I don't want to leave...last flopping gasp with EVO in 30 day trial period.

[californian#AC]

I love my EVO.
I love the incredible web browsing, with flash - as good as my P.C. Big zoomable highly visible text is spectacular.
I love the app selection.
I LOVE using my EVO as a Kindle reader.
I love google maps on my EVO.
I love downloading trial games and looking at the pretty colors, once or twice.
I love (well, sorta like) that the EVO's calendar app works a bit better than my Blackberry's.

I hate my EVO.
*(Solved by kd0axs)My EVO makes only one alert sound for a new email, or a new text. These two things are not remotely the same and shouldn't be forced to sound the same.
*My EVO won't play nice with Handcent. Handcent looks nice and performs more like I'd like the native messaging app to, but just doesn't work. It displays the wrong incoming text pop-up, flashes the wrong notification light, and won't allow me to set individual ring tones.
*My EVO will flash but one color when a new email or text comes in...unless it's on the charger(and it's ALWAYS on the charger)...in that case it flashes nothing. Wimax notifier helps with this on texts, but:
*The amazing WiMax notifier app should make my EVO experience better...it does, but it doesn't play well with others. Lots of force closes, and I'm starting to suspect it is responsible for my unreasonably short battery life.
*Huge app selection - but none of which have become a necessity. Like Google Goggles - brilliant party trick, but when would I ever *need* to use it?
*The HTC Sense weather display on the home page is perfect looking. I Love it! Sadly, it does not work and has revealed to me that my population 80,000 American city does not exist. I love weather apps - and this just bloughs.
*My EVO makes my voice sound like an over-compressed robot to the other caller. I like robots a lot. I do not make a good robot.
*My EVO hates my music collection. It organizes and plays back an album's songs alphabetically!? I tend to trust that Paul & John knew what song order Abbey Road was best experienced in. It also categorizes 90% of my music library as "Unknown artist". Even Blackberry got this right.
*My EVO makes me think twice about sending a new text message. A new text means fighting with that damn touch screen keyboard that doesn't like the way I bend the English language to my communication style and mocks my typing accuracy. This might be the worst detail of all.
*My EVO enjoys listing my contacts in duplicate and triplicate. Come to think of it, maybe this is a good thing as it looks like I now have tons and tons of friends!
*(talked off ledge by kd0axs)My EVO is still sucking battery beyond what I think is reasonable. I've read dozens of tips and tricks to maximize battery life, and I still am not getting a full work day out of it.
_______________
I am very impressed with the HTC hardware. It feels great and looks amazing. I can't imaging having another Android phone with a smaller screen. The only other option would be the Epic 4g, and I think it's inferior in every area that could possibly matter to me (as much as I don't like the touch screen keyboard, I like the Epic's physical one even less).

Am I abandoning Android too quick? Is the O.S just not *ready* yet? I'm forced to enter a long term relationship with this phone, but the first 3 weeks have been rocky. So many minor issues.

As it is, this is feeling like a bounce back to my lousy Blackberry Tour. The Tour can't compete with the EVO but for two areas: It delivers and notifies me of every communication I want my phone to, and it's not a paper weight if I forget to charge it before bed.

Maybe all these minor EVO issues can be fixed with patience and the correct app selection, who knows.

 

[supchaka]

Blackberrys are good.

 

[PookiePrancer]

Yup. Doesn't sound like Android is for you. I see several issues you pointed out that are due to you our your preferences. Don't let yourself get stuck with something you don't like; go back to whatever makes you more comfortable.

 

[ntron1]

There is probably a Windows Phone 7 out there that will suit your needs and wants.

 

[QuasarZ]

Some of those things can be fixed like your contacts...Hit peope, then view and what is checked? It takes a bit but you can add all of your own words into the dictionary so the next time you need it, it will be there. I don't use handcent, but my buddy does and doesn't have any issues... so maybe some settings are goofed up? What apps did you have on your blackberry? What apps are you needing that aren't there? What music app are you using, the stock one? I know you have done the 'battery tricks' but have you done the charge till green, shutoff, plug back in, charge till green, turn on, charge till green etc? Also if you want to give your phone some more juice before you leave, unplug it when you wake up, doing your morning rituals, then plug it back in for a bit before you leave. If you charge it overnight, and just unplug it and leave, you could be leaving with only 80-90% charge. Try this, in the morning unplug it, wait 5 to 10 minuites and plug it back in. Click on your home clock widget and plug your phone in. In the bottom right corner it will show what percentage you are at, and I bet you will be below 90%

 

[Pre-dawn raid]

I hear ya on the complaints since I also came from a BB Tour on Sprint. The Evo can't touch the notification alerts and profiles the blackberry has. I could set my LED light to all different colors so I knew exactly what type of message just came in be it Facebook, email, SMS, missed call, whatever. HTC has a long way to go on this front but maybe a future firmware update will help.

