HTC EVO View 4G Review

HTC

Review Summary:

The EVO View 4G brings WiMAX to the excellent HTC Flyer. It's a solid device with a few quirks and flaws.

Pros

• Great compact 7-inch design
• 4G offers excellent speeds
• Netflix on an Android tablet, finally 

Cons

• Mediocre speakers, bad placement on EVO View
• Limited use for pen 
• 4G coverage spotty in some metropolitan areas

HTC EVO View 4G Full Review

 

When TabletPCReview welcomed the arrival of the HTC Flyer, we noted that it was "certainly bringing something different into the tablet market." For better or worse, the brand new HTC EVO View 4G cares less about being the newest and most distinct kid on the block, but is fine reintroducing itself as merely improved.

That isn’t to imply there isn’t anything novel about the Android tablet that ushers in 4G coverage, but there’s not a whole lot of effort put in here that tackles much in terms of unique innovation. At the end of the day though, why fix what isn’t broken? Besides the moderately expensive price point for a "Did it really have to run on a Gingerbread OS?" device, the HTC EVO View 4G actually does a pretty decent job of being one of the nicer 7-inch tablets out there. 

BUILD & DESIGN

Some book readers will distinguish themselves in regards to being ‘hard cover’ or ‘paperback’ type of people. I think it’s safe to say that the tablet – when specifically relating to size – may also help to divide a similar type of subculture. At seven inches, the HTC EVO View 4G ditches the gray in favor of two shades of black, and at 14.8 ounces seems far from burdensome, even while in transit. Plastic bumpers on the back create a good, curved, not entirely smooth grip – large enough for two hands to latch on, but light enough for one. I enjoyed that it felt more substantial than a phone and ultimately a tad lighter, more compact, and even a bit bulkier in places than any of its 10–inch competition.

Similar to its 4G–less predecessor, the display screen in front takes up the majority of the space, with a front–facing 1.3–megapixel camera peeking out from the top-center of the tablet while in landscape position. The backside reveals a pair of speakers, in addition to a raised rear-facing, 5-megapixel camera that most likely looks to be the first casualty if the device accidentally scrapes or lands against something that it shouldn’t.

On the top short side lies the power/wake-sleep button alongside a 3.5mm headset jack. On the bottom short side, similar to the Flyer, can be found the same odd 12-pin USB connector input, which again works with both the proprietary cable that ships with the HTC EVO View and any microUSB. On the right long side are two tiny microphone holes along with a pretty sizeable, and therefore welcoming, volume control.

The top cover slides off – at least eventually, and perhaps with more struggle than its worth – to reveal the microSD memory expansion card slot. Like the Flyer, HTC seems to have missed an opportunity here to find a placeholder for the nondescript, black HTC Scribe pen accessory, which itself would have at least benefited by not looking like every other writing utensil in my household and having something in place that minimizes it from rolling around (and off of) tables and desks.

On the bottom of the screen is a Home, Menu and Back button that will move around, depending on whether the user wishes to hold the tablet in a portrait or landscape orientation. There’s also a light that, when used in conjunction with the HTC Scribe, can change pen types, colors, sizes, and provides a shortcut into the Notes section.

Display and SpeakersThe 7-inch screen supports a 1024 x 600 pixel display. Indoors, with moderate lighting, it’s a clean and colorful experience. The tablet is best viewed directly head-on with a slight tilt, and the size of the screen gives the user an ample amount of distance in which he or she can hold the tablet and still make out the details without squinting or extra stress. Touch capability works real well here – it’s easy to navigate and definitely not too strict in terms of sensitivity.

Like many tablets, the HTC EVO View doesn’t adjust as well to the outdoors. There’s an ongoing glare issue, and the color washes out even if it’s a mildly bright day. It’s not impossible to watch video or read emails without a roof over your head, but it’s far from ideal. You will probably want to you keep the tablet a domestic or in-office device when possible.

I’m not entirely sure why the two speakers were designed on the back of the tablet. The sound isn’t terrible, but its range is limited and far, far from excellent. Of course, a good remedy to this is using a pair of headphones, but it would be nice to have a tablet that doesn’t rely on such an accompaniment in order to output quality sound.

