[LUconn]

What's wrong with it? My battery got swollen and caused it to reboot like after 5 minutes of use. The guys at the store didn't realize that was the problem so they mailed me a new one. And of course you keep the same batter so it happened again. One of the tech guys in the store finally figured it out. I also got an upgrade early notice in the mail about 3 months ago. That was about 14 months into a 24 month contract. I didn't upgrade though because I didn't want to drop $200 or so for something decent. That HTC Incredible looks pretty tempting though. I kinda want to wait to see what's coming down the pike with RIM though. I like blackberry's OS so maybe if they'll up the ante with a decent phone I'd stick with them.

[SuperJon]

My battery's getting worse and worse, the screen is messing up more frequently (where you'll press a certain place and it reads it as you pressing another place), and it's locking up more and more. There have been times where I'd be getting a phone call and the home screen would freeze going to the call menu and I couldn't do anything to answer the phone.

If I could get the early upgrade next month (14 months into the 24 like you) then I'd use it and spend some money on something decent. I'd love to get the Droid Incredible but honestly, I just want something that works and doesn't give me the problems this one has been.

[LUconn]

Well, this method would take a while, and a little luck, but after your 3rd replacement they'll try to give you a 4th one but you can just ask for something different and they'll do it. It something a lot of early storm owners did because so many of the originals were lemons.

[SuperJon]

This would be the second time they've replaced it. The first time I replaced it was a month after getting it. This one has lasted quite a while though. It just seems like these things have a life of 8-10 months before they start to crap out. I had an old Nikon something or another that was a great phone but only lasted eight months before I had to have it replaced.

[Hold My Own]

This is officially the longest I've ever had 1 phone. My BB Tour is holding strong....I cant really justify upgrading to the Bold (at least until OS 6 is released then I will)

[Sly Fox]

All I can suggest is that if your options are limited on upgrading either through a plan or purchase, lean towards an Android platform. The Incredible appears to live up to its name and I absolutely love my Motorola Droid. Mrs. Sly is about to upgrade and I am swinging her away from her BlackBerry tendencies to some type of Droid through Verizon depending on available options.

[Hold My Own]

I'm going to give serious consideration in switching to the HTC EVO....hands down the most impressive hardware to date ever....I still just have doubts about ever getting just as fast typing on a all touch screen

[Sly Fox]

I'm with you ... for short replies the touch screen is adequate. But if I need to respond to an email I generally need my full keyboard on my Droid.

[El Scorcho]

hands down the most impressive hardware to date ever...

What do you find impressive about it? (I'm genuinely asking, if that's not clear.)

[Hold My Own]

Snap Dragon Processor (Fastest processor to date), 4G, HD screen with an HDMI port. Ability to be a hotspot for up to 8 connections on wifi either on 3G or on the 4G network (I know its only in 30 cities or so right now but the speed is crazy fast and the 4G network is growing 15 this year alone). All of the reviews so far have said there is no lag at all with multitasking with it housing the new Android 2.2. I read one article from Engagent or a site like that that said "Iphone 4G hasnt been released yet and its already behind"

The one thing I'm not thrilled about is the 1gb internal. Wish that was 8gb but I think they made up for it with the 512 ROM (and there is an SD Card so that will take non app stuff)

Something else I was impressed with was the battery....all of these great features dont mean a thing if your phone dies half way through the day with moderate usage...this phone wont die half way through the day.
___________________________________________________________
The world’s first 3G/4G Android handset, exclusively from Sprint, HTC EVO™ 4G, offers a rich mobile Internet experience with a fully integrated suite of services built on the AndroidTM 2.1 platform. HTC EVO 4G includes a blazing-fast 1GHz Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ processor, the award-winning HTC SenseTM user experience, an 8.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with HD-capable video camcorder and a forward-facing 1.3 megapixel camera. The large vibrant 4.3 inch display, built-in kickstand, 3.5 mm headset jack and HDMI output make HTC EVO 4G an unparalleled platform for wireless entertainment. Download music, pictures, files, or videos in seconds – not minutes – and watch streaming video on the go on a network with download speeds that are up to 10 times faster than 3G speeds.1 With built-in mobile hotspot functionality, HTC EVO 4G also allows up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices, including laptop, camera, music player, video player and any other Wi-Fi-enabled device, to enjoy the benefits of 4G speeds on the go.

