (still reading about this)

Last thing is.. From what I read the shift has a 3G and a 4G radio and I happen to live in a Very "Rich" 4G area

Does the 4G radio use too much battery juice compared to the 3G radio.. and can I just disable the 3G radio all together to compensate.. I'm the type of person that uses everything to the fullest of their capabilities

This would be my first Android device and I'm really stoked about it, I almost brought a HTC Incredible back in april but I was just to skeptical of Android OS back then and just got a Storm 2.. but I can't wait!!

 

[liquidxit2]

Welcome from NBR! Yeah I know where you hail from!

I can answer some of these. I usually get over a day with normal use which would be classified as a poweruser. I do alot of ssh sessions, stream music at work and the gym on top of the normal calls/SMS/email (my phone is my main email device). I can get 48 hours or slightly more if I go easy on the phone, but average is 1.2-1.5 days on a standard battery and charge.

As for the 4g radio I cannot help there as I do not live in a 4g area, and rarely if ever travel to the areas that have it.

As for cases I personally would steer clear from the sprint case they have as its that cheapo hard plastic and it made the phone VERY slippery. I usually go with seidio accesories as they ahev always worked very well, but Im currently holding out for the super extended battery as I want to get to 2+ days of normal use on a single charge.

 

[Muscle Master#AC]

NBR members are everywhere lol

And thanx for answering my questions.. hows the audio quality from the media player?

 

[liquidxit2]

NBR members are everywhere lol

And thanx for answering my questions.. hows the audio quality from the media player?

Pretty good. The speaker is a little low for calls but music is pretty decent. As for headphones the shift deos well with the ear buds I have as well as my bose noise canceling muffs. All around good enough for a non audio phile.

 

[cadavev]

im an go a day easy and im a heavy user emails twitter facebook radio io and what not i have the sprint case that comes with the holster and it looks like carbon fiber and works great thus far best acc i got for the phone.

 

[haus]

I recommend disabling "use wireless networks" on the GPS settings page. I'm seeing a HUGE battery gain with that un-checked.

I would skip the 1750 batteries. They've been tested (I can never remember the link but it was a fascinating read) and shown not to be what they say they are, and they're crazy expensive. If you're desperate for battery life just get an extended battery once the larger battery doors become available. My "smell test" for that is that don't you think if HTC could cram 250mah more in the same battery size they'd be doing so already? Even if it added $5-10 to the end-user cost of the phone, that's almost a 20% increase in battery capacity and would be a no-brainer for marketing purposes. That's just opinion, of course.

Also, IMHO the battery door on the Shift is so hard to remove, you're probably better off just getting a battery extender than trying to swap batteries. I think it's only a matter of time before the little tabs on the back start breaking. I've ordered the technocel booster (only 600mah, but pocketable and should help in a pinch). Will post when I get it and test it.

4G is awesome. They turned on my area a few days after I got the Shift. It does appear to use more battery life, but not as much as I'd expected (I've had it on all day and still had some battery life at the end of the day, just less than on 3G). Again that probably relates to signal strength, so watch your coverage icon closely. If it is struggling to get a 4G signal it will probably use more power. Then again everything is so much faster...

Found it:

BatteryBoss Calls Out False Capacity Claims!