HTC EVO View 4G Specs:

• Android Gingerbread (2.3) with HTC Sense UI
• 7-inch diagonal capacitive TFT touchscreen (1,024 x 600), active pen supported
• 1.5Ghz single-core Qualcomm processor
• 1GB RAM
• 32GB internal memory, microSD
• Front-facing 1.3-megapixel, rear-facing 5.0-megapixel webcams
• WiMAX, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS
• 3.5mm audio jack, microUSB
• 7.7 x 4.8 x .52 inches
• .92 lbs
• Price at Launch: $399.99 with two year agreement, $649.99 without

PERFORMANCE

The HTC EVO View 4G sports a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor with 1GB of RAM. On paper, the big drawback is that the device’s operating system, Gingerbread, was originally designed for smartphones and not for tablets. At first glance, it’s not really that much of a limitation thanks to the HTC Sense user interface, but for a product that nearly pushes the $400 mark, it’s disappointing that it’s not necessarily HTC’s best foot forward (which would be tablet–tailored Honeycomb).

Internet browsing is intuitively quick and easy, and it’s nice that Flash is supported throughout. Even with a smartphone–centric operating system, the web displays are defaulted to the full sites, which keep the tablet experience alive. Websites seemed pretty quick and easy to load up, no matter the amount of videos present or the complexity to their design.

The keyboard is simple to use and easy to learn, but I’m not entirely sold on how you have to hold down on a default key (such as a letter) in order to get one of its variables (like a number) to register. It certainly saves a step in theory, but I am more concerned with momentum and speed, and the key to toggle the number and symbol keys is tucked away at the bottom of the board. Is it too much to ask for a keyboard with the number keys above the letters, just like a real QWERTY? That said, I quite like the keyboard’s predictive texting bar, which undoubtedly helps with both time and accuracy.

Battery life runs well and keeps its vitality for an extended period of time. Running the tablet with the 4G setting will drain the power faster, but one can seamlessly switch to 3G or a wireless connection if a level of preservation is needed. As far as connectivity goes, the Wi-Fi is speedy, and the 3G is more moderate when it’s in the right spot. I have some conflicting thoughts about the 4G, which will come later in the review.

Both cameras fulfill a need, but there’s something about the size of tablets that makes picture taking less than ideal. Neither camera takes phenomenal–quality photos, which I’m not sure is something any user actually expects or needs with such a device. All in all, it does the trick for pictures on the fly and video chatting, but I would seek elsewhere if you’re looking for pristine images and any sort of sharp still–image documentation.

BenchmarksSunspider is a Javascript benchmark for measuring browser performance. Lower numbers are better.

Quadrant measures CPU, 3D, and memory performance. Higher numbers are better.

The EVO View 4G came in right in the middle of the pack in the Quadrant benchmark, performing slightly better than its Wi-Fi–only cousin, the HTC Flyer. Looking at browser performance, the EVO View came in dead last when compared with recently–reviewed Android tablets. However, its performance was more than acceptable and users won't be disappointed with the EVO View 4G's browser experience.

Apps
Most apps load with ease, but as a result of not running Honeycomb (as of the writing of this review) the user won’t be able to access specific tablet offerings, which include video chat over Google Talk. The tablet does offer Qik chat, which can cover the same basic video chat needs, but features sometimes mean less to a user when there is a lack of familiarity.

Beyond calculators, cameras, a Gameloft app (it’s worth noting that the 7–inch screen feels like the perfect screen dimension for portable video games), YouTube, GPS Navigators, along with a few surplus and otherwise insignificant applications (which can’t be deleted), the HTC EVO View 4G contains a Sprint Hotspot that turns the 4G connection into a Wi-Fi network that a small group can access. It’s one of the nicer features that incorporates the 4G technology, but will come with a not-exactly-cheap $30/month price tag.