The HTC weather widget is a disappointment I agree. I live in Denver but the city of Boulder (100,000+) is not in the list of cities. Maybe this has something to do with the phone being manuf. in a foreign country and more world cities being listed. Also, at 11pm at night it still show the sun in the widget for the current conditions. Wtf?

One option for the battery issue is to go on ebay and purchase those Chinese batteries that sell for like $10 shipped (There's a huge thread about them on the Evo forums on AC). Comes with (2) 1500mAh Li-ion batteries and a separate wall charger. Just throw one of the charged up extra batteries into your pocket or wherever and you never have to worry about making it through the day on a single charge. It's a small compromise.

All that being said, I'm sticking with the Evo for now and working around the faults. I think the Android platform is the future and it will only get better. Still keeping my Tour at the ready for international travel though

 

[igotsanevo4g]

Do you man. Do you...

 

[californian#AC]

Some of those things can be fixed like your contacts...Hit peope, then view and what is checked?

Thank you kindly for the reply. When I look in contact view, "Google", and "Phone" are both checked. "Show auto Gmail contacts" and "Only contacts with phone numbers" are not checked. I have tried the charge/unplug/charge seasoning without noticeable effect. I like your suggestion for a quick morning recharge.


Thanks PDR, we're largely of the same mind. That sounds like a reasonable battery solution there.

 

[Scott500]

It's just a phone....keep it in perspective. If you don't like it, swap it for one that works for you. I've had the iPhone, Winmo and the palm pre and can tell you...for all it's faults...the Evo and Android are the best thing out there...IMO

 

[Trust]

go back to a Blackberry.

 

[hawwah]

Here's a few solutions to your issues

Although, I'm new to EVO & Android overall I can help you fix some of your issues (if you want to keep the phone). First, your battery is dying quickly due to the running programs in the background. Giving it is not as simple as BB but if you go into settings & click on applications & click on running apps you can touch each 1 to close it.
As for the email notification/alerts you can set it independently by going into settings while logged in your email address. Check the selection that alerts for each new email & not just 1.
As for the touch keyboard maybe you need to re-calibrate you phone.
Lastly, the spelling issue is not a really issue because again you can set your phone to offer spell check & add words to the word list regardless of spelling.

 

[freddyc]

Maybe the Evo isn't for you, but one of the other Android devices is. As an OS, I'd take Android over anything out there currently. But to each his own. Maybe try the Samsung and see if that's better experience for you?

 

[fred72matt]

I had a Pre and did the 30 day thing. After 3 days I gave my wife my Pre. This phone is very close to perfect. But if it doesn't work for u take it back, it seems like u are trying to be talked into keeping it. Its your $$$ if u don't like it or feel blackberry is better take it back

 

[QuasarZ]

Thank you kindly for the reply. When I look in contact view, "Google", and "Phone" are both checked. "Show auto Gmail contacts" and "Only contacts with phone numbers" are not checked. I have tried the charge/unplug/charge seasoning without noticeable effect. I like your suggestion for a quick morning recharge.


Thanks PDR, we're largely of the same mind. That sounds like a reasonable battery solution there.

So are your numbers in the phone saved as "phone" or "gmail"? If they are saved as "phone" and a few "gmail" hit people, export, select phone and it will send them to your sd card. Then go in and delte all of your contacts, and then reimport them to your phone as google and then resync with goold account and your problem should go away. Or just delete them all, and go back into sprint and have them re sync them from your old phone to your new one as goole.

 

[californian#AC]

As for the email notification/alerts you can set it independently by going into settings while logged in your email address. Check the selection that alerts for each new email & not just 1.

When I touch the "Mail" icon, my gmail inbox opens. From there I hit the Menu button and then select "Settings". Here I touch "Notification Settings" where there are 3 checkbox selections. Email notifications are on. Notification sound is on, and Notification vibrate is off. This is where I'm tripped up as I can't seem to specify a specific notification alert sound within the mail program. It seems to default to whichever notification alert plays for any event, be that email, MMS, or SMS. I'm hoping to have a new email sound different than a new text.

(Thank you for your help! All things being equal, I'd love to get my messaging right and keep this phone)

 

[bnrbranding]

If you need to be talked in to keeping your Evo, then you should probably try something else. It's a great phone, but no one phone is perfect for everyone. That said, I can't imagine trading my Evo for anything.

