HTC EVO 4G! (iPhone Who?)

[HighestOfHigh]

America's First 4G Phone, HTC EVOTM 4G, Debuts on June 4 Packed with Industry-Leading Features Including Access to Mobile Video Chat, Simultaneous Voice and Data and HD Video Capture

Sprint leads the 4G revolution with the highly anticipated, award-winning HTC EVO 4G priced at just $199.99; add mobile hotspot capability for up to eight devices for just $29.99

NEW YORK, May 12, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --If you were creating your dream wireless device what would it look like? Two cameras and video chat so you can say goodnight to your children when you are away on a business trip? Simultaneous voice and data, so you can call in your take-out order while you look at their menu on the Internet? The ability to plug your phone into your HDTV, so you can let your children finish the movie they started watching in the car's backseat when you get home? And a huge screen for watching the videos you download in seconds - not minutes - with the fastest wireless data speeds available in America today? Stop daydreaming and get ready for Sprint (NYSE: S) to make your dreams come true on June 4 when the highly anticipated HTC EVO 4G debuts.

The critics agree that HTC EVO 4G is this summer's must-have wireless experience as it continues to win their accolades and endorsements. CNET, LAPTOP and eWeek gave HTC EVO 4G awards for Best of Show when it was announced at CTIA this spring. Engadget said, "It's easily the best specced phone we've ever witnessed." The Financial Times cooed, "The first 4G phone in the U.S., the HTC EVO ... ticks just about all the boxes for my ideal phone."

"HTC EVO 4G is a fantastic 3G device, but when you use it in our growing 4G coverage area, it becomes a multimedia powerhouse," said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. "The EVO 4G experience is much like going from TV to HDTV. But EVO has more than just an impressive list of features - it is also fun to use with remarkable gaming, video and web-browsing capabilities."

With the launch of HTC EVO 4G, Sprint customers will be able to enjoy capabilities they have never experienced before with a new video chat service from Qik. The two-way voice and video capability will be available as an upgrade to the preloaded Qik app on HTC EVO 4G to enable conversational, interactive, real-time sharing between mobile devices or from mobile-to-desktop.

Amazing Features, Beautiful Design

HTC EVO 4G features the latest version of the increasingly popular Android platform, Android 2.1, offering more than 35,000 apps, as well as a mind-blowing list of features, including:

• Simultaneous voice and data capability in 4G and Wi-Fi coverage areas, enabling Web surfing and more while the conversation continues.
• Offering a new way to search with pictures instead of words, Google Goggles(TM) works with everything from books, DVDs and barcodes to landmarks, logos, artwork and wine labels.
• Superfast 1GHz Qualcomm(R) Snapdragon(TM) processor, ensuring a smooth and quick movement within phone menus.
• Two cameras - an 8.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with HD-capable video camcorder and a forward-facing 1.3 megapixel camera.
• Built-in mobile hotspot functionality allowing up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the 3G or 4G experience on the go with a laptop, camera, music player, game unit, video player, or any other Wi-Fi enabled device.
• Integrated HD video capture with the ability to capture and share live video via the Qik Web site, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter(TM).
• Ability to easily watch video with the device on an HDTV via an HDMI cable (sold separately).
• Custom Web browser optimized for the 4.3 inch display and Sprint 4G speeds to deliver a full, no-compromise Internet experience.
• A handy kickstand built into the back, making it easy to watch videos on-the-go.
• Adobe Flash technology ensures that rich Internet content, such as embedded video and animation, are displayed the way they are meant to be seen.
• Pinch-to-zoom and automatic text reflowing provide easy Web page views.

HTC EVO 4G boasts the newest version of the highly acclaimed HTC Sense user experience. With HTC Sense, HTC EVO 4G users can use Friend Stream to aggregate multiple social communication channels, including Facebook and Twitter into one organized flow of updates; a "Leap" thumbnail view to easily switch between home screen "panels;" the ability to download new, interactive widgets; and a "polite" ringer, which quiets the ringing phone once lifted up.

