evo

Editor's note: Though Froyo also can add Wi-Fi hotspot functionality, the update will not change the Evo's current hotspot feature.

Sprint announced Thursday that starting next week it will push the Android 2.2 "Froyo" update to the HTC Evo 4G. The Evo will be the first Sprint device to get the much-anticipated upgrade, which adds a selection of new features and fixes two of the largest drawbacks of the Android OS.

As with most Android updates, Sprint will issue Froyo in waves, with the first batch of users receiving notifications on Tuesday, August 3. The … Read more

A wallpaper app that steals your personal info, piracy controls coming to the Android Marketplace, and a look into the world of Android gaming. Plus, Jeff Bakalar shares an awesome tip on creating itineraries for Google Maps Navigation, and Jessica Dolcourt helps us pronounce the death of the Android phone that started it all.

Updated: The wallpaper app discussed in this episode has since been cleared of any wrong-doing by Google itself. More details on that here.

Sprint Nextel's hot new phones are helping boost the number of subscribers for the first time in a long time. Even so, the company's second-quarter results were down.

For the quarter ended June 30, the wireless carrier reported a net loss of $760 million, compared with a loss of $384 million in the year-ago quarter. Sales dipped to $8.025 billion, a 1.4 percent decline from last year's $8.141 billlion.

On the plus side, Sprint added 111,000 new wireless subscribers for the quarter, its first signs of growth in three years and a welcome … Read more

Since I posted an article about the features I wanted to see in the next-generation iPhone, I've received several e-mails from readers calling me out for not including a larger screen as one of the 20 feature upgrades. Most readers were polite but mildly indignant. Here's what two Texans wrote me--Larry from Austin and Mike from Houston:

Larry: You didn't mention at all a larger display or screen! You may not want a bigger display, but I do and I am sure there are lots of others too. Why can't Apple come out at least w/a slightly larger screen, i.e. 3.7" or 4"? The HTC Google/Nexus Phone has a 3.7" screen but yet the phone is still basically the same size as the iPhone. The new Samsung Galaxy S phones that are hitting all four U.S. major networks this month and the next month have 4" screens but yet the phones themselves are pretty much the same size [as the iPhone 4]...

Mike: What, a bigger screen didn't make the top 20??!?!?!? That's the main reason I didn't buy the iPhone 4. Yes, my eyes are getting bad so I need the bigger screen...and every new phone coming out now has at least 4" screens...Droid X, Samsung Galaxy S, EVO. I tried out the EVO for 2 weeks and loved it...unfortunately I have 5 people on my AT&T account. Tough to switch.

Of course, they want everything bigger in Texas (or at least they say everything is bigger there), but I gotta say, I haven't experienced a desire to inflate my iPhone's screen size. That said, these e-mails got me thinking more about smartphone screens and I reread CNET editor Eric Franklin's article that tests and compares the screen performance of the iPhone 4, the HTC Evo, and the Motorola Droid. In his shootout, he gave the nod to the iPhone 4; the Evo came in a close second, and the Droid followed up in third. However, Franklin focused more on image quality and less with the actual size of the screen.

Personally, I really like the Evo, built-in kickstand and all, but I find that as a phone it's a tad bulky. I also think the same of the Droid and new Droid X. CNET's smartphone guru Bonnie Cha has a couple new Samsung Galaxy S models sitting on her desk--AT&T calls its Galaxy S phone the Captivate, and T-Mobile has the Vibrant--that I've played around with it a bit and like the design and agree with Larry's assessment that the phone is "basically the same size as the iPhone." In fact, it's a little scary how close the Vibrant resembles a slightly trimmer version of the iPhone 3GS.

As for specs, the Galaxy S "family" has a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen that's 800x480 pixels. The iPhone's 3.5-inch Retina Display offers a 960x640-pixel resolution. We measured the two screens and calculated that the Galaxy S's display offers 17 percent more overall screen area. Compare the 4.2-inch Evo's or 4.3-inch Droid X's screen with the iPhone's and you're looking at upwards of 20 percent.

