HTC EVO 3D- A User Video Review

The other day I walked by a Sprint store in the mall and took a gander at the HTC EVO3D. I had the EVO4G and figured – what the heck, I’d take a look as I was eligible for an upgrade and I’m a bit of a phone nut. Yes, I read all the luke-warm reviews but had a great experience with the original EVO. To be honest – I was one of the ones who was originally trashing the phone. I had been initially excited about it but thought HTC underpowered this device. Let me be the first to say it here now. I am eating some serious crow…

OK, yes it is 3D. But to be honest, even I realize that that is more of a “fad” than anything else. Yeah, it’s cool that the phone can do that, and can play 3D video/still shots. But that takes away from the true features of the phone:

• Dual core 1.2GHz snapdragon
• 1GB RAM
• 1.3MP front-facing camera/5MP rear-facing camera (2D)
• 4.3″ inch Super LCD 540×960 QHD resolution 3D display
• 1730 mAh battery
• Dedicated camera button
• HTC Sense 3.0

…and yeah, the 3D functionality. Not a super-huge fan of 3D (the Spider-Man 3D game by Gameloft gave me a headache, but was cool all the same).

And the negatives on the phone that I”ve found so far?

• Not exactly Galaxy S II thin. It is a fairly bulky device but hey – when you have to pack in 2 3D cameras into a device, it’s not exactly going to look “svelte”. Yeah, I know. The EVO4G was similar in dimensions. Maybe Samsung can talk to HTC about case design because their Galaxy S II is packing the same size screen and it is only 8mm thin. This is similar screen size to the EVO4G (no 3D cameras there and yet – plenty of girth).
• Why did HTC feel the need to make the camera lenses flush with the case? Essentially, if you put the phone with the camera lenses facing the ground, they can be easily scratched. The only way to prevent this is to get a case. But c’mon let’s be honest, anyone who doesn’t have some kind of case on their smartphone, essentially a small computer – needs to be slapped.
• Battery life is still an issue so far. We’re talking 7 hours just sitting on my desk and a couple of calls? I know with the EVO4G it was recommended to run it dry a couple of times and then recharge. Hopefully it will get better with more use. I only picked up the phone a couple of days ago. So I’m thinking the battery just needs to be broken in.
• 8GB SD Card is not enough for a device which caters to 3D graphics and video, especially considering the EVO4G came with an 8GB SD Card

CONCLUSION:

So anyway, I’m talking to the Sprint rep and I’m looking at this slick screen and these features. I ask him, “How much?” He looks at my EVO4G and says if I exchange my phone to him, he can give me $150 credit and the EVO3D will only cost me $66 bucks as I am a Gold Premier member.

SOLD.

So I’m thinking I got a hell of a deal here. I am really liking the phone and the features listed above. No way in hell I was going to get a similar deal on the Galaxy S II. Which is what I was originally holding out for. The way I look at it – if I continue to hold out for the “next big device” – I’ll never get a phone as there will always be one better. Remember – the Nexus Prime is coming in the Fall. See what I mean? I can hear the trolls now – “Galaxy S II is weak – I’m holding out for the Nexus Prime!”

MY RATING:

**** (out of 5 *)

***UPDATE***
Since originally writing this article I tweaked my phone settings and am continually getting in upwards of 17-20 hours minimum on a single charge with average use. Turns out my Google+ app was in constant upload and was a big drain. Also, I’ve learned to keep the camera setting in 2D mode even when I am not taking a picture.

Those 2 items show me that htc has indeed improved their hardware’s battery usage substantially. I say HTC, because I never received this type of battery life on ROM I put on the EVO4G. Not one.