Ugh..should I return my EVO for something else?

[newmomto1]

I have had my EVO for 4 days now and have spent tons of time playing with it.
I want to love it, I really do. And there are things I really do like...like the screen size, browsing experience, and speed (I am coming from a Blackberry Curve)

But, there are a few things I really don't like.

The biggest problem I am having is typing on that darn keyboard. I just can't get used to it and I am making contant typos. I do not have this problem with my husbands iphone though. So, I don't think it's the lack of a physical keyboard...just seems this keyboard not good for me
I am shocked that the quality of the pictures I take aren't better. I took a few pics of my kids and they looked a little fuzzy and the color looked "off"..again (hate to keep comparing to iphone) but when I took pics with my husbands phone in the same room, of the same scene..his came out WAY better...clearer with better colors.
My email from my yahoo accounts take FOREVER to show up...like hours! Is this normal?
And, I find using the phone itself a bit difficult while driving...maybe I am missing something (I probably am)..but is there an easy way to pull up a contact and dial. I feel like I have to pull over to make a call.

I am REALLY trying to avoid going the route of getting an iphone for a few reasons. I have been with Sprint a long time. I love their unlimited plan...can't beat it! So....
Should I return my EVO and maybe wait for Epic?
Or a different phone?
Or, are there solutions to the problems I am having?
It seems like everyone loves the EVOs...so is it just me having these issues?

Please help..I wanna feel the love either for EVO or something else

**************UPDATE****************
After reading through all of the wonderful replies here I am coming back around. I have made some adjustment keyboard-wise and things are going smoother there. I still need to play around with and figure out how to make the camera work well for me (I just haven't had time to yet)
I am still not sure what the problem is with my email, but for now I am checking it through the browser.
I get my emails through the android system *sometimes*.
I want to say THANK YOU to all of you that replied...I am loving this board

 

[vtective]

Have you calibrated the keyboard?

 

[newmomto1]

Have you calibrated the keyboard?

Yes, I did...maybe I will do it again

 

[woldy2]

ill trade you my moment and some cash for it...

 

[vtective]

Yes, I did...maybe I will do it again

It migth help. I had problems with the EVO keyboard in portrait mode initially, but calibrating seemed to help.

If not, you could wait for the Epic if you prefer physical keyboards.

 

[woldy2]

try swype...i use it on my moment all the time...rarely open the keyboard now

 

[mmcnamara43]

Ma.ybe you should give it a little more time.4 days isn't enough time. You have the 30 days so play with some more.

 

[PM-Performance]

for the texting, did you shut off the auto complete thing? That messed me up alot.
Not going to say I dont still make certain typos, but much less without that on.

the camera does fantastic for me in stock settings. I think i bumped the image quality at some point though.
Low light conditions will suck for any phone, but flash and flash timing make the world of difference. Thats a normal rule of photography in general though.

 

[newmomto1]

try swype...i use it on my moment all the time...rarely open the keyboard now

Okay i am probably the only one here that doesnt know...but what is "swype"????

 

[AaronTV]

the camera does fantastic for me in stock settings. I think i bumped the image quality at some point though.
Low light conditions will suck for any phone, but flash and flash timing make the world of difference. Thats a normal rule of photography in general though.

I have gotten some nice pictures with ideal lighting. I have NOT, however, gotten any pictures using the flash to turn out well. They are always blown out. Is there some way to adjust the timing?

 

[AaronTV]

OP: If you can manage to get swype on your phone, it really is awesome. I think the beta version is closed atm, though.

Regarding iPhone vs Evo keyboards, a buddy of mine has an iPhone and he was interested in comparing the keyboards. He always types in portrait mode, btw. When he compared the two, he was able to type just as quickly/accurately on both. So, there seemed to be no real difference between the two. Myself? I don't care for two-thumb typing in either portrait or landscape on any touchscreen and much prefer swype.

 

[AndroidOne]

In regards to the keyboard, make sure is the keyboard and not the autocorrect feature that is messing your texts. I personally don't like the autocorrect feature of the stock keyboard where the suggested word is automatically accepted when you press space; since I do a bit of technical writing it selected another term often enough to annoy me into turning this function off. Now the accuracy of my texts has improved significantly.

