The bottom line: The HTC Evo 3D is a good smartphone that has a cool gimmick. It's highly likely you won't be using the 3D features much--except when taking pictures--once the novelty wears off.
HTC latest smartphone, the Evo 3D, comes packing all the hardware you'll find in the company's high-end devices and features a glasses-free 3D display (autostereoscopic) as well. The handset is also capable of taking pictures and videos in 3D, which you can then view on the device's screen. While the idea of a portable 3D viewing device is commendable, the phone still feels more like a novelty gadget with limited use.Looking like a cross between the HTC Desire HD and HTC Sensation, the Evo 3D lacks the aluminum chassis of the above two models. No doubt this is due to HTC making a decision on weight as the smartphone is already quite heavy at 170g. Thus, you'll find the rear cover made of a rubbery plastic, which does give the handset a solid grip.
Speaking of which, the rear cover is easily removed, and the microSD slot easily accessible. However, we did get slightly confused on where to insert the SIM card at first--a minor quibble since it's something you need to figure out only once.
As with the HTC Sensation, the power button is located at the top together with a 3.5mm audio jack, but that's where the similarities end. On the right side are where you find the volume controls, and since this is a 3D smartphone, a 2D/3D switch is also found on the right.
The switch lets you toggle between the two modes. Next to this switch is a camera shutter button, which you can also half-press to focus on your subject. On the left is where you'll find the micro-USB charging port, and it's been moved much higher up the side as compared with the HTC Sensation.
Located on the front are four touch sensitive buttons and we found that they were quite a nuisance to deal with when using the phone. More often that not, our palms would brush against the buttons when typing, which meant we would accidentally call up the search feature or return to the main home panel. We didn't encounter this problem with the Sensation, but we kept hitting the Evo 3D's buttons. We're guessing it may be due to the buttons being placed too close to the edge compared with the Sensation which has a small bezel to protect against accidental touches.
Lastly, the phone features a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera and two 5-megapixel cameras for recording in 3D. We note that when taking 3D pictures, the actual resolution of the pictures is capped at 2 megapixels, but video recording is still remains at 720p in 3D.
As mentioned earlier, you're able to record pictures and videos in 3D, which sounds fun, but bear in mind that there's a limitation to how close you can actually go to take a picture. We've highlighted this problem in our LG Optimus 3D hands-on, so this is by no means unique to HTC's smartphone.
Compared with the Optimus 3D however, the qHD (960 x 540 pixel) screen definitely stands out. It makes everything much sharper, especially in 3D. There's also a button on the top right corner when viewing a picture that lets you toggle the viewing mode.
Connectivity-wise, the Evo 3D comes with everything you'd expect of a higher-end handset, including Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, DLNA and HSDPA. The inclusion of the latest version of HTC's Sense UI also makes using the smartphone a breeze. You may also want to check out some shortcuts that you can use in the Sense UI over here.
Now, like all HTC phones, the Evo 3D comes with very little actual storage, a measely 1GB, so you'll have to get a microSD card if you want to start recording 3D videos and pictures. It does come with a 8GB microSD card bundled, in case you were wondering.
There are also three preloaded 3D games that come with the phone, and the HTC Watch movie service is also included. You will be able to rent and watch 3D movies once the service goes live sometime in September.
As for picture quality, the 5-megapixel camera delivered an average performance in 2D mode, with some details being lost when zoomed in. Pictures taken in low-light without flash aren't impressive, but the dual-LED flash is capable of lighting up the scene pretty well, so we do recommend using the flash where possible. 3D mode photos are taken with both cameras set at 2 megapixels, and we found image quality to lack details.
Battery performance on the other hand, was pretty average. We got at least a day and a half out of the phone's 1,730mAh battery using our usual test settings where Facebook is left on a two-hour refresh interval while Twitter and Gmail (both work and personal) accounts are on push. If you're a heavy user, be prepared to see your battery charge dip drastically when engaging in processor intensive tasks
Call quality was definitely good, and we had no problems making out the other caller on the line (or vice versa). Like the HTC Sensation though, the soft speakers remain one of the problems we have an issue with. We found ourselves missing important notifications when the phone was kept in a pocket or bag.
That said, it's still a pretty good smartphone and useful for the occasional "wow" factor of its autostereoscopic screen, though we dare say your money may be better spent on the HTC Sensation. The Evo 3D will retail for for S$895 (US$740) without an operator contract and is currently available in Singapore. HTC has announced that the Evo 3D will also be rolling out to the rest of Asia soon.