While the performance of currently available Android applications will be enhanced by access to 4G data speeds, a Sprint 4G developer guide is available today from the Sprint ADP Web site at Sprint Applications Developer Home Page. The Sprint 4G developer guide provides details on developing for an Android 2.1 handset and how to take advantage of HTC EVO 4G's unique hardware and software capabilities and the Sprint 4G network. The Sprint Application Developer Program has been providing tools for third-party developers since Sprint first launched the Wireless Web on its phones in 2001.

Worry-Free Pricing

HTC EVO 4G will be available in all Sprint retail channels, including Sprint.com and national retail partners, RadioShack, Best Buy and Wal-Mart. Sprint will price the award-winning device at $199.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate (taxes excluded) with a new line activation or eligible upgrade. Pre-registration is available now at Sprint - HTC EVO? 4G.

In order to provide the best experience, HTC EVO 4G will use Sprint's industry-leading Everything Data or Business Advantage Messaging and Data plans that include unlimited Web, texting and calling on the Sprint Network to every mobile in America with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM. Everything Data plans start at $69.99 per month. A $10 per month Premium Data add-on will apply allowing customers to take advantage of a richer data experience than ever before.

Additionally, an optional pricing add-on will turn HTC EVO 4G into a mobile hotspot connecting up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices, such as laptops, gaming devices and digital cameras, simultaneously at 4G speeds where available and at 3G speeds anywhere on the Sprint 3G network for just $29.99 per month - half the monthly cost of the current Mobile Broadband plan (pricing excludes surcharges and taxes).

With the Sprint Free Guarantee, customers can take advantage of HTC EVO 4G for 30 days and if not completely satisfied, may return the device within 30 days to get reimbursed for the device purchase and activation fee, get both the early termination and restocking fees waived, and receive a full refund for the monthly service plan charges.1

Blazing trails with Sprint 4G

Sprint 4G offers a faster wireless experience than any other U.S. national wireless carrier, and Sprint is the only national carrier offering wireless 4G service today in 32 markets. Sprint 4G delivers download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G2,giving HTC EVO 4G the fastest data speeds of any U.S. wireless device available today.

As the first national wireless carrier to test, launch and market 4G technology, Sprint made history by launching 4G in Baltimore in September 2008. Today, Sprint 4G covers 41 million people and expects to have up to 120 million people covered by the end of 2010.

Sprint currently offers 4G service in 32 markets: Georgia - Atlanta, Milledgeville; Hawaii - Honolulu, Maui; Idaho - Boise; Illinois - Chicago; Maryland - Baltimore; Nevada - Las Vegas; North Carolina - Charlotte, Greensboro, (along with High Point and Winston-Salem), Raleigh (along with Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham); Oregon - Portland, Salem; Pennsylvania - Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Reading, York; Texas - Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Waco, Wichita Falls; Washington - Bellingham, Seattle. For more information, visit Sprint: First and Only Wireless 4G from a National Carrier.

In 2010, Sprint expects to launch 4G service in multiple markets, including but not limited to, Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Los Angeles, Kansas City, Miami, Minneapolis, New York City, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 48 million customers at the end of the first quarter of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, and the first and only wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile and Assurance Wireless and instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. With its customer-focused strategy, you can learn more and visit Sprint at Cell Phones, Mobile Phones & Wireless Calling Plans from Sprint or Sprint | Facebook and Sprint (sprint) on Twitter.

