Database Users

Finally back to EVO. My Epic journey :)

I got an EVO right after launch and loved it. I had a problem with the camera not working (defect). Best Buy didn't know when they were getting any back in so I canceled my upgrade and waited for the Epic. The Epic is an amazing piece of hardware. The screen has to be seen to be believed. That being said my first Epic was returned because the capacitive buttons didn't work at all. Best Buy swapped me out without a problem. My second one seemed to to be perfect (aside from the movement of the screen when the slider was closed).
After having it a few days I really liked the screen and the idea of the physical keyboard. However, I soon realized that the honeymoon phase was over when I tried to use the GPS and could only lock 1 sat no matter where I was. Then I noticed that I was getting what appeared to image retention. For example the notification bar left a faint image on the screen when on a all white screen (I only noticed cause I started hiding the notification bar with LaunchPro). Then I noticed that I could also see a faint image of the dialer buttons when on the same all white or blue screen. There are threads on here as well as other sites that detail how and why AMOLED screens have this issue. I guess the Nexus 1 had the same issue.
The keyboard was nice but the buttons were to spaced apart for me. I also didn't like the location of the power button it was awkward. I know that Samsung is "supposed" to fix the GPS but that remains to be seen. In my experience the screen was REALLY nice but if the image retention happens that easily it kinda ruins it for me. It's like the old school plasmas.
I was going to just swap it out again but honestly I expected the same problems. I called Best Buy this morning and told them what was happening and I asked if they had any EVO's and they actually received 1 white EVO this morning. They held it for me and the rest is history.
I have to say that coming full circle back to an Evo really feels great. I know on paper the Epic is supposed to be better and many like me were on the fence but the grass isn't always greener on the other side. The Evo feels better in my hand and it works. I just thought I would share my experience with switching to the Epic.

I was actually considering a switch but the more I read about it the more I want to stay with our evo
Swyped from my cm6

I took the plunge cause I couldn't get a hold of a replacement EVO. I really liked it at first but then all the negatives present themselves. The GPS is a HUGE deal for me and the image retention that I experienced was a deal breaker. I wish I took pictures of the the retention but the only camera I had was on the Epic.
I couldn't believe I found an EVO again. My new EVO came with 2.2 already on it.

ptfdmedic said:
feels better in my hand and it works.
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thats what she said!
j/k, month 4 and i'm still loving my evo man

IceCreaMan said:
j/k, month 4 and i'm still loving my evo man
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That's what she said! (I'm her Evo man.)
Ha ha! Punctuation.

ptfdmedic said:
I tried to use the GPS and could only lock 1 sat no matter where I was.
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This was the reason I returned my AT&T Captivate and switched to the EVO. Samsung claimed that the GPS was fixed in the Epic. Thanks for confirming that I made the right decision.

Yeah I've had my EVO since launch day June 4th, coming from the Touch Pro 2 I was honestly thinking of taking it back with in my 30 days and holding off for the Epic as well. Good god am I happy I didn't now. Even though I'm currently waiting on my 2nd replacement so in all my 3rd one since launch, it still beats all the bulls*** problems the Epic has. I mean image retention? really? The biggest deal breaker of them all has to be the fact that it's a SAMSUNG though. F*** SAMSUNG! HTC for life! I've been nothing but happy with HTC since the 6700, to the Mogul, to the Touch Pro, Touch Pro 2 and now my amazing EVO =]

tdusen said:
This was the reason I returned my AT&T Captivate and switched to the EVO. Samsung claimed that the GPS was fixed in the Epic. Thanks for confirming that I made the right decision.
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You know what, I was playing with my friends Epic this past Saturday, for about 4 hours, and I never got a lock on the gps, during those four hours.

meh, aesthetically the evo wins in art design. too sleek, too minimal, light red/chrome accents.... love it.
never liked samsung's cellphone designs or their logo.
would like to have the improved graphics capabilities in the evo though.

The screen issue should have been expected lol. I bet the hardware keyboad would be nice to have but I am getting better with this on screen keyboard. The multi-touch droid x keyboard is nice for landscape and swype is great for portrait.
Samsung still makes crappy phones I guess lol. On another note I have never said I "love this phone" as many times as I have with the Evo. Im afraid to upgrade to the next best thing. I feel like a freaking power house with the Evo. Yeah there are other phones with the same or better specs but man this phone just does it all and does it all well. The FPS is arguably the biggest down side and I havnt had any issues with that yet. I do have it unlocked to almost 60 FPS though with CM6.

Epic Fail
Epic Fail!!

I carry both at all times and love them both...although the evo is my main.

I got the Epic the other day, had it for about 6 days, then returned it today and put myself on the waiting list for a White EVO 4G. I got a free EVO from Google's developer seeding program, and it is starting to have that "white spot" where the B on the soft keyboard is - and it's driving me crazy. Since I was given a complimentary EVO, I cannot have it serviced. So, White EVO 4G for me it is.
The EVO is a one of a kind device. The battery drain and TIME WITHOUT SIGNAL issues on the Epic are a dealbreaker. The GPS sucks, yeah, but it still WORKS. The screen door effect on the screen sucks but oh man is that screen beautiful. The hardware keyboard is good but I found myself using Swype 90% more of the time with the Epic.
HTC makes some solid stuff, and this is definitely a solid phone. The Epic 4G had major creaking issues, instantly out of the box - and that is just inexcusable for a $249 phone. The EVO is better built than the Epic and it costs .. less? Hmm..
Anyhow, obviously we're all different, but the battery drain issues were too much for me.

