“Sprint, which made a bad bet on the Palm Pre, isn’t faring much better with its new hero phone, the Android-powered HTC Evo 4G,” Devindra Hardawar reports for VentureBeat. “While the superphone generated a significant amount of buzz before its release, complaints about the device started mounting once users got their hands on it. Most recently, many users are seeing issues with the Evo’s screen, including glass separation, as well as trouble with responsiveness (which also affects its sister phone, the Droid Incredible).”
Hardawar reports, “When the phone isn’t held in the hand, the touchscreen seems to have serious issues registering inputs. While not everyone is experiencing the issue, enough users are that it seems like more than a mere anomaly with a few units. If true, it’s something that couldn’t be fixed with a software update. Coupled with many accounts of screen separation, HTC and Sprint may have to initiate a hardware recall to fix the issues.”
YouTuber “jaypeezee34” explains the following video: This is to demonstrate the issue that the EVO 4G is encountering with surfaces that are not grounded, or do not have pass any type of electrical charge. This is a huge issue when attempting to use the phone in a car dock for navigation or other purpose.
Direct link to video via YouTube here.
Hardawar reports, “All of this is in addition to reports of terrible battery life, something MobileCrunch calls a ‘deal-breaker’ for the device…”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: LG Voyager, HTC Touch, BlackBerry Bold, Samsung Omnia, Sony Ericsson Xperia, BlackBerry Storm, Palm Pre, BlackBerry Storm 2, Motorola Droid, Google’s rebadged HTC Nexus One, HTC Evo 4G… Next?!
MacDailyNews Take:
@MDN
Next…Step….oh yea…that’s now iOS
Rock On!
MDN you forgot the pre version 2 in your list:)
for the “bad” test…this guy is starting his drag on the plastic bevel.
for the “good – look how hard i have to press” test…he’s starting his drag within the screen.
this is ret@rded.
Will people never learn? It’s always been about quality, not quantity. I’d rather have a phone that works near flawlessly, than one crammed full of stuff to brag about.
Sad, can’t anyone (else) create a decent phone??
Love my iPhone!!
When you rush something to market, it doesn’t get tested as well. Still, it’s hard to believe that HTC did not try tests when a human hand was not holding the device. Imagine what else did not get fully tested…
That must be one of HTC’s patented innovations.
@ bogus
How does it matter where the drag starts? If the finger touches the screen after first touching the bevel, it should not register? If that’s the problem, this is an even bigger issue.
And magically, this very real problem will be completely omitted from any reviews by gizmodo…
Hey “Eric T Mole” i guess u Did not learn Anything at Apple eh.
“Never Bite the Hand that Feeds u”
Once Apple is able to offer the iPhone to other carriers, the game for Android will be over. The only real reason I can see for smart phone buyers to bash Apple and iPhone is the fact that AT&T;is the only cell phone carrier the iPhone can officially run on unless jail broken. Then it’s on T-Mobile (without the cool voice mail feature AT&T;users get).
Apple spent a lot more time and energy perfecting the OS of the phone as well as the hardware. Apple has a huge headstart. All the other phone makers have been in rush mode trying to compete and offer phones to rival Apple’s. It seems that so far, none of them can offer the seamless experience of the iPhone.
Personally, I think the HTC Evo 4G is ugly. For this reason alone, I wouldn’t buy it. Android? No thanks.
Things will change once iPhone is on Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint. No question about it.
Guess those are the HTC patented features that Apple did not copy.
If you go to the site where the original article is featured and read the user comments, you’ll see a heavy anti-Apple sentiment. And almost all of them defend their HTC Evo 4G phones to the hilt.
I equate it to PC owners who will defend their POS computers over Macs until the day they die. I have a friend locally who says he won’t buy or own and product that starts with “i”. He is perfectly happy using a piece of junk PC with a blurry screen and he doesn’t have or use iTunes.
I think of him as a prehistoric man. Whatever!
@ bogus,
Oh, really? Then, I assume you also have an explanation for the portion of the video (3:05) where he is unable to tap the “Kill selected apps” button (three failed attempts!) until he actually picks up the device and it finally works?
The Evo also has HUGE issues with the back of the case.
It doesn’t say, “Designed by Apple in California.”
