After 24 days with the EPIC, and 5 with the EVO.. here are my opinions:
I generally use my phone for sexting, games(mainly emulators), calls of course, browsing, navigating, media consumption and remote sessions(logmein).
The EVO to me gets a huge plus just for the screen size..the difference between 4-4.3 is massive. For comparison.. EPIC seems almost identical to a TP2, while the EVO feels like a different beast entirely.. almost Dell Streak like.
Conversely, the Display on both is just as big of a difference. I could barely put down my EPIC, sometimes just using it to resort apps, or play a quick game. I haven't had that same feeling with the EVO.. the EVO looks very WinMoish in this regard. For comparison, its like watching a show on a Plasma, vs an early model LCD TV.
To me the EPIC is hands down a faster device. On Various roms, ive noticed what look like frame-skips, or hiccups when scrolling, also the "message sending" thing is annoying when texting. On average im getting 35-39 MFLOPS OC'ed on different kernels and roms.. But the 9 MFLOPS'd EPIC just feels swifter.. smoother scrolling, faster transitions.
UI.. There is no sense on the EPIC.. but there is AOSP when you clear defaults from Touch Wiz.. You can also use Launcher pro widgets, Samsung widgets, Fancy widget and Beautiful widget to replicate the experience you get with a Sense(which i personal dont.. or didnt use on my EVO(till now..see bottom.)..
On my EPIC i generally used Launcher PRO, enabled 7 home screens, then customized them with: System widgets(Power control plus & Switch pro(bluetooth, 4g etc.), Home(beautiful wid. clocks), News/sports feeds, Gaming page, Apps page, Internet shortcuts page, Music widget. I like this method better than using Sense.
Keyboard vs no Keybord. I originally purchased the EPIC due to my history with the Moguls, and TP2's.. but really.. its an antiquated addition.. and i never though in a million years i'd say that.
On my EPIC I just found myself using Swype 99% of the time, and the on-screen controls for gaming.. as its more convenient, and really.. more accurate. The hardware keyboard on the EPIC is pretty good(TP2 was better).. but its just not necc.
Is see what Sprint did though.. they knew coming second, the EPIC couldnt compete with(the EVO) in public opinion as a touch only device, so they had them tack on a keyboard.. it works, and works well.. just rather have a larger display if i could tradeoff.
No native Swype on the EVO is big downer though.. the few builds ive tried on the EVO have all had quirks like no text showing up when typing(swyping) words. I <3 Swype.
The battery life on both suck dearly, EPIC wins ever so slightly in my experience.. but ive yet to condition my EVO's battery as i did with the EPIC. Both charge s l o wly.. im talking 3+ hours to recharge.. maybe its my cords. Maybe its not.. The EPIC radio's sleep when not in use(both 4G and 3G.. an actual "zz" will appear on 4G.. this is fantastic, as it eliminates the toggling.
The GPS at least on my model.. worked flawlessly.. I understand this may have been an issue with past galaxy models.. but i had 0 GPS problems. EVO's is solid as expected.
Phone signal though.. EPIC was TERRIBLE indoors..certain restaurants(DC/VA).. forget about it..even at my girls place in DC..no signal at all.. EVO seems better in this department.. i do understand the EVO's had numerous radio updates..but something is def. up with the EPIC's radio in certain places.. outside, i got great reception almost everywhere.
Games do look better..much better(especially PSX games) and run a bit faster on the EPIC.. but the extra screen space comes in handy when using the on screen controls. EPIC having a keyboard is handy here, as you do get to utilize the entire screen for consumption.
Multimedia, EPIC's stock video player is near flawless.. its like Rockplayer but with 5.1 surround..looks like im watching content on my LED. I love this player.. problems are that its not a standalone, loadable player.. you have to access it via the "gallery", and it doesnt pickup media all streams from the net.. just some(from a vimeo like site).
I haven't viewed video beyond Youtube on the EVO yet, so i cant comment on this area.
Call quality is too close to call as im always on a BT headset or Speakerphone, although i feel like people hear me better on the EVO compared to the EPIC.. haven't as gotten many "HUH'S??"
Camera goes to the EPIC.. I know the EVO is 8MP and i dont get it either.. but the EPIC's cam is very very clean and clear, especially the video in dimlight. I fring video'd with a friends iphone 4 next to me.. and the front cam had better saturated colors, and kept up with my actions better(this is vs the iphone not the EVO mind you).
Design.. If the Iphone is a 10.. EVO is a 9.. the phone just catches your eye.. and feels like a quality device. Thing is.. people are harping on the plastics surround the EPIC, but the EVO uses the exactly same molded plastic.. its just much better designed.
The EPIC is nowhere near as bad as people are making it out to be.. but Samsung kinda dropped the ball here imo. Odd placement of the charging input, power button and volume. I don't understand why they didn't reuse the chassis or at least the design of the Samsung Mondi..go for 4.3" thin the plastics, unrecess the screen.. etc. I'd give the EPIC a 7 on design.
This is running long, so ill end it like this.. IMO.. the EPIC is a better device hands down, nearly the same thinness(14mm vs 13mm).. faster..better hardware for future proofing..prettier(in use), better cam, swype.
But.. aesthetics, timing and support unfortunately count for quite a bit in our society.. not only that.. but we are a "bigger is better" contingent.
EVO's ushering in of this 4G dawn..bigger screen, support, and surprisingly for me kickstand.. count for quite a bit... so i do understand why the EVO is more lauded... Its like Sprint customers were finally thrown a unified device.. iphonesque in its following.. then this brash newcomer comes along.. treading on its turf.
Both great devices.. seriously.. you cant go wrong either way.
PS-This is the rom that made me stay with sense.. absolutely gorgeous:
[ROM] Myn’s Warm TwoPointTwo - [RLS 1 - 09/27/2010] -An Enlightening Experience *NEW* - xda-developers