So why are other smartphone manufacturers going bigger--and is it better?… Read more

I can't tell you how many people I've talked to this summer who have told me that they had finally made their decision to get a new smartphone only to have their plans thwarted when they got to the store and their well-researched choice was unavailable.

This is exactly what happened to my former college roommate, Stephanie Rahill. After months of research and several conversations with me, her husband came out of the Verizon Wireless store three weeks ago and told her that she would have to wait nearly a month for her new HTC Droid Incredible smartphone.… Read more

Editors' note: If you've already read "Battle Royale: Five smartphones face off," then you may experience some deja vu when reading this article. We've used the same tests and presented the article in the same style. Only the phones in question and the details of their performance have changed.

A few months ago in my never-ending pursuit of pain and sadness, I volunteered to test the display quality of five of the most popular smartphones at that time. Using DisplayMate Multimedia Edition for Mobile Displays, I put each phone through a battery of tests and lost a couple of weekends in the process.

With the recent release of the iPhone 4, as well as the hype that's been generated by the "Retina Display," now's the best time to determine just how good the display really is. I've decided to compare the iPhone 4's screen with only two others: the winner of the last roundup, the Motorola Droid, and relative newcomer the HTC Evo 4G. The Evo was chosen because of its popularity and relatively gigantic screen.

Like last time, we used three different types of tests to evaluate each phone:

Scientific measurements: We used the Konica Minolta CS-200 ChromaMeter to test the maximum brightness, black level, and contrast ratio of each phone and reported numbers for each of these three tests.

Test pattern screens: We used several DisplayMate Mobile test patterns to test for color-tracking errors, 24-bit color, and font legibility, among others.

Real-world: Finally, we conducted real-world anecdotal testing using 3D games, photos, and a little tool I like to call "the sun" to test the diffuse reflectance of each display.

All test screens were viewed within each phone's native gallery application. Some phones may handle pictures differently--and even improve them to some extent--outside the application. That said, we believe that testing within the respective gallery applications is still a viable test, as this is where most users will view pictures on their phones.

Note: Since we conducted our first round of tests, the Motorola Droid has received some noteworthy changes. When the Motorola Droid is upgraded to version 2.1, the Gallery (the principal image viewer for the phone) is downgraded to 16-bit color from its original full 24-bit color in version 2.0. Fortunately, version 2.1 of the Android Browser on the Droid still delivers full 24-bit color. Presumably these errors will be fixed in a future software upgrade, so the Droid will at some point return to its original, excellent 24-bit color. The tests here reflect the Droid in its 2.1 incarnation.

In order to diminish potential repetition, I'll dive right into the details of how each phone performed; if you'd like to know more about our tests, you can binge on nerdy details in our "How we tested" section at the bottom of this article. Please note that this is an evaluation of each phone's screen performance and nothing else. Check out the full reviews of these phones to determine which is right for you. Also, DisplayMate recently conducted a more technically focused evaluation of the Motorola Droid's screen that I recommend you check out.

The bottom line… Read more

The YouTube parody of an iPhone-craving customer is a certifiable hit at more than 4 million views and counting. It's pretty obvious why.

First and foremost it's a critique of the cultlike following Apple products have. No surprise here. (Hey, I'm guilty. I have an iPhone 3GS and a couple of MacBooks. OK, I have an iPad too.)

But the customer avatar in the video distills this into a Terminator-like--I must have the iPhone 4, do or die. My interviews last month with the must-have-the-iPhone-4-first faithful camped out at an Apple store in Southern California on the … Read more

The HTC Evo has 4G and a giant touch screen, both of which consume power. Want to maximize battery life on the Android phone? We'll show you how.

Germany says nein! to Facebook spamming non-Facebook users. Also, Amazon gets a patent on the Barnes & Noble Nook dual-screen concept, and Netflix begins closing the window on when new movies are available for streaming. Special guest: Darren Kitchen of Hak5!