HTC Evo 4G
Encyclopedia
The HTC Evo 4G is a smartphone
developed by HTC Corporation and marketed as Sprint's flagship Android smartphone, running on its WiMAX
network. The smartphone launched on June 4, 2010.
running Android.
, surpassing the Palm Pre
, Samsung Instinct
and Motorola Razr V3
.
, a smartphone running Windows Mobile. The device is sometimes referenced as the Android version of the HTC HD2 although a variety of features are only available on the EVO 4G (video calling for example).
sensing. Most gloves and styli prevent the necessary electric conductivity needed for use on the capacitive display.
The EVO has a balanced hardware-software user interface, featuring seven hardware/touch sensitive buttons, four of which are on the front of the device. Input and interaction with the device is balanced between the hardware and software user interface and in most situations require users to use hardware/touch sensitive buttons often throughout Android OS. Like most Android devices, the EVO features four main touch-sensitive buttons on the front of its device which are the Home, Menu, Back, and Search. The Home button returns to the Sense Home screen. The Menu button shows menu options in various applications although it can also be used for other purposes, the Back button is used to return to the prior page or screen displayed, and the Search button mainly allows searching through the phone but can be used for other purposes in various applications. Unlike most smart-phones though, the device does not feature a hardware ringer switch. Situated on the left spine are the volume adjustment controls which controls the volume. A multifunction sleep/wake button is located on the top of the device which serves as the unit's power and sleep button and also controls phone calls. The touchscreen furnishes the remainder of the user interface
.
The device responds to four sensors. A proximity sensor
deactivates the display and touchscreen when the device is brought near the face during a call. This is done to save battery power and to prevent inadvertent inputs via users' faces and ears. An ambient light sensor adjusts the display brightness which in turn saves battery power. A 3-axis accelerometer
senses the orientation of the phone and changes the screen accordingly, allowing users to easily switch between page orientation
modes. A geomagnetism sensor provides orientation with respect to Earth's magnetic field. The proximity sensor and the accelerometer can also be used to control and/or interact with third party apps, notably games. The device also contains a temperature sensor used for monitoring the temperature of the battery.
The device also features a GPS chip, allowing applications (with user permission) to report device location allowing for location-based service
s and can also be useful to turn-by-turn navigation
apps.
Scorpion microprocessor clocked at 1 GHz and an embedded Adreno 200 graphics chip capable of up to 22 million triangles per second.
It features 512MB of eDRAM which allows for a smoother experience with Android OS, applications, and the HTC Sense user interface. The device also features 1024MB of built-in ROM which is mainly used for the system software.
The device comes pre-installed with an 8 GB Class 2 microSDHC card.
is considered to be a 4G
technology based on 4G standards recently set by ITU-R
.
(CDMA). Stand by for the pre installed battery is 146 hr. and talk time is 5hr.12 min.
user interface which runs on top of the Android operating system and presents information through the Android desktop widgets and application, and includes launchers, app drawer, and lock screen replacements. Sense also brings a modified browser and home screen as well. The device first came with Android OS 2.1 "Eclair" although Android OS 2.2 "Froyo" has since been rolled out through OTA (Over-The-Air) making it the third device to officially run "Froyo" and the first to be officially rolled out by a US network. Exactly a year after the phone's official release, the EVO received an update to Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread). The software was able to be manually installed by searching for a software update, and began being pushed to HTC EVOs across Sprint on June 6, 2011. Improvements aside from the upgraded Android OS include a fix for battery issues, increases battery life, includes the ability to sync multiple Gmail accounts, and a few user interface tweaks. A second update was pushed by Sprint on June 20, 2011, fixing magnetometer (compass) issues, Netflix streaming, voicemail notifications, and hearing aid compatibility.
UI, HTC Sense does not allow disabling or removing a panel.
Most of the input on the device is given through the touchscreen which understands complex gestures using multi-touch
. Android's interaction techniques enable moving up or down by a touch-drag motion of the finger. However the buttons on the front of the device will also require frequent use throughout various applications in Android OS as the buttons play an important part in the user interface.
