FINALLY the Phone I've Been Waiting For
It seems that the HTC Evo finally has a combination of things that will truly make me happy in a mobile device. Starting several years ago I was using an i860 on Nextel and I switched to that device because I was originally because I was captivated by having video and image capture along with a front facing screen for easy access. But the phone was clunky for texting and I disliked having to extend the antenna all the time.
I kept the i860 for quite a while before moving to the Samsung Instinct, and it was a world of difference between the two. However, the Instinct was extremely limited in its ability to add new apps, especially when compared with the burgeoning iPhone market. It also suffered from random freezes and sluggish response at times. Still, I liked its dedicated camera button, bluetooth, and it had decent texting capabilities, which were far better than what I was accustomed to on the i860.
Finally, I moved to the HTC Hero and I was super excited to finally have a phone running a customizeable operating system from Google. Camera, camcorder, access to tons of apps, a good screen, bluetooth, good predictive texting etc. But it's sluggish! And though the 2.1 update supposedly is coming soon and may fix some of that I have small patience for trying to dial a number and having to wait several seconds for the dialer to figure itself out. Or trying to text while listening to music and waiting between each keypress, especially when using bluetooth. Receive a call while listening to music over bluetooth and texting? It barfs. lol.
So, with the HTC Evo, I'm looking forward to speed. The 4G network will boost connectivity, the snapdragon processor will make the device snappier, Android 2.1 will deliver better performance and access to the latest apps from Google and others, and the bigger screen will hopefully make things just a tad easier to read. HDMI output is high on my list too because it makes sharing parts of my life with others that much easier, which goes hand in hand with the upgraded 8MP camera. Essentially it takes the parts of the Hero I'm happy with and joins them with worthy hardware, plus kicks in some nice extras. Now if it had a dedicated camera button I'd be truly happy.