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Sprint's New Mobile WiMax Smartphone Gets Reviewed
Verdict: fancy, but dubious battery life
Good old Walt Mossberg has gotten his hands on Sprint's EVO 4G, the first smartphone capable of using Sprint's Mobile WiMax network. Mossberg tested the phone for about a week in Baltimore and DC, and while he apparently enjoyed the phone's significant number of features, he complains of somewhat unimpressive battery life and some inconsistent speed performance on Sprint's network. The phone supposedly struggles to last a day on a full charge, though this can be helped by disabling 4G connectivity if you're not in a 4G market (the device has a dual mode EVDO/Mobile WiMax chip). Gizmodo and Engadget are offering up their first impressions as well.
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tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium Member
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

tiger72

Premium Member

Not surprised by Battery issues.

Considering HTC's customizations are constantly running in the background, I can't say i'm surprised by the battery issues on their own.

But more importantly, something which I've posted before will be applicable to LTE phones by Verizon also: the radio technology that LTE and WiMax use (OFDM) is even harder on batteries than WCDMA is (which itself is worse than CDMA and TDMA).

So of course the 4g battery life is going to suck.

LTE will be slightly better because they'll use SC-FDMA on the uplink which uses about 1/3 the power, but it'll still be worse than WCDMA (and consequently CDMA/EVDO).

But other than the battery issues, i'd love to have this phone - just replace the WiMax with HSPA+ and i'm all set.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

1 recommendation

battleop

Member

Re: Not surprised by Battery issues.

They should stop trying to make the phones so damn thin. So what if a phone ends up being twice the thickness if you can get a huge increase in battery life.

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium Member
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

tiger72

Premium Member

Re: Not surprised by Battery issues.

Because then non-business consumers will simply buy the iPhone.
There are costs to having the latest when it comes to specific technologies, and only business users will be interested in a device that looks like a brick, but has great battery life.
pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora

Premium Member

Re: Not surprised by Battery issues.

We are very spoiled by our technology. Later this year, new Intel processors for phones will provide not only better speeds on smartphones, but also help batteries last longer.

See - »www.ozcarguide.com/techn ··· orestown
HTC Evo 4G which is coming this June will be the last Android phone to have minuscule battery life as the next one on the line will last up to 240 hours without charge.

OZCAR could confidently say so as Intel revealed about its new Moorestown processor, nicknamed Intel Atom Z-Series which will offer cellphones with up to 10 days of battery life. According to Intel the new mobile processor is ready for mobile manufacturers to catch hold of.

The new processor is said to support Android OS and MeeGo, Intel’s newly created Linux platform. Eventually it will also support the Windows Phone 7 but we are not sure of the specific date.

Apparently the new processor is designed to save power and provide the power of a computer in a cellphone, as users are using their phones for many more other stuff than just making calls. The processor is focused to offer around 10 days of standby, six hours of 3G talk time and two full days of continuous music playback from a single charge.

Intel has also tested the new processor against the top five smartphone available at the moment and believes that they will definitely do much better than the rest. Future phones to come with the new processor will also get speeds up to 1.5Ghz, strong graphics processing support, will be able to run multiple 5-megapixel camera sensors, HDMI out and 1080p playback for videos.

Android phones with the new processor are expected to hit the UK market by second half of 2010.
i2Fuzzy
join:2009-02-25
Garland, TX

i2Fuzzy

Member

Re: Not surprised by Battery issues.

ozcarguide.com is frequently wrong with the information posted. Most of it seems to be made up without any solid source.
pandora
Premium Member
join:2001-06-01
Outland

pandora

Premium Member

Re: Not surprised by Battery issues.

Hmm,

OK, how about -

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· embedded


»www.geek.com/articles/mo ··· 2010055/
It may be a game that was released some 11 years ago, but it still counts as a benchmark people recognize. If Quake 3 runs like lightning on your latest device, then you know you are on to a winner. So it’s with little surprise that Intel is using it to show off their Atom-Z (Moorestone) chip powering a cellphone.