' the device for additional benefits. Benefits from rooting are modifying/upgrading the underlying Android OS (e.g. upgrade to Android 2.3), modifying/upgrading the kernel, fixing bugs, removing Sprint's proprietary apps, installing 'root only' apps from the Android market (needs super user privileges), adding the ability to use WiFi-n (802.11n), adding the ability to use Bluetooth mouse, keyboard, and Wii controller, adding the ability to output the entire system display via HDMI (mirroring), increasing performance, increasing battery life, and one of the most popular uses: free WiFi hotspot access which normally requires paying Sprint an additional $30 fee. Rooting is also legitimized as needed to overcome the device's clock reference bug (see next section).
with the phone at times. Initially it was first thought of as an "artificial" cap (It was) although it was later announced by an HTC representative that it was a hardware cap making software updates incapable of fixing the 30 frame/s cap. Despite the repeated claims regarding the supposed hardware cap, HTC released an update on September 22, 2010 that, among other things, removed the 30 FPS cap.
HTC update 3.70.651.1 released on 2010-12-15 still did not overcome the issue, and neither did build 4.22.651.2 (Android 2.3.3) released on 2011-06-03.
which also has a 4.3 inches (109.2 mm) multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, nearly the same slim profile, and the same placements of most general components and buttons. Although similar, the EVO has features which distinguish it from the HTC HD2 including the front-facing camera, the circular-shaped rear camera, and touch-sensitive buttons instead of hardware buttons. Another feature is Android-specific buttons. The device has nearly the same dimensions, which are:
122 mm (4.8 in) high
66 mm (2.6 in) wide
12.7 mm (0.5 in) deep
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
developed by HTC Corporation and marketed as Sprint's flagship Android smartphone, running on its WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
network. The smartphone launched on June 4, 2010.
Development
During development, the device was known as the HTC "Supersonic", which was leaked throughout the internet and was already known as a variant of the HTC HD2HTC HD2
The HTC HD2 , is a smartphone belonging to the HTC Touch family, manufactured by HTC and running the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. The phone was designed and manufactured by HTC, and was released in Europe in November 2009, and in December 2009 in Hong Kong...
running Android.
Release
The EVO was released on June 4, 2010 in the United States through Sprint. The device became the top-selling launch day phone on SprintSprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
, surpassing the Palm Pre
Palm Pre
The Palm Pre is a multimedia smartphone designed and marketed by Palm with a multi-touch screen and a sliding keyboard. The smartphone was the first to use Palm's Linux based mobile operating system, webOS...
, Samsung Instinct
Samsung Instinct
The Samsung Instinct was an Internet-enabled phone designed and marketed by Samsung Mobile. It uses a Haptic touchscreen interface, and three touchscreen buttons...
and Motorola Razr V3
Motorola RAZR V3
Motorola RAZR is a series of clamshell mobile phones by Motorola, and is one of the series in the 4LTR line. They were first developed in July 2003 and were released in the market in the third quarter of 2004....
.
Features
The HTC EVO features hardware very similar to the HTC HD2HTC HD2
The HTC HD2 , is a smartphone belonging to the HTC Touch family, manufactured by HTC and running the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. The phone was designed and manufactured by HTC, and was released in Europe in November 2009, and in December 2009 in Hong Kong...
, a smartphone running Windows Mobile. The device is sometimes referenced as the Android version of the HTC HD2 although a variety of features are only available on the EVO 4G (video calling for example).
Screen and input
Unlike many other smart-phones in the consumer market, the EVO has a large 4.3-inches (480-by-800) TFT LCD capacitive touch screen display with a pixel density of 240 pixels per inch (ppi). The display is designed to be used with a bare finger or multiple fingers at one time for multi-touchMulti-touch
In computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface's ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface...
sensing. Most gloves and styli prevent the necessary electric conductivity needed for use on the capacitive display.
The EVO has a balanced hardware-software user interface, featuring seven hardware/touch sensitive buttons, four of which are on the front of the device. Input and interaction with the device is balanced between the hardware and software user interface and in most situations require users to use hardware/touch sensitive buttons often throughout Android OS. Like most Android devices, the EVO features four main touch-sensitive buttons on the front of its device which are the Home, Menu, Back, and Search. The Home button returns to the Sense Home screen. The Menu button shows menu options in various applications although it can also be used for other purposes, the Back button is used to return to the prior page or screen displayed, and the Search button mainly allows searching through the phone but can be used for other purposes in various applications. Unlike most smart-phones though, the device does not feature a hardware ringer switch. Situated on the left spine are the volume adjustment controls which controls the volume. A multifunction sleep/wake button is located on the top of the device which serves as the unit's power and sleep button and also controls phone calls. The touchscreen furnishes the remainder of the user interface
User interface
The user interface, in the industrial design field of human–machine interaction, is the space where interaction between humans and machines occurs. The goal of interaction between a human and a machine at the user interface is effective operation and control of the machine, and feedback from the...
