Sprint HTC EVO 4G

Dave Siciliano

Dave Siciliano

Final Approach
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Feb 27, 2005
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Dallas, Texas
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Dave Siciliano
We're pretty worn out with Verizon. They have been adding a bunch of small charges that we have to correct each month and just billed me for international calls to a sat phone at $6.00 per minute.

I've used AT&T before and going back would be an absolute last resort for me.

Soooo, Sprints seems to have a pretty good deal and this new phone sounds really interesting. I don't travel a lot, but would like reasonable connections when I do. Not much international if any. I know Sprint has some coverage issues, but the locations I frequent are shown to have reasonable connections on their coverage map.

Would appreciate any thoughts on moving to this.

Best,

Dave
 
I don't have direct experience with that phone, but I do have a BlackBerry that uses Sprint's EVDO service.

My usual travel area encompasses the lower tier of New York State, pretty much all of New Jersey, Southwestern Connecticut, and parts of Pennsylvania (Philly to Allentown, roughly).

I have only once found myself out of range of a usable EVDO signal, and that was at my parents' home, in an Upstate New York hamlet with a population of 214 people, slightly more cows, and a few sheep.

I did have a usable EVDO signal about 300 yards down the road from their house, by the way.

It's probable that there are other "dead spots," but I haven't noticed them. YMMV.

-Rich
 
Just and FYI the EVDO is 3G. The 4G in the HTC phone is WiMAX. That coverage is not nationwide yet. But the speed blows away 3G EVDO.
 
The other advice is good, but let me add my experiences...

I have a Sprint EvDO air card. My experiences are not so good: at LAX, I've seen latencies of 1400 ms on speed tests (meaning horribly slow internet). In my office near DC, the card periodically drops from EvDO to 1xRTT, which "hangs" the internet connection and requires me to shut down their software, remove the USB card, plug it back in, and reestablish the connection. The connection drop outs occur randomly from 20 minutes to 5 hours or more.

My experience with Sprint's customer service has been horrid.... and when I bought the card, they wanted $79 per month if I wanted to do a year contract, but only $59 if I did 2 years.

Watch out for their pricing. On that EVO, they are going to charge you $10/month extra data charges (for 4G, I suppose), and they want you on a $69/month+ plan. It's $30 more to be able to use the wifi tethering.

I would also bet that you get charged, like Verizon did, for those calls to a satellite phone - on a number of the satellite plans, it's "calling party pays", meaning that you get charged if you call them.

I've recently ordered a Verizon Incredible rather than the EVO. Verizon ain't perfect, but the coverage beats Sprint, and the pricing allows me to use a cheaper voice plan w/the $30/month data add-on. Tethering is an additional $30/month (or you can use a program to accomplish much the same thing). When I added it up, I'm $20/month cheaper with the Verizon phone than I would have been doing it on Sprint.

Sprint does have cheaper early termination fees on the contracts, but they make it up in other ways.

Oh, one other thing: I don't know whether the EVO uses the same Samsung display as the Incredible, but if it does, expect massive backorders. Verizon is quoting 3+ weeks from order to delivery.

None of 'em are particularly good, but folks have been fleeing Sprint like rats off a sinking ship for some time now.

4G is great, but it's quite limited. ANd it sucks the battery dry very quickly.
 
wsuffa said:
4G is great, but it's quite limited. ANd it sucks the battery dry very quickly.
Click to expand...
FWIW Spint's 4G is also not run by Sprint. They are essentially just an MVNO for Clear's 4G WiMax system. The BSSs are combined and I don't have any comment, pro or con, to make about either company.
 
ScottM said:
FWIW Spint's 4G is also not run by Sprint. They are essentially just an MVNO for Clear's 4G WiMax system. The BSSs are combined and I don't have any comment, pro or con, to make about either company.
Click to expand...

Clearwire.

And yep, I got that. Sprint is big in the MVNO business & owns a number of brands (like Virgin's prepaid service here).

Still, the customer service, software, and billing issues are Sprint's, as are the 3G issues.

