Just want to say thanks to everyone for the advice in this thread... as always, extremely helpful. Most of my concerns about Sprint were resolved by experiences in this thread, and the big ones (reception at home and monthly rate) were helped by the mention of the femtocell and the Sprint employee referral program (thank you adeelsiddiqui and Invisible Fan). Of course, now the problem is the HTC Evo is out of stock online, which is where I have to buy it to get the referral rate. They're trying to sell me on the Epic, but I'm not sure... kind of in wait-and-see mode hoping the Evo comes back into stock in the next week.
clutch, the overwhelming positive review for the Evo is due to it being a breakthrough 4g phone, the Epic is not bad to say the least review: http://gizmodo.com/5613501/sprint-epic-4g-review-the-best-4g-phone and you can get it for the same price @ $199 over at amazon http://gizmodo.com/5625879/samsung-epic-4g-available-for-199-on-amazon
Not sure about the above location. However, I did get a 4G connection at the First Colony Cheesecake Factory last week.
Does the EPIC suffer from the same MS BING integration that the Fascinate from Verizon? I would get the EPIC 4G due to the screen and the physical keyboard but I read so many bad things about the touchwiz interface and how Verizon integrated BING search instead of the google search.
Thanks, Royals Ego ... I spent a lot of time comparing the two, and the super amoled screen on the Epic is very tempting. The QWERTY keyboard would help a guy like me (can type fast but can't text worth a damn), but I'd probably prefer to just start training myself on the virtual keyboard. As for the Evo, I mainly like the bigger size of the screen, but the 8 megapixel camera (vs. 5 for the Epic) and HDMI out are helpful too. If I don't see the Evo in the next week though I'll probably jump on the Epic. The Amazon price is great, but in order to get the referral rate ($10 less a month, waived activation fee) that Invisible Fan mentioned, you have to buy the phone through Sprint.com.
I'm leaning towards the Epic when I'm up for renewals. Pretty bulky phone, but it has a processor comparable to the Iphone4. Snapdragon, while very good, is the weakest among the latest generation. The EVO's front facing camera is better (1.3 megapixel over VGA for Epic), and it doesn't have a GPS bug Galaxy S phones have right now. Plus there's already instructions to hack the EVO to make it a hotspot without paying extra. It's a tough choice. Epic has great stats on paper, but reliability hasn't been proven. The Evo's been out longer and the user impressions have been stellar so far.
your entire decision is based upon the manufacturer... if i had to choose the brand, i'd choose HTC over samsung... while i havent owned any HTC phones in the past, i have had samsung, and they stink so there is another point of view for your decision
That's a good point but people also weigh their decision on the OS since smartphones are heavily dependent on them, many have sworn off Windows Mobile while Android has been coming on strong.
both EVO and epic are running android OS, albeit, EVO is already on froyo(2.2) if it's up to me, i'd get the EVO, cuz epic is just ugly and its made by samsung i definitely wouldnt want to 'settle' on a phone with a 2yr contract
I just got my Droid X this week along with a new Verizon Contract. This is absolutley the best phone I've ever owned. There is no slow time, it doesn't drag, resolution is amazing, call coverage is great so far. I connect it to my sling box and watch TV while i'm stuck in traffic, from time to time i get stuck in an area with bad 3G coverage and I dont stream that well but just for normal internet use, you shouldn't have problems. I don't think you can go wrong with the EVO either, i think the two are pretty comparable, all have the same features pretty much. If Verizon is more expensive, I would probably just go with sprint and the EVO since it's 4G, I hear the 4G is not lights years faster than 3 G but it is a faster connection at a lower cost. I hear Sprint for the most part is reliable. Tmobile sucks, I am trying to get out of a contract with them, dropped calls constantly.
Thanks again everyone for all the help. I was able to get the HTC Evo with Sprint -- I've only had it for a short time but, so far, I love the thing. I'm trying to decide which screen protector to go with. Sprint does have some problems at my place, though not as much as T-Mobile did. I bounce between 0-2 bars. I'll call Sprint and see if I can get the Airave. In Verizon's defense, they are the only network that worked flawlessly in my house.
Yeah, I hear ya. I have a case, but no screen protector yet. I'm literally using the packaging one that has Sprint lettering all over it. I was going to do Invisible Shield with an install at Best Buy and have heard they are great protecting the screen, but some complain about the feel of them and that it hurts the sensitivity. So I think I'm going to go with Phantom Skinz. I was going with the EPRP program that Invisible Fan posted. If you go with Sprint straight up, then see if where you work gets a discount. HEB employees, for example, get 25% off their monthly bill.
Unfortunately Sprint just took away the Employee discounts from lines 3-5... I have 5 lines with Sprint and was paying like $160... They just took away the discount and now I am paying an extra 25% on 3 lines Still a better deal than the others...
Hey EVO users dont forget to update your phones...a new software update is out fixes minor bugs plus the framerate cap has been lifted. Best phone on the market ...
New Sprint user here.. Actually bought 3 sprint Evos for Wifey and 2 daughters... My wife has been a Iphone user since the 1st generation and she absolutely loves the Evo.. I thought the big screen would be to big but she actually enjoys it more.. 4g rocks where you have service and voice quality is ok so far.. Pros: Beautiful screen, Fast UI Ability to Root ( I have free mifi now ) Best data plan from any carrier also the best family plan... Great camera 8mp Cons: Size really... You kinda have to be extra careful because it feels like in can break easily if dropped (but that is the same with a lot of phones) Call quality sometimes gets a 7 out of a 10 in some parts... Not really robotic sounding but more like the person sound a great distance away... Not totally clear... Still beats T-mobile (which I have from work) where I get dropped calls everyday (Not the phone but there service) Also I noticed that Sprints 3g seems faster than ATT's.. Sorry can't really comment on Verizon because that is the only carrier I don't have but my cousin likes them a lot.. Just remember that if you ever travel abroad you can't really take the phone because they are CDMA technologies.
I recently made the switch from T-Mobile to Sprint just last week, and made my Epic purchase through Amazon. So far I must say the phone is really pretty awesome. I love everything about it, including the option to use a slide out keyboard and the front-facing cam. Does anyone know whether I can use Skype on these phones? Any other solid video conferencing apps that I can get people to use to talk to me? Moe
