We already know all about the EVO 3D specs, so how is the overall user experience? I read through all the reviews, and it sounds like the 3D display is a gimmick, battery life is better than the EVO 4G, the dual-core Snapdragon offers speedy performance and the call quality has some issues.

• Myriam Joire of Engadget: “While the EVO 3D looks solidly built and feels substantial, the materials used fail to convey the same sense of quality as the Sensation … After topping off the EVO 3D, it only took 14 hours and 44 minutes to drain the beefy 1730mAh battery down to 7% … The EVO 3D’s qHD touchscreen is a mixed bag … While 3D is fun and whimsical, we can’t help but think it’s just a gimmick … Ultimately, we’ve come to think of the EVO 3D as a Sensation with a lesser camera, cheaper materials, worse battery life, and without the ability to roam worldwide.”
• Sam Biddle of Gizmodo:  “I particularly loved (and, by the handset gods, demand this of all phones) the thick hardware camera shutter—hold to focus, click to shoot … The EVO 3D is the first phone to ever literally hurt my face … It gave me a headache. I wanted to look away. And for what? A 3D effect that just isn’t very good.”
• Ross Miller of This is My Next:  “A few editors on staff complained of minor headaches after more extensive use … Still, when the 3D works, it’s impressive, and everyone I’ve shown it to feels the same way.”
• Jonathan Geller of BGR: “After using the device for around 10 minutes on and off, I finally got the hang of the perfect positioning, and 3D content looks good, not great … Using the phone on the EVO 3D hasn’t been the best experience … At the end of the day, the EVO 3D is a better, faster, thinner, lighter, and more capable EVO 4G.”
• Bonnie Cha of CNET: “The 3D features are a fun addition, but it’s the HTC Evo 3D’s zippy performance and improved battery life that make this Android smartphone one of Sprint’s best … The HTC Evo 3D’s design is updated but familiar, and anyone upgrading from the Evo 4G should feel right at home with the smartphone … We also got a bit of a headache after a while, and, more often than not, 3D photos just made our eyes hurt … Starting with a full charge in the morning and with moderate to heavy use (including playing 3D games and video), we were able to go a full day, sometimes early into the next day, before needing to recharge.”
• Eric Zeman of Phone Scoop:  “The material – mostly plastic, rubber, and glass – are of the best quality and feel fantastic in the hand … The camera button itself is perhaps the best camera button on any smartphone, ever … Call quality, however, wasn’t so great. Voices were often garbled, making me ask those with whom I spoke to repeat themselves … It is, without doubt, the fastest Android handset I’ve ever used … Viewing 3D content on the EVO 3D’s screen gives me a headache, plain and simple … My biggest gripe with the EVO 3D is the wireless performance. It’s bad enough that the WiMax radio barely worked, but add to that poor 3G performance, and poor voice performance, and you’ve almost killed off all the reasons to buy any phone.”
• Roger Cheng of The Wall Street Journal:  “You might get dizzy staring too deeply into the Evo 3D, but Sprint Nextel Corp.’s newest flagship phone is worth risking a little motion sickness … I was able to go through nearly an entire work day, while keeping the 4G radio on for most of the time, running it as a hot spot to power a tablet, and making a few phone calls … While the Evo 3D has several strong points, working as a phone isn’t one of them.”

If you’re on Sprint, please let me know what you think of the early reviews. Is this your next phone? Does it live up to the hype? Will all the 3D headache claims make you reconsider your purchase?

The Galaxy S II was first revealed in February at Mobile World Congress, and many thought the phone might launch by now. Recent rumors place the US version hitting stores around late Q3.

The AT&T version looks pretty similar to the Samsung Infuse 4G, but Phil Nickinson from Android Central points out that the power button is slightly different. Some have also said the Galaxy S II has a single button on the front; but, all the US versions have been slightly different from the international version.

In fact, we won’t know the exact specs of the US versions until the carriers announce them. So far we have seen the Galaxy S II in several different variations powered by an Exynos, OMAP4 and Tegra 2 processor. About the only hardware spec that’s certain is Samsung’s stellar Super AMOLED Plus display.

