Database Users

My GPS Fix: Switched to Evo (edited)

Now getting instant lock on 10 satellites, even indoors.
Here it is:
1. Return phone
2. Get Evo
Sorry, but I jumped ship. Maybe posts like this will spur a fix (even if only in a small way).

Useless
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Maxy6 said:
Now getting instant lock on 10 satellites, even indoors.
Here it is:
1. Return phone
2. Get Evo
Sorry, but I jumped ship. Maybe posts like this will spur a fix (even if only in a small way).
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Posts like this will spur anger from the misleading title and intentionally unhelpful response within.
+Evo = downgrade

Fortunately enough, most users that browse these forums are educated enough to know the Evo is a downgrade from the Vibrant.
I would rather go buy a standalone GPS than buy an Evo for its GPS and have every other feature worse.
Call me crazy.

Sorry, a moderator is free to lock/delete this thread, but I maintain that it's useful to know what other phones are capable of. (For some people, this will be their first Android device and there is nothing to compare it to. For me, switching phones was certainly an eye-opener.)
Before I got the Evo, I only had the G1 to compare to the Vibrant. The G1 took longer to see the satellites but could reliably fix on nearly all of them. The Vibrant occassionally could fix on 4 or 5, but never persistantly more than 1 or 2, and then only after a long delay.
The Evo consistently sees more satellites, fixes on all them, keeps the fix, and does so instantly. Using navigation while driving, the Vibrant will have a large blue circle of uncertainty, sometimes spanning several major roadways or even cities, and then becomes disoriented, spinning out on curves. On the same route, the Evo can differentiate even closely spaced parallel roads and immediately sensing turns.
It's too bad, I wanted to stay with a GSM phone and the Vibrant, even for its objective lack of features vis-a-vis the Evo, had a certain 'gestalt' that made it loveable in a way that the Evo could never be. Unfortunately, Navigation is one of the most impressive features of Android and it simply fails on the Vibrant.

Good to know you found a "fix" for your problem, but next time think before posting something useless. Got here for a possible solution and there's just a stupid misleading post.

I feel your frustration, brothers and sisters--and, as I said, moderators are free to do whatever with this thread--but in the long run I think that complaints like this are part of the grassroots efforts that will help you see a fix (if one is indeed possible) or a recall/replacement/refund come sooner.

Maxy6. You know this "GPS problem" was resolved weeks ago on the dev forums. These threads don't help, its a new phone... nothing is going to be perfect. It is a firmware problem and Samsung is releasing a fix on the next firmware update.
This wouldn't be a reasonable fix anyway because most of us are in a contract and Evo is on another network. Especially when switching to another phone isn't a relevant fix.

Maxy6 said:
I feel your frustration, brothers and sisters--and, as I said, moderators are free to do whatever with this thread--but in the long run I think that complaints like this are part of the grassroots efforts that will help you see a fix (if one is indeed possible) or a recall/replacement/refund come sooner.
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Click to collapse
Your Post should read, Fix your GPS DOWNGRADE TO AN EVO.

Enjoy your 4 hours of battery life.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Maxy 6 grow up, your acting silly!

speoples20 said:
Enjoy your 4 hours of battery life.
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App
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That's without gps on...lmaoooo 1 hour with gps... so yes it works but dies before he gets there...lol

zephiK said:
Maxy6. You know this "GPS problem" was resolved weeks ago on the dev forums....
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First, the problems are not resolved, in any way - the work-around, temporarily works, for some ppl. That's not a "fix," by any measure.
Maxy6 said:
....
It's too bad, I wanted to stay with a GSM phone and the Vibrant, even for its objective lack of features vis-a-vis the Evo, had a certain 'gestalt' that made it loveable in a way that the Evo could never be. Unfortunately, Navigation is one of the most impressive features of Android and it simply fails on the Vibrant.
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Click to collapse
Second - instead of just the GPS, toss out some of these 'objective' features the Evo has, so we can all become as enlightened. Larger (lower quality) screen, and workable GPS... go on, what else?
-bZj

It is so incredibly hard to avoid breaking the "do not flame" rule sometimes.

OK, OK, I changed the title. FWIW, here are my thoughts Vibrant vs. Evo (for those who may be considering a comparison):
1. GPS - Evo works. Vibrant doesn't. Winner: Evo
2. OS - Vibrant should be faster, but it isn't, at least subjectively. Evo has FroYo, which is probably a factor. Evo's official FroYo release has a bug with syncing multiple Gmail accounts, but not in the same league as the GPS issues. Winner: Evo
3. Battery life - Vibrant much better, but it was also unpredictable and occasionally drained rapidly while doing GPS freezes and reboots. Evo has extended batteries available. Winner: Vibrant (but closer than it should be).
4. Construction/Feel - Evo is much more solid, has soft grip feel, seems better made. Vibrant size, weight, form factor are more appealing. Winner: tie
5. Touchwiz v. Sense - No comparison. Sense is far more polished, preserves more of a sense of Android features (calendar, custom ringtones), and has tremendous variety of widgets. Swype (only on Vibrant) is also nice (though can be found illicitly for Evo). Winner: Evo
6. Screen - No comparison. Vibrant is much nicer, but does suffer from blue tint (on some of them, but not all of them, as I've seen different units side-by-side). Bigger screen is easier to use on Evo. Winner: Vibrant
7. Network - Can't roam internationally on Sprint. Theoretical security problems on GSM. T-Mobile's top speeds are theoretically greater and will soon be even faster. Coverage is better on Sprint for me. (Strangely, no T-Mobile 3G where I live--the same city (Bellevue, WA) as T-Mobile America's headquarters). Winner: Tie
8. Extras: Evo has front-facing camera (not sure I'll ever use this), notification LEDS (but sadly don't work with Gmail Notifier application), camera light LEDS (a definite bonus). Easy winner: Evo
9. Buying American (if that's important to you): Tricky call. Both are foreign made. EVO internals from an American-based company. Vibrant's hummingbird processer ultimately an American design (if I have it correct). T-Mobile's parent is not American, Sprint is. Winner: Tie.
Bottom line: HTC is clearly ahead on the learning curve, yet I find the Vibrant to be the overall more appealing product. That's why I bought it. But, I also travel a lot and I want a working (or at least reliable GPS). The trade-off for me in switching (and I had no contract considerations to deal with, as I have multiple lines for business and family on both carriers), was loss of international roaming and battery life, which at this point, bother me less than paying for a defectively engineered (or at least prematurely released) product.

Who are you trying to convince? Sounds like yourself.

Can't stop... Fingers... Bleh... Have fun with your Emo...

curious - how's the touch sensitivity on the screen compared to the vibrant?

Congrats on your new touch screen tablet pc lol
Sent from my SGH-T959 using XDA App

