With a huge appetite for smartphones evident among in the mobile phone market, the HTC Evo 3D was always going to be a success and became one of Amazon's best sellers just based on preorder volumes. Smartphones are the perfect way to sample mobile 3D TV programming, and clearly that fact has not been lost on the buying public who may not yet have been enticed into buying one of the larger display 3D TVs for home use.
Here we'll examine what sets the HTC Evo 3D apart from its competitors, and why it's a reat smartphone in its own right and as a 3D viewing interface.
1. The User Experience
As a pure mobile smartphone, the HTC Evo 3D is a great example of technology built to provide a great user experience. The HTC Sense user interface is perfectly designed and presents itself as a credible rival to Apple products, providing simple and straightforward navigation around features.
2. Technical Power & Features
The dual processor that drives the HTC Evo 3D is a Samsung 1.2GHz version with 1 GB of RAM and 4GB internal memory. This makes it 20% faster and more powerful than other 1 Ghz smartphones - giving a fast response to any commands. This is demonstrated perfectly with the 3D video capability, and the resulting 720p recording ability which delivers 30 frames per second.
The smartphone is not called the Evo 3D for nothing. The 3D capability is a superb addition to its standard smartphone facilities. The two cameras on the rear of the device offer the option to take 3D photos, while there's also a standard front facing 1.3 megapixel camera.
3. The Benefits - and the detail behind the Evo's 3D capability
Users of the HTC Evo 3D are unlikely to ever complain of slow response. The typical activities of a mobile smartphone owner - internet surfing, using apps, watching movies, playing games - are all completed at optimal speed. Playing games is of course a hugely popular activity which appeals to many mobile phone users, and 3D gaming has always been identified as likely to drive the popularity of 3D TV technology. We'll see more evidence of that when the Sony Playstation 3D TV hits the shelves late in 2011.
The 3D capability of the Evo 3D is its main feature. The first big benefit is that the phone does not need the viewer to wear 3D glasses to watch 3D content. That's big news, the problems with acceptance of 3D glasses are well documented and it's clearly some way off still that we'll see larger screen 3D TV without glasses models on sale.
The 960 x 540 resolution display is a high quality one measuring 4.3 inches and is coupled with two five megapixel cameras situated on the rear of the device which allow recording of your own 3D content. The Evo can also be used to hook up to a big screen 3D TV and display the recorded images. That's a great way to solve the lack of 3D content issues that still plague the acceptance of 3D TV in general. There is no option to reduce the level of 3D imaging such as we've seen with the Nintendo 3DS, and with the introduction of the Nintendo 3DS 3D TV service we could yet see Nintendo mounting a serious challenge to other mobile 3D TV devices.
All in all the 3D experience offered by the Evo is a great one, with clear, ultra sharp images and a good sense of depth. This is most apparent when watching specially filmed 3D movie type content, although the phone does also give good 3D depth to mundane local photos too. You get the choice of taking 2D or 3D photos just by the flick of a switch.
To make use of the 3D phone, activation of one of Sprint’s Everything Data plans and also a $10 Premium Data charge for smartphones is needed. While the price of the HTC EVO 3D smartphone is $199.99, the HTC EVO View 4G comes at a price of $399.99.
Aside from the 3D features, you get the latest Android 2.3 Gingerbread operating system which delivers useful features such as Voice Action, which gives you a wide range of choices in voice activated functions. Other available apps also include the HTC movie rental service which offers 3D movies via download or rental, along with ability to connect wirelessly to up to 8 devices to enable internet access sharing.
4. And The Pricing? What does the HTC Evo 3D cost?
At just under around $200, the Evo 3D is competitively priced when compared with other smartphones that can't compete with it's featureset.
All things considered, the HTC Evo 3D is an impressive first step into 3D technology for the Taiwan based smartphone provider, and no doubt will be the first of many models. It just goes to show how fast technology is moving when we get the chance to watch high quality 3D content on a mobile phone. Great stuff from HTC!
