By People are all riled up about the HTC EVO 4G (just check out the forums) and during yesterday’s event in NYC, tons of people were looking for live video coverage of the event. I knew you’d still probably want a peek the day after, so I wasted spent 30+ minutes with my hand in the air like an idiot, video taping the entire thing for your viewing pleasure.
Just after date/price were announced I fired up Skype to beam the info back to Mothership Phandroid, needless to say things get shaky for a minute or so, but the rest of the video(s) should be pretty stable. In this first 10 minutes, Dan Hesse takes the stage and one of his oh-so-true and interesting comments is how the EVO 4G could possibly be the best phone on the market even if it was the EVO 3G:
The second half of the above video features Senior Vice President of Product Management at Disney as he leads into discussing their show-stopper of the night – Prince of Persia. The next segment of the presentation shows the Producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s highlight reel of sorts, Disney’s closing statements, and then we quickly dive into the HTC EVO 4G and some product demonstrations including YouTube HQ (High Quality) and HDMI video-out:
I HAVE to point something out that occurs at 6-minutes in when they compare video on the EVO to video on the Droid – it is pretty misleading. They load up HD video on the EVO and Standard Definition content on the Droid and (at first) say they’re generically comparing HD to SD yet framing it like this is just EVO vs. Droid results from identical streams.
If you were to press “Menu > More > Watch in High Quality” on the Droid you would get a MUCH more similar picture. While the EVO screen/4G/processor/etc does give it a boost, the gap isn’t nearly as wide as they make it seem. Side note: the one presenter (who did a great job and actually made me chuckle several times) reminds me of Dennis Reynolds from “It’s Always Sunny”.
In any case, onto Part 3 of 4 where we see the docking station, Simultaneous Voice/Data, Google Goggles and some other fun stuff:
Now things get even MORE interesting. In the last segment of the presentation we see some gaming, the car docking station which automatically switches the phone to Car Mode, mobile hotspot, and video chat with Qik:
Unfortunately something went awry with the Qik demo which was disappointing. When it’s Microsoft announcing a new version of Windows, I can understand people secretly yearning for a blue screen of death, but I don’t think many people were hoping for this. I’ll give Sprint & Qik the benefit of the doubt in assuming it was just bad timing and/or a freak accident – Qik is a solid product and the 4G was pretty flawless except for this one deviation. That isn’t to say 4G and Qik are perfect, but for demonstration purposes, I wish they would have had better luck and don’t think this is indicative of a larger problem.
Right after I registered for the event I sat down on the couch next to a guy named Vijay Tella who worked for Qik. “I love Qik… what do you do for them?” I asked.
“I’m the CEO.”
How embarrassing. I spent the next 5 or 10 minutes talking with Mr. Tella about Qik, the EVO 4G and Android in general and have to say he seemed like a great guy. Coming prepackaged on the EVO 4G should help Qik get a lot of the attention it deserves on Android Market and I expect we’ll see some huge things from them in the near future.
By the way, I haven’t seen pictures of the Car Dock or Home/Video dock elsewhere so I thought some screencaps from the above video would be appreciated:
So there you have it folks – I hope now you feel like you were at the event in all its glory and didn’t miss a thing. And of course, if you want to be on the up-and-up with all the coolest of cool EVO kids, you’ll hit up the HTC EVO 4G Forum on AndroidForums.com!
Thanks for the dock pics!
Im torn between the home Dock & the Car dock….I want both….But considering im Spending $50 for a 16GB Card…i can only get one or the other..
Those are some good vids :D
Looks good :(
Thanks sooo much for sharing…
Now I have to figure out how to get out of my contract. Think Sprint will let me off the hook if I’m buying an EVO lol
Disney guy mentioned Alice in Wonderland being displayed in ways C. S. Lewis would never have imagined. I am sure he meant Lewis Carroll.
i’m so excited! =] i hope i get to keep my employee plan! :P
Was in sales for many years and one of the things I was taught early in my career was to not slam my competitions product but to just show the advantages of my product. I have VZW and have the Moto Droid and the Incredible and love them both!!! The EVO 4G looks great but one thing that was not talked about was can you get a signal outside NY cause the thing ain’t no good without a signal and Sprint is not good in my area. I am very happy with VZW and both my products because I can get a signal on both which makes them usable and besides VZW will come out later with something better but thanks for the videos.
i pre ordered my Evo 4G today at Best Buy, June 4th cant come fast enough.
Well Sprint has a 30 day trial free of any restocking fees! so try it out and judge for yourself!
Wow, can they say “Uhh” any more frequently???
For professional PR/sales people, they say that word wayyyyy too often!
I was sitting right next to Rob at the event and I have to say, kudos for keeping such a steady camera with one hand and updating the Phandroid home office with the other.
Well done.
And I have to apologize for intruding on the video too. At about 6:26 on video 2 you can hear my Droid start to run the same Cupcake Canon video they were showing (thought I had turned the sound off — nuts!). Rob and I thought the same thing at the same time — that the Evo people were comparing apples to oranges a bit when putting the Evo’s Youtube HQ up against the Droid’s Youtube Standard. Sure enough, when I brought up the HQ version it looked almost as good as the Evo (though, of course, it took *much* longer to load)
I mean at $79/mo that is still at least $10 cheaper than a similar plan from VZ or ATT! Just consider the amount of data the Evo4G will be accessing and transmitting in a month versus the Hero, for example, knowing Evo’s specs, features, and apps, I completely understand the $10 buy-up, 4G or no 4G. If Sprint were to release a 4G capable Nextel flip phone, for example, the $10 buy-up I’m sure would not apply!