Maxy6 said:
OK, OK, I changed the title. FWIW, here are my thoughts Vibrant vs. Evo (for those who may be considering a comparison):
1. GPS - Evo works. Vibrant doesn't. Winner: Evo
2. OS - Vibrant should be faster, but it isn't, at least subjectively. Evo has FroYo, which is probably a factor. Evo's official FroYo release has a bug with syncing multiple Gmail accounts, but not in the same league as the GPS issues. Winner: Evo
3. Battery life - Vibrant much better, but it was also unpredictable and occasionally drained rapidly while doing GPS freezes and reboots. Evo has extended batteries available. Winner: Vibrant (but closer than it should be).
4. Construction/Feel - Evo is much more solid, has soft grip feel, seems better made. Vibrant size, weight, form factor are more appealing. Winner: tie
5. Touchwiz v. Sense - No comparison. Sense is far more polished, preserves more of a sense of Android features (calendar, custom ringtones), and has tremendous variety of widgets. Swype (only on Vibrant) is also nice (though can be found illicitly for Evo). Winner: Evo
6. Screen - No comparison. Vibrant is much nicer, but does suffer from blue tint (on some of them, but not all of them, as I've seen different units side-by-side). Bigger screen is easier to use on Evo. Winner: Vibrant
7. Network - Can't roam internationally on Sprint. Theoretical security problems on GSM. T-Mobile's top speeds are theoretically greater and will soon be even faster. Coverage is better on Sprint for me. (Strangely, no T-Mobile 3G where I live--the same city (Bellevue, WA) as T-Mobile America's headquarters). Winner: Tie
8. Extras: Evo has front-facing camera (not sure I'll ever use this), notification LEDS (but sadly don't work with Gmail Notifier application), camera light LEDS (a definite bonus). Easy winner: Evo
9. Buying American (if that's important to you): Tricky call. Both are foreign made. EVO internals from an American-based company. Vibrant's hummingbird processer ultimately an American design (if I have it correct). T-Mobile's parent is not American, Sprint is. Winner: Tie.
Bottom line: HTC is clearly ahead on the learning curve, yet I find the Vibrant to be the overall more appealing product. That's why I bought it. But, I also travel a lot and I want a working (or at least reliable GPS). The trade-off for me in switching (and I had no contract considerations to deal with, as I have multiple lines for business and family on both carriers), was loss of international roaming and battery life, which at this point, bother me less than paying for a defectively engineered (or at least prematurely released) product.
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Click to collapse
I'm just going to do this for the hell of it since there is no point in this thread.
1. Thanks for the crappy fix.
2. For crying out loud, no point in comparing OS. There is obviously no comparison when doing Eclair vs Froyo. Froyo will always win.
3. It's obvious that it will drain when using GPS. Extended batteries don't count.
4. Okay.
5. Both are the same. Custom design from manufacturers. None of them "preserves" the original Android.
6. Okay.
7. Depends where you are.
8. Okay.
9. Buying American? Wow, just wow. I'm sure you have a Ford/Chevy too, huh?
Btw, thanks for the fix.