Im currently in the process of switching to Sprint from tmobile and looking into these two phones. Im coming from the samsung vibrant which should be an easy transition to the epic but i dont now if i can deal with the keyboard. Ive been playing around with my freinds evo alot and LOVE the size. 4.3 in display is awesome. Most people think 4in is just right but im one of those guys that think bigger is better .
Here are my pros for both
Epic
FAR better screen.
Better battery life.
Far better 3d perfromance
Slightly Better processor
Evo
Awsome 4.3 screen size
Better Development support
Dual LED
Better design/look
Leaning towards the evo right now only because im not a keyboard guy.

I would add to your pros list:
Epic
Far better video recording and dedicated shutter button
Evo
Froyo
Sense copy/paste
BTW, battery life on the Epic, depending on the user, is anywhere from a lot better to a lot worse than the Evo. The issue is the SAMOLED screen and the increased power consumption it needs to produce whites. If you watch a lot of video, especially movies with dark scenes, the battery will last a good while. But if you primarily surf the net and those pages are pretty much black text on white background, your battery experience will be worse. So battery life is a YMMV. Some reviewers thought it was better than the Evo, but Anandtech uses internet surfing to gauge battery life, and it was significantly shorter than the Evo when using 3G (but a skosh higher over 4G). The Evo lasted much longer over wifi.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3891/samsung-epic-4g-review-the-fastest-android-phone/8

twilk73 said:
The screen issue should have been expected lol. I bet the hardware keyboad would be nice to have but I am getting better with this on screen keyboard. The multi-touch droid x keyboard is nice for landscape and swype is great for portrait.
Samsung still makes crappy phones I guess lol. On another note I have never said I "love this phone" as many times as I have with the Evo. Im afraid to upgrade to the next best thing. I feel like a freaking power house with the Evo. Yeah there are other phones with the same or better specs but man this phone just does it all and does it all well. The FPS is arguably the biggest down side and I havnt had any issues with that yet. I do have it unlocked to almost 60 FPS though with CM6.
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Actually when I was testing the epic, fps2d showed <45fps. Tested on 3-4 phones in the sprint store.

I have had several Samsung devices. The i760, The Moment etc and EVERY one of them has GPS issues that Samsung "tries" in vain to fix down the road.
It is just frightening how you can count on some companies to make the same mistakes over and over again!

Just curious, does the Epic have that same "cheap plastic" feel that the other Galaxy S phones have? One thing I love about the EVO is its solid, heavy feeling.

TheBiles said:
Just curious, does the Epic have that same "cheap plastic" feel that the other Galaxy S phones have? One thing I love about the EVO is its solid, heavy feeling.
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Its more solid than the vibrant, but it still feels lighter than evo. I guess its personal preference. Since i got used to the vibrant is feels great. First time i picked up the evo it felt to heavy, and because of its size i could really feel it when I put it in my pocket, but loved how it looked. But after playing with it for most of that day i got used to it and had no problems

TheBiles said:
Just curious, does the Epic have that same "cheap plastic" feel that the other Galaxy S phones have? One thing I love about the EVO is its solid, heavy feeling.
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the keyboard does feel cheap. didn't like the buttons at all.

[Q] EVO to Epic

I have been an EVO user since the day it came out and today I was offered a trade for the Epic. I was wondering what some of the other EVO to Epic users thoughts were? Its mainly the processor and keyboard that are drawing me into doing this trade, what are some of the other benefits of the Epic?
Thanks

The biggest thing to me was the screen. My gf has an evo and it's a great phone. I would have bought it if it was in stock, but then the epic was on the roadmap so i decided to try it. I really like it. I have some issues with the back button like others, but not a big deal. I also have had battery concerns, but i've been making it for around 15 hours on average and that's using the phone, not just letting it idle. The screen difference in the evo vs epic is like my old rear projector tv vs the best lcd tv on the market. This screen makes everything look so good. I still am amazed everytime i turn it on.

Both are excellent phones. My EVO is rooted with a custom 2.2 ROM and I still feel like my Epic with 2.1 is faster overall. I think once 2.2 is released for the Epic, there will be no comparison.
As stated above, you cannot compare the two displays. Every time I look at my EVO after using my Epic, I am dissatisfied with the display. Regardless of the fact that the EVO's screen is a hair bigger, the quality of the Epic's display is NIGHT & DAY better.
I do prefer HTC’s Sense to Samsung’s TW, but that is a small detail to me.
I will say that I seem to have an overall better 3g data experience with my EVO. As of the last few days, they seem to be dead even as far as 3g is concerned, but when I first got the Epic, it was definitely slower in the bandwidth department.
Battery life for me is slightly better on the Epic and when you consider that I use it a lot more than I did the EVO, it’s actually a lot better.
Overall I can say with certainty that I prefer my Epic over my EVO.

I was using a rooted EVO and the epic feels faster at stock than my evo ever has. Anyway, the screen is a lot better, the crappy viewing angles on the evo always bothered me. The keyboard is really nice for emulators and other games, although it takes a little getting used to. Th battery life on the evo is better as of now, but as a long time evo user I can say the epic at launc has far better battery life than the evo did, its taken a lot of updates to get the evo where it is now.
Basically the evo is only better in two ways right now, battery life and GPS performance, and I expect both of those to get better on the epic, and when the epic gets froyo there won't be much comparison. The evo was nice but it is wa outcassed by the epic imo.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

rtmski said:
I have been an EVO user since the day it came out and today I was offered a trade for the Epic. I was wondering what some of the other EVO to Epic users thoughts were? Its mainly the processor and keyboard that are drawing me into doing this trade, what are some of the other benefits of the Epic?
Thanks
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You really gotta try it out first. Biggest thing for me is the Camera is way better on the Epic. Panoramic pictures are very neat you have to try it.
I have both the Evo and Epic, and they are both great, the Evo has so much more hacking done to it then the Epic, but i'm sure that will change soon.
I didn't really like the Epic at first, I missed my evo the first two days I turned on the Epic.. I thought i'd fire the Evo back up... but the Epic has really Grown on me. I found a battery tweak that gives me better battery life then the EVO. I'm not looking back.

