HTC Evo 3D review

LG won the race to put out the first 3D smartphone, with its Optimus 3D boasting twin cameras and an auto-stereoscopic screen, but industry giant HTC isn’t far behind. The HTC Evo 3D is a similar proposition, but with a few key differences.

The first is its camera controls. Like the LG, it has two cameras on a raised panel on the rear, here boasting two 5-megapixel sensors separated by a twin-LED flash. The difference is that HTC has placed a physical switch on the right side for flicking quickly between 2D and 3D mode, next to a proper two-phase shutter button. A small silver circle, it lets you push halfway to focus just like a normal camera, and is a vast improvement on touching the screen to prepare a shot.

We took a variety of test photos and videos in both 2D and 3D, and there are big differences between the two. In 2D mode you get the full 5-megapixel resolution of one of the two lenses, compared to at best 2-megapixel stills or 720p video in 3D mode. At first glance it looks like there’s no HDMI output, but it’s actually combined with the USB connector (it’s called Mobile High-Definition Link, or HML); with the right third-party cable you can output video up to 1080p onto a bigger screen.

What doesn’t change across 2D and 3D is the poor quality. Our outdoor test photos showed significant striping in solid areas of colour, and some of the compression artefacts are quite nasty. Low-light performance was average, and filming video in our podcast studio saw the white balance lurching up and down in horrible steps, with glitches momentarily appearing at some points.

That’s disappointing given the 3D is the primary reason to buy this phone, and that’s compounded further by the lacklustre screen. Much like the HTC Sensation, upon which this phone is based, the Evo 3D boasts a 4.3in screen with a high 540 x 960 resolution. That makes for a pleasant improvement in sharpness over the standard 480 x 800 screens of most modern phones, and the general appearance of icons and menus can’t be faulted.