My current Android phone is the Samsung Nexus S, so I’m quite interested to see what changes are made when this beauty finally lands in our shores. If you’re in the market for a new Android phone are you excited by any of the already announced, upcoming models or are you holding out for the Galaxy S II?

I’m not legally allowed to tell you the price, so you will have to visit our phone store to check it out.

Click to see price

If you have any additional concerns you have not seen addressed in other reviews, leave a comment and we will do our best to answer your questions.

We heard rumors the Acer Liquid E would be around $374, which would make it one of the cheapest Android phones with a Snapdragon processor. That CPU is underclocked from 1 GHz to 768 MHz, but it will still be plenty fast to handle Flash 10.1.

Acer recently passed Dell as the world’s number 2 PC maker and their goal is expand their mobile devices into the U.S. The original Acer Liquid A1 was pegged for AT&T, but it looks like that deal fell apart. As Acer continues to expand their Android lineup, look for a smartphone to find its way to the States.

Dropbox solves a problem I’ve been having for a little while in that it cloud-syncs user files for access wherever there is a Dropbox client installed which includes Windows, Max and Linux variants. My primary use for it is that I enjoy reading (free and fair-use) comics on my Milestone.

However, being the lazy person that I am, I don’t like maintaining a “to read” folder on my phone’s SD card itself. Dropbox fixed this by syncing a folder on my computer to the cloud, uploading anything new that was added since the last time it checked. Accessing the client from my phone allows me to download the files and store them from my SD card.

Things I liked:

• SD storage is a big deal because it differs from other syncing applications I’ve used. With those, the files downloaded must be handled by an internal player. With Dropbox, downloaded files show up in ASTRO (or other file viewer) under a dedicated folder, which lets you open them with whatever app you want.
• Sleek interface (not a port). This is a big plug. Responsive, simple to use and doesn’t bog you down with a lot of options. Dropbox is to the point, and does what it’s advertised to well.
• The ability to upload things from your phone to Dropbox works wonders, and allows for the easy sharing of pictures, videos and more.
• Free 2 GB of sharing, and increases with referrals or other challenges, like completing 5/8 things off a “to do” list (tell your friends, take a tutorial, etc).

Things I didn’t:

• I really don’t have any complaints about Dropbox; the app simply works, and does exactly what I need it to. This seems to be a rarity in the application world, and I can commend the developers for putting work into the app.

Though this application’s in beta, I think the only issues that need to be tested is the stress on Dropbox’s servers. I can see that would come with the addition of any new devices, though, and can see this hitting the marketplace proper as soon as they’ve got everything smoothed out.

Sadly the beta for Dropbox is closed at the moment, as I miraculously managed to get one of the 500 open spots. Like I said above, it should only be a matter of time before users can join me. Happy syncing!

Inbrics is a Korean company that is one of the first to actually produce a high-powered Android phone with a full qwerty keyboard. The Inbrics M1 is one of the thinnest Android sliders and it features a 3.7 inch display, dual cameras, 16 GB of built-in storage, and a 1 GHz CPU (Samsung C110). The M1 is also running Android 2.1.

Unfortunately the Inbrics M1 will not include a 3G radio at this time, but users could still make phone calls using VOIP via the built in WiFi connection. Because of this, Inbrics is available to target a lower price point and hopes to launch the device around the “low $200 range”.

The M1 was actually being displayed at CES, but we totally missed it on the massive show floor. Thankfully, Engadget caught up with Inbrics and captured the device on video. Note that the phone was originally using a 800 MHz CPU and performance should be increased since then.

The Kyocera Zio uses CDMA2000 1xEV-DO rev. A for 3G data so it could appear on Sprint or Verizon. A more likely scenario would place the Zio on one of the tier 2 carriers like Cox or even Cricket. No official partner has been announced, but Kyocera expects to ship the phone in Q2 2010.

Highlights of the Zio features include a 3.5-inch WVGA display, 600 MHz Qualcomm MSM7227 processor, 3.2 MP camera with 30fps video record/playback, and Android 1.6.

PC Magazine is reporting the Zio will be a low price Android phone with a final retail price between $169 and $216. I find that kind of hard to believe since the device has a 3.5 inch display, so we will have to wait for the official launch details to be released at a later date.