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- Sprint selling HTC EVO 4G on June 4 for $199 -- Engadget

 

[adeel2010]

wow..what a phone. only if I could get it on tmobile
Video chat is an awesome feature

 

[HighestOfHigh]

Sprint's HTC EVO 4G: 5 Killer Features

At least on paper, the HTC EVO 4G from Sprint absolutely crushes. It's not just one killer feature that puts the EVO over the top; the spec sheet reads like a wish list for anyone who's owned a touchscreen smartphone. We won't find out until this summer whether Sprint's exclusive 4G phone makes the best of its features, but in the meantime, here are five things to get excited about:

4.3-inch Touch Screen

Only one other Android phone has a screen that comes close, the newly-announced Samsung Galaxy S, which has a 4-inch touch screen. HTC has tried the 4.3-inch format before with the HTC HD2, but that phone loses points for running the soon-to-be outdated Windows Mobile 6.5. Sprints promise of downloading, watching and editing high definition content on the EVO makes the large screen even more enticing.

Two Cameras

It's about time we saw this feature on a high-end smartphone. On the back the EVO is an 8-megapixel camera -- itself an impressive bullet point -- for photos and "HD-capable" video capture. There's also a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, presumably for video chat and self portraits. Please let this become a standard feature on smartphones to come.

"Leap" to Multitask

As you'd expect, HTC layers its Sense user interface on top of Android 2.1, but with a new feature called "Leap." This is a multitasking manager that reveals every open program when you pinch anywhere on the phone's home screen. It's an idea that's begging to copied -- fodder for a future patent lawsuit, perhaps?

The Kickstand

When a phone has a large screen for viewing HD content, it ought to have a kickstand for propping the screen upright on a table or desk, as the EVO does. It may seem insignificant, but long flights are already uncomfortable enough without craning your neck downward to see your phone's screen.

4G, Of Course

The feature that gets top billing in the HTC EVO 4G is the one you're least likely to use for a while. Yes, the phone works over Sprint's budding 4G network, which makes for some impressive download speeds. Unless you're in one of the 27 cities where Sprint has already rolled out the next generation of mobile broadband, or one of the 15 that will come online this year, you'll rely on plain-old 3G instead. But think of it as future-proofing. You'll probably be stuck with a two-year contract anyhow.

- Sprint's HTC EVO 4G: 5 Killer Features - PCWorld

 

[adeel2010]

So how's the droid appstore compared to the iPhones?

 

[Mr Robert]

I'm leaning towards HTC for my next phone. The phones are phenomenal and the pricing is perfect. Apple would have charged $500 for this phone and you would, as usual, have been very restricted.

 

[HighestOfHigh]

HTC's are very nice. I love my HTC Touch Pro 2. My only issue is the "Butt Dialing", but other then that it's great. A lot of cool and useful features. Of course this next one will be outstanding.

I'm still thrilled by the fact that it will have HDMI so you can connect it to your TV plus loads of other features.

 

[siko]

Official Flash support... nice.

I wish i had a phone that can view 80% of the web too... but because of a turtlenecked Führer, it cant... alas!

I'm leaning towards HTC for my next phone.

Same... waiting for their Win7 offering.

Hopefullly my carrier will have it so I can replace my iPhone.

 

[HighestOfHigh]

The Orginal Press Release

Press Release:

World’s First 3G/4G Android Phone, HTC EVOTM 4G, Coming this Summer Exclusively from Sprint

HTC EVO 4G offers one of the most robust multimedia experiences on a wireless phone today; features Android(TM) 2.1, one of the industry’s largest touch-screen displays, 8.0 MP camera, HD video capture, HDMI output,Mobile Hotspot capability and HTC Sense(TM) Pre-registration begins today at Sprint - HTC EVO? 4G

LAS VEGAS, Mar 23, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Sprint (NYSE: S) and HTC Corporation today announced summer availability of the world’s first 3G/4G Android handset, HTC EVO 4G exclusively from Sprint. HTC EVO 4G delivers a multimedia experience at 4G speeds that is second to none, making it possible to download music, pictures, files, or videos in seconds – not minutes – and watch streaming video on the go with one of the largest pinch-to-zoom displays, at 4.3 inches, in the wireless industry.
Sprint 4G offers a faster wireless experience than any other U.S. national wireless carrier, and Sprint is the only national carrier offering wireless 4G service today in 27 markets. Sprint 4G delivers download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G1,giving HTC EVO 4G the fastest data speeds of any U.S. wireless device available today.