Like everyone else, I too believe the Epic to be a much faster device overall. Of course, you listed that as a pro as well as the screen.
So beyond that, the camera is also much better. I've been seeing photos of higher quality overall. My EVO photos come out over saturated and the detail isn't as good. However, I find that my EVO performs better indoors as far as sharpness is concerned.
The Epic is also able to play 720p MKV\divx files out of the box without converting them. This is great for me, as I hate having to convert movies for the EVO. They look absolutely gorgeous on the Epic's 4" Super AMOLED screen. The EVO's GPU can not handle high quality movies.
Gaming is a much more enjoyable experience on the Epic. 3D games and graphically intense apps will run at a much higher framerate on the Epic. The EVO's GPU is NOT futureproof at all, as it uses the same processor that HTC has been putting in phones since the Nexus One. If you're concerned at all about 3D games coming out in the future, you're better off with an Epic.
The keyboard also makes for a pretty great gaming experience. Be advised that it is NOT as fast as swype when it comes to texting and emails. The keyboard is spaced kinda oddly which makes typing a bit difficult. But overall I like it. I use it all the time. Also, if your screen is off, you can turn it on AND unlock the phone by opening the keyboard. This saves you from trying to hit that button and then swyping to unlock
I find that voice quality is also better on the Epic. I used to complain about this on the EVO. I had trouble hearing people. However, people also complain that the Epic picks up a lot of background noise. I dont use my phone much when driving but I imagine it would be annoying.
The Epic connects to 4G much faster, and I'm getting better speeds. However, the 3G connection is shoddy at best. You won't see ANYONE praising the Epic's 3G speeds over the EVO.
For me there isn't much to consider. I never use my EVO anymore because there is nothing it can do that my Epic can't... but there is plenty my Epic can do that my EVO can not. But the things that the Epic can do aren't a priority for everyone.
One last thing to consider. HTC has done a great job at getting out updates and fixes for the EVO. Samsung hasn't really done jack for any version of the Galaxy S phones out... including fixing the GPS and 3G issues on the Epic. 2.2 is probably a long ways away... but honestly, I don't think we need it. I only want 2.2 because it apparently fixes the headphone jack for the dock.

Thanks everyone this has helped me confirm my decision to go through with the trade and will be a proud Epic owner by 6 tonight.

Up for upgrade. Epic or Evo

I am up for an upgrade in a week and have been weighing my options for a while and am currently leaning towards the Epic, but was hoping to get some insight from the Epic community and hopefully some people that have used both phones. My main concern with the Epic is that of Sammy and their history of not supporting hardware. I still have a bad taste in my mouth over the Instinct(great hardware, terrible software and support). I don't care that much about the home screen part of either or the mail app as I will be using GMail and LauncherPro. One question I have is how many serious and talented linux devs are there that work on the Epic? I know most of the Hero devs went to the Evo. I currently have a Hero running CM6. I like some parts of Sense, but it's performance was a major turn-off and was what made me turn to ASOP. As far as the keyboard goes, I am undecided on whether I will actually like/use it or not. The only thing I see myself using it for is gaming emulators. Another concern is I have heard something about GPS issues, have they been fixed or acknowledged? I am open to input and am truly on the border here. Also, has a root been found for the epic yet? This is a big one for me so that I can at least remove the sprint crapware.

I would say go for the evo. Not long ago I was in the same boat a you. I did a ton off research, and played with both phones extensively. I chose the evo, and it its the most amazing phone I've ever seen. Now that htc uncapped the fps, there is really no problems. The epic is great, but imo the evo is better.
Sent from my Htc Evo

I own both. I prefer the Epic for the keyboard. However, I dislike its screen for late night bed surfing lol. All AMOLEDs are way too bright in the dark.
Couple other noticeable things for me:
Screen: Epic for brightness/colors, however EVO has better responsiveness (assuming hardware/software issue for Epic)
Screen FPS: Epic, but they just released official fix for EVO
Text input: Epic since it has hardware keyboard in addition to touch
Battery life: EVO hands down, my Epic seems to die too fast and I never used any type of battery saving application on EVO
Power button location: Blows on Epic, why did they put it on the side??
Phone Size: Epic is lighter and smaller
ROM Development: EVO because its a HTC device, but I hope this changes soon

And I'd go with the Epic. I got my girlfriend her first smartphone 3 months ago and got her the Evo. Played with it for a few weeks and definitely liked the phone. Then I came up for an upgrade and I had the same decision to make. I ended up chosing the Epic as it seems it is a fewer months older and has a few slight upgrades over the Evo, but not much.
The Epic screen is ridiculously amazing. They do NOT compare. I love having a hard keyboard, and I text a lot more because of it. It's been two phones and about 3 years since I had a keyboard, but I picked it right up and my fingers flew.
Touchwiz is very nice, but I got rid of it after a few days, well actually the 3rd day once I rooted. I did the same with Sense on my Hero, like it, but I rather go completely customizable with a custom launcher.
Another great thing about the Epic is the notificatoin settings bar. You can adjust a few settings like wifi, 4g, bluetooth, brightness and airplane mode all from the pull down bar. And it even works without Touchwiz, which was a surprise to me. This feature alone gives me a big vote for epic over evo.
It seems the Epic's cpu runs a little faster/more efficientyly than the Evo's. The battery life on both is about what you can expect, if you use it a lot, plan on charging it during the day. Are you into rooting and getting the most out of your phone? Then you can get extensively better battery duration.
Right now, there isn't a lot of extra stuff you can do on a rooted Epic, but the phone's only been out a few weeks and the Evo has a jumpstart on developmental stuff. Also, the Evo is already on 2.2 where the Epic is still on 2.1, although rumors have it getting 2.2 in the next month.
Gps issue is definitely a problem on the Epic. I use my GPS about 5 times a day as I travel to different sites for my job. There is a delay in getting a good lock, but there should be a fix for this soon, and it's not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. I usually get a lock within a minute. But I'll be happy when I get that instantaneous lock again.
One thing the Evo definitely has on the Epic is a bit bigger screen, .3", and HDMI out. That function is disabled on the Epic for some reason. I've heard a few reasons, but who knows. I use the DLNA option instead as my TV is new enough to support it.
I came from 3 generations of HTC phones before this, so it was hard for me to leave HTC. In the end, either way you're getting an awesome phone. so good luck with this decision!