Dallas is supposed to have 4G coverage in some areas. Clearwire just lit DC, but only parts, and Verizon has "owned" the coverage within the subway system for a long time (that will be changing over the next 2 years).
 
Looks like a pretty nice machine, although the short battery life would make me nuts.
 
Thanks folks. Nice article Scott. Alex, although your article didn't show it, 4G is big in Dallas. We'll just have to see where the hot spots are.
I think we're going to try it just to trade all the problems with Verizon for new ones, sigh.

They all seem to want to pay crappy little games where they really try to add things to one's bill. Just finished the letter to the FCC, FTC, BBB, State AG and PUC regarding Verizon's ridiculous billing policies. Maybe that will keep some folks busy there for awhile. I'm sure there will be an after market battery for this machine. I'll get a car adapter also.

This trade phones every two years for a new contract really gripes me. There is no incentive to make a phone last as I have. Many places offer lower rates if you pay for your phone: AT&T, Verizon and Sprint don't do that (unless one pre-pays) as best I can determine.

Best,

Dave
 
Dave Siciliano said:
I think we're going to try it just to trade all the problems with Verizon for new ones, sigh.
Click to expand...

That's about the size of it. Pick a carrier -- any carrier -- and you'll find someone with a gripe about 'em.

I seem to recall a recent Sprint TV ad touting a no-questions-asked 30-day trial period. Wonder what the fine print is.
 
rpadula said:
I seem to recall a recent Sprint TV ad touting a no-questions-asked 30-day trial period. Wonder what the fine print is.
Click to expand...

They will all do that.

The problem comes if you port your number over and want to return to your previous carrier. GOTCHA.:yikes:
 
wsuffa said:
They will all do that.

The problem comes if you port your number over and want to return to your previous carrier. GOTCHA.:yikes:
Click to expand...
Out of curiosity - how? You can just walk in the your previous carrier's store and have them take the number from Sprint...
 
sba55 said:
Out of curiosity - how? You can just walk in the your previous carrier's store and have them take the number from Sprint...
Click to expand...

And meanwhile, you'll have to do a new contract with your previous carrier, with activation fees and all the rest of a new contract setup.

It's not nearly as easy as it might seem.
 
Dave Siciliano said:
This trade phones every two years for a new contract really gripes me. There is no incentive to make a phone last as I have. Many places offer lower rates if you pay for your phone: AT&T, Verizon and Sprint don't do that (unless one pre-pays) as best I can determine.
Click to expand...

I'm switching to T-Mobile. $20 less per month if your phone is not subsidized (either you bought it outright, or your contract is up). Nice and simple price plans, no gotcha games.
I'm going to trade the IPhone for a Nexus. Open source and all that.
 
PilotAlan said:
I'm switching to T-Mobile. $20 less per month if your phone is not subsidized (either you bought it outright, or your contract is up). Nice and simple price plans, no gotcha games.
I'm going to trade the IPhone for a Nexus. Open source and all that.
Click to expand...

I've been using T-Mobile for a few years now and am generally happy with them. I haven't had any billing irregularities, and they are the onlu US carrier that supports UMA, so when my phone is on wifi, it goes through a VoIP network and doesn't charge against minutes, plus my phone rings in the middle of the ocean when someone tries to call me as long as my satellite internet connection is up. There are no extra charges when I tether my laptop to my BB, and when I need to call for any support, I'm always talking to a human within 4-5 minutes or less.
 
wsuffa said:
The other advice is good, but let me add my experiences...

I have a Sprint EvDO air card. My experiences are not so good:

My experience with Sprint's customer service has been horrid

I've recently ordered a Verizon Incredible rather than the EVO. Verizon ain't perfect, but

None of 'em are particularly good, but folks have been fleeing Sprint like rats off a sinking ship for some time now.

4G is great, but it's quite limited. ANd it sucks the battery dry very quickly.
Click to expand...

