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Sprint Unveils The Nation's First 4G Smartphone
The EVDO and WiMax ready HTC EVO 4G drops this summer....
Sprint's turn at the CTIA podium today involved first announcing new expansion markets for Mobile WiMax, but also the unveiling of the first-ever 4G smartphone in the United States: the HTC EVO 4G. According to the Sprint website for the device, the phone will arrive sometime this summer. The initial specs have even the traditionally gadget-bored drooling a bit, and include the Android OS (of course), two cameras (one of which is 8 megapixels capable of 720p video), HDMI output, 1GB of built-in memory and 512MB of RAM, and supports both Sprint's EVDO and Mobile WiMax networks. The folks over at Engadget got to play with the device, and call it "easily the best specced phone we've ever witnessed":
quote:
We got to play with the phone for an all-too-brief matter of minutes, but everything we saw was frankly breathtaking. The camera does seem to be indeed of a high quality (though we'll still be holding on to our compact shooter, thank you very much), the screen is naturally gorgeous, and the Sense UI was as responsive as we've seen it, and frankly delicious at this jumbo size.
No word yet on pricing or battery life, and Sprint isn't getting any more specific than a "summer" release.
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Sprint's putting all their effort in

Lets hope they have the funding to get it off the ground.
They need a handset to make use of WiMAX... it might as well be a good one.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Sprint's putting all their effort in

said by en102:

Lets hope they have the funding to get it off the ground.
They need a handset to make use of WiMAX... it might as well be a good one.
Here is their press release:
»newsreleases.sprint.com/ ··· =1405159

This smartphone has everything but the kitchen sink. It also has a 1500 mAh battery and it may need it.

Specs:

xenophon
join:2007-09-17

xenophon

Member

Re: Sprint's putting all their effort in

said by FFH5:

This smartphone has everything but the kitchen sink. It also has a 1500 mAh battery and it may need it.
Everything but a physical keyboard. Is the battery replaceable?
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Re: Sprint's putting all their effort in

Yes it is.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5 to xenophon

Premium Member

to xenophon
said by xenophon:
said by FFH5:

This smartphone has everything but the kitchen sink. It also has a 1500 mAh battery and it may need it.
Everything but a physical keyboard. Is the battery replaceable?
Battery is replaceable. And there is a microSD card slot that can hold up to 32GB card.

digiblur
Premium Member
join:2002-06-03
Louisiana

digiblur to xenophon

Premium Member

to xenophon
said by xenophon:
said by FFH5:

This smartphone has everything but the kitchen sink. It also has a 1500 mAh battery and it may need it.
Everything but a physical keyboard. Is the battery replaceable?
Exactly! This phone is a HUGE no go for me... no keyboard! ARGHHH.... I hate on screen keyboards, you have to look at the phone to type since there are no keys to feel. Damn you apple for starting this retarded trend!
Big Dawg 23
join:2002-03-27
Northfield, MN

Big Dawg 23

Member

Re: Sprint's putting all their effort in

I have a Droid and never use the physical keyboard. I can type faster with the screen in portrait mode and without looking.

digiblur
Premium Member
join:2002-06-03
Louisiana

1 recommendation

digiblur

Premium Member

Re: Sprint's putting all their effort in

said by Big Dawg 23:

I have a Droid and never use the physical keyboard. I can type faster with the screen in portrait mode and without looking.
If I had a droid I wouldn't use that horrible keyboard either.

sapo
Cruising Down Memory Lane
Premium Member
join:2002-09-16
Sacramento, CA

1 edit

sapo

Premium Member

Re: Sprint's putting all their effort in

I have a Droid and the keyboard is just fine. Over 30WPM consistent anyday baby.

The on screen HTC keyboard for Android is very sweet though and I can type as fast as I can think with that one.

digiblur
Premium Member
join:2002-06-03
Louisiana

digiblur

Premium Member

Re: Sprint's putting all their effort in

said by sapo:

I have a Droid and the keyboard is just fine. Over 30WPM consistent anyday baby.

The on screen HTC keyboard for Android is very sweet though and I can type as fast as I can think with that one.
That keyboard is same keyboard phones came out with in 2005-2006. Looking at the keyboard you can see they threw it on there at the last minute.