epic camera owns the evo. period

I own both and would say EVO hands down. I thought the physical keyboard would be for me as that was the hardest to get used to on my EVO but after using both extensively I'd get the EVO. Where a few people like being able to adjust wifi/bluetooth and whatnot from the upper status pulldown, on the EVO it's a widget called "Power Control". To me this gives the same ease. Having both the EVO and the EPIC side by side I wouldn't say the EPIC screen blows away the EVO. Colors seem more blue on the EPIC and amoled is nice but I'd take my EVO any day for the .3 larger screen + it doesn't look bad at all.
Now if you're HEAVY into games and that's the main purpose for your phone then I'd recommend you get the EPIC. GPS isn't as big of an issue as people make it out to be BUT that being said there's been a few times when I needed it *now* and was waiting for about 3-5 minutes which I am sorry is NOT cool. The EVO locks on almost instantly, and most places I have tried indoor as well (obviously in a concrete office building it's not going to work... but at home in my bedroom it works fine).
I would suggest that you go to a Sprint store and really play with both for ~20 minutes each...
'tuna

monadzback said:
epic camera owns the evo. period
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Not true
Sent from my HTC EVO using XDA App

basically epic if u like physical kbs or evo if not

sling said:
Not true
Sent from my HTC EVO using XDA App
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Yes it is.

Having owned, and done extensive reviews and research on both I can conclude that the Epic's camera is much better than the Evos. The saturation, contrast, and white balance are all superior. Not to mention the video camera is only bested by the iPhone4.

I owned the Evo b4 the Epic. I liked the Evo, because the development for the device is amazing. The kickstand on the Evo is also great and comes in handy. Now that the 30fps caps is removed, it is even a greater phone.
I chose the Epic for a smaller form factor in phone size. I had to use two hands to use the Evo and my fingers would not reach across the screen without touching my skin. The Evo camera is not as good as the Epic, 23 fps vs 29/30fps at a constant rate. I like have an option of a physical keyboard to use only *if* I am typing a long email, playing a emulator or just getting tired of using the on screen keyboard. The AMOLED screen pwns the LCD screen and the Epics GPU is amazing, I run everything smoothly on my Epic.
In my opinion they are both great phones, but if you prefer a bigger form factor and a great development scene go for the Evo. If you prefer a great overall device that has everything built in for a phone then choose the Epic.

sling said:
Not true
Sent from my HTC EVO using XDA App
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Yes it is.
http://www.droiddog.com/android-blog/2010/09/epic-vs-evo-the-cameras/
The EVO can't shoot HD video in low light situations. It goes at around 10-15 FPS. It's blurrier during the day. It over saturates the colors. The 8MP on the camera is totally pointless because the quality of the camera doesn't measure up.
My Epic takes much better pictures than my EVO. But regardless... there are far MORE IMPORTANT reasons to get a phone.

drewX2 said:
I own both. I prefer the Epic for the keyboard. However, I dislike its screen for late night bed surfing lol. All AMOLEDs are way too bright in the dark.
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lol I agree! I own both also and the super AMOLED is way too bright even at its lowest setting. I do love both devices equally though
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

monadzback said:
epic camera owns the evo. period
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Have you owned both? Care to give any reasons/data explaining why?
hydralisk said:
Yes it is.
http://www.droiddog.com/android-blog/2010/09/epic-vs-evo-the-cameras/
The EVO can't shoot HD video in low light situations. It goes at around 10-15 FPS. It's blurrier during the day. It over saturates the colors. The 8MP on the camera is totally pointless because the quality of the camera doesn't measure up.
My Epic takes much better pictures than my EVO. But regardless... there are far MORE IMPORTANT reasons to get a phone.
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Apparently you haven't used cm6 on the EVO. IT does wonders for the camera and does things that no other camera app does as of yet; touch to focus while in camcorder mode....I get 24ish fps in 720p in low light with cm6.
Look, I own both, they both have their pros/cons but NEVER ever would I say one owns the other. It almost like Mac vs. PC they both do some things well....and others not so well.