Dave,

What Bill said. I'm not a big fan of AT&T by any means... Well, OK, I'm not a big fan of any of them. However, having been a customer of AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, Nextel, and probably a couple of others, "None of 'em are particularly good" is accurate IME, but being a Sprint customer was the most God-awful relationship I've ever had with any company. "Horrid" customer service is maybe a little nicer than I would be, but I can't come up with the right words if there are words that bad. :mad2:

Put it this way: I would throw out my Mac, iPad and iPhone in favor of a Windows laptop, a Windows tablet, and a Windows Mobile phone before I would EVER go back to Sprint. Save yourself the trouble, as much as Verizon can be a pain in the butt sometimes, they're still one of the better companies out there for cell service.
 
flyingcheesehead said:
Put it this way: I would throw out my Mac, iPad and iPhone in favor of a Windows laptop, a Windows tablet, and a Windows Mobile phone before I would EVER go back to Sprint. Save yourself the trouble, as much as Verizon can be a pain in the butt sometimes, they're still one of the better companies out there for cell service.
Click to expand...
Wow! That's strong feeling! :) I've been pretty happy with Verizon. If you go with them, though, make sure you're on an Android phone, because they tend to disable features on most of the other phones.
 
wsuffa said:
And meanwhile, you'll have to do a new contract with your previous carrier, with activation fees and all the rest of a new contract setup.

It's not nearly as easy as it might seem.
Click to expand...
Good point.....as a consumer, you can't win!
 
gprellwitz said:
make sure you're on an Android phone, because they tend to disable features on most of the other phones.
Click to expand...

They are on Android phones as well. Well, not disabling them, but charging an arm and a leg for them, and locking the ROM so you can't get around it.
Android 2.2 has WiFi, Bluetooth DUN, and USB tethering built in. But on Verizon phones, it's not accessible unless you pay extra. LOTS extra.

From PC World:
[T]he Droid seems to be a very capable device.
[W]ith an additional $30 per month for the mandatory data plan... an 'unlimited' data plan that has a monthly cap of 5Gb.
Droid users will soon be able to use the device to tether though. Verizon has confirmed that tethering will cost you though--an additional $30 per month for an additional unlimited data plan that is also limited to 5Gb. So, if you want tethering you will pay $60 above and beyond the monthly contract for service for an 'unlimited' 10Gb of data per month...
But wait, there's more! That $30 a month data plan grants you the ability to use an 'unlimited' 5Gb of data...as long as that data doesn't come from a Microsoft Exchange email server. If you want the privilege of connecting with an Exchange email account you have to pay $45 a month for the 5Gb of unlimited data.Google has developed a capable operating system platform with Android. Motorola has built a solid device around that operating system with the Droid... But, Verizon seems to be doing everything it can to make the Droid as unappealing as possible by nickel and diming customers so that actually using it is not cost-effective.
Click to expand...
That's why I'm going to T-Mobile. The Nexus One is unlocked, tethering is free, data really is unlimited, and they don't care where it comes from.
My family plan with three smartphones, with unlimited minutes, data, and text will cost me almost $130 less per month than AT&T with three Iphones.
And with tethering and one phone pulling from Exchange Server, three smartphones on Verizon would almost $250 more per month.

No thanks. I'm done.
 
PilotAlan said:
They are on Android phones as well. Well, not disabling them, but charging an arm and a leg for them, and locking the ROM so you can't get around it.
Android 2.2 has WiFi, Bluetooth DUN, and USB tethering built in. But on Verizon phones, it's not accessible unless you pay extra. LOTS extra.

That's why I'm going to T-Mobile. The Nexus One is unlocked, tethering is free, data really is unlimited, and they don't care where it comes from.
My family plan with three smartphones, with unlimited minutes, data, and text will cost me almost $130 less per month than AT&T with three Iphones.
And with tethering and one phone pulling from Exchange Server, three smartphones on Verizon would almost $250 more per month.

