The actual bad: The stubborn back cover is hard to remove and also the speakerphone could be better. A dedicated hardware shutter switch wouldn't go amiss.
The bottom line: The HTC Evo Design 4G gives you lots of smartphone for an excellent value--fast 4G speeds, a great camera, a strong processor, and a sophisticated design. It's a great choice for Sprint customers, except those who are specifically buying dual-core phone.
The fifth to join the Evo loved ones, the HTC Evo Design 4G is a slightly scaled-down, more budget-conscious version of the classic Evo 4G and much more recent Evo 3D, complete with the family's typical Run WiMax 4G speeds. It also has the distinction to be the first globe-trotting Evo, with a GSM-friendly SIM card slot hidden underneath the battery cover (and yes, it will only work abroad. )
HTC might have scaled back with the Style 4G, but that doesn't make it a mediocre phone at all. The Android 2. 3 Gingerbread device has a 1. 2GHz processor chip, a 5-megapixel rear camera, a 1. 3-megapixel front-facing digital camera, and comes with an 8GB microSD card right from the box. It also has HTC's usual premium finishes and a price point that's hard to beat for all your goodies--just $99. 99 with a two-year contract, after the $50 mail-in rebate. Yep, HTC's runtiest Evo is also its cost effective.
Design
HTC has an eye for design, and in the boxy to the curved, this cell phone maker knows steps to make a pretty phone. The answer is yes, the Style 4G has earned its name. The HTC Evo Design 4G pays homage to numerous other HTC phones, with its boxy edges and wide metallic band over the back. There's also a soft-touch material above and below the band to produce a black-on-black tuxedoed look. In fact, it's much more sharp and stylish compared to Evo 3D. The Design 4G measures 4. 8 in . tall by 2. 4 inches wide by 0. 47-inch heavy and weighs 5. 2 ounces (in contrast, the somewhat larger Evo 3D stands 5 inches tall by two. 6 inches wide by 0. 48-inch thick and weighs in at 6 ounces. ) The size is very manageable also it feels great in the hand and fine on the actual ear.
With the smaller stature comes a smaller display, a 4-inch rather than a 4. 3-inch display. It's a WVGA (960x540-pixel) touch-screen resolution, which isn't the most glorious available, but it isn't at all bad either. In truth, it looks bright, sharp, and colorful--as it should along with support for 16 million hues.
Android 2. 3 Gingerbread is running the show backstage about the HTC Evo Design 4G, but HTC's Sense 3. 0 is whatever you see up front. I personally think HTC hit a house run with Sense, everything from its lush graphics to its carousel animation that quickly spins whenever you swipe your finger fast across the seven customizable house screens. As CNET editors have collectively mentioned in additional HTC reviews, Sense is smart as well as stunning, delivering easy access in the drop-down notification bar in order to recent apps and system settings. You can pinch into view your home screens from afar, quickly and very easily customize the sounds and profiles, and sort apps within the app tray by frequent, downloaded, and all apps. Sense even gets into the camera app, but more on that later.
To the externals! Below the display are four touch-sensitive navigation buttons to visit home, pull up the menu, go back, and research. Above the screen is the 1. 3 megapixel digital camera lens. The right spine is bare; too bad, this will be a great spot for a physical camera shutter button. About the left you'll find the volume rocker and Micro-USB getting port. Up top are the 3. 5 millimeter headset jack and also the power button. On the back you get the 5-megapixel camera lens and also the LED flash.
One of the phone's most interesting hardware embellishments is underneath the battery cover, which was tough to wrench off. HTC has even were able to make the guts of the Design 4G look fashionable, thanks to a partially transparent hinged ledge that button snaps into place below the battery (it's also a structural element that keeps the battery in position. Flip it open, though, and you'll see the SIM slot where one can slide in a GSM SIM card if you take the telephone overseas. It bears repeating that the HTC Evo Design 4G will not make use of a U. S. GSM SIM.
The microSD card slot can also be here below the cover. The phone comes with a good 8GB card pre-installed.
Since phones are first as well as foremost about communications, let's start there. Android on the rear end means that the HTC Evo Design 4G lets a person access your Google accounts; HTC also hooks in to Facebook contacts if you want. The phone supports groups and a host of particulars per contact. Plus, your available memory is the only limit to the breadth of contacts you could have.
It's a smartphone, so there's texting, multimedia messaging, e-mail, Wireless bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS on board. HTC Sense lets you access your contact list and messages directly in the lock screen. The Swype virtual keyboard is available, although not by default.