 

[Bujin#IM]

After about 8 years with real keyboards, it took me a week or two to get used to the virtual one. Over time, and learning to trust the auto-correct, I can fly on mine now.

You might want to give it a little more time to see if you get used to it.

 

[AndroidOne]

After about 8 years with real keyboards, it took me a week or two to get used to the virtual one. Over time, and learning to trust the auto-correct, I can fly on mine now.

You might want to give it a little more time to see if you get used to it.

Same here, after a couple of weeks I am quite accurate with the virtual keyboard myself. I mentioned the autocorrect because it was a major source of frustration for me... most of the words I type are not on the dictionary, and since I did not pay much attention to the suggested words, my texts end up making no sense to the recipient.

 

[cloak.n.dagger]

Swype is a beta keyboard that allows you to drag your finger across they keyboard, from one letter to the next, to type out a word. The app recognizes the pattern and predicts, quite accuratly, the word you are trying to type. As others have mentioned, the bata is now closed and the developer is not releasing an install package for it. I believe that the beta versions that are out there have an experation date on them and will not function after a certain date. Best bet is to Google "Swype" and register on the developers site for the next round of beta testing so you can try it out to see if you like it or not. There are other replacement keybard app out there as well, just search the app store for keyboard. Maybe those will be more to your liking than the stock keyboard.

 

[PM-Performance]

I have gotten some nice pictures with ideal lighting. I have NOT, however, gotten any pictures using the flash to turn out well. They are always blown out. Is there some way to adjust the timing?

I dont think there is, but i can tell you from working with different camera I have seen this make the world of difference.
My Gf's camera blows pictures out when flash is used. My normal camera works awesome with the flash as it is timed to shutter a little differently

I havent taken too many low light pics with my Phone yet, but I can tell you i played with the flash on and off in a few scenarios and can drastically change the picture.

Even flash on in well lit conditions can change the picture significantly

 

[Kedar]

I never want to go back to a physical keyboard again. Waste of space on a phone.
I had the Palm Pre before and was uneasy switching over to a virtual keyboard.

I can't look back. I have like 2-3 different keyboards on my phone.
Swype, Droid X's multitouchkeyboard, smart keyboard pro, and stock.

You'll get used to it after a while.

 

[tkanavy]

You will get used to it. Four days is simply not enough time. I was initially frustrated with my constant typing errors. Now I can type super fast and accurate.

Are you remembering to focus the camera when you take pics of the kids, by placing your finger on the screen?

Also try a few other keyboards, namely Swype.

 

[J Snazzy]

Yeah auto focusing is very important, hold the in place and it the white box should show up and start to move in and out, eventually going green and then disappearing, you are now focused!

I've also noticed that the 8MP aren't great at their natural size, but when you resize them (Say using Microsoft Power tools resizer) they look pretty good .

You also change to shoot 3 or 5mp instead of 8mp.

The flash on this thing sucks however, it whites everything out . They really need to let us turn only one on to take pictures.

On the keyboard, I have the same issues...I have noticed slowing down helps . If you hold the key you pressed, it will popup so you are sure you typed it. When I get into landscape mode I'm pretty dang good however. Also, it has only been 3 days and it's a big screen to get use to.

 

[Whytecell#AC]

The biggest problem I am having is typing on that darn keyboard. I just can't get used to it and I am making contant typos. I do not have this problem

I like the keyboard, i'm coming off my Blackberry curve. one lesson I have learned was, If you are making constant Typos, Usually it's operator error. Im not calling you out or anything, I thought it was funny. Either way, my Father just got an EVO also, and he's still on his BB! H say's it's hard to break away from the crackberry, So, If you have keyboard problems, consider a moment? I just bought that for my Girlfriend, she likes it just for the keyboard and the fact it can do whatever she wants with Android. there are lot of phones on the market you might like. As for me, An EVO is a god-send to me, You have a dedicate community of developers who are friendly, there are tons of resources being created everyday to learn more about the EVO and android products, PLUS! it's better than the iphone lol.I hope any of this helps.