No thanks. I'm done.
Click to expand...
I have free USB tethering and WiFi on my Android 2.1 phone on Verizon now. Admittedly the tethering didn't come pre-installed; I had to download it from the Marketplace.
 
gprellwitz said:
I have free USB tethering and WiFi on my Android 2.1 phone on Verizon now. Admittedly the tethering didn't come pre-installed; I had to download it from the Marketplace.
Click to expand...
I assume you're using PDANet.
Yes, you can do it, but Verizon can detect it, and if they choose, can hammer you with back charges and/or kill your account.
They haven't done it yet, but they can.

To me, Verizon's evil. My work phone is Verizon, and they are the worst about disabling or killing features.
My BB has the GPS locked out so only their mapping app ($9.99/mo) can access it. Google Maps can't.
They signed a deal with Bing, and made that the only automated search engine for their device. If I want to use google, I have to open the browser, go to bookmarks, select Google, wait for Google to load, and then enter the query. No bad if data speeds are fast, but if you're in a slow spot, that adds lots of time.
They kill Bluetooth DUN on everything, as that's a way of getting around their stuff.
And they have hammered people for going around their blocks.

For occasional use, they probably won't care. I need to be able to use it, do WiFi data so devices can get to it (like Motorola MC75s, IPad, multiple PCs, etc). I won't use it often, but when I use it, I use lots.
I want it to be above board, not having to work around their crapware kneecapping of the OS.
 
PilotAlan said:
I assume you're using PDANet.
Yes, you can do it, but Verizon can detect it, and if they choose, can hammer you with back charges and/or kill your account.
They haven't done it yet, but they can.

To me, Verizon's evil. My work phone is Verizon, and they are the worst about disabling or killing features.
My BB has the GPS locked out so only their mapping app ($9.99/mo) can access it. Google Maps can't.
They signed a deal with Bing, and made that the only automated search engine for their device. If I want to use google, I have to open the browser, go to bookmarks, select Google, wait for Google to load, and then enter the query. No bad if data speeds are fast, but if you're in a slow spot, that adds lots of time.
They kill Bluetooth DUN on everything, as that's a way of getting around their stuff.
And they have hammered people for going around their blocks.

For occasional use, they probably won't care. I need to be able to use it, do WiFi data so devices can get to it (like Motorola MC75s, IPad, multiple PCs, etc). I won't use it often, but when I use it, I use lots.
I want it to be above board, not having to work around their crapware kneecapping of the OS.
Click to expand...
Yes, PDANet. And I don't disagree much with what you've written. I don't use the tethering much at all, but I like knowing it's available when I need to do so.
 
PilotAlan said:
I assume you're using PDANet.
Yes, you can do it, but Verizon can detect it, and if they choose, can hammer you with back charges and/or kill your account.
They haven't done it yet, but they can.

To me, Verizon's evil. My work phone is Verizon, and they are the worst about disabling or killing features.
My BB has the GPS locked out so only their mapping app ($9.99/mo) can access it. Google Maps can't.
They signed a deal with Bing, and made that the only automated search engine for their device. If I want to use google, I have to open the browser, go to bookmarks, select Google, wait for Google to load, and then enter the query. No bad if data speeds are fast, but if you're in a slow spot, that adds lots of time.
They kill Bluetooth DUN on everything, as that's a way of getting around their stuff.
And they have hammered people for going around their blocks.

For occasional use, they probably won't care. I need to be able to use it, do WiFi data so devices can get to it (like Motorola MC75s, IPad, multiple PCs, etc). I won't use it often, but when I use it, I use lots.
I want it to be above board, not having to work around their crapware kneecapping of the OS.
Click to expand...

That's the typical old phone company model. Soak the business customer. Price a business line against a home line sometime - and note that most phone companies will not install residential service at a commercial site, not even for a non-profit.
 
gprellwitz said:
Wow! That's strong feeling! :) I've been pretty happy with Verizon. If you go with them, though, make sure you're on an Android phone, because they tend to disable features on most of the other phones.
Click to expand...

