There has been a lot of hype surrounding the HTC Evo. The 4G dream turned into reality on June 4 this year. The device was met with both joy and disappointment because of too many expectations. The HTC Evo 4G is the best Android smartphone on the market currently. It has a variety of powerful features and the 4G presence is felt. However, Sprint’s 4G network has limited reach, so only a limited number of people will enjoy it to the hilt. Even for these users there is a $10 mandatory add-on charge, which is fair in its own way. Priced at $199.99, the phone has lots to offer and I take a look at the design, user interface and features below.
Design
The HTC Evo is 4.8 inches tall, 2.6 inches wide and 0.5 inches thick and weighs 6 ounces. There is a mesmerising 4.3 inch capacitive touch screen with pinch to zoom in many applications. Vibrant colours and a sharp WVGA 800×480 resolution display make everything appear crisp. An in-built sensor automatically adjusts backlight. It also has a large keyboard; bigger than most phones including the iPhone in terms of ease of usage. Besides these, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack, a Micro-USB and HDMI type D port.
User interface
The HTC Evo improves the core functions by integrating all the features which gives the Android phone a better and user-friendly interface. There is a mail widget to view all e-mails instead of viewing it one at a time. There is a tabbed interface which lets you view messages, attachments and meeting invites with a simple touch. Also, there is a weather widget which automatically displays weather conditions depending upon your location. The overwhelming fact is that the device can be completely customised based on your requirements meaning you can use features you want and not use the rest.
Features
The HTC Evo has Android 2.1 which is the latest version of Android available. Apart from all the standard Google and Android apps, there are additional features like Google Maps with navigation, live wallpapers and voice to text entry. It is also the first phone which has inbuilt YouTube player. The HDMI port allows you to stream photos and videos in HD quality from your handset to your home theatre system. The Evo has a 1.3 megapixel front camera and an 8 megapixel camera for HD video shooting. For video calling there is an application called Qik and the uniqueness of the app and the Evo 4G together is that the recipient need not have a compatible phone. All additional features like Bluetooth, speed dial, voice commands, conference calling etc are similar to normal handsets. Another special feature is usage of both voice and data, but only in the 4G network. The internal memory is a big 1GB but can be expanded to 32GB with the help of the microSD slot.
Conclusion
Though the HTC Evo is impressive, it is not a perfect device. The size is larger than normal smartphones and the voice quality is not perfect. However, the display being amazing, the size factor may not pose much of a problem. Its performance is excellent and if you are looking for an Android smartphone, then go for it!
