No Android phone for me yet. ; Although I am able to run Android on my windows mobile phone using an interesting procedure that doesn't require monkeying with the firmware, so I can play with it and then reboot to windows mobile. ; It's not ideal, but it works and has let me test out Android.
But given my commentary on AT&T's shenanigans with the Ipad service pricing I kinda wanted to comment here too.
I'm a Sprint user, and for Sprint all talk is about the HTC EVO 4g. ; So far I'm favoring it over the Incredible anyway. ; It's got a larger screen, I like that. ; I'd want to check it out in person first though, some are suggesting it's too big, and I'm going to need to get my hands on it to really see how big it is. ; But it's similar enough to the Incredible, with the same CPU and the same screen resolution.
So given what I said about AT&T, it's only fair I mention the downside of the EVO. ; Sprint is charging an arbitrary $10 monthly fee for EVO users that has become known as the EVO tax. ; The official term is the "rich data fee". ; Initially it was thought to be a fee for the 4g network, but it's being charged no matter what network you use. ; Even if you live in an area not served by it you're still being charged it. ; Basically Sprint finally got a big name phone that everybody wants and they're adding a monthly fee for the privilege of using it. ; It's kinda like the Iphone tax, where AT&T Iphone customers have to pay more for their service because AT&T has to pay Apple a monthly fee for every Iphone customer they have, except in this case Sprint has no such overhead and gets to pocket the full amount.
So with the talk of AT&T putting a usage cap on their network, it's only fair to mention that Sprint advertises their service as unlimited but the stories going around say that if you go over 5gb a month they'll cripple your connection speeds. ; So at least I have to give AT&T credit for being honest.. at least except for that bit about letting the Ipad come out with the incredibly cheap unlimited service to generate buzz and then changing the deal almost as soon as the Ipad had gotten into people's hands and they'd payed the significant extra cost for the 3g connectivity with the expectation of the unlimited service terms.
But the EVO is getting good reviews too, and this is actually the first I've heard of the Incredible. ; I peeked at the specs of the incredible and I like the sound of the optical joystick for on screen navigation. ; Is that like a solid state trackball that tracks your finger moving over it as a replacement for cursor keys? ; I very much approve of that concept. ; One of the things I don't care for about the EVO is the basic lack of hardware keys, including cursor keys.
I'll just say it. ; I don't like using my finger on a touch screen. ; I come from the stylus era and I liked it that way. ; This trend towards making screens that won't even work with normal styluses hasn't set well with me. ; Look, my finger has oil on it, I touch and drag it over the screen and I get smears over the screen. ; This seems like a bad idea. ; I still happily use the stylus on my phone, and when I'm not using that I use the cursor keys to navigate through many things.
Otherwise the EVO appears to differ also in having a front facing camera for video calling. ; The video calling is done with a program called Qik. ; It also serves as a sort of youtube for mobile users, you can stream videos to their website for live or at least near live playback by others, and they get saved for later playback as well. ; Big deal? ; Probably not, but it's kind of a nifty gimmick at least. ; Note that Qik is available for other Android phones too, but the video calling feature is said to be exclusive to the EVO "for now". ; I can actually get Qik for my current windows mobile phone, apparently, but I haven't tried to do it yet.
Also the word is that the EVO gets poor battery life when using the 4g connection. ; Supposedly Sprint is actually advising people to turn it off to optimize battery life. ; That does concern me. ; I read of people having to recharge their Motorola Droids halfway through their day and thought how I'd never find that acceptable. ; If I can get a full day's use in on 3g I guess I'd find that acceptable though. ; That's typically fast enough for my needs. ; I do live in one of the few areas served by Sprint's 4g network at the moment, so at least I'd have the option if I wanted it.
So sorry I can't offer firsthand experience on this phone.. I probably won't be likely to acquire it before October when my contract expires and Sprint offers the full discount off the phone's retail price to try to entice me into another contract. ; But with all the talk about the Incredible I had to offer some support for the EVO. ; Given the choice between the two I'm actually glad Sprint went with the EVO, finally I get a crack at the phone I really actually want instead of the best of what's left as offered by Sprint.
Yes.. even with that blasted EVO tax, the extra fee that pays for NOTHING but the right to use a phone that I would have already purchased on a service plan that I already pay for, I'm still looking to get this phone. ; I've largely decided that I'm jumping the Windows Mobile ship, the next generation of their phone OS, known as Windows Phone 7, is looking all wrong for my tastes. ; It's like they're trying to be Apple, making a locked down phone that restricts what developers can do and forces all applications to be approved by them before they're distributed through their online app store. ; Oh I know, everyone loves the convenience of the app store, but I checked and Android does indeed allow third party apps that didn't come from the store to be installed.