 

[kd0axs]

When I touch the "Mail" icon, my gmail inbox opens. From there I hit the Menu button and then select "Settings". Here I touch "Notification Settings" where there are 3 checkbox selections. Email notifications are on. Notification sound is on, and Notification vibrate is off. This is where I'm tripped up as I can't seem to specify a specific notification alert sound within the mail program. It seems to default to whichever notification alert plays for any event, be that email, MMS, or SMS. I'm hoping to have a new email sound different than a new text.

(Thank you for your help! All things being equal, I'd love to get my messaging right and keep this phone)

There are a few different ways you can get separate notifications for email and messaging. I didn't see you mention what app you are using for email, so I am going to assume you are using the stock HTC Mail app.

1. The Mail app uses the default notification sound that you can change by going to (from your home screen) Menu > Settings > Sound > Notification Sound. If you open up "Messages" then go to Menu > Settings > Notification Sound you can change the sound that is played for messages. This will be the sound you hear for texts, MMS, etc and you will hear the default notification sound for email.


2. Do you have more than one email account, or just Gmail? If you only have Gmail, try using the "Gmail" app instead of the HTC "Mail" app. The Gmail app allows you to set it's own notification sound.

3. There are several 3rd party email apps available. A couple examples are K9 Mail and MailDroid. These apps also allow their own notification sounds to be set.

Personally, I have Gmail and Yahoo so I use the Gmail app and the Yahoo Mail app. This makes it so I have 3 different sounds for Gmail, Yahoo, and Messaging.

 

[kd0axs]

A few other things that may help.

Weather:

Don't worry too much if it doesn't recognize your city. You will get the weather from the nearest observation station. Usually these are airports. I live in a suburb of the Twin Cities. My location always comes up as Minneapolis even though I'm about 20 miles from the actual city of Minneapolis. I still get the correct weather data though.

Music:

Sounds like there is a problem with your ID tags. You should be able to sort by Artist, Song Title, Album, Genre, etc.

Keyboard:

If you want, you can change the prediction and auto correct settings by going to Menu > Settings > Language & Keyboard > Touch Input.

There are also several 3rd party keyboard apps available that you may like better. There are quite a few threads floating around regarding keyboards if you search. Here is an example of one:

http://forum.androidcentral.com/htc-evo-4g/36352-new-keyboards-2.html

Battery:

I hate so say this, but get used to it. The EVO is not a Blackberry. With a 1ghz processor, 4.3" screen, and tons of other battery sucking features, there is only so much you can do to prolong your battery life. If you do all the things that people suggest to improve yuor battery life, you are crippling your phone. I would rather enjoy my EVO. I would suggest getting a spare battery (can't do this with that "other" phone) and plug it in whenever you get the chance.

 

[Jerzyiroc]