Epic 4G review

http://www.engadget.com/2010/08/16/epic-4g-review/
Surprisingly, the now-infamous AGPS bug is still alive and well right now on the Epic.
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Epic 4G review
By Chris Ziegler posted Aug 16th 2010 12:01AM
Review
Of the seemingly countless variants of the Galaxy S that Samsung's in the process of deploying around the globe, one stands out in a couple very unique (and important) ways: Sprint's Epic 4G. The Epic hangs on to a couple of the Galaxy line's most important characteristics -- namely the 1GHz Hummingbird processor and the 4-inch Super AMOLED display -- but adds in a sliding landscape QWERTY keyboard, support for the wickedly fast WiMAX network that Sprint shares with partner Clearwire, and a handful of other notable one-off customizations.
We've already taken a look at two of the other US-bound Galaxy S models -- AT&T's Captivate and T-Mobile's Vibrant -- but it shouldn't take more than a quick glance at the Epic to tell you that this is a very, very different beast. Becoming just the second WiMAX phone released in the States (and the first with a physical keyboard), this is a pretty critical release for Sprint at a time when its subscriber count is just starting to pick up after several quarters of decline -- and making things even more interesting is the fact that Sprint's first WiMAX handset -- HTC's EVO 4G -- is simply one of the best phones we've ever reviewed. In other words, yeah, you could say that the Epic's got a lot to live up to. Is it up to the task? Let's find out.
Epic 4G review
Packaging
Sprint has ditched the strange (or cute, depending on your attitude) "TV dinner" packaging of the EVO in favor of a more traditional box here. Boring, yes, but look on the bright side: unlike the EVO, this setup is easier to keep closed (assuming you care and you're going to hang onto it) because it doesn't rely on a flimsy cardboard sleeve to keep the lid on, and fortunately, they've gone with a really thick, sturdy, high-quality material for both halves of the box. Inside you'll find -- besides the phone, of course -- a USB charger, micro-USB cable (there's no cable permanently attached to the charger, a pretty common trend these days), and the same surprisingly decent earbuds found with the Vibrant and Captivate. Anyone intending to use the Epic for serious music use is still encouraged to bring their own headphones or earbuds of choice, but it's pretty cool that Sammy's offering buds in the box that are high-quality enough to include replaceable tips.
You also get an SD-to-microSD converter that you'll be able to use with the 16GB microSD card that comes pre-installed underneath the phone's back cover (though you don't need to remove the battery to get at it, which is nice). Why 16GB when AT&T's and T-Mobile's versions only include 2GB? Good question: turns out the Epic only has a little over 400MB of app storage internally -- not the capacious 16GB of the others -- so Sprint compensates by throwing in a beefy card. Though that'll work just fine for 95 percent of users, it's important to note that this means you can't get it up to 48GB of available storage by picking up a 32GB card. Since it's obvious Sprint tried to make this phone as "epic" as possible, it's unclear why they left out that internal capacity; the only thing we can think of is that they simply ran out of room with all of the phone's modifications over the standard Galaxy S like the slider mechanism, the LED flash, and the WiMAX circuitry. Hard to say.
Hardware
Of all the Galaxy S flavors we've seen, the Epic 4G -- despite its name and form factor -- might have the most nondescript appearance. Depending on your personality, that's either a good thing or a bad thing (for what it's worth, we liked it). The front of the phone is dominated by an expanse of black gloss rimmed by a matching black bezel, which makes it almost intimidating when it's sitting there with the screen turned off because you can't readily see the outline of the screen or the capacitive buttons below it -- just a whole lot of black with tastefully-proportioned Sprint and Samsung logos at the top and bottom, respectively. In fact, it's so black that it almost seems like you could be looking at the back of the phone.
Speaking of the back, Sprint got it right where AT&T and T-Mobile frankly got it wrong. It's a subtle black soft-touch -- not the Vibrant's cheap, glossy plastic or the Captivate's faux carbon fiber weave -- which gives you just a little bit of grip when you're holding it. The sparkling flecks in the back cover are actually one of the few concessions to style on the entire phone, and though we generally don't like our phones to sparkle, we'll begrudgingly admit that it probably would've been a bit too plain if they'd just done it in a flat black. Another place where the Epic wins over its Galaxy-branded cousins is just below the 5 megapixel camera, where you'll find an honest-to-goodness LED flash (more on this later). One very minor complaint we have about the back is that it pries off; we always prefer the sliding style because it involves less of that uncomfortable "I wonder if I'm going to break this" feeling you get when you're trying to yank a flimsy cover straight up and out, but considering how rarely you should need to get in there, it's basically a non-issue.
The sides of the Epic are where you'll find the only other blatantly stylish element on the entire phone: a thin chrome ring that runs all the way around, roughly in the middle of the edge, without extending into the keyboard area at all. We don't frequently say this about chrome, but it's tasteful and it actually works here. You'll also find the usual array of edge-mounted doodads, including a volume rocker on the left side, power and two-stage camera buttons on the right, and a 3.5mm headphone jack and micro-USB port up top. Like other Galaxy S models, the Epic has a neat retractable door to protect the port, a far better arrangement than the flimsy rubber plugs you usually see (though we still don't think micro-USB ports really need a lot of protection, considering they were specifically designed to be robust). The volume and camera buttons have plenty of feel, but the power button -- which is more flush than the others to prevent accidental actuation -- would be much easier to deal with on the top for a couple reasons: one, that's where you usually find it; and two, every time you press it, you risk accidentally sliding open the phone a bit. Considering how often you press power to take the screen in and out of standby, this is actually a topic worth discussing, but it's not a deal-breaker (and interestingly, we didn't like the design of the power button on the EVO, either).
The Epic's slide mechanism is a fairly heavy, smooth spring-mounted arrangement that feels solid with no wobble; on our unit there's just a tiny hint of give on the screen if you actively try to twist it, but we don't notice it in normal day-to-day use. That leads us into the keyboard, which is a completely flat, five-row type with a good deal of separation between the keys. You've got a good, strong "click" on each key -- no mushiness here -- but we definitely would've preferred a bit of doming, and we would've even been happy to sacrifice the separation in exchange for making the surface area of each key larger. The layout is a mixed bag -- we enjoyed having access to big Menu, Back, Home, and Search keys astride the letters, but the placement of Backspace and Enter gave us a little trouble... and we definitely weren't feeling the need for a dedicated smiley face key. Overall, we'd say that the Epic's QWERTY falls behind those of Android contemporaries like the myTouch 3G Slide (manufactured by keyboard specialist HTC, of course) and the Droid 2, but that's not to say that it's bad -- it's leaps and bounds beyond the dismal Moment, for example, and we imagine that anyone would be able to get fast and error-free on it within a couple days of use.
What surprised us the first time we picked up the Epic was how light it felt -- 15 grams less than the EVO, to be exact. Frankly, we wouldn't have minded it being a bit heavier, which leads us to wonder whether they could've squeezed in something beefier than a 1500mAh battery without causing problems. Though the Epic's screen is three-tenths of an inch smaller than the EVO's, the two are surprisingly close in length and width -- in other words, you shouldn't consider this over the EVO simply because you think it's going to be easier to hold. At 14.2mm deep, the Epic is noticeably thicker, but still comfortable in the hand (it's thin enough so that your fingers will likely still arch beyond the back cover) and it doesn't produce a ridiculous bulge in your pocket -- unless you're wearing something skinny and fashionable, of course. Then again, there aren't many smartphones that look good in that situation.
The Epic's 4-inch Super AMOLED display at WVGA resolution is exactly the same as the one you find on the Captivate and Vibrant -- and as you can probably guess, it's absolutely glorious. If you're not accustomed to these displays (even if you're already familiar with standard AMOLED), you'll be pretty shocked by the insane black level and the rich, dazzling color saturation that you get from these. Despite what you may have heard to the contrary, we'll echo what we said in our look at the AT&T and T-Mobile models that it still doesn't perform as well as a traditional LCD in direct sunlight, though it isn't completely washed out; in our experience, we could always make out the contents of the screen if we squinted hard enough. Since the screens are literally identical and the Epic won't be out until the end of the month, we might even recommend heading down to an AT&T or T-Mobile store beforehand and checking out the Captivate / Vibrant -- you'll get a good sense of what to expect when you pick up your phone, both from a display and a software perspective.
Below the display are four capacitive buttons -- the usual ones you find on Android devices: Menu, Home, Back, and Search, in that order from left to right. The buttons are actually below the Samsung logo, which means there's plenty of separation between them and the bottom of the display, but we found that they still suffer from a couple problems. First, they don't seem to be quite sensitive enough -- we found ourselves occasionally tapping twice to actuate them (we also noticed this on the touchscreen, suggesting that the entire capacitive surface could stand to be tweaked a bit). We also had the same problem here that we'd had on other Galaxy S models, which is that the buttons are backlit on a different schedule than the display. They seem to go out after five seconds and come back on whenever a button or the screen is touched, which is actually more distracting then if they simply stayed lit all the time. The behavior here might make sense if the buttons were more readily distinguishable without backlighting, but as it stands, they aren't -- we found ourselves leaning in to see the darkened icons more closely on a couple occasions. Basically, the simplest solution would've just been to paint on the buttons so you can see them without light (as Motorola and HTC usually do) and save a little battery power in the process.
Speaking of battery power, we got 3 hours and 43 minutes of use from 97 percent power to shutdown with the phone in 4G hotspot mode while occasionally interacting with the handset, continuously streaming internet radio, and doing... well, you know, other "internet things" on our connected laptop. That bests the EVO by a few minutes, but we'd argue that it's within the margin of error -- especially since 4G battery life seems to be affected drastically by city and signal strength (we performed all of our testing in Chicago's Loop, where WiMAX flows like water). Interestingly, we checked Android's built-in battery monitor shortly before the Epic shut down -- the screen where you can see what components and apps have been draining your juice the most -- and were surprised to see it report that the display had allegedly been responsible for 55 percent of the drain, despite the fact that we had played with the phone for perhaps 10 to 15 minutes of the entire test. We suspect the app isn't properly accounting for the 4G radio, but that's just a guess -- and if by some odd chance it's accurate, that paints a pretty scary picture for the power consumption of these Super AMOLED displays. We haven't had an opportunity to complete a more traditional battery test in normal (read: non-hotspot) phone usage yet, but our preliminary testing suggests that you should have no problem getting through a typical day, particularly if you're smart about 4G radio management and you aren't keeping the screen on any more than you have to.
For 4G performance, this is always a tricky topic -- as we mentioned, network performance varies widely by location and other variables, but we were generally very happy both with on-device data and hotspot mode. Basically, it never stopped feeling "WiFi fast" both in terms of speed and latency, and that's exactly what you need to make a fantastic mobile hotspot. We were consistently getting around 4Mbps down and 1Mbps up during our testing; when we'd tested our EVO back in our review, we'd seen numbers as high as 7.5Mbps down and 3Mbps up, but checking it alongside the Epic revealed lower numbers more in-line with the Sammy, so we'll chalk it up to the network.
Camera
We weren't expecting the world out of the Epic's primary camera; given that other versions of the phone don't even ship with any sort of flash, it was obvious that Samsung prioritized a thin shell over heavy-duty optics. That said, we came away really happy with the stills we were able to capture. Maybe we were just having a good photography day, but whatever the case, shots looked clean and sharp with minimum artifacting at 100 percent zoom.
Of course, the Epic ships with not one, but two cameras: the 5 megapixel primary on back paired with a weakling VGA cam on front. Make no mistake -- this second camera isn't to be used for anything but video calling, and considering that the quality of your video call is limited by bandwidth more than by camera quality, it'll work just fine there. Yes, the Epic's camera app allows you to toggle between cameras (the second camera is used for a "self portrait" mode), but trust us -- you really don't want to do that.
Video capture was less impressive than the still shots. The problem, really, is that this is advertised as a 720p recorder. Yes, true, you can toggle a 720p mode -- but to associate the quality of the output you get with anything you'd consider to be 720p is a complete fallacy. It's just roundly not good at that size. What Samsung probably should've done is cap the output to 480p and quietly offer 1280 x 720 as some sort of "extended resolution" mode, which would've gotten them off the hook at least a little bit. On the plus side, we found audio quality to be decent, though not quite as strong as the Droid 2 or Droid X.
Epic 4G camera samples
Software
In most respects, the Epic 4G runs the same TouchWiz 3.0-skinned build of Android 2.1 that you find on other versions of the Galaxy S, which unfortunately means that we've got most of the same complaints. Many of our annoyances probably won't bug people who are just getting into Android for the first time, but some seasoned users -- particularly of stock Eclair or Froyo -- will be ready to punch Samsung's UI designers in the face after just a few minutes with the Epic. Our biggest issue is with the cartoonish, overly colorful appearance of everything, a problem exacerbated by the fact that this display makes bright colors look... well, really bright. For some reason, TouchWiz puts a seemingly randomly-colored square behind every app icon in the launcher, which -- to put it very bluntly -- looks stupid. We also don't like the fact that the launcher can only be toggled between a horizontal-swipe grid mode and a vertical-swipe list mode, which means that the standard vertical-swipe grid -- the one you've used on practically every other Android phone, ever -- isn't available.
Annoyances continue to the home screen, where Samsung has elected to permanently display a large panel number indicator (they use a 7-panel setup, by the way) immediately below the status bar. We don't mind when they're permanently displayed (in fact, looking at the way the Droid X and Droid 2 do it, we prefer it to be permanent), but TouchWiz's is huge -- large enough so that we actually think they could've squeezed in another widget / icon row if they wanted to. Sammy should've taken a cue from Google, HTC, or heck, even Motorola's first-gen Blur UI on the right way to implement this.
Generally, these manufacturer skins exist with the claimed goal of enhancing the platform's stock functionality, but we actually found a case on the Epic where the opposite is true: the phone's lock screen consists of a circle in the center of the screen that you drag up to unlock... and that's it. Gone is Android 2.x's ability to toggle ringer mute from here, a nice touch considering that you need to unlock, press power, and select a menu option otherwise. To our surprise, also missing is the neat "puzzle lock" mode available on the Captivate and Vibrant, which allows you to immediately view messages, missed calls, and the like by dragging and dropping a puzzle piece into its matching hole on the screen. It's not clear why Sprint would've decided to kill it off, because all that's left is a gimped lock screen (with the option of using Android's regular pattern lock).
As bloatware goes, Sprint and Samsung have done an okay effort -- just okay -- at holding back. When you turn the phone on for the first time, the installed apps consume two full pages in the launcher, which feels manageable. Besides the normal Galaxy S custom stuff like AllShare and MediaHub, you get Qik (with video calling capability, of course), Sprint Football and NASCAR, Sprint Hotspot, TeleNav-powered Sprint Navigation (which you might never use since Google Maps Navigation is included fully functional and unhindered), ThinkFree Office (lacking the Google Docs integration of the version available in the Market), and Sprint Zone, which is basically a one-stop shop for finding Sprint stores, checking out your account, and getting quick access to apps the carrier recommends. Sprint TV's also included, of course, but it just hangs on 4G whenever you try to watch a program -- we had to turn it off and use EV-DO to make it work, which is pretty counterproductive considering how much better it could look on a faster, lower-latency connection.
Apart from an occasional stutter while scrolling in the browser, the Epic's performance felt in line with what we should expect of its Hummingbird core -- in other words, it was generally responsive and smooth (Linpack scores ranged between roughly 7.6 and 8.2 MFLOPS). Of course, by Android's nature, it's easy to gum up the works by installing too many apps trying to do too many things at once -- but with a few of our essentials installed and the device fully synced to our Google account, everything sped right along. We did, however, notice an occasional hiccup with the phone's many window transition animations where they'd flash or stutter; it was hard to tell whether this was a performance issue or simply a bug, and in the end, we just turned them off and didn't worry about it. Also encouraging is the fact that the Epic is running Android 2.1 out of the box; we can only expect performance to improve once they've deployed 2.2 (it's not often that you'll hear us spin the lack of 2.2 into a positive, so relish in it while you can).
Surprisingly, the now-infamous AGPS bug is still alive and well right now on the Epic. We're not sure how Sprint can justify releasing it with this bug now so well-known, well-documented, and critical to the operation of the phone -- seriously, it cannot find you most of the time -- but we suppose it'll just get fixed at the same time as the remainder of the Galaxy S models in September. In other words, unless we see a quick firmware update prior to the 31st, don't expect Google Maps to work particularly well out of the box.
Wrap-up
Let's take our attention away from the specifics of this phone for a second. Speaking in more general terms, it's really impressive that Sprint has already managed to release two very high-end, exceptionally desirable devices built specifically to take advantage of its 4G network. In fact, we'd say that the Epic and the EVO -- even more than the Pre -- have vaulted Sprint from its status as an also-ran to perhaps the most gadget-savvy carrier in the US today. If you'd asked us 18 months ago whether we ever thought we'd be saying that, we'd have laughed at you. Of course, the Epic can't just be geeky, it's got to be good -- Sprint isn't out of the danger zone yet for subscriber churn, and it's going to need average Joes and Janes to buy these right out of stock. In other words, it needs to parlay the buzz that the EVO generated into a permanent slow burn, and the Epic is a critical part of that equation.
So is it the right phone for the job? In a word, yes -- the Epic 4G is a great device. Killer, even. Nothing speaks to us more strongly during the course of a review than finishing it and saying, "alright, I'm ready to buy this thing," and the Epic is on the short list of phones that has managed to do it. More than its Galaxy S siblings, it feels like the Epic has overcome its shortcomings -- notably the forgettable UI skin -- to shine, and it's a phone we could easily imagine using day to day. Only thing is, the EVO is also on that short list for us -- and the better camera, bigger screen, and $50 savings versus the Epic still make it our winner in this 4G shootout, though only by the thinnest of margins. Needless to say, if you need a physical keyboard and you're looking for the one of the most musclebound Android phones money can buy, we wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