The demonstration showed the game running at 100 fps, which is unplayable, but the point is it won’t struggle and gives gamers a solid 30/60 fps experience that is playable. Such performance can also be used to offer flawless HD video output, multitasking apps, and media-rich web browsing without breaking a sweat.

Gaming isn’t the only facet of the Atom-Z Intel is pushing, however. The chip giant is claiming its latest Atom chip is a better option than ARM processors for mobile devices. Power consumption is 50x less than current Atom chips, and developers can continue to use an x86 platform.

We won’t have to wait long to see the Atom-Z in use either, as Intel say devices will appear on the market in the second half of 2010. A 1.5GHz Atom-Z will be found in smartphones, while a 1.9GHz model will be in tablet devices, and both platforms run PowerVR 3D graphics acceleration. Intel is also promising devices running on Moblin.
or - »www.ecommercetimes.com/s ··· 74273728
Intel's (Nasdaq: INTC) next-gen Atom processor-based platform (formerly "Moorestown") caused quite a stir in the news and among mobile computing aficionados. On the technical side, Intel seems to have delivered the goods. The platform includes Intel's Atom processor Z6xx Series Family (formerly "Lincroft"), the Platform Controller Hub MP20 (formerly "Langwell") and a dedicated Mixed Signal IC (MSIC) (formerly "Briertown").

It adds 3-D graphics, video encode and decode, and memory and display controllers into the single system-on-chip (SoC) design. Also included are the MP20 Platform Controller Hub and a dedicated MSIC, integrating power delivery and battery charging, and consolidating a range of analog and digital components.

What does this mean in plain English? That the new Atom platform is simply the best performing solution for handheld computing devices Intel has ever developed.

How much better? Try >50x reduction in idle power, >20x reduction in audio power and 2-3x power reductions in browsing and video compared to the previous-generation Atom (aka "Menlow") processor. These efficiencies translate into >10 days of standby, up to two days of audio playback and four to five hours of browsing and video life with common 1500mAh batteries.

Along with power savings, Intel's new Atom platform offers highly enhanced audio/video features that are critical to consumer experience and satisfaction. How enhanced? Compared to "Menlow," the new platform delivers 1.5-3x higher compute performance, 2-4x richer graphics, >4x higher JavaScript performance and support for full HD 1080p high-profile video decoding and 720p HD video recording.
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

xenophon to battleop

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to battleop
Evo uses the same battery as Hero. There are already larger aftermarket batteries available.

I'm getting an EVO. Prefer webOS but screen too small for me.

Noah Vail
Oh God please no.
Premium Member
join:2004-12-10
SouthAmerica

2 edits

Noah Vail to tiger72

Premium Member

to tiger72

Confirmed. HTC+Sprint=Short Battery Life

I had the same problem with my Touch Pro, when I got it from Sprint. My battery would die, with 30%-50% of my work day left.

A year ago, it was bad enough that I unlocked the phone, and uploaded a ROM called Haze. It was cooked by a user over at PPCGeeks. There's a good sized community of folks compiling and testing these things.

My experience? My battery life went from a half a day, to 1day-1.5day. I wound up with a lot of extra features, like tethering and hotspotting. After some trial+error, I chose a radio package from US Cellular (whoever they are) and got real improvement in reception and data.

Recently, though, I was having some delays in getting my email from Google's Exchange Server. Some txt's were coming in late as well. A change in radio was probably all I needed. I swapped ROMs anyway; this time to one called Energy.

It's a popular ROM, the thread has over 1.8 million views. So far, I really like it. Very intuitive interface, lots of terrific visuals and very responsive. It's a huge improvement over what Spint/HTC originally offered up.

I don't see myself ever suffering through a stock ROM again, unless I'm completely denied alternatives.

BTW: I tried Android on it last week, just for fun. I like it, but it wouldn't suit me until more features are added.

NV

edited for punkuation. and thpelling

Crazy Dave
Formerly known as Seph83
Premium Member
join:2004-04-29
Homer, GA
Askey TM-RTL0102
Ubiquiti UDM-US

Crazy Dave

Premium Member

Well what'd they expect...