.
The device responds to four sensors. A proximity sensor
Proximity sensor
A proximity sensor is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact.A proximity sensor often emits an electromagnetic or a beam of electromagnetic radiation , and looks for changes in the field or return signal. The object being sensed is often referred to as...
deactivates the display and touchscreen when the device is brought near the face during a call. This is done to save battery power and to prevent inadvertent inputs via users' faces and ears. An ambient light sensor adjusts the display brightness which in turn saves battery power. A 3-axis accelerometer
Accelerometer
An accelerometer is a device that measures proper acceleration, also called the four-acceleration. This is not necessarily the same as the coordinate acceleration , but is rather the type of acceleration associated with the phenomenon of weight experienced by a test mass that resides in the frame...
senses the orientation of the phone and changes the screen accordingly, allowing users to easily switch between page orientation
Page orientation
Page orientation is the way in which a rectangular page is oriented for normal viewing. The two most common types of orientation are portrait and landscape...
modes. A geomagnetism sensor provides orientation with respect to Earth's magnetic field. The proximity sensor and the accelerometer can also be used to control and/or interact with third party apps, notably games. The device also contains a temperature sensor used for monitoring the temperature of the battery.
The device also features a GPS chip, allowing applications (with user permission) to report device location allowing for location-based service
Location-based service
A Location-Based Service is an information or entertainment service, accessible with mobile devices through the mobile network and utilizing the ability to make use of the geographical position of the mobile device....
s and can also be useful to turn-by-turn navigation
Turn-by-turn navigation
Turn-by-turn navigation is a feature of some GPS navigation devices where directions for a selected route are continually presented to the user in the form of spoken and visual instructions. The system keeps the user up-to-date about the best route to the destination, and is often updated according...
apps.
Processor and memory
The EVO is powered by the Qualcomm QSD8650 chipset which contains a SnapdragonSnapdragon (processor)
Snapdragon is a family of mobile system on chips by Qualcomm. Qualcomm considers Snapdragon a "platform" for use in smartphones, tablets, and smartbook devices.The Snapdragon application processor core, dubbed Scorpion, is Qualcomm's own design...
Scorpion microprocessor clocked at 1 GHz and an embedded Adreno 200 graphics chip capable of up to 22 million triangles per second.
It features 512MB of eDRAM which allows for a smoother experience with Android OS, applications, and the HTC Sense user interface. The device also features 1024MB of built-in ROM which is mainly used for the system software.
Cameras
The EVO features a rear-facing backside illumination 8 megapixel camera capable of recording videos in 720p at 30 frames per second and dual flash which helps to illuminate objects in low-light conditions. In addition the EVO has a 1.3 megapixel camera on front of the device designed for use with video calling and for taking portrait images although it can also be used in other applications.Storage
Like many other Android mobile devices, the HTC EVO 4G features a microSD slot in addition to the built-in RAM which allows for user-expandable storage. The device supports microSD cards of sizes up to 32GB. With Android version 2.2+ (Froyo) available as an over-the-air upgrade, the OS supports applications which permit themselves to be installed on the SD card.The device comes pre-installed with an 8 GB Class 2 microSDHC card.
Audio and output
The rear of the EVO sports a speaker which is used for most applications like music, applications, and such as the main speaker. A loudspeaker is located above the screen which serves as an earpiece. The microphone is featured on the bottom of the phone which is used for phone calls and voice-commands although it can also be used in many other third-party applications. The unit has an HDMI-out (type D, micro connector) port which allows sending content to a HD television set. The Sprint Mobile Hotspot application allows sharing the device's mobile broadband with up to eight devices.Smartphone connectivity
The EVO features a CDMA cellular radio that supports 3G EVDO, Revisions 0, A, and the as-of-yet undeployed B allowing faster download and upload speeds, and better power efficiency, and WiMAX, a protocol known as 802.16e, which features speeds of up to 10 Mbit/s on the downlink, and 1 Mbit/s on the uplink. The device is marketed as a 4G phone, WiMAXWiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
is considered to be a 4G
4G
In telecommunications, 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to the 3G and 2G families of standards. In 2009, the ITU-R organization specified the IMT-Advanced requirements for 4G standards, setting peak speed requirements for 4G service at 100 Mbit/s...
technology based on 4G standards recently set by ITU-R
ITU-R
The ITU Radiocommunication Sector is one of the three sectors of the International Telecommunication Union and is responsible for radio communication....