I pretty much know as much as there is about this phone since I purchased my mother her vibrant, I just can't wait for my epic though!
Im hoping the battery will not be an issue, although once we get some custom kernels we should be good.
15 days 6 hours 49 minutes to go!
Sent from my Nextel™ using the XDA app

"Best of all, the GPS issues which many have reported affecting Galaxy S family devices aren’t apparent on the Epic 4G, with our review unit proving capable of quickly establishing a fix and tracking it accordingly"
via Slashgears review.

Don't believe the hype, first of all if you want a good professional review please don't even spit in Engadget's direction, they're biased to any device that isn't made by some type of fruit company.
Take a look at cnet pcmag or other credible source, just look at how they downplayed the camera making it seen like it was worse than an Evo's then look at Gizmodo which had visual comparisons vs the iPhone4 where the Epic clearly dominated that camera. In between those reviews is a spec of truth, both are absolutely biased for different reasons and neither are professionally done, don't let these "journalists" (hobby bloggers at best) let you decide what is or isn't a good device.

I believe that the GPS is indeed a problem in quite a few Samsung Galaxy phones..... but whether not your GPS will work or not is a luck of a draw since there are people who have absolutely no problems then people who have completely non-functioning AGPS.
GPS is a very important function for me. I use it almost daily on my phone. if not for navigation, for quick searching of businesses etc.
I figure if the Epic I receive doesn't have functioning GPS, i'm going to return it for another until I get one that does work.
As for the review, its about as UN-biased as I've seen Engadget. If you thought the Epic review was biased, you must not have read the iPhone 4 VS Evo article they posted awhile ago. I was actually surprised that Gizmodo, which is like BIASED-APPLECENTRAL, had such a positive review of the epic!

Yeah, engadget reviews are pretty bad. It has a negative vibe throughout the review and at the end they call it "killer." Talk about a roller coaster ride

Switching to Sprint from ATT, Evo or Epic?

I am using a Touch Pro 2 on ATT but I want to switch to Sprint for one of the smart phones. I am trying to decide between Epic and Evo.
I've seen and played with both phones and both seem pretty equal to me. On first glance the Epic feels way lighter and cheaper than the Evo, and I didn't like the keyboard nearly as much as my TP2.
How is the Samsung software? I've never used a Sammy smart phone and I was wondering how their software compares? I've used HTC for the last 4 phones I've owned. With full root can you put HTC software on the epic phone?
Anything else I should be away of in making my decision to switch?
Thanks

You'd probably get better answers about TouchWiz in another forum, but I can say that I'm not a fan from what I've seen. It would drive me nuts not being able to change the four shortcuts on my homescreen.
The HTC Evo is CyanogenMod supported which, in my opinion, is a very strong selling point.
The HTC Evo also has Froyo. The Galaxy S phones have yet to be updated. I'm pretty sure they'll be seeing an update soon, but you never can tell.
You'll probably never see a full Sense UI ROM on the Epic.
The main thing that I like about the Epic is the Hummingbird processor. I haven't really had an opportunity to play with a Galaxy S phone w/o a T-Mobile sales person breathing down my neck, so I can't really speak to how much better it makes the overall experience.
My opinion would be that if you think you can live without a hardware keyboard, to go with the EVO.
Sorry if that was a bit rambly... I just woke up.

r2tincan said:
I am using a Touch Pro 2 on ATT but I want to switch to Sprint for one of the smart phones. I am trying to decide between Epic and Evo.
I've seen and played with both phones and both seem pretty equal to me. On first glance the Epic feels way lighter and cheaper than the Evo, and I didn't like the keyboard nearly as much as my TP2.
How is the Samsung software? I've never used a Sammy smart phone and I was wondering how their software compares? I've used HTC for the last 4 phones I've owned. With full root can you put HTC software on the epic phone?
Anything else I should be away of in making my decision to switch?
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Advantage Epic 4G
1. QWERTY
2. More powerful CPU and GPU crushes Evo's GPU, no comparison
3. Screen is about 5x nicer than Evo's. To be honest, Evo has a really ****ty TFT LCD screen displaying only 65k colors.
Advantage Evo 4G
1. Feels more like a premium device, very heavy for a phone, nice form factor
2. Roughly the same size as Epic, thinner, but way less bezel, more screen.

