“So, what can it do?” The question took me a bit by surprise. It was Saturday, and I had just finished an enjoyable lunch at my parents’ house. I looked up from my EVO to try and decipher my mother’s question.
“What can it do?” she repeated, “Besides make a phone call, I mean.” It finally clicked. My parents are baby-boomers, and much of the technological hoopla of the past decade has passed many parts rural Kentucky unnoticed. So my mother wanted to know what this wonderous device I was holding in my hands was capable of; why is it so entrancing?
The EVO, like all other smart phones, is quite a powerful little device, and to quote Fight Club, provides many “versatile solutions to modern living.”
The EVO is a phone!
As a phone, of course the EVO can place and receive phone calls (even baby-boomers know that!). But being a smart phone, the EVO has several enhancements over general phone usage. Most cell phones keep track of your contacts, but the EVO with its integration with your various online accounts (eg. Google, Facebook, etc.) keeps up-to-date information for your contacts on every sync cycle. It will even update profile pictures for your contacts from Facebook so you can see the lovely (or not-so-lovely) face of the person who is calling you.
The EVO handles electronic communication like a champ
Now, to answer my mother’s question: what else can it do? In addition to phone calls, the EVO also provides many options for electronic communication. SMS, or texting, is like second nature for the EVO, and the stock interface ships with a widget for text messages that is very convenient.
The EVO also does MMS, which stands for Multimedia Messaging Service, and is essentially text messages plus sound and images. That means when you snap a quick picture of your buddy doing something ridiculous, you can easily attach that pic to a text message and send it to all his friends.
Email is also a snap with the EVO. As mentioned above, the Android operating system integrates smoothly with your Google account, including your gmail. However, the EVO doesn’t restrict you to gmail. You can easily add other email accounts to the phone by putting the address and a few settings into the Mail app.
The EVO and the Internet
Connecting to the internet is one of the main features of any smart phone, and the EVO is no exception. The browser that ships with the phone is basic, but it gets the job done. If you have a preference for Firefox, Opera, or some other web browser, those can also be installed and used quite easily.
The EVO and Media
In addition to all of its various methods of communication, the EVO also provides many methods of media handling and consumption. As mentioned before, the EVO includes a camera. It actually comes equipped with 2 cameras: an 8-megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera. Both can double as a cam-corder.
With a 4.3-inch touch screen, the EVO is also a great device for watching videos, and YouTube integration is seamless. The kickstand also makes watching videos even more convenient.
Listening to music with the EVO is also a treat. The EVO can handle up to a 32-gigabyte MicroSD card, which is quite a bit of storage. Load it up with your favorite mp3’s, and you can build hours upon hours of music playlists.
Your EVO does what?
“I know we’ve covered a lot of features already, Mom, but check this out.” The EVO also doubles as a handy GPS. With the power of Google Maps and those flying chunks of metal in outer space, this little device can tell you where you are, where you’re going, and the best way to get there. Perhaps you want to listen to some tunes while you’re travelling? I already mentioned the media capabilities of the EVO, but what if you’re over your free monthly limit for Pandora or you’re tired of the songs you have saved on your SD card? Good news! If you have your headphones plugged in, your EVO can also be an FM radio. Pretty snazzy.
The EVO and Apps
“That’s not all,” I told my mother. “It also does apps.” As if the built-in functionality were not enough, the EVO‘s features can be enhanced by additional applications that can be downloaded through the Android Market or from third-party sources. Some of my favorite, and the ones I use the most, are Pandora, The Weather Channel, the Amazon Kindle App, and GasBuddy.
Useless Knowledge?
I know that my mother was just humoring me for most of this discussion. She wasn’t aware of all of these features because she hasn’t had a need for them, and now knowing about these features isn’t suddenly going to create a need. Nevertheless, this information might be useful to someone, and might be just the nudge you need to get an EVO for yourself
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