From a 1ghz Dual Core processor with a 1500mah battery and several radios... That's one thing they really need to work on, is batteries. They make these phones more powerful, and the battery is the weakness. I should know, I own a BlackBerry Bold 9650.
NeoandGeo
join:2003-05-10
Harrison, TN

1 edit

NeoandGeo

Member

Re: Well what'd they expect...

What mah rating could we theoretically go up to for phones in a small package? I wouldn't mind having a small 2,500mah battery for my Droid. I hate barely getting by on a day with light usage.

tiger72
SexaT duorP
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join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

tiger72

Premium Member

Re: Well what'd they expect...

2500mah won't be small. They have some for the G1 that made the already thick brick look even uglier.
NeoandGeo
join:2003-05-10
Harrison, TN

NeoandGeo

Member

Re: Well what'd they expect...

I had a battery for my XV6800 that was the same size as the default, but had a mah rating twice as high.

battleop
join:2005-09-28
00000

battleop

Member

Re: Well what'd they expect...

I bought an aftermarket battery that was twice the size as the original. You had to replace the battery door with the one that came with the battery and it made phone thicker but it also increased my battery life. With the stock battery I was able to run about 12-14 hours. With the after market I was recharging the phone every 48 hours or so.
NeoandGeo
join:2003-05-10
Harrison, TN

NeoandGeo

Member

Re: Well what'd they expect...

The first extended battery I got for it was twice the size. Battery life was great, but it was way too bulky.

Crazy Dave
Formerly known as Seph83
Premium Member
join:2004-04-29
Homer, GA
Askey TM-RTL0102
Ubiquiti UDM-US

1 recommendation

Crazy Dave to tiger72

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to tiger72
I think most people who use Smartphones would trade a little thickness for longer battery life. I wouldn't mind if my BlackBerry was about 25% thicker, for longer battery life. I mean factory made that way, not just an extended life battery that makes the phone look goofy. There is an aftermarket company, Seideo, or something close to that effect, who makes a 1700 mah battery for my phone that is the same size as the OEM 1400 mah.

jmn1207
Premium Member
join:2000-07-19
Sterling, VA

1 recommendation

jmn1207 to tiger72

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to tiger72
The phone's looks don't play too key of a factor in my decision to own. As long as it's not some ugly color that makes me have to squint when looking at it, I'm much more interested in the functionality. I do know that the screen of the latest HTC devices is exceptional, and that will be what I see most of the time.

I picked up a 2600 mAh extended life battery for my BB Tour, and I am so impressed with the performance, that I will probably always purchase a similar battery for all of my future phone purchases. While it does add a bit to the size of the device, I actually prefer this with my Tour, as I have large hands and it makes it easier for me to hold.

Seidio is already working on a 3500 mAh extended life battery for the HTC Incredible, so I assume that there will be a similar-sized battery for this new Sprint iteration. I'm not going to jump right in, though, I'll wait a bit to see how people react to it first.
cmarin
join:2004-01-13
Boynton Beach, FL

cmarin to Crazy Dave

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to Crazy Dave
said by Crazy Dave:

From a 1ghz Dual Core processor with a 1500mah battery and several radios... That's one thing they really need to work on, is batteries. They make these phones more powerful, and the battery is the weakness. I should know, I own a BlackBerry Bold 9650.
Hmmm... I have a Bold 9700 and easily go 2 days before I have to plug in again. About an hour of talk time, at least 100txts and some web browsing, plus the AP app running in the background downloading new articles every 45min. I am very impressed with the battery life of the 9700. My previous phone was the original Bold 9000 and although I like the keyboard on that one better (bigger), the battery life was terrible, even after upgrading it to OS 5.

Crazy Dave
Formerly known as Seph83
Premium Member
join:2004-04-29
Homer, GA

Crazy Dave

Premium Member

Re: Well what'd they expect...

That's the difference that a 100mah more battery and a different processor makes. Though I'd I didn't use the Wi-Fi this phone will go quite a bit longer.
stridr69
join:2003-05-19
San Luis Obispo, CA

2 edits

stridr69

Member

Re: Well what'd they expect...