I keep hearing about all the pixels you can see on the epic. I like my Evo, I'd say if you want to game or need a hardware keyboard go epic otherwise the Evo is great. Most games are payable with the Evo just with a few slowdowns. Battery life is just slightly better on the epic, like 15 mins or something like that.
Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

i work for sprint, I dont think you can go wrong with either. heres what i think...
Epic
Pros: 4G, GORGEOUS screen, Hummingbird processor really flies when scrolling and rendering, Great KB, and DLNA (instead of HDMI)
Cons: Somewhat bulky even though very lightweight, even though screen is gorgeous, colors are over exaggerated, resulting in some pixelation. 5M/VGA cameras versus the Evo 8M/1.3M combo. Capacitive buttons at bottom VERY touchy and buggy
Evo
Pros: 4G, 4.3 inch screen, HUUUUUGE development community, Android Froyo 2.2 out the box, 8M/1.3M camera combo, KICKSTAND!!, 2 flashes on Camera, HTC Sense blows Touchwiz out of the water (even though I prefer LauncherPro), and lastly Evo comes with Youtube with HQ capabilities
Cons: HTC has capped the framerate of the Evo out of the box because of the HDMI controller. Compared to the Epics constant 60fps, it blows a stock Evo out the water when it comes to anything graphical. Scrolling, pinching and zooming, things like that. The 1GHz Snapdragon core is fast as hell when launching programs and multi tasking and performing operations, but it stinks compared to the Epic when it comes to 3D gaming. Now, with that being said, there are plenty of custom roms and kernels that lift the cap on the framerate on the Evo, letting it achieve about 55fps. Close to 60, but not yet.
Screen on Evo is a tad bigger, but looks sort of washed out against the Epic.
HTC Sense is great for the average user, but its Heavy, slow, and hogs up alot of resources.
Dont get me wrong, the are more pros and cons to both, but to ME, those are the big ones. Which one do I recommend?
I RECOMMEND GOING TO A STORE AND PLAYING WITH BOTH TO SEE WITH ONE YOU..ill say it again....YOU...like better
For me, I already own the Evo, and its an awesome device, the Epic isnt enough of an upgrade for me to ditch the Evo. Furthermore, Sprint employees cant buy the Evo or Epic yet anyways. I only got an Evo cuz I was our stores advocate.
I think if I were in a buyers position tho, and was an average user, or even a more than average user, I would definately pick sadly...the Epic.
Now, if your into hacking and overclocking and tinkering your phone, then the Evo is definately the phone for you. There is so much support for the Evo, its truly unbelievable.
At the end, I LOVE my Evo, hands down the best phone ive ever had. You may not think the same, and coming to an Evo forum is gonna get you some very biased answers on which one is better. Go to a store and try them out for yourself. They are both incredible devices

I don't care at all about games but I am really tired of the slowdowns I've come to expect with Windows Mobile.
For instance, sometimes waiting for a text message to appear or for the home screen to load (5-10 seconds) is "normal" for me. I want a snappy device, with a good end-user experience. Like the iphone.
And I wanna customize it, unlike an iphone.
Edit: Thanks for the recommendation, I'll go in today and play with them again....

This post says it all:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=770471

id say go with the touch pro 2 again. haha just kidding, i hated owning the touch pro 2, so slow!!

I had a Touch Pro 2 for a month, it was so slow I couldn't even answer calls on it. Literally it would take 30 seconds to press the "answer call" button and by the the call would be disconnected. Also that conference call feature where you could easily add people to a call simply did not exist (i think it only works on the GSM verison)
I actually really, really like the Palm Pixi after seeing it in person. That thing is tiny [that's what she said] and quite underrated.
I kind of want to ditch my Evo for the Palm Pixi but would mainly miss the Google Maps Navigation. [edit I suppose it probably has Sprint Navigation]

I played with a friends epic, and I was not impressed.
touchwiz looks like kindergarten compared to sense.
it was lightweight and nice display, albeit smaller than evo.

jerryparid said:
Advantage Epic 4G
1. QWERTY
2. More powerful CPU and GPU crushes Evo's GPU, no comparison
3. Screen is about 5x nicer than Evo's. To be honest, Evo has a really ****ty TFT LCD screen displaying only 65k colors.
Advantage Evo 4G
1. Feels more like a premium device, very heavy for a phone, nice form factor
2. Roughly the same size as Epic, thinner, but way less bezel, more screen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I agree with your review here I have 5 Evo's at work and own one myself and yesterday just activated 2 Epic's great phones screen is out of this world. That being said depends on if you want a mechanical keyboard or not. I could go either way bottom line is you can't lose with either phone they are both great. I can say for me the Evo is the best smart phone I have ever owned.

As others have said, the best way to choose is to play with both of them yourself. That being said, a friend of mine got the Epic the other day and I went over to show her how to use it and I like the EVO more. It may just be the fact that I'm more used to my phone or just simply personal preference, I don't know. The Epic is a nice phone, but IMHO, the EVO is better. Everyone is different though and you may feel another way. I'm just happy that after being with Sprint as long as I have (about 10yrs) and dealing with the fact that year after year all the top phones have gone to different carriers, Sprint finally decided to offer 2 very good choices.

I work at a Sprint store and a customer with an Epic came in with an image burned into the screen. I don't know how and I havn't read anything else on it but if I know Samsung then there will be at least one major issue.

The main reason to not get an Epic is the other name attached to it - Samsung. They are, historically, horrible with their smartphones. Slow to release updates, slow or never release updates to fix bugs big and small, marginal support for devices out on the market, and just a complete lack of customer service. As a former owner of an Instinct and a Moment, I cannot recommend buying anything with the Samsung name attached to it except their TVs and computer monitors.
I can, without any doubt in my mind, say that the Evo is the best phone I've ever owned thus far. By itself with no root and no modifications, it is a wonderful phone. Rooting it and putting whatever I want on it to expand its potential only made it a better phone. The guys over at SDX will have a heck of a time ripping out TouchWiz (yuck!) and making the Epic better than it is (it's already rooted, supposedly). I won't even be thinking about a phone upgrade again until at least November to see what's on the market or what's coming to the market (especially from HTC).

Pre > Epic > Evo > back to Epic

For anyone trying to decide between the Evo and Epic, here is my take after having each for at least 2 weeks as my primary phone. These are just my opinions as everyone has different tastes
I must be an exception to the rule...I switched from a Palm Pre to the Epic for a couple weeks. I liked swype so much I decided to drop the epic for the evo.
After using an Evo for two weeks I traded it back for an Epic and I like the Epic much better for a few reasons.
First I didn't care for HTC Sense. I like the gallery, email, music player, calendar, and various apps included with the Epic better than HTC's versions. Also, HTC doesn't ship a file browser or task manager whereas Samsung does. Some people will say "just install one from the market" but those typically all have ads. I realize you can remove the ads with a host file, but that’s beside the point. These are basic OS functions that should be included.
Second the Epic feels much faster. Scrolling is smoother and games run better. Froyo or not, it’s faster.
Third…contrary to what you may believe it is MUCH easier to root an Epic. With the Epic you can essentially take the long way or the shortcut 1-click method but the Evo HW0004 currently there is only a long somewhat difficult root process.
Fourth, everyone complains that the dev community is so much better for the Evo. I would argue that this community is really top notch and has been extremely helpful and understanding to new users such as myself. I saw a lot more flaming going on in Evo forums.
Finally the hardware: Something overlooked by many, the Epic is way more comfortable to hold. Turns out rounded corners are round for a reason. After browsing the web & xda for about 30 min on the Evo I noticed the center of my palm, right where the bottom corner rests was a tad sore, almost felt bruised. This is not a problem with the Epic with its nicely rounded body and curved back. Also the earpiece is much better on the Epic, its louder clearer and is more comfortable up to the ear. And yes, the samoled screen is worth the 0.3” loss in size.
I wouldn't even consider the Evo Shift at this point. I'm shocked to see so many people recommending it over the Epic which to me is well worth the higher price.

If they fix the keyboard issues, GPS issues, and battery life issues I would agree with you that the Epic 4G is definitely the best phone on Sprint. If a Droid or the iPhone had even one of these issues, all of the media outlets would be up in arms and there would be mass returns. They are all MAJOR issues. For some reason, Samsung is allowed to get away with it on the Galaxy S devices. People are not really returning their devices in large numbers (as far as I know), and all of the reviewers gave the Galaxy S devices very high scores.
The reality is this is essentially a device with alpha or beta quality software on it, that is not getting fixed until at least six months after release. I am not buying Samsung again for mobile phones.