PRODUCTIVITY

3G/4G capability
Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ QSD8650 (1GHz) processor
4.3” capacitive display with pinch-to-zoom and tactile feedback
World-class HTML browser – bandwidth and quality that rival that of netbooks
Android 2.1, with access to more than 30,000 apps on Android Market
GoogleTM mobile services including Google SearchTM, Google MapsTM, Google TalkTM, GmailTM, YouTubeTM , and syncs with Google CalendarTM
Access to Google Goggles™ to search with pictures instead of words
Sprint Navigation, with turn-by-turn driving directions and 3D maps
Updated HTC Sense, award-winning user experience, which includes Friend Stream to integrate Facebook, Twitter and more into a single flow of updates
Visual voicemail
Messaging – personal and business email, IM and text messaging
3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability – connects up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices
4G data speeds (WiMAX) – peak download speeds of more than 10 Mbps; peak upload speeds of 1 Mbps; average download speeds of 3-6 Mbps.
3G data speeds (EVDO Rev A.) – peak download speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps; peak upload speeds of 1.8 Mbps; average download speeds of 600 kbps-1.4 Mbps.
ENTERTAINMENT

8MP autofocus camera with dual LED flash and 1.3MP front-facing camera
High-quality video streaming and downloads at 3G and 4G data speeds
Capture and share HD-quality video (720p) from your phone
Output pictures, slides and videos in HD quality (720p) via HDMI cable (sold separately)
Live video sharing with Qik
Built-in kickstand for hands-free viewing
Media player with 3.5mm stereo headset jack
FM radio and Amazon MP3 store
Sprint applications including Sprint TV® and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile(SM)
Bluetooth® 2.1 with A2DP Stereo and EDR
Built-in WiFi®: 802.11 b/g
Digital compass, G-Sensor, proximity sensor, light sensor, GPS
Expandable memory: 8GB microSD card included; supports up to 32GB
SPECIFICATIONS:

Dimensions: 4.8" x 2.6" x .5" (LxWxT)
Weight: 6 ounces
Main display: 4.3” WVGA (800x480) 65K colors
Standard removable 1500mAh Lithium (Li-on) battery
Memory: 1GB ROM, 512MB RAM

[Kolzilla41]

I'm with you on the EVO, HMO. I am saving my upgrade for this phone.

[Sly Fox]

It certainly appears to be generating plenty of buzz ... something you don't see very often from a Sprint offering.

[Hold My Own]

From that article

Android demolishing iPhone in sales
Posted by Seth Weintraub
May 10, 2010 11:00 AM

NPD says that in the first three months of 2010, Android captured 28% of the smartphone market, while Apple's iPhone grabbed only 21%.

Google's army of Android phones managed to pass the iPhone in market share in the U.S. for the first time last quarter. NPD analyst Ross Rubin attributed the strong sales to Verizon's buy-one-get-one deals. Android phones have been discounted heavily as well.

NPD’s numbers come from self-reported online consumer surveys (corporate sales aren’t included), which may not be indicative of raw numbers.

Android is now on all U.S. carriers and is the flagship smartphone on T-Mobile and Verizon. Verizon (VZ), who many view as the nation's best network, just launched the HTC Incredible and had sold Motorola (MOT) Droids as fast as Apple initially sold iPhones. Meanwhile Sprint (S) will be announcing the HTC Evo 4G this summer, considered by many to be the premier Android phone.

Even Apple's iPhone U.S. carrier, AT&T (T), carries Android phones, and Google (GOOG) offers a Nexus One with radios specifically for AT&T's network.

Android's rise has been dramatic, as seen below.

[ALUmnus]

Just what I want, Google, in my pocket, at all times. No thanks.

