TimeOut

HTC EVO 3D....a 3D Android cellphone! Part 1

 

Delivery was quick and the EVO 3D arrived with free next day delivery.  Going green, the no frills box is made from recycled materials and printed with soy ink.  It's lightweight and glueless in order to have a lighter impact on the environment.  Good to see companies take this approach.   Inside we have the new phone, compact charging device, micro usb cable, 1730 mAh Lithium Ion battery and instructions manuals.

As we take unwrap the phone, we see the 4.3" capacitive 16:9 aspect ratio touchscreen.  The EVO 3D also incorporates the use of Gorilla Glass from Corning for a more durable and highly scratch resistant screen.  The phone feels solid and at 4.96" x 2.57" x 0.44", is slightly bigger yet thinner than the HTC EVO 4G.

On the top right is the 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, phone speaker, light indicator, and proximity sensor.  On the bottom are the Home, Menu, Back, and Search buttons to navigate around the HTC Sense user interface. 

On the left side is the micro usb port which can be used to charge, dock with the optional Car Dock or Desktop Dock, and output to another video source via MHL/HDMI.  MHL is the next advancement where there's the HDMI connection but can also output power, just like a usb cable can charge and output at the same time.  I think this is a clever option as more and more devices are using the HDMI connectors.

On the back of the EVO 3D is the pair of 5 megapixel cameras that captures 3D photos and videos.  In between them is the flash.  On the side of the cameras is the speakerphone.

On the right side is the camera button and slide switch.  You can quickly position 2D or 3D with the slide switch.  When activating the camera, it has a 2 press button similar to a DSLR, where a slight press will focus and a full press all the way down will capture the image. 

Top of the phone is the power button and a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

Let's power up and see what this thing can do...

Upon booting up the phone, the 3D animation kicks in.

My initial setup has the weather lock screen with 4 of my most used functions, phone, mail, messages, and camera.  The semicircle at the bottom is the touch screen lock. 

Since it's the newest phone, it's running the Android 2.3.3 aka Gingerbread, it's fast, smooth, and IMO works great. 

After fully charging the phone, hit the power button and the phone starts up.  Swipe the lock ring up to unlock the phone or drag one of the shortcut icons into the lock ring to directly open up the application.  You can set up the Home screen to different displays.  I like to have the weather on display but will be adding more widgets that I find useful.  On the status bar, there's a handy 'Notifications' panel that can be pulled down which allows to view notifications and even switch settings.

On the other side we have the volume switch.  The buttons were easy to push with a sturdy feel to it.  In this pic we also see how the camera panel sticks out quite a bit. 

For web browsing, the stock program works well.  Android phones can use Firefox, Dolphin HD (great browser!), Opera, and Skyfire.  So far, Dolphin HD is my favorite browser, it's stable, fully functional, and I'm able to view everything just like my laptop.

How does the new Android Gingerbread work on the Evo 3D?  IMO, it's amazing.  Everything is fluid without any delay when interacting with the apps, shortcuts, and features.  You can take pictures by holding the shutter button down or launch the camera/camcorder app.  Going from portrait to landscape is quick and very smooth.  Browsing thru the apps, the Evo 3D come with quite a few preinstalled: Adobe Reader, Amazon MP3, Polaris Office, Qik Video, and Swype, NASCAR, Sprint Mobile, Sprint Radio, Sprint TV & Movies, Sprint Zone, Telenav, Gameloft Spiderman 3D, and the Green Hornet movie in 3D.


One of the most notable features of this phone is the ability to take photos and videos in 3D without the need of special glasses.  How well does it work?  IMO, it's so cool!  it's amazing how photos really jump out at you.  I do have to mention that some people have problems viewing 3D images (not just the EVO 3D but with movies in the theater and at home on a 3D HD t.v. set) or get headaches with this technology.  The best way to view the pictures or video is to take some time in determining the viewing distance of the EVO 3D and changing the angle of the screen.  Once you find the sweet spot, it works beautifully.   Photos files are in the .mpo and .jps format and can only be viewed on a 3D capable cellphone (currently there are only 2 phones on the market that can do this).  For videos, sites like YouTube have a edit/options page for 3D uploads but require glasses for regular viewing.  When uploading pics to hosting sites like Photobucket or Picassa, it automatically converts 3D pics to 2D.


Speed vary from location to location and I've been testing 3G and 4G speeds in various parts of Los Angeles.  Taking quick measurements with Speedtest, on 3G I get from .6mbps to 2.5mbps down and .64 to 1.1mbps up.  When 4G is switched on, I've had 2.5mbps to 5.56mbps download with .7mbps to 1.49mbps up.  Wifi teathering works great on various tablets and laptops when I need internet on the go.

One of the many advantages of Android is that it's open source.  The developers at Unrevoked/AlphaRev provided the 'Revolutionary' download which enables S-Off thus allowing the ability to do such things as flash custom ROMs, Nandroid backups, and root the phone.  Although the developers have done an excellent job of simplifying the process, be very careful in attempting any kind of security off and flashing of anything as it may result in a serious bricking of the phone!   HTC did officially release a 2.3.4/1.5 hboot unlock update on August 18th, but using this method may void your warranty and some have reported that they cannot install custom ROMs.

A special white colored Evo 3D was recently announced as an exclusive for RadioShack (Sprint CDMA only).  For those on GSM carriers, the Evo 3D was recently released in Europe.  Slight cosmetic difference is the bronze colored camera bezel and video chat via Google Talk included/preinstalled.


-MW



This message has been edited by DRMW on 2011-08-24 00:47:10  This message has been edited by DRMW on 2011-08-24 23:17:53

Site Info.

Privacy Policy Cookie Policy