And that's exactly why I left Verizon in the first place. I'm a geek, I like features. I wanted a Moto V710 back when it came out, but VZ crippled it until it was worthless. I'm pretty sure that's also a major reason there isn't a Verizon iPhone too. Apple actually tried to partner with VZ before AT&T, but Apple wasn't going to disable everything (duh). AT&T took a leap of faith on the iPhone, and it has turned out to be very profitable for them.

When VZ does get the iPhone, I'll consider going back - they do have the best customer service of the major cell carriers, IMHO - but I'll wait a bit first and see what they do to it.
 
I have a Droid sitting at my desk. It is the same type of Droid that Verizon is selling except mine will run on the AT&T network. When I get it configured next week I think it will be interesting if Grant and I compare notes. He has the Moto Droid on VZ and I will have it unlocked and running on AT&T.
 
ScottM said:
I have a Droid sitting at my desk. It is the same type of Droid that Verizon is selling except mine will run on the AT&T network. When I get it configured next week I think it will be interesting if Grant and I compare notes. He has the Moto Droid on VZ and I will have it unlocked and running on AT&T.
Click to expand...

Please do file a PIREP! :yes:
 
ScottM said:
I have a Droid sitting at my desk. It is the same type of Droid that Verizon is selling except mine will run on the AT&T network. When I get it configured next week I think it will be interesting if Grant and I compare notes. He has the Moto Droid on VZ and I will have it unlocked and running on AT&T.
Click to expand...

flyingcheesehead said:
Please do file a PIREP! :yes:
Click to expand...

It will be interesting to see what you find. I've got a Moto Droid on VZ and I love it. All sorts of useful (and not so useful) apps on it. Have you downloaded the Tricorder app yet? :devil:
 
Ghery said:
. Have you downloaded the Tricorder app yet? :devil:
Click to expand...
If you mean me, I have not even opened the box. When I do the first thing I have to get done is to have it unlocked. Then I need to get it validated on our enterprise email system. That will take two to three days to get that stuff done. Then I can start to play.
 
ScottM said:
If you mean me, I have not even opened the box. When I do the first thing I have to get done is to have it unlocked. Then I need to get it validated on our enterprise email system. That will take two to three days to get that stuff done. Then I can start to play.
Click to expand...

And then your productivity dies. That thing is addictive, at least for a week or three. :D
 
Ghery said:
And then your productivity dies. That thing is addictive, at least for a week or three. :D
Click to expand...
I'll be on the road for a couple of weeks after next so that should give me a little time to play while jet lagged. I am just looking forward to ditching the windows based phone I have now.
 
Henning said:
I've been using T-Mobile for a few years now and am generally happy with them. I haven't had any billing irregularities, and they are the onlu US carrier that supports UMA, so when my phone is on wifi, it goes through a VoIP network and doesn't charge against minutes, plus my phone rings in the middle of the ocean when someone tries to call me as long as my satellite internet connection is up. There are no extra charges when I tether my laptop to my BB, and when I need to call for any support, I'm always talking to a human within 4-5 minutes or less.
Click to expand...

I have to say, this all sounds pretty appealing. Especially impressive is that it works over a sat net link. How's the lag on that?

Out of curiosity, I looked up T-Mobile's coverage map for the country place I go to regularly, where I am able to "connect" to AT&T, but the connection is extreeeeeemely slow and unreliable. T-Mobile shows "good" signal, on GPRS/EDGE there, so I wonder what kind of functional operation I might expect?

Interesting stuff...
 
You'd think, with all of the customer complaints out there, that one company would seize the initiative and become the kinder, gentler cell phone company. The one that, oh, might not have the super best cell service, or features, but gets it right the first time, every time with the customer. No nickel and dime-ing. No locking in for a century. Just nice to deal with. Few, simple pricing plans.

Kind of like SWA in the airline biz. Not the cheapest. Not the most convenient. But far and away the most pleasant and easiest to deal with.