Epic, is my vote, root is already out. Out of the box, epic is so much better. I still have my evo, but I never pick it up.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

My pick is the Evo. I got the Epic at launch, but it never felt right for me. I was also annoyed at the current bugs, which I can confirm it has. I just didn't have faith in Samsung to come out with a fix for them all, especially in my 30 window.
I returned it for the Evo and was amazed how much more I liked the Evo. Just feels like the better phone imo. Battery life is much better on the Evo than the Epic for me too.
Good luck.
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

Either one you pick you wil be happy. I ended up going with the epic for the better screen, better processor and gpu and the keyboard. Even though im starting to use the screen keyboard alot more now that i installed the droid x keyboard.. i take the train to work everyday so i watch movies and play games on a daily basis.. and despite the screen size disadvantage the epic has.. movies look so much better.. and believe me i've tried both
Sent from my Epic 4g using Tapatalk Pro

jok3sta said:
Either one you pick you wil be happy.
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Agreed! They are both good machines(?), err phones. As I said in an earlier post, it'd be stupid to not go to Sprint and really play with both for like 10-20 minutes each. Download quadrant, neocore, your favorite app(s), etc., etc. and run it all on both and make an informed decision. Most Sprint employees (around were I live) recommend the EVO, that said, don't let a sales person sway you one way or another.

spiicytuna said:
Agreed! They are both good machines(?), err phones. As I said in an earlier post, it'd be stupid to not go to Sprint and really play with both for like 10-20 minutes each. Download quadrant, neocore, your favorite app(s), etc., etc. and run it all on both and make an informed decision. Most Sprint employees (around were I live) recommend the EVO, that said, don't let a sales person sway you one way or another.
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I plan on it. I have been to best buy twice, but for some reason in their great wisdom they only have mockups so you cant play around with them. I am going to buy it at best buy so I get my reward points and better returns.

I have both, bought Evo, really liked it, but when the Epic came out, tried it, loved it, gave Evo to hubby.
Handsize and feel is important to me, the Epic fits hand better, buttons are in more convenient place for one hand usage, Love Swype, love screen, rooted but staying with Touchwiz because its so smooth (and waiting for 2.2
before I mess with other roms). The pics are awesome, as are some of the apps, especially Google Sky. It actually runs a little faster than Evo in opening apps.
Now hubby loves Evo, bigger feel in hands, screen, but to me, colors look more washed out. However, he is color blind so can tell no difference.
I came from rooted Hero, so like Touchwiz better than Sense. Its a comfort zone, they are both great, play with them, if we didn't have two to chose from, everyone would like the one choice they have.
P.S. My only wish would be no keyboard on Epic and thinner, never use it with large on screen keyboards and Swype.

[Q] Rooted Evo vs Rooted Epic

I searched through the forums quite a bit and even good but have yet to find anything specific. I'm not sure which phone to get since I can not find a rooted comparison.
Please read about my HTC Hero and my original thoughts here:
jpklink.blogspot.com
Main Points:
Weight and size are not an issue: Glass screen is a +
Price is not an issue.
Standard Mini USB charging is a +
Battery life is not so important.
Texting Speed is 100% most important item - my hero can not keep up with my fingers and it is beyond frustrating.
I know this is the Epic forum so I can't say I don't expect you to be bias, but it would be nice to hear anything at all. Just wanted to hear how the phones compare as BOTH rooted devices with all speed benefits.

As of now the epic has an issue where it will miss keys on the physical keyboard every so often. Txlexting speed is also very important to me (I have an epic) and I have been dissappinted with the physical keyboard to say the least. That being said, the evo does not even have a physical keyboard and you could use any keyboard from the evo on the epic. The app "Smart keyboard" is the best of all that I have tried. The screen on the epic is also substantially better than the evo. The evo gets updates before the epic because it is an htc phone so that is always something to consider. Good luck.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

If you fancy yourself with modding then an Evo is a clear cut winner. There are much more Roms, Mods, and source codes are always released first for HTC phones. Samsung has a history of not really supporting their devices. Epic is no exception. And if you look at the news today in the Android world, signs point to Samsung focusing on supporting Windows 7 phones in 2011 while Android will slowly move to the back seat. http: //phandroid.com/2010/11/22/samsung-focusing-more-on-windows-7-in-2011-but-will-it-matter/

imwillzillla said:
And if you look at the news today in the Android world, signs point to Samsung focusing on supporting Windows 7 phones in 2011 while Android will slowly move to the back seat. http: //phandroid.com/2010/11/22/samsung-focusing-more-on-windows-7-in-2011-but-will-it-matter/
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Damn
Samusung needs to give up on smartphones because they have no clue what their doing.
They have great screens & top notch processor but missing the most important factors. QC & SUPPORT!!!

sling said:
Damn
Samusung needs to give up on smartphones because they have no clue what their doing.
They have great screens & top notch processor but missing the most important factors. QC & SUPPORT!!!
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Yeah you can tell how tarded they are by them having the hottest phone on the planet and neglecting it.

MLHickey:
Actually, I completely forgot to mention, I don't know that I would use the keyboard much anyway. I guess if it was there, I may start to use it, but I like the touch screen keyboard, I'm quite fast with them. In fact I still use T9 a LOT, especially while I'm driving. So as far as the keyboard goes, not a huge pro/con for me. When I mention texting speeds, I just want the phone to be able to keep up with me. My experience with the HTC hero is bad in the sense that I'll be waiting every few words for the phone to catch up so I can check for errors before continuing to type.
imwillzillla:
Those are some really good points! So if I root the Evo with a custom rom, the speeds will be comparable to a rooted epic? And how come HTC stuff comes out first/sooner? Just because the phone has been out longer?
Windows 7... ew. Those are definitely some good points. Do HTC updates and that matter much if I'm installing a custom ROM?
Thanks guys.
Note: I heard the Evo now comes stocked with something that prevents it from being rooted and still today they've yet to break it. Any truth to this?

YoshioDuo said:
MLHickey:
Note: I heard the Evo now comes stocked with something that prevents it from being rooted and still today they've yet to break it. Any truth to this?
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My Evo is a week old and UnrEVOked worked fine for me.

scriz said:
My Evo is a week old and UnrEVOked worked fine for me.
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Great news. I've been leaning towards the evo... looks like it's decided. Thanks again MLHickey.
Last note is, should I wait for early 2011 in case HTC releases something crazy. I mean, I can live on my HTC hero a few more months if I need to.