I have to agree with op. Best phone i ever had, and i have had quite a few smartphones. even before official froyo, it runs much smoothr than the few evos i played with. Gps, keyboard is perfect for me. And the screen is amazing.....
Sent from my SPH-D700 using XDA App

Stock Evo vs. Epic battery life is within 5% I would say. I couldn't tell any difference in my usage. Probably because I am almost always within Wi-fi range which makes a big difference.
Keyboard on the Epic doesn't impress, I'll agree with you. Thats probably why I use swype most of the time. It is very handy to punch in passwords though.
GPS is better on the Evo. If you are a road warrior I would avoid the Galexy S line. That said, if you enable GPS & wireless networks it will place you on the map within 30 seconds, but it is definitely not as accurate as the Evo. Supposedly Samsung is working on improvements.
Thanks for bringing up some points I didn't include!

thechicgeak said:
If they fix the keyboard issues, GPS issues, and battery life issues I would agree with you that the Epic 4G is definitely the best phone on Sprint. If a Droid or the iPhone had even one of these issues, all of the media outlets would be up in arms and there would be mass returns. They are all MAJOR issues. For some reason, Samsung is allowed to get away with it on the Galaxy S devices. People are not really returning their devices in large numbers (as far as I know), and all of the reviewers gave the Galaxy S devices very high scores.
The reality is this is essentially a device with alpha or beta quality software on it, that is not getting fixed until at least six months after release. I am not buying Samsung again for mobile phones.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
A. The keyboard is the only legitimate argument you have here.
B. Most users who buy the epic(and yes, the users who root and are members of this forum are the minority) do not see a GPS problem. I didn't even notice one till I started reading this forum and trying to replicate the problem. I have two friends with Epics, and they have never complained of the GPS not working.
C. The battery is no worse than the Evo, and that is a fact. Read on both forums and you will see that everyone gets VERY comparable operating times. Unfortunately with screen this big and clear, you aren't going to get the battery life of other phones. Have you seen the screens on Evo and Epic compared to iphone and droid? They are night and day difference, and the product of that is battery life.
If you go to the Droid forums you will see complaints as well, however because 80% of the public does not have the same demand as the users of forums like this, the complaints are not escalated as highly. The high end techies complain about everything that is not perfect, cause techies are never satisfied, I should know, I am in that boat. However, that does not mean we are holding a inferior piece of hardware/software. Outside of this forum, I have never met a normal person dissatisfied with their Epic or Evo.

I was in a sprint store last week getting a replacement Epic so while waiting i did about 15 seperate 4g bandwidth tests with the floor demo and my replacement Epic comparing it it side to side with the Evo. I'm disappointed to say not only did the Evo best the Epic every time in some instances it nearly doubled the speed. It regularly was 1-3 megabits a second faster and the fastest speed for a Epic was 7.2 megs and the Evo was 10 megs. I also noticed that even though we were in a full coverage area the Epic would go from full to no bars for some unknown reason. The Evo must have a better antenna or the Epic has some reception issues. Has anyone else tested this out?

swanysto said:
...C. The battery is no worse than the Evo, and that is a fact. Read on both forums and you will see that everyone gets VERY comparable operating times. Unfortunately with screen this big and clear, you aren't going to get the battery life of other phones. Have you seen the screens on Evo and Epic compared to iphone and droid? They are night and day difference, and the product of that is battery life...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm going to chime in here and state that the Epic's 45-nm S5PC110 is ~20% more power efficient than the EVO's 65-nm QSD8650. The SAMOLED on the Epic does eat more juice than the EVO's LCD when cranked all the way up or when displaying lots of white pages, but when displaying dark colors and blacks it can sip less energy.

swanysto said:
A. The keyboard is the only legitimate argument you have here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Agreed, the keyboard is junk on this device. I am not sure if it is software, hardware, or both that causes the missed keys. Hopefully it is just software issues...
swanysto said:
B. Most users who buy the epic(and yes, the users who root and are members of this forum are the minority) do not see a GPS problem. I didn't even notice one till I started reading this forum and trying to replicate the problem. I have two friends with Epics, and they have never complained of the GPS not working.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can see how for some people, the GPS issues are not a big deal, but it is for people who do not want to do any sort of hacking whatsoever to help decrease the long lock times. Not the end of the world, I'll grant you that, but my point is that this would not be accepted on any other major mobile phone, so why is it so accepted on the Galaxy S devices? Look at how up in arms people were about the iPhone 4's relatively minor "death grip" problem.
swanysto said:
C. The battery is no worse than the Evo, and that is a fact. Read on both forums and you will see that everyone gets VERY comparable operating times. Unfortunately with screen this big and clear, you aren't going to get the battery life of other phones. Have you seen the screens on Evo and Epic compared to iphone and droid? They are night and day difference, and the product of that is battery life.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When it works as it should, it can have great battery life (mine under DK28 works great and I get around 20 to 30 hours on a charge with moderate usage). That being said, there are problems in the software that, on some phones under certain conditions, cause absurdly bad battery life (10% battery drain or more per hour while idle, which is how mine was until I upgraded to DK28 and how my friends' Fascinates are) and cause the phone to heat up considerably while idle. I have only ever heard of this happening with Galaxy S phones. Either way, frequent updates from Samsung and getting the latest Android release reasonably fast would mitigate this complaint for me, but that doesn't happen, so it is a legitimate complaint.
swanysto said:
If you go to the Droid forums you will see complaints as well, however because 80% of the public does not have the same demand as the users of forums like this, the complaints are not escalated as highly. The high end techies complain about everything that is not perfect, cause techies are never satisfied, I should know, I am in that boat. However, that does not mean we are holding a inferior piece of hardware/software. Outside of this forum, I have never met a normal person dissatisfied with their Epic or Evo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will agree that many people expect too much out of their smart phones. 20 to 30 hours is not enough for many people. That being said, 10 hour battery life doing absolutely nothing with the phone is completely ridiculous, and it is a legitimate software problem with the Galaxy S devices.
EDIT: Some grammar changes

I believe every phone's capabilities have to do with their "abuse" levels. Higher the abuse, lower the satisfaction. And, with higher abuse there will be more frequent visits to the Sprint store than usual.
I got my Epic on the day it came out (8/30/2010) and I have to admit this is a very beautiful phone with nice features. And the custom roms just spice it up even more (with less abuse of course)

If you have 10% drain an hour then you have app issues or something running in the background. On eclair I was getting 60 - 80 hours with no problem. On froyo it has been 20 - 30 hours now with ext 4 its up to 55 hours
Our stock standby time is 300 hours evo is like 200.
Epic 4g Quantum Rom Ext 4

Since im replying from my phone and I don't feel like editing a quote I'll just say that the gps is a MAJOR issue as I was never able to use it until I started having my phone. Considering gps is such a basic feature nowadays that is unacceptable.
Sent from my ext4 Epic 4G running Bonsai4all 1.1.3!

so far so good
I'm always tempted by the path not chosen, but so far the Epic has done everything I've needed it to do.
I drive for a living, and while the GPS does take time to lock, it does lock. Otherwise I can find myself on the map and plot my route on the map to at least start my travels until it does lock. I consider this to be standard GPS protocol :/
I could really care less about the keyboard, but for some reason Sprint has designated the slider as their form factor of choice since the PPC-6700. It misses keys, and I thought it was just me, but I'll just have to factor that in and type more carefully. But only the form factor and the OS have been real temptations for me.
I was in the market to replace my Flip camera, and when i saw the video comparisons between the Evo and the Epic, I knew I would be very disappointed with the Evo. And while it may not matter to some, I appreciate the dedicated 2 step camera button.
I'm also feel I'm in the minority when I say that I really like plug location. I leave the phone plugged in while I drive, and it's nice to not have to stow the phone upside down and have to hold it around the plug. This has been a plus with every Samsung phone I have had, the ability to charge it in the upright position. And I cannot tell you how much I adore the slide cover of the plug.
The screen looks great from any angle even in bright light I can see it better than I could ever see the screen on my TP2.
Now, is the phone light and cheap feeling? Possibly. But I would rather drop a light phone than a heavy phone. Think about it. I already dropped it once trying to take a picture of something on the floor. Wood floor, no harm, lesson learned. But the phone seems well put together, and it should last at least the year before I can upgrade to, whatever.
4G, eh, whatever. I play with it in Chicago, and it's iffy at best. They basically tacked on an extra radio, and I mostly pretend it's not there. However, it does grant the ability to do simultaneous voice and data, which will be a plus if this network ever expands and takes hold.
So even though I am sick to death of waiting for Froyo since I'm checking on it every day, I still know I made the right choice as far as what Sprint has to offer.

