HTC EVO 3D Pro Reviews

The HTC EVO V 4G is big and bulky, but it gets you fast 4G speeds and glasses-free 3D on an inexpensive, contract-free plan from Virgin Mobile.

We remain unconvinced that 3D is really a suitable technology for smartphones. If you want to try it, we’d suggest you opt for LG’s Optimus 3D which offers a fuller set of features and is, at present, less expensive too.

I never thought I'd be so torn between two phones on Sprint's network before. The HTC EVO 3D and the Motorola Photon 4G truly have complementary strengths and weaknesses. The EVO 3D has a better display, while the Photon 4G has a better camera. The EVO delivers better WiMAX performance in areas with good signal strength, while the Photon is better in areas with poor reception. The EVO's browser scrolls smoother but renders slower. The Photon has better Flash performance, while the EVO has better 3D performance. The Photon does better on battery while the EVO has a better software layer on top of Android. To make matters worse, there are no good candidates from a third party. If you want the fastest there is on Sprint, these are your only two options. How do you choose? I think it ultimately boils down to WiMAX reception. If it were me, I'd go for the Photon. Based on where I live I'm at the edge of WiMAX coverage. The EVO 3D can't hold onto a WiMAX signal reliably at my house so I'm constantly falling back to EVDO, while the Photon can hang on pretty well. If you live in an area with great WiMAX reception or find yourself on WiFi most of the time then the EVO starts to look a lot more appealing. If wireless reception is out of the equation then the EVO 3D's only major knock is its poor 2D camera quality, which is still good enough for sharing on the web.

The HTC EVO 3D is a lot of fun, but I'm not sure that all of the tradeoffs are worth it unless you're more interested in the 3D camera than anything else. It's fairly heavy, and the voice quality is somewhat disappointing. And I know it's somewhat nitpicky, but the pattern on the back of the phone really is uncomfortable to hold for long periods. Having said that, it's great fun to have a 3D camera in your pocket, and I can imagine that anyone who has a 3D TV and wants to show off their cool photos will have a lot of fun with it. If you're not that interested in the 3D camera or 3D games, you might want to look at some other phones, because there's probably a better match for you.

The HTC Evo 3D is a powerful smartphone with an interesting party piece, but unless you’re desperate to take 3D pics, watch 3D movies or play 3D games - and you're willing to take a big hit on battery life - you’ll be better off with HTC’s Sensation or Desire.

Both the HTC EVO 3D and the HTC Sensation 4G are quite impressive modern smartphones. Picking up a clear winner is difficult and entirely a matter of personal preferences. The choice becomes even more difficult when you know that both devices are priced at $199.99 with a two-year commitment from T-Mobile and Sprint Wireless respectively. Interestingly enough, both operators offer all-you-can-eat plans for $79.99 a month to go with the phones if you feel like it. If 3D is your thing, then the EVO 3D should be your choice despite its shortcomings. The same goes if you are a benchmark buff with a knack for performance. 3D is definitely a key differentiator that cannot be waved lightly aside. The HTC Sensation 4G on the other hand, wins the look and weight contest. Its 2D camera is superior to the one of the EVO 3D. It can also entice you with the seriously better battery performance. Regardless of which device you will end up choosing, it will clearly be a win for HTC. The company has managed to bring to the U.S. market two well put together devices which, despite having so many things in common, have managed to develop completely different characters.

The HTC EVO 3D is a hard phone to review. It so wants to be the best at everything it does that it’s bound to end up with quite a mixed scorecard. The problem with this one is that establishing its worth to users is impossible without knowing their priorities. The HTC EVO 3D does provide an incredibly solid smartphone experience. But if that’s what you are after, there are a few handsets that will match its performance without charging a premium for a single feature of questionable merit. Sense UI fans will find what they are looking for, but a few other members of the HTC lineup will gladly offer them the same. What if 3D is a must-have? Perhaps the high-res screen? Well there seems to always be an alternative. It's hard to be at the top without making a few enemies. Here they go. For the better stereoscopic experience, we’d pick the LG Optimus 3D. It has a screen with a slightly more dramatic 3D effect and more relevant content preinstalled, while the OMAP4 chipset will give you all the oomph you need from a modern-day smartphone.