.
Battery and power
The device comes pre-installed with a 1500 mAh Li-ion rechargeable battery that is designed to be user-replaceable. The Battery is interchangeable with the batteries from the HTC Incredible, HTC Touch Pro 2, HTC Arrive, and HTC HeroHTC Hero
The HTC Hero is the third phone manufactured by the HTC Corporation for the Android platform, as part of the A series...
(CDMA). Stand by for the pre installed battery is 146 hr. and talk time is 5hr.12 min.
Software
The device sports the HTC SenseHTC Sense
HTC Sense is a graphical user interface developed by HTC Corporation for mobile devices running Android, Brew and Windows Mobile.Based on the TouchFLO 3D design, HTC has referred to HTC Sense as both a user interface in itself and also as a user experience layer on top of TouchFLO 3D.Announced June...
user interface which runs on top of the Android operating system and presents information through the Android desktop widgets and application, and includes launchers, app drawer, and lock screen replacements. Sense also brings a modified browser and home screen as well. The device first came with Android OS 2.1 "Eclair" although Android OS 2.2 "Froyo" has since been rolled out through OTA (Over-The-Air) making it the third device to officially run "Froyo" and the first to be officially rolled out by a US network. Exactly a year after the phone's official release, the EVO received an update to Android 2.3.3 (Gingerbread). The software was able to be manually installed by searching for a software update, and began being pushed to HTC EVOs across Sprint on June 6, 2011. Improvements aside from the upgraded Android OS include a fix for battery issues, increases battery life, includes the ability to sync multiple Gmail accounts, and a few user interface tweaks. A second update was pushed by Sprint on June 20, 2011, fixing magnetometer (compass) issues, Netflix streaming, voicemail notifications, and hearing aid compatibility.
Interface
The interface is based around home screen panels which in total are seven panels that allows user-customization. By default, the center home screen panel features a digital clock located on the top of the screen and weather animations of the current weather in the device's location, the remaining space in the bottom can be customized to user preferences. The launcher which is located at the bottom of the screen displays icons to open the App Drawer, Phone application, and the ability to add widgets on the Android desktop, and is shown throughout all seven home screen panels. Users can switch from one panel to another by sliding left or right. A small bar which sits on top of the launcher represents the current panel the device is viewing. Pinching the home screen (or pressing the home button if the user is on the center panel) brings up Leap screen which shows thumbnail views of all the home screen panels and allow users to "leap" to another home screen panel easily. Unlike other custom user interfaces for the Android OS like Samsung's TouchWizTouchWiz
TouchWiz is a touch interface developed by Samsung Electronics with partners, featuring a full touch user interface. It is sometimes incorrectly identified as an operating system. TouchWiz is used internally by Samsung for sophisticated feature phones, and is not available for licensing by external...
UI, HTC Sense does not allow disabling or removing a panel.
Most of the input on the device is given through the touchscreen which understands complex gestures using multi-touch
Multi-touch
In computing, multi-touch refers to a touch sensing surface's ability to recognize the presence of two or more points of contact with the surface...
. Android's interaction techniques enable moving up or down by a touch-drag motion of the finger. However the buttons on the front of the device will also require frequent use throughout various applications in Android OS as the buttons play an important part in the user interface.
Acquiring root access
The Sprint HTC Evo 4G comes from the factory locked without any root privileges. Many advanced users choose to 'rootRooting (Android OS)
Rooting is a process that allows users of mobile phones and other devices running the Android operating system to attain privileged control within Android's Linux subsystem with the goal of overcoming limitations that carriers and manufacturers put on some devices...
' the device for additional benefits. Benefits from rooting are modifying/upgrading the underlying Android OS (e.g. upgrade to Android 2.3), modifying/upgrading the kernel, fixing bugs, removing Sprint's proprietary apps, installing 'root only' apps from the Android market (needs super user privileges), adding the ability to use WiFi-n (802.11n), adding the ability to use Bluetooth mouse, keyboard, and Wii controller, adding the ability to output the entire system display via HDMI (mirroring), increasing performance, increasing battery life, and one of the most popular uses: free WiFi hotspot access which normally requires paying Sprint an additional $30 fee. Rooting is also legitimized as needed to overcome the device's clock reference bug (see next section).