If you compared that keyboard to say the Blackberries of today or the Touch Pro2 you'd see what I'm saying.

There's simply no comparison:

sapo
Cruising Down Memory Lane
Premium Member
join:2002-09-16
Sacramento, CA

1 edit

sapo

Premium Member

Re: Sprint's putting all their effort in

If you actually used the Droid for an extended period of time then you would see what I'm saying as well. A one day demo at the store or using a friends with a predetermined mindset is not a good way to compare my friend. I have had the keyboard on the 6800 and G1 and I had initial confusion with Droid but I adapted and learned for I am human. I bet I can match or beat the speed at which you type with that Touch Pro2 or Blackberry.

ironworks25
@wellsfargo.com

ironworks25 to digiblur

Anon

to digiblur
thank you!! i hate the on screen keyboards too, they suck

Tomek
Premium Member
join:2002-01-30
Valley Stream, NY

Tomek to digiblur

Premium Member

to digiblur
I was thinking of switching to sprint for half a second, no keyboard, no go, I will keep waiting

old_dawg
"I Know Noting..."
join:2001-09-22
Westminster, MD

old_dawg to en102

Member

to en102
said by en102:

Lets hope they have the funding to get it off the ground.
They need a handset to make use of WiMAX... it might as well be a good one.
Well since Dan sold off all the people responsible for maintaining the network to a foreign owned company, he's rolling in $$$ now, plus the royalties for putting his mug back in television ads again (ego anyone?).

DaSneaky1D
what's up
MVM
join:2001-03-29
The Lou

DaSneaky1D

MVM

Re: Sprint's putting all their effort in

Smartest move Sprint made. It provides more leverage to stay afloat as a company.

What's wrong with foreign ownership? That company still pays taxes into the US economy.

sapo
Cruising Down Memory Lane
Premium Member
join:2002-09-16
Sacramento, CA

sapo

Premium Member

Android Evolution

It never stops

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium Member
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

tiger72

Premium Member

Re: Android Evolution

Unlike that *ahem* other...device.

Gbcue
Premium Member
join:2001-09-30
Santa Rosa, CA

Gbcue

Premium Member

Re: Android Evolution

said by tiger72:

Unlike that *ahem* other...device.
But, there's an app for that.

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec

Premium Member

Wowzers...

It will be quite awhile before 4G gets up here I think..but wow what a phone. What will the cost be! Will I still be able to use my $30 a month SERO plan too?
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Re: Wowzers...

No SERO, but it'll be worth it to me to finally ditch SERO for this one. Android handsets can't do SERO unfortunately...

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec

Premium Member

Re: Wowzers...

said by iansltx:

No SERO, but it'll be worth it to me to finally ditch SERO for this one. Android handsets can't do SERO unfortunately...
As I read more this phone is really unbelievable. The problem is I am still clutching to phones that have physical keyboards, I have never gotten to like touch screens, but less and less "good" phones are coming out that have the physical keyboards. I like to carry my phone in my pocket and this has always made me nervous with touch screens. Heck, Only within the last few months have I "moved up" to slab style phones versus the clam shell kinds.

I am out of contract now with Sprint, but i am scared this thing is going to be like 499 with contract.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Re: Wowzers...

I'm afraid as well; I really don't want to lose my trusty physical keyboard

That said, I could probably get one of those projected BT keyboards for seirous typing...and with that sized screen the onscreen keyboard will be several times the size of my physical one (HTC Touch Pro)...

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Wowzers...

said by iansltx:

..and with that sized screen the onscreen keyboard will be several times the size of my physical one (HTC Touch Pro)...
The onscreen keyboard is bigger than its competitors.
EVO in the middle; iPhone on bottom; Nexus One on top:


gball
Master Yoda
Premium Member
join:2000-11-28
South Bend, IN

1 recommendation

gball to swintec

Premium Member

to swintec
I'm with you on this but I'll probably buy the phone anyway. It will give me an excuse to txt my girl less cause I'll tell her I don't have a keyboard anymore! haha

kpfx
join:2005-10-28
San Antonio, TX

kpfx

Member

Re: Wowzers...