Moviegoers who like to stay home will be glad to see there’s also a Blockbuster Video application, which has a robust mainstream library and pretty high video quality. While the app works just fine, I did wish to see more independent fare and was disappointed that most of the title choices ranged from big-budget films to generic C-studio knockoffs. Just recently, the HTC EVO View 4G released an upgrade that – for the first time – allows Android tablet users to finally access Netflix on their tablet. For me, I’ve always appreciated Netflix’s menu and their dedication towards exhibiting online content from various aggregators, and this application doesn’t disappoint. The high quality of the video serves as a perfect complement to the diverse (and growing!) selection of both major studio and independent content. Unfortunately, the Netflix application is limited in that the recommendations are bundled more broadly, and there aren’t as many genre tabs available to use as a reference when searching for titles.

4GAs mentioned, the real distinct difference between the HTC EVO View and the HTC Flyer comes down to the 4G technology. As a resident of Los Angeles, this was met with a mix of ‘Wow, this is fast!’ against a ‘Hmm, I can’t get coverage here at all.’ For the time being, there are pockets in my city where the 4G network is easily accessed, and others where’s it is completely non-existent and seemingly inconsistent. For those users who fall within the service areas, it’s a very fast, extremely efficient network. However, for those off the grid, it makes the non-coverage factor even more discouraging. Early adopters beware: if 4G is the reason the HTC EVO view is attractive to you, it makes sense to check with Sprint to make sure your home or office is within the proper perimeters (and will stay that way). Also to note: A 4G plan ranges from $44.99 per month for unlimited 4G, plus 3GB of 3G bandwidth, or $89.99 per month for unlimited 4G and 10GB of 3G bandwidth.

Pen 
For a limited time from launch, the AAAA–loaded HTC Scribe comes with the purchase of a tablet, though a replacement can cost $80. As mentioned earlier, it’s a pretty stock scribbler by design, and could easily be confused with any and every other black pen on an active worker’s desk. I wish the Scribe had a color or look of its own that would set it apart from other ink–based tools, and I do wish the tablet had some station or port to store it while it’s not in use.

While the Scribe is certainly a fresh way to interact with a tablet, it missed a key opportunity by not offering handwriting recognition that can convert scribbles into digital text. In addition, I feel the evolution of laptops, tablets, etc, have made handwriting somewhat obsolete. It’s nice to be able to take notes with the active pen for the sake of experience (and for trying out the Evernote application), but I feel years of technological change has allowed a culture to adapt to a world without pens and paper, and for my personal use, I see very little reason – beyond the novelty of it all – to go back. It’s fun to tryout colors and switch to different writing utensils, but the pen's presence seems more like an added fun accessory (comparable to a videogame or a proprietary video app) and less of a game–changing highlight.

Of course, this is all a personal preference, and I’m sure there are people out there that see the Scribe being used in a much more practical way than Tic–Tac–Toe and adding funny mustaches to already–existing photographs (…not that there is anything wrong with that).

The Scribe is also limited to screen grabs and writing, not for navigating, which is something I felt is actually more of a plus than a negative. I much prefer touchscreens, and feel the days of using a stylus are behind us for a reason. That said, if the Scribe itself could also be used as a navigation remote – opening applications, attaching files, controlling volume, etc – it would provide a much richer purpose. Right now, the Scribe is simply a pen that has a designated space, which can be an effective tool for the right type of user. 

CONCLUSION

The HTC EVO View 4G isn’t straying too far from the HTC Flyer, and for good reason. Ushering in 4G capabilities, this 7–inch device looks to only update an already popular tablet instead of messing with a formula that was already working pretty well. Aided with a fun, although limited HTC Scribe, this tablet delivers a fine Android–plus–Sense–UI experience while introducing some new apps such as Netflix in the process. Unfortunately, early adopters will have to bear with the smartphone designed Gingerbread Operating System while they wait for a Honeycomb update, if it ever comes, and throw caution to the wind while relying on a spotty and inconsistent 4G Network.

Pros Great compact 7-inch design 4G offers excellent speeds Netflix on an Android tablet, finally

Cons Mediocre speakers, bad placement on EVO View Limited use for pen  4G coverage spotty in some metropolitan areas