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Getting bored with your BlackBerry? Perhaps it’s time to check out the Evo 3D, the latest smartphone from Taiwanese mobile phone producer HTC.

Officially released in Indonesia two weeks ago, the Evo 3D is an upgrade of the popular Evo 4G. The new version runs on the latest Android operating system, the Android Gingerbread, and with all of its features, it seems like a serious competitor to Apple’s iPhone.

Although many Indonesians are not familiar with the brand, HTC has made a name for itself in the past few years with its competitive mobile phones.

The company is a member of the Open Handset Alliance, a group of phone manufacturers dedicated to the development of Android mobile device platforms, and its HTC Dream smartphone, released in 2008, was the first phone in the market to run on Android.

Agus Sugiharto, the country manager of HTC Indonesia, said the Evo 3D was the answer to a growing demand for sophisticated smartphones, offering an attractive design and the latest, most advanced features.

“Evo 3D can do it all,” he said.

At first glance, Evo 3D looks like any other smartphone in the market. With an easy-to-grip, textured pattern, it weighs about 170 grams and includes an 11-centimeter qHD touchscreen. Its main buttons (home, menu, back and search) are protected by Gorilla Glass, a thin, sheet-glass material that is scratch-resistant and extremely durable.

But the Evo 3D also brings something new to the table: 3-D technology that essentially works like 3-D television. HTC claims the smartphone’s five-megapixel camera is able to record and play both 2-D and 3-D movies, as well as 2-D and 3-D photographs. Better still, smartphone users can enjoy this 3-D experience without wearing special glasses.

Agus said the phone’s 3-D features can help people in everyday life. For example, real estate agents can easily create a 3-D virtual tour for their clients.

In addition to its 3-D camera, the Evo 3D is equipped with another 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, which was designed for video chat.

According to Agus, the Evo 3D is more advanced than other devices in the market.

“We broke the innovation boundaries with this smartphone,” he said.

HTC says Evo 3D users can easily share their high-quality photographs and videos on Facebook or YouTube. The phone is able to interface with other devices such as digital cameras, printers and televisions.

The smartphone also promises an efficient multitasking experience with its dual-core processor, the 1.2-gigahertz Qualcomm Snapdragon. Since it has an Android operating system, users can access more than 200,000 mobile applications in the Android Market.

But the Evo 3D has its drawbacks. Even with an its improved qHD screen, tech reviewers say the phone’s display performance lags behind that of its competitors.

Its battery also loses power in less than 14 hours, even without heavy usage; the 3-D photography feature seems to be the biggest cause of the drain.

According to ABI Research, a US technology market research company, the Evo 3D will be a trendsetter in the mobile phone industry with its 3-D user content, viewing capabilities and games.

The Evo 3D comes with some exciting new features and its 3-D technology may set some trends, but it’s still too soon to say whether HTC’s new product can defeat the iPhone and other popular mobile devices in the market.