In July, I decided to jump in at the deep end and switch carriers. As I looked at what phones were available I decided to try one which used Google Android. Previously, I have used Blackberry and Windows based phones, so I thought I would go for something new.
The HTC Evo 4G has been a very pleasant surprise. The reaction times for things like “tilt to landscape” and locking the phone screen off when on a call has been fantastic. However, several months into its use I have discovered some issues which cannot be overlooked.
1. Synchronizing the phone book from Outlook/Exchange with the Android OS reveals that Android 2.2 is not capable of handling extension numbers unless you hard code a comma or w into the number. This doesn’t work for me as this is my work phone with lots of corporate numbers in which use extensions. Also putting in the hard code just switches the problem round to Outlook when I put the numbers back into the system because I have a two-way sync.
2. While it is great to have the HotSpot facility it is a pain if you forget to turn it off. I forgot to turn it off last night, fired up my laptop which had been connected to it earlier in the day and then wondered why phone died from a lack of juice.
3. The weather app which I really like, can’t be resized so I can fit a couple of additional apps onto my front page. It is either the weather or some other key apps. Weather loses!
Speed wise, functionality wise though, this phone is excellent and the only thing holding it back is the slow roll out of 4G by Sprint in the NYC and NJ area.