At some point, the beefier specs of phones coming from Samsung and HTC will finally force Apple from their ‘less is more’ approach, or knock Apple from the forefront of people’s minds when thinking about new phones. The HTC EVO 3D might just be crazy-powerful enough, and different enough, to do both. Then again, it might be another false start.

HTC jumps into the 3D arena with a stereoscopic screen, for eye-popping 3D effects and dual cameras to record 3D pics and videos. The videos are a bit too lo-res to get excited about, but any 30-somethings out there with fond memories of the View-Master will find the 3D stills charming and fun.

The chassis is imposing, deceptively thin and solid, with a black aluminium frame that overcomes HTC’s usual plasticky feel. The extra bulk is a plus, especially with the massive 4.3” display that is becoming typical for high-end non-Apple smartphones. Too little weight on too big a device can be off-putting, so no complaints there.

The downsides here are expectable, but not acceptable. The big, bad 1.2GHz dual-core processing is surprisingly sluggish, even when not using any 3D affects. The build, so impressive in other parts, is let down by an exposed mini-USB port, which can get easily crushed or dirty. A bit of a waste of good design, that one.

Combined with the usual whiz-bang HTC Sense skin over Android, the EVO 3D is a solid smartphone with some gimmicks – but not enough to overcome its drawbacks. The screen is just good enough to stand up to everyone except Apple’s Retina and Samsung’s AMOLED displays. The EVO 3D will be compatible with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, so here’s hoping some of the processor sluggishness will get fixed with Google’s latest update.

PROS
Impressive specs
Android 4.0 compatible
Solid design

CONS
Sluggish when it shouldn’t be
3-D feature probably not going to change anyone’s life