Just thought as an epic owner Im obligated to reply. The choice is a hard one, but the epic is faster, a better screen (even if slightly smaller) and since its basically stock android doesnt need roms like cynagen to be super fast and its only slightly thicker then the evo. You also get better battery life on the epic.
As for the keyboard, its really not that bad, and a keyboard is better then nothing at times when touch typing just isnt working out as planned.
I had the same hard decesion and luckily when I was visiting home a few weeks ago I got to play with my parents evo. Don't let the benchmarks fool you, the epic is much faster, plus that screen, you get size shock from the evo, but color and contrast shock from the epic. Plus you can install htcs awesome on screen keyboard on the epic. Its the best of all worlds in my book. The evo will have faster updates though, but really.. updates are almost superficial because by time android 2.2 is unsupported should they stop there you will likely be getting a new phone. Gps might or might not work better on the evo, some epics are fine, others aren't.
Just my 2 cents.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

TheDub said:
Just thought as an epic owner Im obligated to reply. The choice is a hard one, but the epic is faster, a better screen (even if slightly smaller) and since its basically stock android doesnt need roms like cynagen to be super fast and its only slightly thicker then the evo. You also get better battery life on the epic.
As for the keyboard, its really not that bad, and a keyboard is better then nothing at times when touch typing just isnt working out as planned.
I had the same hard decesion and luckily when I was visiting home a few weeks ago I got to play with my parents evo. Don't let the benchmarks fool you, the epic is much faster, plus that screen, you get size shock from the evo, but color and contrast shock from the epic. Plus you can install htcs awesome on screen keyboard on the epic. Its the best of all worlds in my book. The evo will have faster updates though, but really.. updates are almost superficial because by time android 2.2 is unsupported should they stop there you will likely be getting a new phone. Gps might or might not work better on the evo, some epics are fine, others aren't.
Just my 2 cents.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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But what about Epic's ugly azz cool color temperature?! Whites look grey on it, screen has blue tint... sorry, photographer coming out in me, but Evo's colors are much more accurate.

quote: "especially while I'm driving. " i dont care what phone you have, this is dangerous and very stupid. please refrain from texting while driving.

TheDub said:
Just thought as an epic owner Im obligated to reply. The choice is a hard one, but the epic is faster, a better screen (even if slightly smaller) and since its basically stock android doesnt need roms like cynagen to be super fast and its only slightly thicker then the evo. You also get better battery life on the epic.
As for the keyboard, its really not that bad, and a keyboard is better then nothing at times when touch typing just isnt working out as planned.
I had the same hard decesion and luckily when I was visiting home a few weeks ago I got to play with my parents evo. Don't let the benchmarks fool you, the epic is much faster, plus that screen, you get size shock from the evo, but color and contrast shock from the epic. Plus you can install htcs awesome on screen keyboard on the epic. Its the best of all worlds in my book. The evo will have faster updates though, but really.. updates are almost superficial because by time android 2.2 is unsupported should they stop there you will likely be getting a new phone. Gps might or might not work better on the evo, some epics are fine, others aren't.
Just my 2 cents.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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Is your two cents from owning both? My battery lasts way longer than my girls epic
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App

BrianDigital said:
Is your two cents from owning both? My battery lasts way longer than my girls epic
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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I'm not tryna sound biased but u gotta be kidding me.. maybe ur gf's usage is much higher.. honestly 4 of my friends have evo's and whenever we're chilling on either of our houses, they fight over the charger.. although my epic is rooted and has custom rom+kernel and their evo doesn't but even b4 i rooted mine i had much better battery life..

The keyboard on this thing is not great, but it beats having none. WPM will not be high with this keyboard, although accuracy is not bad. Still, coming from a Hero, I really like having a keyboard now.
The main gripe is Samsung's poor support, small ROM, and the gps on this thing.
If you text a lot, this should still be your choice as it is faster than virtual keyboards.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

BrianDigital said:
Is your two cents from owning both? My battery lasts way longer than my girls epic
Sent from my PC36100 using XDA App
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Lets be a smarta$$ about it.
Anyways.
No. I have asked about the Evo's battery life and I quite frequently hear it hardly makes it through the day from people who DO own them. I've had mine unplugged with moderate use and plenty of calls since 7am and its at 40% right now at 11PM. Now to be fair.. my Epic is rooted with the battery sucking processes from Sprint/Samsung cut out, the Evo's i've heard about are stock. If both were rooted you'd probably cut similar results.
They both have 1500MAH batteries, they will both be roughly the same if you cut the fat out of each I imagine.
As for the screen, yeah the colors are not as accurate, but you're not going to notice, they have a cooler look to them which bothers the heck out of graphics designers and the like heh heh but really.. it's still stunning in comparison to the evo, but thats just MY opinion.
You really need to go into the Sprint store and play with both as much as you can.... you really can't go wrong with either of them and their pro's and con's split pretty evenly.

1) for the keyboard issue..try disabling Swype and use the hardware kb.
2) Epic even with the custom roms we have is doing fairly well...I mean take all the custom roms on the EVO and the Epic and you'll notice there isn't too much difference...most of the advantages EVO had was gotten from the Nexus One which hopefully we will get from the Nexus S.
3) You can do a bunch with custom roms on the EVO to make it run smoother but It'll never run as smooth as the epic.
4) The colors can't be more accurate on the EVO because its only 64k colors..if anything Droid X has probably the most accurate colors...but since EVO is only 64k colors it won't be accurate...the Super AMOLED tends to be mroe blue because the blue dies out the fastest...over time it balances itself out...on my device though if I set it to 100% brightness its white as I lower the brightness it turns grayish..but thats what lowering brightness is suppose to do...
5) Yeah.. texting while driving is bad...
6) Battery life varies by your usage..overall though if you configure it best you can on both devices Epic will win.

