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I am officially an iPhone defector. The HTC EVO 4G<\/a> running Android is now living in my pocket.<\/p>\n Picked mine up about 9AM Friday at a Best Buy store not far from me and even then the Sprint activation system was feeling the burn<\/a> as countless others also grabbed a little piece of the future.\u00a0 It took about an hour and multiple attempts as the system kept kicking back “Service Unavailable” errors.\u00a0 The port finally went through and I was out the door.\u00a0 5 minutes after that the EVO was hot.<\/p>\n I still think the iPhone is a great handset but with the issues of AT&T network reliability – especially when it comes to handling calls – the iPhone has a clear weakness or two.\u00a0 Yes, I suppose it is an internet device but it is also a phone<\/em>, right?\u00a0 Apple also has this exclusive deal with AT&T and now it seems they are stuck with a partner that is getting a reputation for being the least reliable wireless network<\/a>. And who can forget AT&T’s announcement of the elimination of unlimited data on iPhones, iPads and other AT&T devices<\/a>.\u00a0 Bad move. Bad timing.\u00a0 I had to go. But please don’t tell AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now I am a Sprint customer and happy with my new digital friend.\u00a0 I will be paying close attention to the performance of the EVO and the “Now” network, whatever that means and with some upcoming travel I get to try things away from my home network.\u00a0 Here are a few things about the EVO 4G that I have noticed in the few hours that I have had it in my possession.\u00a0 Concerns I share with other potential iPhone converts I’m sure:<\/p>\n The comparative size to the iPhone is a non-issue.\u00a0 Both are about the same thickness and width.\u00a0 The EVO is maybe 1\/4 inch taller than the iPhone (by the way, the EVO turns that into about 1 inch of extra screen width that really highlights the wasted space on the iPhone surface and the new iPhone screen is rumored to be even smaller than the current 3GS screen<\/a>. For me, the EVO actually ends up being smaller <\/em>than the iPhone.<\/em> How does that magic trick work?\u00a0 I have an extra slab of power in the form of a Mophie Juice Pack<\/a> – that’s a slide on case with a built-in battery.\u00a0 When your iPhone battery is gasping for breath, turn this little monster on and it will charge the iPhone battery.\u00a0 If you travel with the iPhone it’s a great setup but it makes the iPhone twice<\/em> the thickness of the EVO and just about an 1\/8″ taller.\u00a0 I’ve been carrying a small brick around with me.\u00a0 If you are an iPhone user considering the EVO 4G and you’re concerned about size, don’t be.\u00a0 I know how the pictures posted in various places online look but this is something you have to feel.\u00a0 In your hand.\u00a0 In your pocket.<\/p>\n Nope, it isn’t. It’s a different experience but one that is just as satisfying as iPhone OS.\u00a0 HTC Sense running on Android 2.1 is just as intuitive as the iPhone when you first fired it up.\u00a0 After all this time with the iPhone, you know where stuff is and you know how it works.\u00a0 This is like when you move into a new house and you can’t find the light switch.\u00a0 You have to take an extra look, you have to think about for a bit, and then you find it. After a short period of time you figure it out.<\/p>\n iPhone and Mac OSX use MobileMe.\u00a0 HTC Evo 4G uses Google.\u00a0 A little thought will make the transition pretty quick.\u00a0 Never have been a PC guy so Mac users, first – BACK UP YOUR ADDRESS BOOK AND iCAL DATA!!!!<\/strong> If you goof the conversion you can always fix it. Since my wife and I now both have Android phones, we sync and share the same data.\u00a0 I chose to create a new Gmail account for the sole purpose of syncing contacts and calendars and use Spanning Sync<\/a> which will do a two-way sync between Address Book and iCal on your Mac. Then both phones are signed into the same account – which I learned is not the same as signing into an email account.\u00a0 If you follow the setup wizard you’ll be just fine.<\/p>\n The only comment I can make at this early stage is that the EVO battery seems to be comparable to my experience with the iPhone battery.\u00a0 When I bought the EVO, I got all the same tips I got with my iPhone 3G and 3GS when I bought those.\u00a0 Turn everything off.\u00a0 Turn off WiFi. Turn off 3G.\u00a0 Turn off GPS. Turn off Bluetooth. Don’t use the web browser on days when the temperature is about 85.\u00a0 Ask for directions before turning on Navigation.\u00a0\u00a0 All the same crap.<\/p>\n It’s basically turn off the lights when you leave the room but I do think it odd that there is not a power management setting to handle this stuff.<\/p>\nIt’s Too Big<\/h3>\n
It’s not an iPhone<\/h3>\n
Syncing Data<\/h3>\n
Battery Sucks<\/h3>\n