Tag Archives: HD Voice

Clearer calls with HD Voice on Sprint expected before the year’s out

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Clearer calls with HD Voice on Sprint expected before the year's out

We were pretty impressed with our demo of HD Voice on the HTC EVO 4G LTE earlier in the year, but are still waiting for the feature's launch to test it in real situations. We may not have to wait much longer, though, because according to Phone Scoop, Sprint is aiming to roll out the service by the end of 2012. The carrier's Network Vision architecture upgrade is progressing nicely, a necessity for implementing clearer conversations, although coverage is still patchy. We might see an official launch this year, but HD Voice is unlikely to be widely available on the network or on other devices until well into 2013 and 2014. However, if you happen to be a Sprint customer, HTC EVO 4G LTE owner, connected to the right tower and calling someone that's ticking exactly the same boxes, listen out for that bump in quality as the New Year approaches.

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Clearer calls with HD Voice on Sprint expected before the year's out originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 07:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ears-on with HD Voice on the Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE

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So this definitely isn't your ordinary hands-on -- there's really no way to accurately capture audio coming through the earpiece in a mobile phone -- so, well, we'll just have to use our words. Sprint's just-announced HTC EVO 4G LTE is the first device to feature what the carrier has coined "HD Voice." The smartphone uses dual microphones, along with encoders and decoders to capture and transmit your voice from one equipped device to another -- that's right, for now, you and another caller will both need to be using this specific handset, paired with compatible network access points, which Sprint will begin rolling out shortly as part of its "Network Vision." We know what you're thinking: I don't use my phone as a phone. Sprint claims otherwise, however, saying that the network will handle 500 billion voice minutes this year alone. If you happen to account for any of those calls, there's certainly no harm in sharing your spoken word in 'HD.'

We hopped into a steamy sound booth at Sprint's NYC launch event today, speaking to an employee using HD Voice on the LTE EVO. The difference was clear, especially once he turned up the "background noise" on a demo music track, which we couldn't hear at all until the handset was moved within an inch or two of the speaker -- we can only imagine how this will play out on the audibly cluttered streets of New York City, which are definitely suited more for text than voice. The HD Voice experience was the same without any background noise at all, and just as impressive. You'll of course still be susceptible to ambient noise on the listening end -- after all, we needed to be in a near-silent booth to block out the sound around. Stay tuned for more detailed impressions in our full review closer to the device's May 7th pre-order date -- we patiently await an opportunity to listen more closely.

Ears-on with HD Voice on the Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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