The good: The HTC Evo Design 4G boasts a premium, well-crafted
design. It also offers WiMax 4G data, Android 4.0, and HTC's Sense
interface.
The bad: The Evo Design 4G suffers from short battery life, a slow processor, and poor call quality.
The bottom line: The HTC Evo Design 4G may be Boost Mobile's top dog but it's fenced in by a high price and weak performance.
Many of the phones and features once reserved for nationwide major carriers have begun to trickle down to prepaid cellular providers. A case in point is the HTC Evo Design 4G for Boost Mobile. This pricey $299.99 smartphone appears to be a modern handset at first glance, running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and offering 4G data. A closer look reveals the device's flaws living below the surface. A slow single-core processor, short battery life, and fuzzy call quality make it a tough sell even considering that its high price doesn't include an onerous service contract.
Design
With its deep black-on-black paint job and metal unibody construction, the HTC Evo Design 4G is darkly delicious and has a luxurious feel. That's quite a feat considering this phone isn't exactly new, first coming to Sprint last fall. The back and edges of the handset are coated in a smooth, soft-touch surface that wicks away moisture, repels fingerprints, and gives fingertips good grip.
Measuring 4.8 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by 0.47 inch thick and tipping the scales at a hefty 5.2 ounces, the Evo Design 4G is compact but on the chunky side. That's especially true compared with many ultrasvelte numbers like the current king of the Evo line, the HTC Evo 4G LTE (0.35 inch thick, 4.72 ounces). Even the LG Marquee, the Evo Design 4G's closest competitor on Boost Mobile, is smaller, thinner, and lighter (0.36 inch thick, 3.95 ounces).
Features
Originally the Sprint version of the HTC Evo Design 4G shipped with Android 2.3 Gingerbread but backed up by HTC's latest mobile interface, Sense 3.0. Now HTC and Boost Mobile have tried to breathe new life into the phone by updating its core software to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
I certainly appreciate the extra effort, and as a result, the Evo Design 4G feels and acts like a modern smartphone. My test unit came with HTC Sense 3.6 grafted on top of ICS. Those familiar with Sense will recognize the lock screen, which displays time and date up top and four quick-launch icons down below.
Dragging a virtual ring from the foot to the middle of the screen unlocks the phone. Pulling any of the icons into the ring's center fires up the phone function linked to it. By default, icons for Phone, Mail, Camera, Messages, and Camera are listed but you can swap them out for other shortcuts if you'd like. Once it's unlocked, you'll be greeted by seven home screens that you can customize with application shortcuts and widgets. In typical HTC fashion, the company's trademark weather clock widget enjoys a prime spot on the main home screen.
Sense also provides a strong link to social-networking sites, one of my favorite features of the UI. Natively supported are Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In accounts, which the phone will automatically cross-check against your phone book and suggest contacts to match up across services.
As an Android smartphone, the Evo Design 4G comes with the standard allotment of Google apps and services, including Gmail, Maps, Navigation, Places, YouTube, and Google+. HTC has thrown in its own apps too, such as Friend Stream, Peep, and Footprints, all designed to make social-networking easier. Also onboard is HTC Watch, the company's video download store, HTC Hub for curated apps, Connected Media to access music and other network files, and a transfer app for contacts.
The bad: The Evo Design 4G suffers from short battery life, a slow processor, and poor call quality.
The bottom line: The HTC Evo Design 4G may be Boost Mobile's top dog but it's fenced in by a high price and weak performance.
Many of the phones and features once reserved for nationwide major carriers have begun to trickle down to prepaid cellular providers. A case in point is the HTC Evo Design 4G for Boost Mobile. This pricey $299.99 smartphone appears to be a modern handset at first glance, running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and offering 4G data. A closer look reveals the device's flaws living below the surface. A slow single-core processor, short battery life, and fuzzy call quality make it a tough sell even considering that its high price doesn't include an onerous service contract.
Design
With its deep black-on-black paint job and metal unibody construction, the HTC Evo Design 4G is darkly delicious and has a luxurious feel. That's quite a feat considering this phone isn't exactly new, first coming to Sprint last fall. The back and edges of the handset are coated in a smooth, soft-touch surface that wicks away moisture, repels fingerprints, and gives fingertips good grip.
Measuring 4.8 inches tall by 2.4 inches wide by 0.47 inch thick and tipping the scales at a hefty 5.2 ounces, the Evo Design 4G is compact but on the chunky side. That's especially true compared with many ultrasvelte numbers like the current king of the Evo line, the HTC Evo 4G LTE (0.35 inch thick, 4.72 ounces). Even the LG Marquee, the Evo Design 4G's closest competitor on Boost Mobile, is smaller, thinner, and lighter (0.36 inch thick, 3.95 ounces).
Features
Originally the Sprint version of the HTC Evo Design 4G shipped with Android 2.3 Gingerbread but backed up by HTC's latest mobile interface, Sense 3.0. Now HTC and Boost Mobile have tried to breathe new life into the phone by updating its core software to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich.
I certainly appreciate the extra effort, and as a result, the Evo Design 4G feels and acts like a modern smartphone. My test unit came with HTC Sense 3.6 grafted on top of ICS. Those familiar with Sense will recognize the lock screen, which displays time and date up top and four quick-launch icons down below.
Dragging a virtual ring from the foot to the middle of the screen unlocks the phone. Pulling any of the icons into the ring's center fires up the phone function linked to it. By default, icons for Phone, Mail, Camera, Messages, and Camera are listed but you can swap them out for other shortcuts if you'd like. Once it's unlocked, you'll be greeted by seven home screens that you can customize with application shortcuts and widgets. In typical HTC fashion, the company's trademark weather clock widget enjoys a prime spot on the main home screen.
Sense also provides a strong link to social-networking sites, one of my favorite features of the UI. Natively supported are Facebook, Twitter, and Linked In accounts, which the phone will automatically cross-check against your phone book and suggest contacts to match up across services.
As an Android smartphone, the Evo Design 4G comes with the standard allotment of Google apps and services, including Gmail, Maps, Navigation, Places, YouTube, and Google+. HTC has thrown in its own apps too, such as Friend Stream, Peep, and Footprints, all designed to make social-networking easier. Also onboard is HTC Watch, the company's video download store, HTC Hub for curated apps, Connected Media to access music and other network files, and a transfer app for contacts.
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