Think about it this way: If Sprint made PC laptops that accessed all the Sprint services (TV, radio, NFL, navigation, etc) and with all the data enabled third party apps, video conferencing, YouTube HQ, etc, would you really expect them to give you all the data you want for the same price as a little 4G Samsung Instinct? Of course not.
Just went to VZ’s website looking for new service, comparable to Sprint’s Evo4G $69.99 + $10 add-on plan.
1) Let’s see, VZ’s 450 Talk & Text = $59.99/mo… oh but it’s not
unlimited mobile to mobile like Sprint, it’s only 450 daytime!
2) Now let’s add unlimited data for $29.99/mo
That is roughly $89.99/mo for 450 mins, unlimited text, unlimited data
1) Let’s get unlimited talk and text for $89.99/mo, that by itself is already $10 more than Sprint Evo4G’s $79.99/mo everything premium data!
2) Now let’s add unlimited data for $29.99/mo
That is roughly $119.99/mo! $40 more expensive per month than Sprint’s Evo4G plan, with NO VZ 4G!!!
If you read this comment, then you are no longer allowed to bitch about Evo4G’s $10 add-on!
Think about how much data is being transmitted during a video conference! Even on just 3G, Sprint would be giving away way too much data compared to normal Sprint smartphones. And like you said, $79/mo is still at least $10 cheaper than VZ and ATT and they don’t have any 4G, video chat, Sprint services, etc.
Spam
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your point 1. is incorrect.
Unlimited Calling to all Verizon Wireless Customers
I have the plan, and have verified. Do you?
@Karl….Those weren’t pro PR/sales folks. They were product managers and execs….but point taken! Anyone that stands on a stage should have professional delivery/presentation skills.
That’s right Lance and what Daniel A didn’t talk about is in what locations the 4G will be. I keep saying it isn’t any good if it you can’t get the service. You go ahead Lance I’ll take VZW any day over Sprint and AT&T. Can most always get signal on VZW. Always hate paying for service I can’t use no matter how CHEAP it is.
@Lance
It is not incorrect! I said free mobile to mobile, that is ANY MOBILE, not just VZ to VZ! So you know which carriers all of your friends and family are on? Or would you rather have free any mobile to any mobile so you don’t have to worry about it?! Get real man.
@copr165
4G is service is in over 30 major cities as we speak, and is coming to NYC, LA, Miami, and about 10 others this year! So what are you even talking about? The only play you can’t get Sprint 3G is in sparsely populate rural areas of the country and the midwest, because there is barely any people there anyway! Go check the coverage map. You go ahead and pay $40 more for the same services (with no 4G) that I get with Sprint, and I will take without a doubt the best device on the market, the Evo4G!
@Daniel
Well from your post it made it sound like it wasn’t even w/n the network. Perhaps you should have clarified before flying off the handle like a prepubescent child. I guess I stand corrected about “mobile to mobile”. Have fun with your Evo4G.
@Lance
Thanks for turning a debate about wireless phone service into a personal one. I guess you know you are dead wrong so you have to resort to ridiculous insults so you don’t feel like a loser. Read my comment again. Man, did I fly off the handle! Clearly, you couldn’t wait to use the word “prepubescent”.
This is the third time I leave a post ; does someone not like
what i’m saying? Lets hope this one doesn’t get erased. I find
it funny that out of the clear blue someone puts up a post
trying to sell everyone else on the notion that $10 over charge
is ok because “still at least $10 cheaper than a similar plan
from vz or att! ” I guess that makes it alright to add $120/year
fee; even thou CEO Dan Hesse said there would be no price
increase for 4G ! Then John Taylor does a play on words and adds
a $10/month over charge ( some might call that “BAIT and SWITCH);
Thats $120/year + $960/year (min plan)+$200 (evo) + tax
= $1280 for the first year PLUS TAX!!!
I find it funny because no one had brought it up and no one
was disputing it. It’s also funny because I find the same post at
other forums;almost word for word. Do these people work for
SPRINT ? If you do please for heaven sake lad at the very least
change the wording of your posts.
HTC EVO: Will it give a lethal blow to Nexus One and a tough competition to iPhone4? I personally think it is going to hit Nexus One very hard….
http://www.rohitprabhakar.com/2010/05/16/htc-evo-will-it-give-a-lethal-blow-to-nexus-one-and-a-tough-competition-to-iphone4/
Big Boo to Sprint. If you don’t live in a 4g area you shouldn’t pay the extra 10 bucks, period. The idea that I’m going to use more features on this phone than I did on my pre is ridiculous. The phone’s great, but if all I get is 3g in my area, why would I use more data? It’s not gonna happen. Sugar coat the fee however you want, it simply isn’t a fair way to gain revenue. Plus Sprint…I want to like you but you keep sucking me in with phones that stink…then I buy accessories…then the phone craps out. Instinct then pre. It is so rude that the preplus comes out and fixes the phone to what should have been the release standard. Plus the raping for touchstone chargers was ridiculous. Sorry for rant, bottom line Sprint, you owe me for crappy phones, now you want to make me pay for 4g I can’t get? Don’t think so.