“Sprint continues to lead the 4G revolution as we introduce HTC EVO 4G to give our customers an experience that is unlike anything available in wireless to date,” said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO. “Not only is this feature-rich device incredible on our Sprint 3G network, but Sprint 4G speeds will take mobile multimedia, including live video streaming, gaming and picture downloads, to a whole new level.”

Customers will be able to purchase HTC EVO 4G through all Sprint channels and through national retail partners, RadioShack, Best Buy and Walmart, this summer. Pricing will be announced at a later date. Pre-registration begins today at Sprint - HTC EVO? 4G.

A device beyond compare

HTC EVO 4G delivers a robust list of features, including a 1GHz Qualcomm(R) Snapdragon(TM) processor ensuring a smooth and quick user experience. With dual cameras – an 8.0 megapixel auto-focus camera with HD-capable video camcorder and a forward-facing 1.3 megapixel camera – HTC EVO 4G unleashes the ability to create, stream and watch video that far surpasses expectations of what is possible on a phone today.

With built-in mobile hotspot functionality, HTC EVO 4G allows up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the 4G experience. Users can easily share an Internet connection on the go with a laptop, camera, music player, game unit, video player, or any other Wi-Fi enabled device.

With integrated HD video capture and 4G speeds, HTC EVO 4G makes slow uploads and grainy video a thing of the past. Now, it is possible to post high-quality video to YouTube(TM) or Facebook, or share moments in real time over the Internet live, via Qik. After these videos have been captured, it is easy to share them on an HDTV via an HDMI cable (sold separately).

The custom Web browser is optimized for HTC EVO 4G’s large display and Sprint 4G speeds to deliver a full, no-compromise Internet experience. Adobe Flash technology ensures that rich Internet content, such as embedded video and animation, are displayed the way they are meant to be seen. Pinch-to-zoom and automatic text reflowing provide easy Web page views.

HTC EVO 4G features the newest version of the highly acclaimed HTC Sense user experience. Along with all of the HTC Sense features first introduced on HTC Hero, HTC EVO 4G adds a number of new features, including Friend Stream, which aggregates multiple social communication channels including Facebook and Twitter(TM) into one organized flow of updates; a “Leap” thumbnail view to easily switch between home screen “panels”; the ability to download new, interactive widgets; and a “polite” ringer, which quiets the ringing phone once lifted up.

“HTC and Sprint have a strong history of working together to bring consumers technologies and advancements that make their lives easier,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC. “We believe that the HTC EVO 4G represents the best of Sprint and the best of HTC working together to bring an unmatched device to the U.S. This combination of HTC and Sprint innovation will allow people to do even more while on the go, faster than ever on the Sprint 4G network.”

Experience Android at 4G

HTC EVO 4G, the world’s first 3G/4G Android handset, features the latest iteration of the increasingly popular Android platform. Leveraging the Android 2.1 platform, HTC EVO 4G can deliver a wide array of useful new features:

Android 2.1 enables a new way to search with pictures instead of words. Google Goggles(TM) works with everything from books, DVDs and barcodes to landmarks, logos, artwork and even wine labels. A picture taken of the Golden Gate Bridge returns all of the information anyone would need to know about the structure. By just taking a picture of several restaurant options, HTC EVO 4G will provide restaurant reviews to ensure the best choice.

Text messaging and email composition feature built-in voice-to-text technology. By simply pressing a microphone button on the screen, messages can be composed by just speaking, making keeping in touch faster and easier than ever.

Through Android Market(TM), HTC EVO 4G users have access to thousands of useful applications, widgets and games to download and install on their phone, with many more to come.

