HTC EVO 3D review

The 1st time we saw the rumored Supersonic we were blown away. HTC and Google had just wowed us with the Nexus One , and here we were gazing something even better — a 4.3-inch phone with WiMAX wrapped in a white body. This prototype was buggy and had abysmal battery life, nevertheless it was real. Four months later it landed in our hands at Google I/O. We’re obviously talking concerning the EVO 4G which went directly to become a runaway hit for HTC and Sprint because the first ever 4G smartphone within the US. And here we’re, a year later with the HTC EVO 3D, the legitimate heir to Sprint’s mobile kingdom – a minimum of until the Motorola Photon comes along. After we first played with the 3D-capable handset at CTIA we were suitably impressed, but we left with plenty of unanswered questions. How do the 1.2GHz dual core processor and qHD display affect battery life? Is 3D a compelling feature or simply a gimmick? What’s 2D camera performance like with lower specced camera? Is the EVO 3D a worthy replacement for the EVO 4G? Discover in our review after the break.

Hardware

Glancing on the front of the EVO 3D, it is simple to mistake it for last year’s EVO 4G or the more moderen Incredible 2. It combines design elements from both, just like the angular edges and silver ringed capacitive keys of its precursor at the side of the soft curves and beveled earpiece of its Verizon cousin. But it isn’t until you spot the silver grating missing from the earpiece, and discover the silver 2D / 3D mode switch plus the massive machined aluminum camera button at the right edge that you just realize this can be a totally different beast. The EVO 3D is a bit taller than the EVO 4G, but narrower owing to a distinct screen aspect ratio — 16:9 vs. 5:3. Additionally it is a bit of thinner than its predecessor which, combined with the adaptation in width, makes the hot handset a far better slot in the hand. Just like the Incredible 2, the bezel is made up of some type of black anodized alloy and incorporates the earpiece, complete with a concealed notification light. Rather than hiding under the screen glass, the 1.3 megapixel front-facing camera lives at the bezel to the suitable of the earpiece. A sheet of Gorilla glass protects the 4.3-inch qHD capacitive touchscreen and includes silk-screened HTC and Sprint logos at top apart from the capacitive buttons (home, menu, back, and search) on the bottom.

Turn the telephone over and “whoa!” — watch the magic as people react in awe (or is it fear?) to the big camera pod sprouting from the back of the EVO 3D. The pod, with its twin 5 megapixel autofocus cameras and dual-LED flash, easily takes up 1/5 of the back cover’s real estate. It contains a tasteful red aluminum rim that still conceals the (loud, clear, if not slightly tinny) speaker, and reminds us of the red trim piece round the EVO 4G’s camera. We’re unable to see if the camera pod is roofed in glass or high-quality plastic, but unlike the recessed camera opening at the Sensation, it protrudes such that it’s prone to get scratched in day-to-day use. In reality, it’s almost impossible to tug the EVO 3D out of a pocket without leaving fingerprints at the camera pod. The back cover is made from a matte black soft-touch plastic that wraps across the edges of the handset. It’s mostly covered in a grippy textured pattern and adorned with a wide shiny HTC logo. The head edge is home to the ability / lock button, a common 3.5mm headphone jack surrounded by an attractive silver ring, and a secondary mic. On the bottom, you will find the first mic in addition to a slot to pry the back cover off. The left edge is with out anything aside from the micro-USB connector. At the right side there is a volume rocker plus the aforementioned 2D / 3D mode switch and that delightfully beefy machined aluminum camera key.

While the EVO 3D looks solidly built and feels substantial (it weighs concerning the same as its precursor), the materials used fail to convey the identical sense of quality because the Sensation. The amount rocker and tool / lock button, that are part of the back cover, have an unsightly, mushy feel. Additionally it is far too easy to trigger the ability / lock key and accidentally turn the telephone on (it lakcs the protection delay found on other recent HTC handsets). Removing the back cover reveals an analogous translucent black chassis because the Incredible 2, a generous 1730mAh battery, and a microSD card slot containing an 8GB Class 4 card. Gone are the EVO 4G’s red innards and signature kickstand — there’s just no room for it.

Spec-wise the EVO 3D is identical to the feeling. It uses an identical 1.2GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon CPU and Andreno 220 GPU, but features 1GB of RAM (up from 768MB) and is paired with a dual-mode GSM/CDMA radio (MSM8660 vs. MSM8260). As expected, Quadrant scores hover inside the 2000 range — that’s double what me measured at the EVO 4G, despite pushing 35% more pixels. The telephone is supplied with a 4.3″ 16:9 qHD (960 x 540 pixel) Super LCD display, and aside from supporting glasses-free stereoscopic content, the EVO 3D screen seems to be clone of the Sensation’s when it comes to brightness, color saturation, black levels and viewing angles. It isn’t the most effective qHD display we’ve detect (that title belongs to the Droid X2) and it’s even outclassed by some WVGA screens (Samsung’s Super AMOLED Plus and the Incredible 2′s Super LCD spring to mind), but except washing out in direct sunlight it gets the job done. You could find an entire complement of radios on board, including WiMAX, CDMA / EV-DO, WiFi b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, GPS / AGPS, in addition to FM — together with the standard plethora of sensors (light, proximity, orientation, accelerometer, magnetometer, and gyroscope).