TheDub said:
Lets be a smarta$$ about it.
Anyways.
No. I have asked about the Evo's battery life and I quite frequently hear it hardly makes it through the day from people who DO own them. I've had mine unplugged with moderate use and plenty of calls since 7am and its at 40% right now at 11PM. Now to be fair.. my Epic is rooted with the battery sucking processes from Sprint/Samsung cut out, the Evo's i've heard about are stock. If both were rooted you'd probably cut similar results.
They both have 1500MAH batteries, they will both be roughly the same if you cut the fat out of each I imagine.
As for the screen, yeah the colors are not as accurate, but you're not going to notice, they have a cooler look to them which bothers the heck out of graphics designers and the like heh heh but really.. it's still stunning in comparison to the evo, but thats just MY opinion.
You really need to go into the Sprint store and play with both as much as you can.... you really can't go wrong with either of them and their pro's and con's split pretty evenly.
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i had to read that twice, he wasnt talkin about you only having two cents... he was referring to owning both phones... just kinda seemed like u took that the wrong way...

Personally, I never got to actually play around with an evo but I will say these things about my epic:
The keyboard, though sometimes annoying, is a great bonus to have for those who text/email/im/fb/whatever a lot. And you can bring the htc keyboard over to the epic as well.
The battery life on custom roms/kernels seems to be better when compared to most evo scenarios (I don't have an evo so don't quote me)
The color temps can be fixed using voodoo color.
The phone DEFINITELY responds better to user input than the evo, hands down (probably due to the evo having so much bloat, and also due to the better built cortex processor)
Updates on the evo happen more quickly, this is very true. But our devs have done a great job fixing MOST of our major issues.
This is a big one that people seem to be failing to mention. The new froyo modems seem to FIX gps PERMANENTLY. I've been running wifi on my epic for days without a reboot and gps is on hot start (not using the cold start workaround) and every time I get a full lock within seconds (using gps status).
All in all, I love my epic and the way it runs thanks to our community, but if you want a more reliable manufacturer (and a community that isn't chock full of spoiled brats who's parents bought them the phone), go with the evo.
If you can deal with the slower updates and the forum nonsense, go with the epic.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Lol!
I think more kids end up with an epic over an evo just because of the keyboard. Look son it has a keyboard so you can type fast! "OMG L33T AHH! SWEET!" lol..
I wonder how many kids actually are on these forums when I was 12 I wasn't looking for ways to hack my cell phone... then again when I was 12 I think that Motorola "flip" phone that looked like something outta star trek was the most popular one for being so "portable". lol

uhm no, thats why there are sidekicks.. i doubt u will c a kid with an epic or evo..

Epic vs shift?

My upgrade comes through on March 1st.. I've looked into each of these phones with great detail. This is what I've come up with in a nutshell. And I want everyone's professional opinion as ill be using this phone for a year or two.. thx guys and gals..(is there a girl on xda yet? ;p)
Stock pros of shift: pocket friendly, higher quality exterior, possibly more support on xda, I heart HTC.
Stock pros of epic 4g: better battery life, amoled screen, front facing camera, video card for twice the gaming potential
Both are 99.00 on Amazon with upgrade eligibility (so is the evo, but I don't need a tablet just yet, 4" is quite enough for me) .. I use sprint im not switching its cheap.. I'd rather have a steak then slightly improved cell service. I have wifi at home anyways..
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App
Sent from my HERO200 using XDA App

My wife has a shift and I have an Epic. Her phone is more stable and her camera takes noticeably better pictures. The keyboard is also better on the shift as sometimes the keys skip on the Epic. As far as froyo is concerned it is much more stable on the Shift as well.
When on the shift section of xda I noticed a lot of people got the phone for their wives and not for themselves. They say games don't run as smoothe on the shift such as psx rom.games. and there is no phone on the market that I've layed my hands on that has a prettier screen than the epic. The colors are just plain and simply better. The phone isn't the eye catcher the epic is
I would go personally with the Epic in hopes of sprint and Samsung getting their act together and fixing the numerous bugs that are associated with it. You'll definetely have a love hate relationship with the epic but I believe in the long run you'll be better off with it.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

At this point id say wait for the next round of phones as there'll be dual core options. Also, my gil has the evo and i the epic and they are about the same size overall, not too much difference.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

jirafabo said:
At this point id say wait for the next round of phones as there'll be dual core options. Also, my gil has the evo and i the epic and they are about the same size overall, not too much difference.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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If you can wait for the next round of phones I would, since they'll probably be out this summer. If you can't, the Epic is a good phone. I'm currently on EB 13 and I did a fresh install and then loaded all of my apps manually. There's still problems with the sport mode in the camera, Time without signal (TWS) being high unless you do the airplane mode toggle, and the camcorder being a little sluggish in low light. These aren't deal breakers for me, because I don't really use the phone for low light recordings or sport mode and I'm fine toggling the airplane mode. However, it would be nice to have this fixed. I haven't experienced any of the other bugs people have claimed, so I'm still very happy with the performance of EB 13, but I'm not holding my breath for a fix. I mainly stay on EB 13 because the battery life for me is drastically better than 2.1 and the performance is no worst than 2.1. The screen is a lot better as well.
Like I said before, I hope they fix the problems, but I wouldn't buy a phone assuming they will......

IMO, it all boils down to this..
If you want a KB, get the Epic, if you don't get the EVO
The EVO shift is simply not a high end phone, no matter how it was marketed.
It is not a matter of speed, but just a lack of to many high end features.

