[update] My experiences with CyanogenMod7 on the HTC EVO 4G

App Launcher
So last night I swapped out the ADW launcher that comes by default with CM7 for LauncherPro Plus.

Speaking specifically of the launcher functionality and appearance, I found LauncherPro looks just a little bit cleaner and less cluttered than ADW. LauncherPro also felt a little bit more snappy and responsive, which is always nice. I also like the subdued look of the icons on the launcher bar.

But the main reason I switched to LauncherPro Plus was for the very nice widgets that get bundled along with it. Most notably, the Calendar widget has a beautiful "agenda" view that is a very close parallel to the Sense UI Calendar Agenda widget.

HDMI out
My daughter loves watching her favorite kid's videos on YouTube, and occasionally I will load up a webisode of The Guild or JourneyQuest for the wife and I to sit back and enjoy. The HTC EVO 4G's ability to output to our HD TV is really a nice feature. So last night I also did some searching for an app that would support screen mirroring from my EVO via the HDMI-out port, since CyanogenMod 7 supports the hardware but doesn't provide the mirroring functionality.

So I found HDMwIn. I had to do some Googling before I actually found it in the market, the actual app name is "Full HDMI Mirroring for Evo 4G" by Team Win.

This app provides full screen mirroring of your phone, so you don't have the limitation of Sense UI to only output from media apps such as YouTube or videos. HDMwIn also supports audio via the HDMI cable for easy audio output via your television speakers (or you can opt use the headphone jack to output to your stereo or sound system).

I will consider buying a Samsung Galaxy tab...

I will consider buying a Samsung Galaxy tab... once the wifi-only version has been officially released to stores.

I don't need yet another data contract. In fact, what I would love to do is to bluetooth or wifi-tether a tablet device like the Galaxy tab to my existing contracted smart phone, the HTC EVO 4G. Why would I actually commit myself to another data contract? For real-world people with real-world paying jobs like myself, it's the only option that makes sense.

I got me a shiny new EVO.

At the beginning of the month my contract with Sprint was up for renewal. And the HTC EVO beckoned to me. Beckoned silently but insistently. I tried to resist for a few days, but it's allure won.

I even did a comparison between the EVO and the Epic 4G. Since I was looking for a new phone, I figured I could give it some fair competition.

The Epic 4G did have it's high points. The screen looks pretty. The flip-out physical keyboard has some appeal to it as well.

But, honestly side-by-side I felt that the EVO screen, while not an AMOLED, actually looked better under daylight than the Epic 4G. And the EVO has HDMI out, which I have actually used a few times already at home with my 720p TV to stream YouTube videos.

The nice clerk at Sprint switched over my 16GB Micro-SD card from my Hero into the EVO. Then she also gave me the 8GB card that came stock with the EVO. And then she gave me the battery from my Hero, which apparently is also interchangable with the EVO, just to have a backup battery. Woah, yeah. Very cool.

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So I've had the EVO for close to a month, and I have been loving it. It really seems in all aspects to be exactly what I was hoping for as a replacement for my Hero.

While there is a place for Cyanogen Mod in my little hacker's heart, until CM can support the 4G WiMax radio I will be sticking with the HTC Sense UI. And there really is no replacement for the agenda widget, anyway. I am loathe to lose that little piece of functionality that I use multiple times a day.

In the meantime, I wish there was a way to install the notification bar control widget without *cough* rooting my phone *cough*. Cause that is probably the #1 reason to root the EVO. If one were to do such things. Right.