HTC Evo 4G Review

The HTC EVO 4G set many a standards. The first 4G device, 720p video shooting, high definition display and an OS that to date has few rivals. Times have changed but still the EVO remains a highly recommended device, one that many owners still praise and few find major faults with.

The EVO 4G operates on the Sprint 2G, 3G and 4G networks and is capable of using WiFi as well. The HTC Sense UI is being called the best user interface of 2011, with even the competition admitting that its a superior platform.  So how does it perform, and is it still a good device? Read on to find out.

 

 

Pricing

Specifications of the HTC Evo 4G:

Design & Features

The EVO 4G was one of the first phones to sport an incredibly large screen and though 4.3-inch displays are now becoming the industry standard on high-end phones, the EVO was sporting a 4.3-inch panel before it was “cool.” That panel gives you 480 x 800 pixels which is more than enough space for web surfing, photo viewing and music listening, plus the occasional productivity tasks such as spreadsheet authoring and document editing.

There is a 1.0GHz processor on board with 512 of RAM and a full 1GB of ROM. The phone supports microSD and microSDHC cards of up to 32GB in capacity.

The removable battery is 1600mAh and will provide 6 hours of talk time. WiFi 802.11n along Bluetooth 2.1 EDR are all on board. Being a CDMA device, the EVO operates on the 800 and 1900 spectrums as well as WiMAX.

There is a kickstand on the back of the EVO 4G that allows the phone to “sit” on a flat surface in landscape mode. This is perfect for movie watching, photo viewing, typing with a Bluetooth keyboard or using the phone as an alarm clock.

The rear facing camera has an 8 megapixel sensor and records 720p content. The front facing camera is rated at 1.3 megapixels and will work great for video conferencing and self-portraits.

Performance

There are few phones in its class that can match the performance of the EVO 4G. Thanks to its 1GHz processor, it is great at multitasking and can handle Flash content like a charm. Speaking of Flash content, the phone originally shipped with Android 2.1 but has recently been updated to 2.3 Gingerbread which brings along Flash support that was originally introduced in 2.2 Froyo.

The camera is great as well. While a little under the performance of the iPhone 4, it still does take stellar shots and thanks to its 720p video shooting, you can always capture those special or random moments in HD quality. The front facing camera is great for video conferencing and in our tests we were able to make Skype calls that had exceptionally great quality for a mobile device. Self-portraits were good on the front facing camera as well and we did not have any major quality issues.

HTC has included Sense UI and it does provide a few enhancements on tock Android. Thankfully, it is not as distracting as other UI skins we have seen for Android and it definitely ranks as one of our favorite Android UI skins.

There is one minor gripe that we do have with the EVO 4G. It’s battery life is not great. On moderate usage you will be searching for a plug before the day is ended and at 6 hours of talk time, it is not exactly the best phone for long phone conversations. But, we doubt most people will be making calls on this phone more than they check Facebook or play Angry Birds.

Conclusion:

The EVO 4G is over a year old, and even though other phones have taken the spotlight, the EVO 4G still remains one of the most capable devices still available and easily ranks as one of the all-time best smartphones ever created, at least in our books. Best of all, Sprint and many other third party stores are offering the EVO 4G for no more than a few dollars on contract.

That makes it an unbeatable offer and even though dual-core smartphones are beginning to pop up all over the place, the EVO 4G is more than capable for the average or even advanced user. Just remember to bring the charge along.  For a unique take on the Evo 4G, check out the HTC Evo 3D 4G phone.