I hate my EVO.
*My EVO makes only one alert sound for a new email, or a new text. These two things are not remotely the same and shouldn't be forced to sound the same.
If you use a 3rd party texting app you can set a different ringtone
*My EVO won't play nice with Handcent. Handcent looks nice and performs more like I'd like the native messaging app to, but just doesn't work. It displays the wrong incoming text pop-up, flashes the wrong notification light, and won't allow me to set individual ring tones.
I don't understand the big deal about notification lights... If the light is blinking.. you have to pick up the phone anyway and two seconds later you'll know what notification is there. Is knowing .2 seconds faster what your notification is that important?
*My EVO will flash but one color when a new email or text comes in...unless it's on the charger(and it's ALWAYS on the charger)...in that case it flashes nothing. Wimax notifier helps with this on texts, but:
*The amazing WiMax notifier app should make my EVO experience better...it does, but it doesn't play well with others. Lots of force closes, and I'm starting to suspect it is responsible for my unreasonably short battery life.
*Huge app selection - but none of which have become a necessity. Like Google Goggles - brilliant party trick, but when would I ever *need* to use it?
For one, that's not an Evo issue. That's an Android issue. And I'd hardly call that an "issue". I think you need to spend a little more time browsing the app market. I have over 100 apps and the majority are useful.. What kind of apps are you looking for???
*The HTC Sense weather display on the home page is perfect looking. I Love it! Sadly, it does not work and has revealed to me that my population 80,000 American city does not exist. I love weather apps - and this just bloughs.
*My EVO makes my voice sound like an over-compressed robot to the other caller. I like robots a lot. I do not make a good robot. Might be a network issue? I've had plenty of conversations with other Evo owners on the phone and it sounds fine to me
*My EVO hates my music collection. It organizes and plays back an album's songs alphabetically!? I tend to trust that Paul & John knew what song order Abbey Road was best experienced in. It also categorizes 90% of my music library as "Unknown artist". Even Blackberry got this right.
There are PLENTY of other music apps in the market.. This would be on of the apps that you would *need*. Search is your friend.. This is of course not even necessary since you CAN organize the selection by artist, song title, genre, album
*My EVO makes me think twice about sending a new text message. A new text means fighting with that damn touch screen keyboard that doesn't like the way I bend the English language to my communication style and mocks my typing accuracy. This might be the worst detail of all.
With all due respect, it's not htc's fault that you choose to speak English incorrectly. I've heard plenty of complaints about phones before.. I never thought I'd ever hear someone complain about their phone having spell check If that's really an issue.. How about checking your phone options? Go to menu> settings> language and keyboard> touch input> text input> and there are plenty of options there to assist you in not spelling correctly (still confused about this one) such as turning spell corrections and word completion off..
*My EVO enjoys listing my contacts in duplicate and triplicate. Come to think of it, maybe this is a good thing as it looks like I now have tons and tons of friends!
This again is not an Evo problem, it's a problem with Android... With that said I don't see how it's that big of a deal.. You CAN delete the duplicates and resync with Google to correct it after all..
*My EVO is still sucking battery beyond what I think is reasonable. I've read dozens of tips and tricks to maximize battery life, and I still am not getting a full work day out of it.
There are plenty of people that can get a full day of battery use. Unless your phone is on and being used for 10 hours straight, there is no reason why you can't get at least 14 hours of moderate use. I use the living hell out of my Evo. Even when it was overclocked to 1.2ghz and the kernel set to performance, I STILL got at least 10 hours of heavy use and would easily get over 14 hours of moderate use. You either have an app that's screwing with the battery or possibly using a task killer? Either way, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to get a full day of battery.
_______________
I am very impressed with the HTC hardware. It feels great and looks amazing. I can't imaging having another Android phone with a smaller screen. The only other option would be the Epic 4g, and I think it's inferior in every area that could possibly matter to me (as much as I don't like the touch screen keyboard, I like the Epic's physical one even less).

Am I abandoning Android too quick? Is the O.S just not *ready* yet? I'm forced to enter a long term relationship with this phone, but the first 3 weeks have been rocky. So many minor issues.

As it is, this is feeling like a bounce back to my lousy Blackberry Tour. The Tour can't compete with the EVO but for two areas: It delivers and notifies me of every communication I want my phone to, and it's not a paper weight if I forget to charge it before bed.

Maybe all these minor EVO issues can be fixed with patience and the correct app selection, who knows.[/QUOTE]


To compare the Evo to ANY Blackberry, even the Torch is nothing short of amusing. What's even more amusing is to talk about Android getting a "correct app selection" with Blackberry in the same sentence. There are TONS of great applications in the market. Obviously you haven't spent much time searching for them when you're complaining about the stock music app and Handcent meanwhile there's god knows how many other text apps and how many music apps. The OS is beyond ready, it's the best OS out. I can care less what anyone says. Is it perfect? No. What OS is? iOS is nothing short of a joke. Folder and icons? Seriously? How many years and they can finally pick their own wallpaper? An antique notification system? Halfassed multi tasking? Should I keep going? The only thing more overrated than the iPhone and iOS is turning 21. I'm not even gonna waste my breath with Blackberry. How those phones are even considered being a smartphone is beyond me. I really do apologize if I'm coming off as a ******. But I get really pissed when I hear someone ripping this phone, or Android, when they obviously have wrong information, and know very little to nothing about what they're talking about. A little research goes a LONG way. The Android OS can definitely take some time to get used it. It's so customizable it can definitely get a little intimidating. But if you don't make an honest effort to really look into it, then you have no right to complain about stuff. Especially when most of the things you complain about are either wrong, ridiculous, or make no sense... Just my $.02

As it is, this is feeling like a bounce back to my lousy Blackberry Tour. The Tour can't compete with the EVO but for two areas: It delivers and notifies me of every communication I want my phone to, and it's not a paper weight if I forget to charge it before bed.

WOW.. seriously?? It's really that big of a deal to take what I dunno.. maybe a whole 15 seconds to plug your phone in before you go to bed? I'll never understand why people are so against just charging their phone?! The Evo isn't a BlackBerry.. The Evo can actually do stuff unlike the Blackberry. There is a REASON why the Blackberry can go 10 years without a charge. It can't do ****. There's things the Evo and other Android phones can do that even the Torch has wet dreams about doing. Take the whole 15 seconds before you go to bed and charge the phone. It's really not that serious... Are people really this lazy?????

 

[karmiccalamity]

Try turning your 4g off when it's not necessary may help your battery problems

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