In addition to today’s Android apps, the performance of which will be enhanced by 4G speed, application developers will be introducing new apps that take advantage of 4G power in new ways – games and communications tools and other apps that bring together video, presence and location simultaneously, and capabilities that haven’t yet been imagined. For example, an application developer might create an app that allows a customer to simultaneously watch a streaming sporting event while pulling down stats and conducting a video chat with a friend.

A Sprint 4G developer guide is available today from the Sprint ADP Web site Sprint Applications Developer Home Page. The Sprint 4G developer guide explains how to develop on an Android 2.1 handset and how to take advantage of 4G and unique hardware/software capabilities, including how to use a forward-facing camera in an app; how to use HDMI output; and how to build in network detection (3G, 4G or Wi-Fi) to optimize quality of data in an app. The Sprint 4G developer also will include sample apps and source code that highlight these features. It will supplement the Android 2.1 SDK. As a charter member of the Open Handset Alliance(TM), Sprint is actively engaged with the Android community. Sprint has employed an open Internet approach, and the Sprint Application Developer Program has been providing tools for third-party developers since Sprint first launched the Wireless Web on its phones in 2001.

“Sprint and HTC have come together to propel the Android platform into the 4G world with the introduction of HTC EVO 4G,” said Andy Rubin, vice president, mobile platforms at Google. “The Android platform was developed to give people unmatched mobile connectivity to the Internet. By combining this vision with the promise of Sprint’s first-to-market 4G technology, HTC EVO 4G makes accessing thousands of applications from Android Market, using Google(TM) services like Google Goggles, Google Earth(TM) and the all-new Gesture Search, or simply browsing the Web faster, easier and more enjoyable than ever before.”

Blazing trails with Sprint 4G

As the first national wireless carrier to test, launch and market 4G technology, Sprint made history by launching 4G in Baltimore in September 2008. Today, Sprint 4G covers more than 30 million people and expects to have up to 120 million people covered by the end of 2010.

Sprint currently offers 4G service in 27 markets, including Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland, Ore., San Antonio and Seattle. Following is a comprehensive list of markets by state where Sprint 4G is currently offered: Georgia – Atlanta, Milledgeville; Hawaii – Honolulu, Maui; Idaho – Boise; Illinois – Chicago; Maryland – Baltimore; Nevada – Las Vegas; North Carolina – Charlotte, Greensboro, (along with High Point and Winston-Salem), Raleigh (along with Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham); Oregon – Portland, Salem; Pennsylvania – Philadelphia; Texas – Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Waco, Wichita Falls; Washington – Bellingham, Seattle. For more information, visit Sprint: First and Only Wireless 4G from a National Carrier.

In 2010, Sprint expects to launch service in multiple markets, including but not limited to, Boston, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Minneapolis, New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Sprint is harnessing the power of 4G as the majority shareholder of Clearwire, the independent company that is building the WiMAX network. Sprint is the only national wireless carrier to offer 4G services on the Clearwire WiMAX network.

- HTC EVO 4G is Sprint’s First 4G Handset, With Android 2.1 and a Kickstand - SlashGear

So how's the droid appstore compared to the iPhones?

I'm not too sure how it works since my phone isn't an android. I will read up on it and let you know.

 

[Vivaki]

Last I read on this phone, it wasnt scheduled for europe. Is this still the case?

 

[Mr Robert]

We have 4G here and we want 4G phones too!

 

[Sayyaaf]

I think .... everybody is confusing the whole 4G concept, in europe and the rest of the world it will be LTE (Long term evolution - loosly connected to 3G), now HTC and spirint are promoting WiMAX as 4G which is totally incorrect. WiMAX has its flaws, LOS (Line Of Site) & NLOS (None LOS) attenuation could be very severe due to the high frequency nature of WiMAX & modulation techniques. Most operators & vendors decided to skip WiMAX and go for LTE since it is backward compatible with HSPA & GSM systems which they already have. It will offer 100+ Mbps in its launch form and will evolve into something beyond our imagination now.