Maybe I'll try T-mobile. AT&T coverage stinks on toast. EDGE network stinks on toast. I love my iPhone though, so whatever phones they offer would have a real mountain to climb to compete for me.
 
flyersfan31 said:
You'd think, with all of the customer complaints out there, that one company would seize the initiative and become the kinder, gentler cell phone company. The one that, oh, might not have the super best cell service, or features, but gets it right the first time, every time with the customer. No nickel and dime-ing. No locking in for a century. Just nice to deal with. Few, simple pricing plans.

Kind of like SWA in the airline biz. Not the cheapest. Not the most convenient. But far and away the most pleasant and easiest to deal with.

Maybe I'll try T-mobile. AT&T coverage stinks on toast. EDGE network stinks on toast. I love my iPhone though, so whatever phones they offer would have a real mountain to climb to compete for me.
Click to expand...

T-mo has been good to me. Coverage - so so. EDGE - OK on a blackberry, but would stink for data. International service: no hassles, but like the others... international roaming (and especially data roaming) will eat you alive. T-Mo's advantage is that they have a fixed-rate international blackberry email plan: as much email as you can eat for fixed price. Their voice rates for international roam are lower, too.

Even though TMo's coverage is less, I get far fewer dropped calls with them as compared to ATT (buisiness blackberry).
 
wsuffa said:
T-mo has been good to me. Coverage - so so. EDGE - OK on a blackberry, but would stink for data. International service: no hassles, but like the others... international roaming (and especially data roaming) will eat you alive. T-Mo's advantage is that they have a fixed-rate international blackberry email plan: as much email as you can eat for fixed price. Their voice rates for international roam are lower, too.

Even though TMo's coverage is less, I get far fewer dropped calls with them as compared to ATT (buisiness blackberry).
Click to expand...
T-Mobile is the best out of all the carriers I've had. They have good customer service (compared to ATT, you could call it amazing). They give you unlock codes for your phone, which I don't believe any other US carrier does. Their pricing is reasonable.

But most importantly, their service actually works. All the time. I can barely use my ATT iPhone in San Francisco because the network is completely overloaded 90% of the time. I never had any problems with T-Mobile.

-Felix
 
flyersfan31 said:
You'd think, with all of the customer complaints out there, that one company would seize the initiative and become the kinder, gentler cell phone company. The one that, oh, might not have the super best cell service, or features, but gets it right the first time, every time with the customer. No nickel and dime-ing. No locking in for a century. Just nice to deal with. Few, simple pricing plans.
Click to expand...

I've heard good things about T-Mobile, and really good things about US Cellular.

I love my iPhone though, so whatever phones they offer would have a real mountain to climb to compete for me.
Click to expand...

yup. The iPhone is so good, it's just barely worth putting up with AT&T for. ;)
 
flyersfan31 said:
You'd think, with all of the customer complaints out there, that one company would seize the initiative and become the kinder, gentler cell phone company. The one that, oh, might not have the super best cell service, or features, but gets it right the first time, every time with the customer. No nickel and dime-ing. No locking in for a century. Just nice to deal with. Few, simple pricing plans.

Kind of like SWA in the airline biz. Not the cheapest. Not the most convenient. But far and away the most pleasant and easiest to deal with.

Maybe I'll try T-mobile. AT&T coverage stinks on toast. EDGE network stinks on toast. I love my iPhone though, so whatever phones they offer would have a real mountain to climb to compete for me.
Click to expand...

Believe it or not, Boost Mobile comes pretty close for me.

Unlimited everything (talk, text, email, Web, and whatever else a BlackBerry can do) for $60.00 a month. I get usable signal pretty much everywhere I go. Best of all, there's no contract, which is why I chose Boost to begin with after canceling my account of 10+ years with Verizon. (Long story.)

The Boost Mobile BlackBerry service is essentially identical to Sprint's. Boost's BlackBerry and a few other Boost smart phones use Sprint's 3G network. (The cheaper, "not-so-smart" Boost phones use Nextel's iDen service.)

-Rich
 
A tech reviewer's opinion: Link

The bottom line:
In six months or a year, many of the Evo's early-adopter ailments could easily be addressed by Sprint and other companies.
Click to expand...
 
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