My HTC EVO 3D Review on the Rogers Website

"Some things are good some are cheap!

I have used the EVO 3D intensively since September 2011.

First off, the contacts don't pair with my BMW. The Bluetooth will pair, but to initiate a call I must use the device, not the car's address book. My iPhone 3GS paired contacts perfectly.

Second, the camera sensor is dreadful. It doesn't perceive light well at all and photos come out looking artificial and very two dimensional. Forget about the 3D feature, it's a gimmick that I tired of in several days. There is an App on the Market that improves the camera vastly, so that improved I'm now okay with with that.

Third, the microphone and speaker are horrible. When I want to record my daughter playing her flute or my jazz quartet the mic balance is bad and the playback is shrill and unbalanced. My 3GS did that better. Much better.

Fourth: Android OS. If you're new to Android better be ready, the Android Market is the wild, wild west. It seems the whole OS is still in Beta format. I kind of expected that, but not to the degree that it it really is. Many of the apps that I was comfortable with in iOS are poorly recreated in Android. Also, syncing photos and music is very comparable to moving files around on a PC. If you're used to or still use iTunes, it isn't as straightforward. Also, Angry Birds is only available in Free version, and the ads litter the screen and make some levels impossible to achieve.

Fifth: no 'instagram' (but they're working on an Android app) and no Runmeter. Although there are other GPS exercise apps, the GPS was very inaccurate, sometimes showing my track as going through backyards and leaping over rooftops. I gave up on the EVO as an exercise helper and bought a GPS watch instead. Oh, my 3GS was always perfectly accurate when out training, that using Runmeter.

I won't complain about battery life because these smartphones drain batteries, fact of life.
The positives?

First: Android OS. It's very customizable. The live wallpapers are really cool, and if you like you can set up the file management exactly the way you like. Widgets give you immediate access to toggles like brightness, wi-fi, and other minor but oft-changed items. Notifications are very good, one swipe downwards and you see everything.

Second, the screen size is nice. Also, when you're reading an Internet page all you have to do is pinch and the letters get bigger in an article and the margins change. Apple's iOS5 has the "Reader" but Android's way of dealing is better.

Third: The processor is super fast. That and 4G. I use my EVO 3D as a wi-fi hotspot for my wife's iPad and it really works well.

Well, looks like the bad outweigh the good, eh? Why don't I change it? I like the pinch reading feature on internet pages. I like the bigger screen. And I guess I don't change it because I've got it.

But the combination of the cheap camera, recording/speaker and lousy GPS tracking make it a phone that is not worth its cost."

So after I wrote this I review I went out and switched back to the iPhone 4S. I'm happy again, I guess the big ol' Android phone and OS just weren't for me!