With the launch of this HTC, it might be a success for networks with high investment in WiMAX infrastructure (802.16e Mobile WiMAX), however , the technology itself is very flawd and unlike LTE.

Regards

 

[Mr Robert]

So, there are fake 4G networks?

 

[Sayyaaf]

No not fake Dr, but the whole concept is missunderstood by some. I attended 3 WiMAX forums which is called "WiMAX Forum" who started the WiMAX project back in 2001, believe it or not, each conference was more controversal than the previous one. Vendors who invested already in WiMAX development decided to go for it and some operators fallen for it and started investment, some refused due to its flaws and its non compabtiility with 3G/GSM where call handovers are almost impossbile unless it is considered a PS call and not CS call. CS calls are not featured in WiMAX also due its IP nature.

Here is a quotation from Wikipedia, the first one is about its limitations and the second is about the natural progression of 3G which is LTE.

Inherent Limitations

A commonly-held misconception is that WiMAX will deliver 70 Mbit/s over 50 kilometers. Like all wireless technologies, WiMAX can either operate at higher bitrates or over longer distances but not both: operating at the maximum range of 50 km (31 miles) increases bit error rate and thus results in a much lower bitrate. Conversely, reducing the range (to under 1 km) allows a device to operate at higher bitrates.

A recent city-wide deployment of WiMAX in Perth, Australia, has demonstrated that customers at the cell-edge with an indoor CPE typically obtain speeds of around 1-4Mbps, with users closer to the cell tower obtaining speeds of up to 30Mbps.

Like all wireless systems, available bandwidth is shared between users in a given radio sector, so performance could deteriorate in the case of many active users in a single sector. However, with adequate capacity planning and the use of WiMAX's Quality of Service, a minimum guaranteed throughput for each subscriber can be put in place. In practice, most users will have a range of 4-8 Mbit/s services and additional radio cards will be added to the base station to increase the number of users that may be served as required.

Competing technologies
Speed vs. Mobility of wireless systems: Wi-Fi, HSPA, UMTS, GSM

Within the marketplace, WiMAX's main competition comes from existing, widely deployed wireless systems such as UMTS, CDMA2000, existing Wi-Fi and mesh networking.

In the future, competition will be from the evolution of the major cellular standards to so-called 4G, high-bandwidth, low-latency, all-IP networks with voice services built on top. The worldwide move to 4G for GSM/UMTS and AMPS/TIA (including CDMA2000) is the 3GPP Long Term Evolution effort. However, it has been noted that the likely performance difference between WiMAX as it stands today and LTE when it is eventually commercially available in 2–3 years time, will be negligible.[citation needed]

LTE is expected to be ratified at the end of 2010, with commercial implementations becoming viable within the next two years.

In some areas of the world, the wide availability of UMTS and a general desire for standardization has meant spectrum has not been allocated for WiMAX: in July 2005, the EU-wide frequency allocation for WiMAX was blocked.

WiMAX was not globally accepted and standardized by 3GPP (which sets wireless standards) for frequency spectrum and such issues, which lead to this mess.

As for Etisalat (the operator I work for), we decided to skip Mobile WiMAX (806.11e) and go for Fixed WiMAX (802.11d) which is a cost efficient alternative to DSL for sub-urban & rural areas.

 

[Mr Robert]

I think I get it now. What we have here is LTE.. not really 4G.

 

[RikfromBelgium]

I have the HD2 and even I am tempted by this phone, just for the camera and HDMI portal, which is basically the only thing next to android that's different.

Although, I like the look of the HD2 more, it's a bit thinner and not as flash.


but like SIKO said, I'm waiting for the big WinPhone 7 HTC phone that will be released by the end of the year, likely to be the HD3, and after I've seen what winphone 7 really will be like. I'm sticking with HTC though, they just build such quality products and have an excellent customer service.

 

[Tarek]

Very informative Mo,thanx a lot.I think i'll convert from Vodafone to Etisalat.