I would really say it boils down to you really wanting to mod it I have an epic and I've been pretty happy with having it rommed to froyo until. Although some of the hardware glitches or software do kinda get annoying. I still think it's pretty descent.
The shift I'm assuming is a descent phone as well and I heard the keyboard is way better then epic, so it really comes down to preference I really think.
Best advice I can say is go to the sprint store and play with both of them for about 30 minutes, like literally 30 minutes.

I own both. Epic has a nicer screen and is faster for games. Shift seems to be better for literally everything else.
But if you like to tweak endlessly, Epic may be more your speed.

Epic by a gazillian times. The screen is simply amazing! And the gpu screams. Along froyo with ext filesystem, it even beats the super dual core tegra Atrix phone. Trust me... Epic is hands down best. I owned a Evo and a shift. Both underperform compared to Epic.

Thanks a lot guys after reading I think I may just wait for next row of phones.. when do you think they'll come out?
sent from my hero aosp2.2 cause aospcm7 2.3 was not as fast or stable for me.

Brah the epic is a MAN PHONE.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UB2DtU0UOo
The shift is something I would recommend to my grandma. though i wouldn't recommend a android phone to any tech impaired person( as my grandma is, fuuuu dont even get me started.)

From what it seems, the Shift is a less expensive/toned-down alternative to the Epic and Evo. So you're more or less comparing two differently classed phones.
Also, I love the keyboard on the epic. It's very roomy and comfortable, especially with its five rows. Plus, the Super AMOLED screen is gorgeous and a serious selling point. And regarding support on XDA, the Epic has nearly 10 times more threads and posts in each sub-forum.
I've never actually owned a Shift, but just from the numbers it seems the Epic is a much better deal, especially since they are the same price on Amazon. But waiting for Sprint's next lineup of Android phones seems like a good choice as well.

cpcormier3 said:
There's still problems with the sport mode in the camera... and the camcorder being a little sluggish in low light.
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Not sure if it makes a difference to you or not, but thete is now a fix fir the cameta issues in eb13. Keepin' the faith that sprint will release a more stable update soon. In the mean time get the epic and trust in the great devs we have here.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Gersonian said:
Not sure if it makes a difference to you or not, but thete is now a fix fir the cameta issues in eb13. Keepin' the faith that sprint will release a more stable update soon. In the mean time get the epic and trust in the great devs we have here.
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App
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Lol screw samsung and sprint for updates. Devs for the win.
From My Samsung Epic Using TapaTalk.

Shift out performs evo.. epic has it beat on the graphics end. at least according to benchmark apps. I think I'm going to go with the shift for now... ill just add another line late this summer to try and get another phone..
professoroak said:
From what it seems, the Shift is a less expensive/toned-down alternative to the Epic and Evo. So you're more or less comparing two differently classed phones.
Also, I love the keyboard on the epic. It's very roomy and comfortable, especially with its five rows. Plus, the Super AMOLED screen is gorgeous and a serious selling point. And regarding support on XDA, the Epic has nearly 10 times more threads and posts in each sub-forum.
I've never actually owned a Shift, but just from the numbers it seems the Epic is a much better deal, especially since they are the same price on Amazon. But waiting for Sprint's next lineup of Android phones seems like a good choice as well.
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sent from my hero aosp2.2 cause aospcm7 2.3 was not as fast or stable for me.

Heavy
I've had the Epic and the Evo, not the Shift tho. But I've played with the Shift for a while and one thing that surprises me is HOW HEAVY it is! For the weight difference, I'd almost just get the Epic. Regardless... if you want a billion ROM's that's hard to decipher and just really be confused most of the time, get an HTC. Tho, I will say their stock ROM's hand Samy's rear to them. The build quality on all three phones I would say are on par with each other.
The GPS on the Evo is AMAZING! I ALWAYS get a quick lock (within 5-10 seconds of opening up maps), and after 15-20 seconds, it's accurate to 3m (9 feet!), the Epic, not so much. After about 30 seconds, it'd lock, and only be accurate to 20m (60 feet!?!). As for using navigation on the phone, again, I would buy a garmin or tom-tom before I'd use the Epic's navigation.
Bottom line, yeah, if you need a phone that just works, any HTC is the way to go. BUT, the screen, size of keyboard, how good it plays games, did I mention the screen quality? are unmatched on the Epic. Hardware-wise (beyond maybe the GPS), the Epic is unbeaten.
noskoviak said:
Shift out performs evo.. epic has it beat on the graphics end. at least according to benchmark apps. I think I'm going to go with the shift for now... ill just add another line late this summer to try and get another phone..
sent from my hero aosp2.2 cause aospcm7 2.3 was not as fast or stable for me.
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The answers to all of your questions in this thread. A very nice debate between some of us hardware nuts. (I won. )
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=907182

noskoviak said:
Shift out performs evo.. epic has it beat on the graphics end. at least according to benchmark apps. I think I'm going to go with the shift for now... ill just add another line late this summer to try and get another phone..
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Untrue. Stop using Quadrant and Linpack (outdated benchmarks that are optimized for Snapdragon) and you'll see that it is simply not the case.
MHz for MHz, the Qualcomm MSM SoCs are slightly more powerful than the Hummingbird, but at 800 MHz they still fall behind the 1 GHz S5PC110.

I was using smartbench what do u think of that one?
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

I got the shift by the way... and I'm am loving it. Superior device imo.
Sent from my PG06100 using XDA App

Shift is good, but the epic is on a whole other level, in terms of hardware. Stock the shift has the better software, but if your going to mod your phone with some of the awesome xda dev software.......that's where you'll see what I mean by being on a whole other level. Don't wait to long to trade your new shift in and get a real upgrade