I also have a BB9700(T-Mobile). Using UMA, I can easily get 3 days of moderate use out of this phone. With multiple applications open at the same time(Weatherbug, Ubertwitter, Facebook, BBM, WeBrowser, visual voicemail, call log, Messages-this includes 4 e-mail accounts, SMS, MMS). Not to mention, landline quality voice and data usage.
Blackberries are king as far as battery management goes-I've gone 2 days with moderate use using the cellular network. With all of the above applications running.

Plus, I can put this fone in my pocket easily.

I'm looking forward to real world testing on the EVO, as Sprint's "4G" is questionable at best
glinc
join:2009-04-07
New York, NY

glinc

Member

Batteries

Batteries is the only problem that is holding back mobile technology. No matter what new stuff comes out, cellphone, laptops, etc.... batteries will always be the challenge.

kapil
The Kapil
join:2000-04-26
Chicago, IL

1 recommendation

kapil

Member

Pass

It's certainly a groundbreaking device...but I will pass because:

- No physical keyboard.
- Android...which, despite what the fanboys claim, is still in its infancy.
- Big Brother Google
- The thing is HUGE. It's bigger than the HD2...which was already too big to be used comfortably as a phone.
- Sprint wants a premium for "4G"...which is stupid.
- WiMax is only used for data....voice still uses CDMA, which is stupid.

That last point is important. Sprint may have bee first to market with a "4G" network...but I don't quite get their strategy.

There is no standard for voice over WiMax...and doesn't look like there ever will be. So, Sprint is forever tied to hauling voice over CDMA and data over WiMax...and a WiMax network that it doesn't fully own or control.

Couple the above with the fact that WiMax has awful building penetration and coverage and it means that WiMax will never truly be a complete replacement for EVDO....and of course EVDO itself isn't perfect and needs to fall back to 1xRTT every so often.

So, all Sprint handsets will need to have radios to support the different networks....which will make for a crappy user experience because they will be bulky with awful battery life.

Aside from some marketing buzz generated by being first to market with a next generation network, I just don't see where Sprint is going.

On the other hand, the other national carriers are adopting a different strategy...Verizon is rumored to be working in voice of EVDO....essentially VoIP. T-Mobile, which was late to the 3G party has 21Mbps HSPA...and AT&T is backing off it's LTE press releases it dispatched to fight Verizon's make-believe LTE claims and also going the 7.2 then 21Mbps HSPA.

And let's be honest...the networks don't need to be "4G". 21Mbps...or even a more real-world 10Mbps is plenty of bandwidth for a mobile device.

The PR mouthpieces for these companies got WAY ahead of the technology they can actually deliver.
talz13
join:2006-03-15
Avon, OH

talz13

Member

Re: Pass

said by kapil:

- WiMax is only used for data....voice still uses CDMA, which is stupid.

That last point is important. Sprint may have bee first to market with a "4G" network...but I don't quite get their strategy.

There is no standard for voice over WiMax...and doesn't look like there ever will be. So, Sprint is forever tied to hauling voice over CDMA and data over WiMax...and a WiMax network that it doesn't fully own or control.

Couple the above with the fact that WiMax has awful building penetration and coverage and it means that WiMax will never truly be a complete replacement for EVDO....and of course EVDO itself isn't perfect and needs to fall back to 1xRTT every so often.
Voice over WiMax isn't a big selling point for me. Voice works. Data is slow, so put it on the faster medium (WiMax). Also, you can use the less power-hungry CDMA for voice, saving your battery somewhat.

I hope Seidio comes out with a sweet battery for the EVO, I'll probably have to buy it if they do.

Jim Kirk
Premium Member
join:2005-12-09
49985

Jim Kirk to kapil

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to kapil
So... It took you 10 paragraphs to say you're not buying the Evo?