 

[Sayyaaf]

I really don't know about Etisalat Misr, but from what I heard they are still lagging in some areas. BTW their CEO used to be my boss

 

[LaArtist]

Ile wait for the Iphone ..
Its all about OS..

 

[HighestOfHigh]

Early HTC Evo 4G reviews are rolling in

Sprint's upcoming Android smartphone — the first WiMax phone in the U.S. — is an "extraordinarily sexy" handset with a "massive," "mesmerizing" display and speedy 4G data access, according to the first reviews. The Evo's "disappointing" camera is catching some flak, however, as is its battery life.

Of the handful of early reviews for the Evo 4G ($199 with a new, two-year Sprint contract, set for release June 4; check out my hands-on impressions here), the bloggers at Engadget were probably the most enthusiastic, calling the phone "truly one of the best smartphones ever made" and raving about the "amazing" 4G data speeds (up to about 7.4Mbps, when using the Evo as a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot) over Sprint's nascent WiMax network. (Keep in mind that WiMax is only available in 32 markets for now; check my Evo 4G post from last week for more details.)

Engadget was also impressed by the Evo's roomy, 4.3-inch WVGA display, saying that the bigger screen makes the handset feel "solid and substantial" in your hand. But Engadget went on to ding the phone's much-vaunted 8-megapixel camera, which captures video at resolutions up to 720p, observing that "HTC wasn't shy about compressing the [heck] out of your output. … Don't toss [your] 1080 camcorder." (It should also be noted that reviewers weren't able to test the Evo's two-way video chat abilities, which won't go live until June 4.)

Engadget ends its review on a high note, cooing, "We love this phone."

Over at CNET, reviewer Bonnie Cha calls the Evo 4G "hands-down, the best smartphone that Sprint has to offer" and one that "certainly ranks as one of the best Android phones on the market today." Cha singles out the Evo's "massive," "mesmerizing" display for special praise, adding that the phone's "spacious [onscreen] keyboard ... rivals the iPhone's in ease of use."

Cha admits she had "higher hopes" for the Evo's data speeds, noting that she got an average throughput of 3.42Mbps downstream but a choppy, "disappointing" experience with streaming video via Sprint TV. And the mandatory $10 monthly fee for WiMax on top of the standard $70 voice/data bundle "seems unfair," she says, given Sprint's limited WiMax coverage in the U.S.

Gizmodo didn't have a chance to wring out the Evo 4G in terms of its WiMax capabilities, but the blog did manage to spend some time with the phone's "disappointing" camera, which captured 720p video with a (compressed) data rate of just 5MB per second — "proof [that] resolution isn't everything." Gizmodo was also underwhelmed by still shots from the Evo's 8MP camera, which were "fine" but "not so great in even mediocre lighting. ... I was hoping for a little better."

Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal concentrated his review on the Evo 4G's data support, which "offers the highest consistent download data speeds I have ever seen on a cellular network." Then again, "the data speeds weren't spectacular," Mossberg notes, adding that he averaged about 3.4Mbps downstream (same as CNET) and just under 1Mbps upstream (ditto). Mossberg also complained that "when using 4G, the Evo's battery runs down alarmingly fast. … It didn't last through a full day with 4G turned on." Meanwhile, the Evo's jumbo display makes the phone feel "bulkier and heavier" than its touchscreen counterparts, Mossberg wrote.

- Early HTC Evo 4G reviews are rolling in - Yahoo! News

 

[go0gle]

Ile wait for the Iphone ..
Its all about OS..

MacOs is very restricted. Android, meego, and symbian are the way to go. Windows mobile 7 looks promising but they need to unlock multitasking and the ability for developers to write apps in native code, and a file system accessible to the user. The ce7 kernel is very capable, so I have hope. I suspect that microsoft will have lots of big updates after wm7 is on the market.
And I also think that hardware is important as well. if you get the iphone, you are getting hardware that is already outdated. The upcoming phones from htc and nokia will be way better. Check out the nokia n8