So we already talked about the EVO on Wednesday, so if you want the info on that, scroll down a little. Seriously, it's RIGHT below this.
Are you caught up? Cool. How was your day? Yeah? No way, that's crazy! What? Oh, you want the review already? Fine!
So today, I somehow managed to get my hands on HTC's EVO 4G, but unfortunately not long enough to run away with it. I did however get to take it out for a brief test drive. And in an effort to keep this blog PG, let's just say that I had to buy new pants. I'll let you take that however you want.
If you've played around with any Android phone, you know the basics of how it works, so I don't really need to go into too much detail. And if you have any experience with SenseUI, it's all the same to you. 7 panels of customizable homescreen goodness, all the familiar HTC-exclusive widgets with just a few new visual tweaks, but nothing earth-shattering.
What is earth-shattering is the "Holy crap this thing is HUGE" factor (it's a technical term, look it up). What shocked me more was how light it was. It certainly doesn't feel like what a 4.3" screen device should. For this next part, I'm aware that that's what she said: Despite the fact that it seems like it would be too big, it really fits and feels good in your hands. Ok, get that out of your system. We good? Good.
I am usually the kind of guy who does not like an on-screen keyboard when I have the option for buttons, so typing was my biggest concern. I've typed on the Nexus One and even the iPhone a lot, and I just could never get the hang of it with my big hands. The EVO is the exception. The software keyboard is seriously just as big as hardware options out there, and the haptic feedback (mini-vibrate at each keystroke) replaces the satisfying click that a physical button provides.
Now, unfortunately I didn't get to test out video conferencing, but I made a point of it to try out the camera. The 1.3 front facing one looked good on it, which made the overshadowing 8mp camera on the back look insane. Even when fully zoomed in on a picture, every tiny detail is clear. Definitely impressive. And the video was smooth as can be in both stationary and quick action recording. And it's a testament to the 1GHz Snapdragon processor (in non-tech terms: The thing that makes it go VROOM!) that switching from the front camera to the back took seriously 1 second.
Overall, I'm absolutely impressed. The EVO is just snappy and lag-free, and if there were any doubt in my mind that I was going to be buying it (at the thankfully low $450 contract-free price even), it's now gone. In the coming year, this will be the phone to beat. Even when the Droid first came out, we knew of the upcoming Snapdragon processor. But I haven't even really read any rumors of what might possibly surpass this bad boy yet. And that includes all the protohypes Apple has "lost". Definitely worth checking out come June 4th!
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