Dest
Bolo
Premium Member
join:2000-03-21
Naperville, IL

Dest to kapil

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to kapil
the EVO is 1mm longer, 1mm less wide and 2mm thicker than the HD2... basically identical, so much about your complain its huge/bigger than HD2
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
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join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2 to kapil

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to kapil
Who cares if data goes one way and voice another... ?

This network ISN'T "4G" anyway... it falls FAR SHORT of being what is defined as 4G.. this is more 3.5G if anything. But, again, there are plenty of people that would be able to use 21Mbps service.. just becuase you don't want it, someone else does. Wireless data, such as this, is STILL largely a business use anyway. The average person doesn't really need that much on the go. But, the WiMax part of it will also bleed into the home use.. so yea, 21m is actually fine. This opinion of yours is really - off beat and draconian. You want the network to only be built out for what we need today, huh? We only really need about 10 huh? What about in a year... ? Remember, this "mobile device" connects up to 8 wifi devices... and yes, in mobile use, today, 21mbps IS needed for some people. If it's available.. offer it.

My brother doesn't get wired internet here in the Twin Cities... he's been waiting for the roll out of wimax for his house.

I don't see these phones as bulky either.. and a lot of people really don't find a phone that size bulky, especially when these phones are doing more. There is a point where a phone becomes too small depending on what it does. You want a small phone, get the Hero... I had it, hated it.. too hard to use. Millions of people say the iPhone is just fine for them, and it's about the same. I don't think many people are going to care about the size of the phone.

SysOp
join:2001-04-18
Atlanta, GA

2 edits

SysOp

Member

The EVO battery does not actualy lag; user swappable.

After reading Walt Mossberg's review, I found it in poor taste how he titles his review "Sprint 4G Phone Hits New Speeds, but Battery Lags" because he fails to mention the EVO battery is user swappable unlike the iPhone.

How long did the battery last for Walt? We don't know.
How long would it last if he didn't use the hotspot feature? We don't know.
Before his battery lags, what was his voice usage? What was his data usage? These details are lacking!

I am going out on a limb here, but a few pointers:

1) Common sense tells me to charge the battery after using it continuously for several hours.
2) Tethering via USB will help by powering the phone
3) My favorite idea is just change the battery. Especialy after using it as a mobile Hotspot.

Noah Vail
Oh God please no.
Premium Member
join:2004-12-10
SouthAmerica

Noah Vail

Premium Member

Re: The EVO battery does not actualy lag; user swappable.

said by SysOp:

How long did the battery last for Walt? We don't know.
How long would it last if he didn't use the hotspot feature? We don't know.
Before his battery lags, what was his voice usage? What was his data usage? These details are lacking!
New phones and/or new batteries are battery-flaky for several days. It can take up to a month before a user can accurately gauge his battery life.

Wireless Hotspotting is brutal on a battery; period. I always have my phone on a charger when I use that feature. In a weak cell area, the discharge can slightly outstrip the charge.

You can image how warm the phone gets during that kind of usage.

NV

kamm
join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY

1 edit

kamm

Member

Mossberg? Are you kidding me?

Does anyone give a damn about this monkey?
Seriously: Walt "Slimeball" Mossberg is the biggest iDiot the Earth ever carried - he was always a rather mediocre journalist but since he turned around and became this so-called "technology journalist" he's just downright pathetically clueless in almost any subject he takes on.
And even if we ignore his ever-apparent cluelessness this idiot is also Jobs' personal buddy - do you really trust the words of a paid sh!tbag like him?

Few people done more harm in educating the masses about technology than this sc*mbag, I bet.
ricep5
Premium Member
join:2000-08-07
Jacksonville, FL

ricep5

Premium Member

Re: Mossberg? Are you kidding me?

Don't mince your words.....what do you really think?

kamm
join:2001-02-14
Brooklyn, NY

kamm

Member

WiMax is not only slow today but largely nonexistent...

...and it won't change ofr a couple of years, let's face it.

Speed-wise it's also waaay behind TMO's current HSPA+ speed - and TMO already said once HSPA+ upgrade is done (around Q4) they will ramp it up everywhere from the current 12-14Mb/s to 21Mb/s... good luck catching up, rest of the cell industry.