As expected for a top-of-the-line Android smartphone, the Evo 3D’s hardware configuration is impressive, with the Qualcomm Snapdragon MSM8660 dual-core 1.2GHz processor complemented by an Adreno 220 GPU. More importantly, the Evo 3D comes with 1GB of RAM to handle your daily multi-tasking. This is exemplified by the speedy experience we got out of HTC Sense 3.0, which ran seamlessly with Google Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

Sprint has been ahead of the curve when it comes to bringing forth innovative smartphones over the past couple of years, and the HTC EVO 3D is no exception. Even if the device didn’t have the glasses-free 3D display, it would still be able to stand up to the competition. Love it or hate it, 3D is here to stay and the HTC EVO 3D has set a precedence that other smartphone manufacturers should aspire too; great build quality, great software, and a great experience with 3D content creation and viewing.

Some months back a friend asked whether he should upgrade to the Evo 3D when it came out. At the time, he was using the Evo 4G, but needed to upgrade his father’s phone and wanted to hand-me-down it and upgrade his own handset. Because of the obvious similarities between the two phones, I said it depends on whether he cares about 3D and how heavily he’s already used the Evo 4G, because of wear, use, and battery life. That stance was wrong, mostly because 3D isn’t the most important aspect of this phone. Prospective buyers shouldn’t forget that it’s an Evo first, and 3D-capable second. As a device, the Evo 3D isn’t the fastest or best, but it is consistent, highly capable, and boasts a better battery than the Evo 4G. 3D is good, and it may be a selling point for 3D fanatics, but everyday consumers should not forgo the Evo 3D just because of the second word in it’s name. Call quality is good, apps are fast, battery life is strong for current 4G devices, and it has strong performance overall. With practice users will enjoy taking 3D photos and videos, and individuals can enjoy 3D films and shows on the handheld just fine. The Evo 3D is a definite step up from the Evo 4G, and a very good smartphone for anyone to enjoy.

So let's ignore 3D for a second. The EVO 3D is fast, sleek, up to date, and packs a pretty great qHD display. The standard, two-dimensional camera is pretty good (if not a little grainy) and shoots video in 720p. HTC has made a worthy successor to the EVO 4G. Is this phone good because of 3D or in spite of it? Well, neither, actually. HTC was smart to make that part of the device not obtrusive in any way — you can whole your two-year contract with the phone in 2D, if you want. Still, when the 3D works, it's impressive, and everyone I've shown it to feels the same way. Headache-inducing? Yes. Perfect? Not one bit. But there's something quite compelling, just a few degrees above novelty of being able to snap a 3D photo of your friends and show them, right then, without any peripheral headwear.

You can’t really go wrong either way, but if we were choosing we’d pick the EVO 3D. It wasn’t the best at everything, but it has the better user experience, more advanced components and HTC has always been more developer friendly. What may eventually set these two phones apart is what comes out of XDA, and for our money the EVO 3D has a lot more potential.

Some innovations are push and are others are pull. When DVD first arrived, people couldn’t upgrade from VHS fast enough. But when Blu-ray rolled around, the day-to-day advantages were not so clear. 3D definitely falls into the latter camp. It’s great for making first impressions, adds a little something to gaming, and kids just love it. But it’s not yet fully prepared for real life. Shooting in 3D is almost impossible in daylight and the dull, flickery display can generate as many headaches as smiles. Luckily, the EVO 3D is more than just a one-trick pony. This smartphone stallion can juggle multiple apps at once, leap tall websites at single 4G bound, and comes with a well-developed 2D camera and camcorder. It’s fast and simple to use, makes the most of the HTC Sense interface and only rarely lets the awkwardness of Android show through. Forget the patchy 3D tech - even without it this impressive high-end Android phone is worth a second look.