30 frames per second cap
Some users have experienced noticeable lag and/or slowness while using the phone. Various reports throughout the Internet indicated that the device may have a 30 frames per second cap explaining how some users experience lagLag
Lag is a common word meaning to fail to keep up or to fall behind. In real-time applications, the term is used when the application fails to respond in a timely fashion to inputs...
with the phone at times. Initially it was first thought of as an "artificial" cap (It was) although it was later announced by an HTC representative that it was a hardware cap making software updates incapable of fixing the 30 frame/s cap. Despite the repeated claims regarding the supposed hardware cap, HTC released an update on September 22, 2010 that, among other things, removed the 30 FPS cap.
Screen
There have been many problems with the screen. Some of the first customers complained of screen separation; HTC acknowledged the problem and was able to limit the number of affected units. Another problem with the screen has been a bright spot in the lower area of the screen. This problem is commonly referred to as the B-spot because it is exactly where the B on the keyboard is. This bright spot is only noticeable when using a bright background. The B-spot is also noticeable when screen display is set to automatic brightness.Device clock reference
The device clock is 15 seconds faster than UTC, either with Android 2.1, 2.2 or 2.3; a manual clock setting does not override seconds, and root authority would be needed to overcome issue using ntp software. The 15-second offset hints the number of leap seconds introduced since GPS inception in 1980 rather than an epoch issue and was reported as an Android bug on Dec 16, 2009. Certain phones running Android like Samsung EPIC do not exhibit the issue, possibly because firmware fetches UTC value rather than GPS from Network time, or subtracts leap second offset. Sprint, HTC, OHA, Google and goodandevo.net were informed of the aforesaid issue earlier than October 2010.HTC update 3.70.651.1 released on 2010-12-15 still did not overcome the issue, and neither did build 4.22.651.2 (Android 2.3.3) released on 2011-06-03.
Battery life
Users have complained that the battery life for the Evo is inadequate and incapable of lasting one day of normal use. This has spawned the creation of pages dedicated to explaining how to optimize the battery life, and even an aftermarket extra large battery that enlarges the unit. In addition, there is a software error that causes a severely depleted battery to become unable to be charged in the phone. The OTA upgrade to Android 2.3.3 fixes this issue along with improving device battery life on the whole.Design
The EVO's design is derived from its Windows Mobile-based brother, the HTC HD2HTC HD2
The HTC HD2 , is a smartphone belonging to the HTC Touch family, manufactured by HTC and running the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. The phone was designed and manufactured by HTC, and was released in Europe in November 2009, and in December 2009 in Hong Kong...
which also has a 4.3 inches (109.2 mm) multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, nearly the same slim profile, and the same placements of most general components and buttons. Although similar, the EVO has features which distinguish it from the HTC HD2 including the front-facing camera, the circular-shaped rear camera, and touch-sensitive buttons instead of hardware buttons. Another feature is Android-specific buttons. The device has nearly the same dimensions, which are:
122 mm (4.8 in) high
66 mm (2.6 in) wide
12.7 mm (0.5 in) deep
Warranty
The phone comes with a 1 year warranty, which does not cover scratches, cracks, smudge marks, liquid damage, and other forms of physical damage. Sending phones for repair is typically handled by the phone service provider, rather than through HTC.See also
- List of Android devices
- Android (operating system)
- HTC Desire HDHTC Desire HDThe HTC Desire HD is an Android smartphone by HTC Corporation. It was unveiled at a press event in London hosted by HTC on September 15, 2010, and was made available for sale in October in Europe and in January 2011 in Canada...
- List of HTC phones
- HTC Evo Shift 4GHTC Evo Shift 4GThe HTC Evo Shift 4G is a smartphone developed by HTC Corporation and marketed as the concurrent/sequel to Sprint's flagship Android smartphone, running on its 4G WiMAX network...
- HTC Evo 3DHTC EVO 3DThe HTC Evo 3D is an Android 2.3 smartphone that allows for the creation and viewing of 3D content through the use of two 5 MP rear-facing cameras and a glasses-free 3D-capable 4.3" qHD touch screen. In the United States, the Evo 3D is available exclusively on the Sprint/Nextel network...