I realize a lot here at MDN is hyperbole. For example, it is implied here that all devices are affected, where it may only be a small fraction of the devices. How many times have we seen an Apple product that actually did have widespread problems? Let’s see… a few:
PowerBook 5300ce (flaming batteries, broken trackpads, PMU malfunctions, to mention a few… Apple issues a worldwide refurbishment program, extends factory warranty to make a total of 7 years of coverage)
PowerBook Wallstreet/PDQ (loose/broken screen hinges)
PowerBook Pismo (pink/purple screen; keyboard impressions on screen; crack along mid point between trackpad and keyboard)
iBook Dual USB (3 generations, logic board failures due to GPU improperly soldered onto the motherboard/poor motherboard micro-circuitry… widespread reports of logic board failures sometimes up to 4 times per user, until a new computer is given on warranty… post-warranty, lots of failures, Apple threatened with class action suit, Apple issues extension to warranty on logic boards on certain units)…
Oh right, it was only a small fraction of users that were affected…
The point is that every manufacturer of tech is subject to the same law of averages of failures, which includes Apple. I love the iPhone, and I hope it dominates, but it doesn’t mean the attitude in the Mac community has to be that everyone else has to lose. We need the competition, or else Apple will just monopolize, dictate… none of which is good for the consumer in the end.
try a drag on your iphone starting at the bezel. it doesn’t register.
The EVO is a joke and this only validates all these poser phones suck.
Also this piece of shit is huge….good riddance, you can keep it Sprint.
New iPhone in a couple of weeks, yippee!
@U
U are mostly right. Consumers, including users of Apple products, should benefit from healthy competition. So far we haven’t seen any real competition – it has all been talk and hype. Then, after the real product hits the market, the flaws appear. So we are simply enjoying the failures to pass the time until some credible competition appears.
As far as the failures go, Apple has had a few. But the batteries were a vendor (Sony?) problem, as I recall, and affected virtually every laptop manufacturer. Apple has not always handled those problems gracefully at the beginning, but generally came through in the crunch after being confronted with the evidence. Overall, I would say that they have done far better than most Windows PC companies.
The only problem that I have ever had with an Apple device was an iPod nano that failed after a few months – instant replacement without any questions or difficulties. That is one reason why Apple has my loyalty and deserves it.
@U
A follow up — your comment that “…every manufacturer of tech is subject to the same law of averages of failures, which includes Apple…” is untrue. There is no “law of averages” for failures of complex systems involving both hardware and software. Some companies clearly have a better track record than others.
Given similar components, product reliability is primarily driven by the skill and dedication of the employees and their adherence to a core set of proven processes and principles. You can characterize individual components, for example, to generate a statistical basis for MTBF. But the reliability and robustness of a system is driven by the manner in which those components, both hardware and software, are integrated.
From my perspective, Apple has a better track record than any other manufacturer of computers or complex electronic devices. As you correctly pointed out, Apple products/designs are not without flaws. But Apple’s superior track record cannot be explained simply as a crap shoot driven by some “law of averages.”
I agree with “U” (ouch, pun not intended)…well, except that last part.
I would love to laugh at this phone for being terrible, but it will take some time to figure out if this is an issue for more than a fraction of the totally phones sold.
Apple does not NEED the competition. Unlike some companies that become complacent, Apple on their own strive to innovate and improve their products. This is a seminal part of Jobs vision – aggressively pushing into the future, see for example lack of arrow keys on the original Macs and euthanasia of the floppy drive.
HTC Droid Unusable
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NOW I know why HTC is suing Apple.
So that Apple can pay for HTC’s poor design.
That’s the American Way, right?
KingMel:
First, the 5300ce battery problem. You…, I think know, that the flaming battery was but 1 of many problems with that unit. The refurbishment program included new components, like a PMU, that was subject to failure. Also, the plastic in one part of the casing was a bad mix, and prone to cracking/warping. Overall, there were 6 major flaws with the PB 5300ce that were engineering/manufacturing faults – Apple’s fault mostly.
Second, law of averages is just, as you know, a cliche term that refers to the fact that a certain number of devices off a tech production line will be DOA in some or many respects. That’s the point. Nobody is perfect at manufacturing tech. Components can be DOA, and that includes Apple’s.
The irony of all of this is that Apple’s original iPhone actually had pretty much the same problem: some units, the touchscreen would have dead spots. The original iPhone user discussion over at Apple bloated with complaints on the matter. Users’ touchscreens were then promptly replaced… and from what I know, it was a small percentage of owners who were affected.
How quickly the Apple clan forgets…
My daughter bought a MacBook before going to university. Just over a year later the hard disc died. Out of warranty – as a poor student she had not bought AppleCare. No argument at Apple Store they replaced Disc and also front panel which technician said looks damaged. No charge.
Just over another year passes and disc fails again! Apple Store again replaces hard disc for free and this time gives her a free copy of Snow Leopard.
Some after sales service! You can bet the cost of two discs plus an hour of technician time has resulted in a lifetime of loyalty from her and her brother not to mention all the student friends they tell.
Apple could just have said too bad it’s out of warranty but they have bought some very powerful word of mouth advertising very cheaply. I also tell everyone the story about how Apple treats customers. Apple is not perfect all the time and everywhere but you can guess which computers etc get bought in this household.