The EVO 3D is a well made handset that improves upon the EVO 4G in terms of raw horsepower -- as such, it lives up to its flagship status. That being said, it's also a step back in some areas (the lack of kickstand comes to mind). While the qHD screen provides a welcome boost in pixel density, the overall display performance still lags behind the competition. Sense 3.0 leaves us cold, and now that other carriers are rolling out HSPA+ and LTE networks, WiMAX no longer feels like the new kid on the block. Despite the EVO 3D's 1.2GHz dual-core processor, the camera strangely lacks 1080p support, and the EVO 4G arguably captures nicer stills thanks to better optics and firmware. But our biggest gripe with the EVO 3D is its terrible battery life, which is even worse than what we observed on the already lackluster EVO 4G.

The HTC EVO 3D packs some much-needed enhancements to the original, like a dual-core processor, Android 2.3, and HTC Sense 3.0. Unfortunately, the signal strength is sub-par, and the battery life leaves a lot to be desired.

The EVO 3D is a powerful phone--3D or not. My opinion of 3D remains pretty much the same: It is fun to watch short videos in 3D or take 3D photos, but it is definitely still a novelty feature. That said, the EVO 3D's design is gorgeous, and the combination of dual-core Snapdragon processors with 4G can't be beat. It is definitely the best phone on Sprint, and a worthy successor to the original EVO.

I had a lot of hopes for the HTC EVO 3D when it was announced back at CTIA earlier this year. The appeal of lots of RAM and a fast processor, plus a high-res screen had me thinking this could be the next great thing. Unfortunately, while the specs lived up to my expectations for the most part, there were just too many other drawbacks for the EVO 3D. The poor battery life and lousy 3G data speeds were very annoying and frequently made me throw up my hands in frustration. Sense 3.0, while visually appealing, got in the way more often than not. The 3D portion of the EVO 3D might be a neat trick at first, but it's not something I could picture myself using on a regular basis. The compromises in the screen quality and 2D pictures are a bit more than I would prefer to make. Is the EVO 3D a worthy successor to the EVO 4G from last year? Yes. Is it the next big thing in mobile devices? Unfortunately, no.

The EVO 3D is a powerful phone - 3D or not. My opinion of 3D remains pretty much the same: It is fun to watch short videos in 3D or take 3D photos, but it is definitely still a novelty feature. That said, the EVO 3D's design is gorgeous, and the combination of dual-core Snapdragon processors with 4G can't be beat. It is definitely the best phone on Sprint, and a worthy successor to the original EVO.

HTC has done a great job making the 3D aspect of this device only part of the package and for those that need it, it is there and easy to access with the toggle button all while flipping through pictures the phone knows when they are 3D or not. For those that wont use this feature just leave the camera on 2D and go about your day because, as I said above, the phone is still the best option in the lineup.

It's a bit of a stretch to call the EVO 3D a breakthrough, especially since there's not a lot of premium 3D content yet. The ecosystem will need to catch up to the hardware, just as in the TV world. However, the 3D camera is a fun converstation starter on this handset, and Sprint has improved upon its flagship phone in practically every other way. You get faster dual-core performance, a sharper screen, and impressive 4G speeds--all wrapped up in a sleeker, easier-to-grip design. Google purists will gravitate towards the Nexus S 4G, and some may want to wait to see how the upcoming dual-core powered Motorola Photon 4G stacks up to this device. But right now the EVO 3D has the best combination of hardware and software for Sprint customers.

Alright, there are a ton of things that we absolutely adore about the HTC EVO 3D. For starters, it’s again yet another evolutionary device that sees many improvements with its hardware to keep it going toe-to-toe with some of the elites out on the market right now. Even more, its 3D display isn’t simply a novel thing that some people might get bored with over time – namely due to its flexibility in the gaming department and easy content sharing on the go. From our experience, it works extremely well and goes beyond to give you that perception of depth that’s needed to capture the attention of curious onlookers. Furthermore, we’re certain that people are going to have a lot of fun using this thing to shoot 3D photos and videos on the go. Indeed memorable, the biggest thing that we love about it is none other than its pricing of course!