Android phone recommendations/discussion?

^ I had pretty much decided on the Epic!

Almost wish one or the other (Epic or Evo) hadn't come out so the choice would be easy.

I should say as far as the GPS on the Epic goes, it works most of the time, but it's one of those things that fails at the worst possible time. It takes longer to lock on than it should and even when locked on, always displays the blue circle around the arrow (meaning the lock isn't too precise). I use GPS a lot (I drive a ton for work and a good bit for play), so having it work when it should is really important to me.

I will say that you should spend some time with both devices if you can (not sure where you are in Philly, but if you are in the 'burbs near enough to Exton, the guys at the Sprint store in the mall have always been really helpful), TouchWiz isn't unusable, I just like Sense more overall (especially the widgets HTC includes). It just seems that HTC has a better handle on integration (which can be seen as a bad thing as far as development is concerned). Speaking of development, the Evo has a much larger community (and it seems like the Epic is going to take some time to pick up steam), which is great if you'd like to further customize things. If you aren't a fan of Sense, there is always CM6 or other AOSP roms.

So yeah, try before you buy!

I have had an evo for about 2 months now, and I really enjoy it as a phone. Obvious downside that may have been stated: I am running 2.2 on it and battery life is mediocre at best. Fortunately, I keep a usb cord at work, so that i have a full battery by the time i leave work. Unfortunately, when i go out on a Saturday for the whole day, I have a dead phone by the night time (8-10ish depending on use). A lot of people have recommending rooting it (somethign I hope to do soon by way of http://unrevoked.com) as an option to increase battery life. Others have purchased 3500mah batteries, but sacrifice the form as a result. If you can get over the battery life hump, then it is well worth it.

Originally Posted by Gravitas

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I should say as far as the GPS on the Epic goes, it works most of the time, but it's one of those things that fails at the worst possible time. It takes longer to lock on than it should and even when locked on, always displays the blue circle around the arrow (meaning the lock isn't too precise). I use GPS a lot (I drive a ton for work and a good bit for play), so having it work when it should is really important to me.

I will say that you should spend some time with both devices if you can (not sure where you are in Philly, but if you are in the 'burbs near enough to Exton, the guys at the Sprint store in the mall have always been really helpful), TouchWiz isn't unusable, I just like Sense more overall (especially the widgets HTC includes). It just seems that HTC has a better handle on integration (which can be seen as a bad thing as far as development is concerned). Speaking of development, the Evo has a much larger community (and it seems like the Epic is going to take some time to pick up steam), which is great if you'd like to further customize things. If you aren't a fan of Sense, there is always CM6 or other AOSP roms.

So yeah, try before you buy!

Thanks, Exton is not far...I work in center city but live near KoP. Actually have a Sprint store a block and a half from the office, but they didn't have the Evo in stock last time I went to look.

I must have terrible luck (or Sprint secretly hates me), I picked up Evo number three today (both my launch day phone and the replacement had spots appear on the touchscreen [which AFAICT must be only occuring on rev0002 with Novatek panels]) and I can't get GPS to work. Closest thing to a lock has been 2100 meters. Tried resetting the phone as well as upgrading everything, to no avail. Back to the Sprint store again it seems (and maybe the Epic for another week).

Originally Posted by Gravitas

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I must have terrible luck (or Sprint secretly hates me), I picked up Evo number three today (both my launch day phone and the replacement had spots appear on the touchscreen [which AFAICT must be only occuring on rev0002 with Novatek panels]) and I can't get GPS to work. Closest thing to a lock has been 2100 meters. Tried resetting the phone as well as upgrading everything, to no avail. Back to the Sprint store again it seems (and maybe the Epic for another week).

Grav
You probably already know this, but my wife's evo was having the same issue. Turned out that she had the 'Use wireless networks' option unchecked. This was required in order for even the GPS to work properly. Again, don't think that's your issue, but just throwing it out there.

Haha, thanks, but yeah, that was actually the first thing I checked (I read somewhere new phones are now supposed to ship with it turned off).

HTC just released the DesireHD in the UK. For around $700 you can get an unlocked GSM EVO!

Except that the Desire HD will have a 900/2100 MHz HSPA/WCDMA radio which is incompatible with 850/1900 MHz networks in the USA.

So you'd have a very shiny $700 dumbphone.

Originally Posted by holymadness

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Except that the Desire HD will have a 900/2100 MHz HSPA/WCDMA radio which is incompatible with 850/1900 MHz networks in the USA.

So you'd have a very shiny $700 dumbphone.

Why can't we all just get along?

Originally Posted by holymadness

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Except that the Desire HD will have a 900/2100 MHz HSPA/WCDMA radio which is incompatible with 850/1900 MHz networks in the USA. So you'd have a very shiny $700 dumbphone.
Eh, check your facts jack: http://www.htc.com/www/product/desir...ification.html Network 4 Europe:

• HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz
• GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Asia Pacific:

• HSPA/WCDMA: 900/2100 MHz
• GSM: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

HTC also announced that it'll be coming here later this year. No word on carriers.

i love my android so far

Sorry, but as far as i'm seeing, holymadness is correct. It did pass the FCC today, but from what i'm reading, it's only for roaming reasons. It supports US GSM bands for voice, but as HM said, no US 3G (HSPA/WCDMA). Poorly written engadget article (comments are more valuable)/ Wireless Goodness So it seems that this exact phone isn't due for a US release, but a US version of the DesireHD will be released eventually (if Gizmodo is to be believed). Got a call from the Sprint store around noon saying Evo number four is in. Pretty surprised/pleased it took less than a day. Picking it up tomorrow, hopefully there are no issues with this one. New Epic update became available today, but I had no luck earlier downloading it. Not sure if it fixes the GPS issue, but hopefully it does (insanely frustrating having GPS cause the phone to freeze up entirely, happened twice today [worst times possible]). Samsung should be embarrassed at the number of bugs across the Galaxy S line. No more Samsung for me (after tomorrow ).

Rambo, it's cute that you don't understand the difference between hspa and gsm. Thank you for copying and pasting from the same site where I got my info, thus confirming what I said.

Gravitas, avoid samsung like the plague. They have a long history of producing lemons backed by huge marketing campaigns designed to emphasize hype over substance.

Sent from my iWeiner

Originally Posted by holymadness

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Rambo, it's cute that you don't understand the difference between hspa and gsm. Thank you for copying and pasting from the same site where I got my info, thus confirming what I said.
T-Mobile uses the 2100mhz band for download. I was under the impression that you'd at lest be able to download.