docdg said:
I also noticed that even though we were in a full coverage area the Epic would go from full to no bars for some unknown reason.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This happens to me all the time. Months ago there were some posts postulating that this problem may be because the Epic's network defaults to "WCDMA preferred" under the advanced network settings, and WCDMA, despite its name, is actually a protocol for GSM phones, not CDMA phones. The thought is that it preferentially periodically goes looking for these networks it cannot connect to.
I have found that switching this setting to "CDMA auto" causes my "time without signal" to drop from ~50% to about 4%, so there's probably something to that argument. Unfortunately the phone seems to change itself back, especially when it reboots, and in any case I still get the bars dropping away quite often, even after changing this.

Phreddo said:
I'm also feel I'm in the minority when I say that I really like plug location. I leave the phone plugged in while I drive, and it's nice to not have to stow the phone upside down and have to hold it around the plug.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I also like the plug where it is, though I didn't think I would when I got it. It is so much nicer than a bottom or side plug, not only when plugged into the car, but also when plugged in anywhere else, especially at the computer.

I really like my Epic over the Evo. My cuz has an Evo and it looks and feels so big and square, I really don't think I'd like carrying that thing in my pocket, like I carry my Evo. And for me, Evo's screen is actually larger than needed. I lived without a keyboard for two years with my HTC Touch and now, I can't go without a keyboard. I personally find Swype to be inaccurate and I constantly had to make adjustments. I use the android keyboard when not typing on the keyboard.

edonnelly said:
This happens to me all the time. Months ago there were some posts postulating that this problem may be because the Epic's network defaults to "WCDMA preferred" under the advanced network settings, and WCDMA, despite its name, is actually a protocol for GSM phones, not CDMA phones. The thought is that it preferentially periodically goes looking for these networks it cannot connect to.
I have found that switching this setting to "CDMA auto" causes my "time without signal" to drop from ~50% to about 4%, so there's probably something to that argument. Unfortunately the phone seems to change itself back, especially when it reboots, and in any case I still get the bars dropping away quite often, even after changing this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I too noticed that in the settings. When I switch to CDMA auto, the bars were almost always full or close to full even when I was in areas that historically gave me a bad signal. Unfortunately, the phone swtiches back to WCDMA and I go back to my normal, high-and-low signal.

One final note as I am actually switching to an evo today. On the topic of task killers the one included with the epic is crap. It does not show programs samsung does not want you ending and so I've always used advanced task killer. To me GPS that works and manufacturer support far outweigh the need for a manufacturer supplied task killer.
Sent from my ext4 Epic 4G running Bonsai4all 1.1.3!

kenvan19 said:
One final note as I am actually switching to an evo today. On the topic of task killers the one included with the epic is crap. It does not show programs samsung does not want you ending and so I've always used advanced task killer. To me GPS that works and manufacturer support far outweigh the need for a manufacturer supplied task killer.
Sent from my ext4 Epic 4G running Bonsai4all 1.1.3!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I'm switching to the Epic but I haven't considered the GPS issue. I just assume I'll get a good one. lol. To me, the screen, the still and video camera are reasons to switch. Though the dev community doesn't seem as robust for Epic and the manufacturer support clearly isn't there as well.

dwd3885 said:
I think I'm switching to the Epic but I haven't considered the GPS issue. I just assume I'll get a good one. lol. To me, the screen, the still and video camera are reasons to switch. Though the dev community doesn't seem as robust for Epic and the manufacturer support clearly isn't there as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can get GPS working you just have to be on DK28. If you like the phone by all means get it. It comes down to opinions and my opinion is that there really isn't anything I like about the Epic. Its got great graphics and a good camera but I have a 42" flatscreen+a PS3 for gaming and I have a 12mp camera for pictures, I don't need my phone to do those things. Sure, having a hardware keyboard is great but considering I have to slow my typing speed down so I don't miss letters and how much I've come to love swype I don't really want/need it anymore. I've said this in the Evo Shift vs Epic thread and I'll say it here: Go try both phones. If you like one more than the other, buy it. Manufacturers and Carriers are always going to skew their descriptions and spec sheets to get you to buy something, so just go with what you want.

jbadboy2007 said:
If you have 10% drain an hour then you have app issues or something running in the background. On eclair I was getting 60 - 80 hours with no problem. On froyo it has been 20 - 30 hours now with ext 4 its up to 55 hours
Our stock standby time is 300 hours evo is like 200.
Epic 4g Quantum Rom Ext 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not quite sure exactly what it is, but it seems to be restricted to Galaxy S phones. I spent quite a lot of time trying to figure out what was causing it on my phone, and while I have heard of people like you who got good battery life in 2.1, everyone I know who has a Galaxy S device has this issue. Judging by the fact that for me and others, 2.2 has cleared up the issue, I am guessing there is a fix specifically for this in that update.
For the record, I once ran logcat to see if I could pinpoint the issue. It seemed that Google Sync was querying Google's servers CONSTANTLY even though I had configured to push in GMail, so it could be an issue with Android or the GMail app itself, but why it seems to manifest on Galaxy S devices with alarming frequency is beyond me.

All Evo Shift 4G owners please read and respond

I am looking at purchasing a Shift 4G for my mom to upgrade her from her POS blackberry. I currently have the Big Brother to the Shift (the Supersonic), and absolutely love it, I won't give it up for anything, but my mom would be more suited to an iPhone, however sprint doesn't have the iPhone, and I get a 23% discount through my job.
Could several people respond about the Shift please:
1. Average battery life (moderate usage)
2. Size and Feel of the phone for day to day use
3. How does the keyboard feel for texting
4. How smooth does this redesigned Sense OS feel
5. How well does the camera operate
6. Does the screen size feel ok if you use the touchscreen instead of the slideout KB.
I would prefer non-rooted people to respond to these since I won't be rooting her phone. I want to hear all responses both good, and bad.

So you want us to do the research for you?
^ Shift Faced

Lol yup. Go to the store and play with one. Read the reviews online.

I have my phone rooted but nothing major done to it..even rooting it was easy under the right posts and take from here and there and waa laa it worked great, however; i love this phone..a lot..my first android was a G1 and second a Hero(CDMA) and now this..I have been trying to find something more like the G1..The hero felt like a downgrade and now this phone excites me about the new frontier of android. I OC'd my hero with no avail and to be out performed by phones like the droid and ah whatever..it seems to me this phone is the benchmark of performance and as for your questions:
1. I feel as though I get about 12 hours..when I use it to play games and stuff maybe 6-8
2. I enjoy the keyboard..both physical KB and onscreen..I use both cause I came from a hero with no physical kb but i really like both
3. both KB's work great on texting..i prefer the physical for when I have longer messages to write because its faster IMO, even so the virtual has no lag either.
4. Compared to the Sense UI from the Hero this phone is a HUGE improvement..when I first got my phone I was really impressed with the improvements to the UI because it seemed HTC logged on XDA and got all of our gripes then fixed them
5. I finally used the camera this weekend to take pictures for making invitations to my son's birthday party and I was impressed with the facial recognition. Its 5MP so its no Cannon or Sony but it still does a great job with facial recognition and all
6. As I said earlier I use both and the I have no problem with the screen size interfering with the kb..

The phone feels perfect in your hand. Almost like your holding something other than a phone. The sense UI is great, very smooth and fast. The camera also is great. The still picture quality could be improved if you want to be nit picky, however 720p recording is so amazing. The hardware keyboard is very nice and fast as well. I like it better than my blackberry tour. I would recommend this phone to anyone, anyplace, anytime.