There are all the usual Google applications, like Gmail, maps, Navigation, Places, YouTube, and so upon. Plus, HTC has added its own apps as nicely, like Friend Stream, Peep, and Footprints, all social-networking helpers. You may also download HTC-made apps like the Flashlight and HTC View, a video-viewing environment. There's HTC Hub, HTC Likes, Linked Media, HTC Mobile Guide, and a transfer app with regard to contacts. Sense also has a car mode, which displays six large icons that you could quickly tap so you can keep your eyes on the highway longer, but there's also dock mode, which offers another configuration of things like the weather, the time, as well as social messages, and which is intended specifically for whenever you dock the phone in a desk charger, for example.
Not to be outdone, Sprint has also loaded up by itself apps, including Nascar, the Sprint Hotspot, Sprint Zone, Run Radio, and the TeleNav GPS Navigator. Amazon MP3 and an Radio are also on board.
Android's default music app is really a blah affair, but it gets the job done. HTC again steps into jazz it up on the Design 4G, adding stylized buttons and a sound enhancer along with the otherwise-adequate player. Songs sounded fine and volume had been nice and loud through our midrange after-market earbuds.
The camera app on the HTC Evo Design 4G also includes the HTC Sense flair along with the typical software. You can pick from more than the usual dozen photo effects before you shoot, in addition to adjusting the typical camera settings for things like white balance and additional adjustments. In addition, the HTC Evo Design 4G camera software program supports the wide-angle viewing mode (16: 9), autofocus, encounter detection, and a grid.
The 720p HD video is a nice contact, and helps keep the phone competitive. Volume was fairly low, though, and the subjects of my videos were difficult to hear. Video played back smoothly, without any jerkiness, and also the colors adjusted well. Shots were sharp and clear, actually indoors. The HTC Evo Design 4G has 768 MB RAM internal memory and stands up to 32GB external storage.
Performance
I tested the dual-band (CDMA 800/1900) HTC HTC Evo Design 4G using Sprint's wireless network in Bay area. I was unable to test the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) world chip away from U. S. Call quality was pretty good overall, but volume was a little on the low side during my calls. It sounded fine in a quiet environment with the volume either completely or almost all the way up, but in even louder environments or with quieter talkers, it would have been nice to visit higher.
Voice clarity was pretty good as well; sounds didn't sound muffled, but they weren't exactly clear. Sometimes, I heard the occasional hiccup in the conversation, but typically, callers could be understood. There wasn't any background sound.
On their end, my friends gave mixed results. In a single call, voice quality was a little tinny, and areas of my words cut out occasionally, but not often. There is also a background hiss. Another test caller said there is no background noise, but there was a bit associated with distortion when my voice volume peaked. Other than which, it sounded as good as a land line telephone, the caller said.
Speakerphone was OK, but nothing unique. It sounded tinny and echoey to my ears, however mostly loud. I was able to successfully use it to create a few calls and sit on hold while waiting to talk to an operator. In almost all cases, the phone had been resting at about waist level. Callers also noted the actual tinny and echoey qualities, and added that there was some vocal distortion that made my voice sound just a little unnatural and a bit hard to hear.
Although it's not a dual-core phone (a concession to broker less price), the 1. 2GHz single-core processor held its personal on its Qualcomm MSM8655 chipset. The HTC Evo Design 4G ships having a smaller battery than the dual-core, 4. 3-inch screen Evo three dimensional; 1520 mAh to the Evo 3D's 1, 730mAh lithium ion electric battery. The HTC Evo Design 4G has a rated talk period of 6 hours. FCC radiation tests measured a electronic SAR of 0. 8 watts per kilogram.
Conclusion
Lacking superpremium specs just like a dual-core processor, a qHD or HD display, and 8-megapixel digital camera, you might be tempted to think of the HTC Evo Design 4G being an attempt to dumb down a proven phone to sell in a lower price point. Make no mistake: this is a great smartphone, especially for the price. The HTC Evo Design 4G is generously endowed having a winning combination of speed, style, wicked-smart software, and an excellent camera that takes excellent shots. The fact that HTC can package all this software program and hardware power into a stylish presentation and sell it for almost $100 makes it a fantastic value.
The timing is handful of a sticking point, with Android 4. 0 Ice Cream Sandwich coming. The good news is that HTC and Google are devoted to bringing devices released within 18 months of a new Android OS up to date, though it could take a little while and its not all single feature (like NFC support) will be available about the device. Still, if you're a Sprint customer looking for a smartphone at a price that won't break your budget, the HTC Evo Design 4G can do that and raise pangs of envy meanwhile.