Although we didn’t experience any issues of call quality and reception, we also didn’t see WiMAX perform much better than HSPA+ on other carriers — at the very least not in San Francisco where it’s often difficult to locate a robust signal. WiMAX works best outdoors (since 2.5GHz radio waves are more sensitive to obstacles and interference) and locking onto a signal usually requires staying stationary for a minute. We noticed this with the EVO 4G and the Epic 4G last year, but without other “4G” technologies to check WiMAX to, we simply accepted the established order. Things are different now that HSPA+ and LTE are viable alternatives — WiMAX is suddenly less compelling. Power efficiency is another concern. As more carriers deploy HSPA+ and LTE networks, chip manufacturers usually tend to integrate those radios on the SoC level, while WiMAX continues to require a separate radio.

Which brings us to battery life, or the shortcoming thereof. After topping off the EVO 3D, it only took 14 hours and 44 minutes to empty the beefy 1730mAh battery all the way down to 7%. We barely used the handset during that point — we made a fifteen-minute call and slept 6 hours. The remainder of it was spent taking a half-dozen pictures, and sometimes checking 3 email accounts plus one Twitter account with the complete radios enabled (save for Bluetooth). Here is particularly surprising when you think about the Sensation’s stellar battery life. 3D photography is especially taxing at the battery. We saw the charge level drop from full to 60% in about an hour and a half through which we snapped about 80 photos and captured 4 short videos (about half this content was in 3D). So, whatever you do, be prepared to bring a charger together with that EVO 3D.

Cameras and 3D

Some thing is evident. It’s hard to flee the gaze of these red-rimmed cyborg eyes the instant you spot them. It’s like catching a look of the Terminator, but knowing you’ll live. Yes, Skynet is watching you in three dee now. Indeed, everyone immediately notices the dual 5 megapixel autofocus cameras and dual LED flash, and it’s no surprise — stereoscopic imaging is the EVO 3D’s raison d’être. Unfortunately, it is usually the source of many compromises, and never only for 3D. Both cameras share what seems to be an honest quality 5 megapixel sensor with better than average low-light performance and occasional noise. The limiting factor this is the optics — not the autofocus lenses per se, however the panel protecting the camera pod. We’re still uncertain if it’s manufactured from glass or optical grade plastic, nevertheless it causes noticeable halos within the periphery of pictures containing bright light. While color balance will likely be accurate, light metering is hit or miss. For some reason, the difficulty is exacerbated when snapping 2D pictures. Only the left camera (when facing the screen) is used for 2D shots, and scenes with a large dynamic range are usually over- or under-exposed. Unlike the EVO 4G, there is not any spot, center, or average setting to manage how light is metered.

Macro photography, while possible in 3D, produces results which can be impossible to display properly since the two cameras are too far apart (3.25cm to be exact) when capturing closeups. Another limitation of 3D is that the cameras are disabled if the telephone isn’t very held within the horizontal position and within the landscape orientation. You can not gather creative stereoscopic images which, when viewed, will be the equivalent of holding your head sideways. And if you are an astronaut (or other space faring creature), you’ll probably run into trouble when capturing with the EVO 3D in zero gravity — you have been warned. Strangely, while both cameras feature 5 megapixel sensors, 3D photos include a couple of two megapixel widescreen stills (that’s 1920×1080 pixels each). Also, zooming just isn’t supported when capturing 3D content. Finally, forget shooting in 3D when the battery charge drops below 15%: it’s simply disabled. After all , none of those limitations apply in 2D and pictures are captured at full resolution (2592 x 1944 pixels). As you’ll notice in our sample gallery, the resulting pictures are adequate but don’t show any improvements over HTC’s existing 5 megapixel devices on the subject of 2D imaging performance. If anything, quality suffers from the poor optics and exposure problems.