I also have evo, and also was considering picking up a shift for my mom (she has a Samsung moment that is barely functional), I went into sprint store and was able to play with one just a little bit. Was not that impressed, sadly (and I'm a big HTC fan).
Mostly, I felt the HW keyboard was almost unusable (I kept mashing multiple buttons at the same time), yet the HW keyboard is what I thought was supposed to be the attraction to otherwise would-be evo buyers.
As for OP 'wanting others to do his research for him', that's not the case at all, he wants to hear from people who have had more than just a few moments with the shift. Give the guy a break.
***maybe I just can't type well- yet I have no issues typing on my evo ****
Sent from my virus infected and nuggified evo using XDA App

I ordered the Shift ready to exchange it for an Evo at the drop of a hat if I didn't like it, but after a while I'm really happy with this phone. It really doesn't get enough credit for how good it is.
The battery life is good enough that I can use it for moderate-heavy use of texting and internet and still have 1/4 of the battery left at the end of the day. I haven't ever used the 4G though, and I imagine that would change things up.
I came a from a Hero, and the Shift is slightly thicker and taller. It feels pretty sturdy, similar to a Droid. If you're looking for iPhone aesthetic you might be disappointed here.
Not a big fan of the keyboard, or keyboards in general really, so I can't really judge this. I find myself using the on-screen KB most of the time, and it works great. If you're curious, the sliding mechanism is the same used in the Droid and not like the G2's snap out hinge. Definitely prefer this, as the keyboard usually stays shut.
As it happens I don't really like Sense either, but it seems to operate the same as it did on the Hero (and probably the Evo.) It's fast and the widgets are cool, so if you like Sense then I guess you'll really dig it. Myself, I'll take Launcher Pro any day.
The camera is really excellent for a phone. Pictures are taken as fast as an iPhone and saved to your SD before you know it. Image quality isn't amazing and the flash function is sorta just there, but this is to be expected.
I'm really happy with this phone. While I would have preferred a Shift without a keyboard, I'm not at all bothered.

I don't have the time to give a lot of info, but I was really surprised last night.
My phone had been unplugged for almost 24 hours, with average (working most of the day) not heavy as normal usage, and i still had 40% battery left.
Coming from the Moment, this phone is so amazing. And even after seeing how my girlfriend's rooted Evo works, it's still pretty amazing.

herbthehammer said:
Lol yup. Go to the store and play with one. Read the reviews online.
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Click to collapse
I have gone to the store and played with it, I have had my mom check it out as well, she said it seemed ok, I thought it felt like crap, the slider was stiff, the screen didnt rotate to adjust for the keyboard being kicked out. I had these issues with it on 3 different display models at 2 different stores (one sprint store, one best buy), Which is why I asked the new shift community to chime in, if it was left up to my impression at the store, i would say the phone is a piece of **** that shouldn't be sold to consumers. However I doubt that is the case, and I wanted feedback from people who already own one.

Khilbron said:
I am looking at purchasing a Shift 4G for my mom to upgrade her from her POS blackberry. I currently have the Big Brother to the Shift (the Supersonic), and absolutely love it, I won't give it up for anything, but my mom would be more suited to an iPhone, however sprint doesn't have the iPhone, and I get a 23% discount through my job.
Could several people respond about the Shift please:
1. Average battery life (moderate usage)
2. Size and Feel of the phone for day to day use
3. How does the keyboard feel for texting
4. How smooth does this redesigned Sense OS feel
5. How well does the camera operate
6. Does the screen size feel ok if you use the touchscreen instead of the slideout KB.
I would prefer non-rooted people to respond to these since I won't be rooting her phone. I want to hear all responses both good, and bad.
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Click to collapse
have you read anything in these forums at all? wtf

Khilbron said:
I have gone to the store and played with it, I have had my mom check it out as well, she said it seemed ok, I thought it felt like crap, the slider was stiff, the screen didnt rotate to adjust for the keyboard being kicked out. I had these issues with it on 3 different display models at 2 different stores (one sprint store, one best buy), Which is why I asked the new shift community to chime in, if it was left up to my impression at the store, i would say the phone is a piece of **** that shouldn't be sold to consumers. However I doubt that is the case, and I wanted feedback from people who already own one.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the slider is stiff in the store probably due to the protective plastic still being around the keyboard. Otherwise it's very nice (except mine, which is really loose).
The screen rotates just fine when the keyboard is opened. It takes a half-second, but it rotates on all screens, except perhaps the facebook app.
I would actually say this phone is similar build quality to the evo, if not better. It's also the smaller form, which many people like. Not to mention the fact that it has more potential to be OC'd and if the dev's can figure it out, the potential to be a major powerhouse.

foxsdaddy67 said:
have you read anything in these forums at all? wtf
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Click to collapse
*sarcasm* No of course I haven't *sarcasm*, however I don't think you have, the first 7 pages of this 11 page subforum are filled with people complaining about broken hinges, bad sliders, charging problems, ect... which is why I put this thread up, I want to see the positive feedback, I want a reason to buy this phone as a gift for my mother. Generally the praise is left out of the forums, and the help me this is Borked takes over. I Love HTC phones, and as I am sitting I don't have a good reason to select this phone for her or go el cheapo and get her an optimus or an intercept.

First off, I think the EVO is a solid device...one of the few on Sprint.
I really like the EVO Shift better. It has a 2nd generation processor in it so it's slightly faster than the regular EVO w/being on a stock rom. I have not done it but heard it's a beast running the modified over clocked kernel.
Keyboard does get some getting used to, and I find myself using the on-screen keyboard for short text messages and the hardware keyboard on longer emails. HTC is know for durability and extended life (compared to other *cough* Kyocera) so I'm not too worried about the keyboard being extended.
I love to hate Sense UI...there are some features that are amazing and other's that just...well, yack.
The volume key's are always getting in my way, but I just have to "de-program" myself and get used to it. I've only had the Shift for a couple days, so I'll let my body catch up.
Did I mention how fast this device is? That is...even running stock!
I haven't heard it mentioned but I think the battery cover is a nuisance and feels cheap. If I had to do a sliding scale scoring on this device, without any industry experience, I would give it a 8/10 - from a consumer review

Mom, grandma, aunt, female cousin, sister, daughter, niece...when will the madness end? Boys and men, start buying these phones for yourselves!

foxsdaddy67 said:
have you read anything in these forums at all? wtf
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Click to collapse
Exactly what I was thinking. Do some research for yourself.
powered by the tears of a million orphaned alpacas...

I've said it before and I will say it again. A decent android phone that wont break the bank or make you pay the extra ten bucks a month and for someone that isn't a power user is the LG optimus.
Yeah going from a moment to a shift is, form factor wise, about the same so there wouldn't be much to adjust to operating differently besides no cursor button.
Knowing what I do now, if I couldn't afford a top tier phone and monthly bill, I'd go with the little LG. People are giving it very good ratings on sprint's site.
With the screen not going landscape, maybe in screen settings it was turned off. Plus people probably install all kinds of crap on the display phones it bogs it down and lags terribly.

herbthehammer said:
I've said it before and I will say it again. A decent android phone that wont break the bank or make you pay the extra ten bucks a month and for someone that isn't a power user is the LG optimus
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Click to collapse
All new smartphone activations will have the $10 fee now, you might as well get a 4G phone.
Sent from my HTC Evo Shift 4G using the XDA app.

wardfan220 said:
All new smartphone activations will have the $10 fee now, you might as well get a 4G phone.
Sent from my HTC Evo Shift 4G using the XDA app.
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So regardless if the phone is 4g or not, they are gonna charge an extra ten bucks a month?

herbthehammer said:
So regardless if the phone is 4g or not, they are gonna charge an extra ten bucks a month?
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Yup. There is a post here about it somewhere. I'm in my phone so I don't have a link atm.
Sent from my HTC Evo Shift 4G using the XDA app.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/18/sprint-data-plan-fees_n_810279.html
^ Shift Faced