[El Scorcho]

Snap Dragon Processor (Fastest processor to date)

Snapdragon is fast, but there's no way to say it's the fastest processor to date. There's just no reasonable way to measure mobile processors objectively at this point. By all indications, the A4 is right there with it. When it comes to mobile procs, it's all about practical speed though. For all intents and purposes, there's not really any difference there.

Something else I was impressed with was the battery...this phone wont die half way through the day.

How do you know? Because I don't believe that. I've yet to see anything concrete on the battery life. I'll gladly accept links, though.

I asked, because the Evo is impressive to me in some ways, but nothing that I don't already see coming in other next-gen phones. (WiMax radio aside.) The 720p camera is where the next round of flagship phones will go. Same for screen-res. The HDMI port... neat, but I expect all non-Apple phones will have the same once their screen resolutions hit 720p, which they should all do over the course of the next year.

I dunno. It's the first phone from the next generation with publicly available specs, but it's nothing that blows me away. All of it just seems like the next logical phase in hardware to me. Sprint is definitely ahead of the game on 4G for now, though. (Though they have yet to hit VA.) But Verizon will be beating their own path with LTE for 4G fairly soon.

[Sly Fox]

I agree across the board, Scorcho. Spring is going all in on WiMax in order to be first to market with 4G technology. They should be able to make some hay this summer before the other carriers roll out their 4G products.

Once again, I can't be specific but you are correct that 720p (& 1080i for that matter) are going to be come much more common in the next 12 months.

All that said, I really like what I'm seeing from this phone.

[Hold My Own]

Schorchy when the Droid came out werent you impressed by it? I remember you saying something that shocked me being an Iphone guy. The EVO crush's the Droid...heck the new Incredible does too.

I know what your saying about processor speeds in phones but you cant say this isnt the fastest out in any phone. Sure the A4 may beat it but Apple keeps the specs close to the chest until release so going by what we know....it's the fastest. Could be beaten though....but I know what your saying, heck Apple could squeeze twice as much out of a 1.0 than a PC could squeeze out of a 2.0 so its not always the speed...they always have....although I feel like they are limited on how much they can squeeze when there isnt a lot to work with (smaller processors)

Not to mention there are talks that A4 is going to sacrifice some processor speed (compared to what they could do) for battery life.

[Hold My Own]

Press Release today on the EVO really didnt answer much. Already knew it was dropping first week in June and now there is speculation on if you'll have to pay $10 a month to use this or if its optional for those in 4G networks



Although it was confirmed that video chat will be happening so the camera on the front of the phone will get used for more than self portraits. I think the A4 is going to have this option too.

[El Scorcho]

I think the A4 is going to have this option too.

The A4 is the processor Apple is using in the iPad (and probably the next iPhone).

But yes, the next iPhone (likely to be called the "iPhone HD") seems to have a front-facing camera for video chat. I don't know if you've ever used iChat for a video call between two Macs, but it is by far the best I've ever seen. Apple milks every ounce of quality and compression out of the h.264 codec in iChat. It always looks amazing.

I was impressed with the Motorola Droid when it came out, because it was the first Android-based phone that seemed to have it's stuff together. Now the Incredible and Evo have shown that HTC is serious about Android, too. Which is great. The Incredible is a really nice phone. The Evo is too. But, like I said, the specs look like almost all of the next-generation phones. It's just first to market. The leaks of the iPhone HD make the capabilities look very similar. I'm not going to be surprised if the Droid 2 looks similar.

At this point it's Apple versus HTC for the hardware battle, in my opinion. And with their recent lawsuits aimed at each other, I think they both know it. Google really needs someone besides HTC in the game, though. Motorola needs a successful follow-up to the Droid.

Microsoft and Dell are coming. And HP doesn't want to be left out.

I love the gadget wars.

[Hold My Own]

I do too!


I was just reading up on the HTC lawsuit....very interesting stuff. Agreed that this is just the first wave of next gen phones that will look alike....but like I said...to date it's the most impressive

Come June 1st there will be another