3D images could be saved in either MPO or JPS formats, the latter being easier to view and edit because it basically places the left and right pictures side-by-side right into a single JPEG file containing additional metadata. Video is captured smoothly in HD at 720p and 30fps, then encoded using standard H264. However, when recording in 3D the left and right frames are combined and squeezed into 1280×720 pixels by a software process not unlike the anamorphic technique used to suit widescreen content onto 35mm film. The internet result’s that every original frame is stored using only 640×720 pixels, effectively halving the resolution of the general video. Touch-to-focus plus initial autofocus are available in when recording video, and the audio is captured in stereo. In the case of camera interface, there is a silver 2D / 3D sliding switch that selects the shooting mode and an enormous dedicated 2-stage machined aluminum shutter key that’s among the finest we’ve ever used on any handset — it provides the correct amount of tactile feedback and stiffness without blurring shots. Kudos to HTC for nailing something that are meant to be standard on all phones. The remainder of the UI is the same to what we saw at the Sensation. It’s pretty intuitive and includes touch-to-focus, face detection and color effects.

Sadly, whether monitoring the live view in 3D or watching at stereoscopic content, the EVO 3D’s qHD touchscreen is a mixed bag. As well as washing out in direct sunlight, a lot of people have problems seeing the 3D effect at the display even after being coached to slowly pan sideways until the 3D photos or videos “pop” into place. To make matters worse, the 3D effect looks blurry on the left and right edges of the screen, and pinch-to-zoom switches the display back to 2D. We were capable of convert the unique JPS files into the anaglyph images shown in our sample gallery via an easy 3-step Photoshop process. We were also ready to upload and watch 3D videos on YouTube by tweaking a couple of simple settings to generate anaglyph videos. Old-fashioned red / cyan 3D glasses are required to view the sort of content. But ultimately, while 3D is fun and kooky, we cannot help but think it’s only a gimmick. Because it is today, the EVO 3D’s dual cameras be afflicted by too many compromises that affect the standard of both 2D and 3D imaging.

Software

The EVO 3D runs HTC’s Sense 3.0 UI on top of Android 2.3.3, the image of its sibling, the feeling. As we mentioned in that review, performance is exceptional. Qualcomm’s 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon SoC is a force to be reckoned with, and takes Gingerbread to a completely new level of fluidity. Everything from the essential UI to the internet browser to maps is utterly buttery smooth. There isn’t any delay, no hesitation — just pure instant tactile gratification. Still, there isn’t any escaping Sense, and we are not fans. So far as pigs and lipstick go, Sense 3.0 wears knowledgeable makeup job. Rather than adding instant access to the camera from the lock screen, it’s mostly style over substance, fancy 3D effects on top of functionality that already exists in Gingerbread. ages ago, in a land far-off, Sense made, well… sense. It added important missing features to the OS. But today we’ll take plain Android over Sense — and its frustrating keyboard layout — any day. We realize some people actually enjoy Sense and we command HTC for making a unique and consistent user experience across its device lineup. Just allow us to turn it off, or provide us with official Sense-free ROMs.

9

Bad news: there’s crapware. Excellent news: most of it’s removed easily. We need to give Sprint credit for keeping pre-installed apps to a minimum, or even including content that really adds value (gasp!) to the EVO 3D. You will see that some apps that you would probably want anyway, similar to Adobe Reader, Amazon MP3, Polaris Office, and Qik Video. Others, like NASCAR, Sprint Mobile, Sprint Radio, Sprint TV & Movies, Sprint Zone (possibly useful to administer your account), and TeleNav are less attractive. What’s more interesting is the bundling of games and films that make the most of that stereoscopic display. 3D Games currently points to a domain showcasing titles for the EVO 4G — we presume this would be updated with EVO 3D-specific games before launch. Ditto Blockbuster, that is eventually speculated to offer 3D movies for download. Spider-Man is a 3D version of Gameloft’s popular game while The fairway Hornet 3D launches HTC’s Watch service to access the movie. We’re curious to work out how much additional 3D content becomes available for the EVO 3D once it’s in circulation. Will developers join the party and build 3D-capable apps and web services?

Wrap up

0

The EVO 3D is a well made handset that improves upon the EVO 4G relating to raw horsepower. As such, it lives as much as its flagship status. That being said, it is also a step back in some areas (the inability of kickstand involves mind). While the qHD screen provides a great addition in pixel density, the entire display performance still lags behind the contest. Now that other carriers are rolling out HSPA+ and LTE networks, WiMAX not appears like the recent kid at the block. Despite the EVO 3D’s 1.2GHz dual-core processor, the camera lacks 1080p support, and the EVO 4G arguably captures nicer stills as a result of better optics and firmware. But our biggest gripe with the EVO 3D is its terrible battery life, that’s even worse than what we observed at the already lackluster EVO 4G. We are not convinced 3D is fully baked yet — we’ll be patient the way it develops beyond the initial “gee wiz” stage. Ultimately, the EVO 3D is a Sensation with a lesser camera, cheaper materials, worse battery life, and without the power to roam worldwide. But hey, it has got 3D and the easiest dedicated two-stage camera button that’s ever graced a phone. That’s worth something, right?

Source

This post is tagged: camera performance, dual core processor, screen aspect ratio, unanswered questions, worthy replacement