I was the same way, but give it a chance and I think you'll slowly come around to the on-screen keyboard. I too refused to let go of my physical keyboard since the old HTC Mogule days...

But I just got the Touch Pro 2 which has a HUGE screen... and I find myself using the on-screen keyboard more and more. So now as I look at my phone.... if they shaved off the keyboard it would be noticeably slimmer and lighter.

This new 4G phone looks like its filled with even more awesomeness. Bigger screen and HDMI output (think streaming YouTube HD to your TV thru the phone on 4G)

gball
Master Yoda
Premium Member
join:2000-11-28
South Bend, IN

gball

Premium Member

Re: Wowzers...

I hope you're right cause I plan on getting this phone

sapo
Cruising Down Memory Lane
Premium Member
join:2002-09-16
Sacramento, CA

sapo to swintec

Premium Member

to swintec
Trust me, as a Android user for over 6 months who has owned the Verizon 6800 (identical to Mogul), G1, and now the Droid that HTC keyboard that is pictured is very awesome. The white one is made by HTC while the black one is the stock Google one which is inferior to the HTC one. When set to portrait mode into Compact Qwerty mode with its learning feature, auto complete, and automatic spelling correction it has me tearing up the screen. Words literally seem to pop out of thin air. The Full qwerty in landscape mode however does not compete with a physical keyboard but you do get used to it.

gball
Master Yoda
Premium Member
join:2000-11-28
South Bend, IN

gball

Premium Member

Re: Wowzers...

I'll probably find out when this phone comes out
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

xenophon

Member

Built in MiFi, up to 8 devices

It will also apparently officially support being a MiFi, sharing up to 7 or 8 devices if I recall. The HDMI output is pretty freaky for a phone.

I may switch from a Pre this summer but what I most like about Pre is the perfected one-handed operation and easy switching of apps. Droid definitive does not work well in one hand and is awkward at multi-tasking. If this phone can do these two things well, I'll probably make the switch.

Does Android 2.1 still only store apps in internal storage? This is an issue as some long play 3D games take up over 200MB.
nnaarrnn
join:2004-09-30
Charleston, WV

nnaarrnn

Member

Re: Built in MiFi, up to 8 devices

all android phones have a MiFi-like capability. I used my HTC hero for our office (computer shop) when our regular internet went out. I had 12-13 laptops connected.

There is a simple hack to have android 1.5 and up put the applications on the SD card, so no worries there.

Tomek
Premium Member
join:2002-01-30
Valley Stream, NY

Tomek

Premium Member

Re: Built in MiFi, up to 8 devices

Wifi-tether for rooted androids

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium Member
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

tiger72 to xenophon

Premium Member

to xenophon
Most applications that need more than about 20MB simply create extra storage folders on the SD card. For example, CoPilot GPS saves about a gig of data to the SD card.

Internal storage isn't really an issue anymore.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

1 recommendation

iansltx

Member

WANT

Enough said. As long as the phone is compatible with Sprint's current plan lineup (I'd get the $70 Everything 450 more 'n' likely) and costs $300 or less, I'm getting this phone.

•••

iLive4Fusion
Premium Member
join:2006-07-13

iLive4Fusion

Premium Member

Great, but where is 4G? This is called 3.9G

First off, Sprint is using a technology that no other carrier in the US is running, all the other carrier's including Verizon (CDMA) are evolving to the GSM based evolution of UMTS which is LTE, so nobody to roam off of for WiMax and they wont get roaming revenue likely either since the big companies will not be using WiMax. And in vast rural area's, Verizon and AT&T will have an advantage with 700mhz, laws of physics, there are other issues that come with it but they can be fixed.

Second, THIS IS NOT 4G! According to the IMT-Advanced spec's for 4G this is not 4G but it is 3.9G, same with Verizon's initial rollout of LTE, it's 3.9G and not 4G until it is upgraded to LTE advanced and capable of 100mbps. I mean people are seeing faster speed's with HSPA than WiMax.

Sprint should be sued for false advertisement because there isn't a 4G network here.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Gbcue
Premium Member
join:2001-09-30
Santa Rosa, CA

Gbcue

Premium Member

It's a brick, according to AT&T

»AT&T Takes Shots At Verizon's LTE Plans [38] comments

nightdesigns
Gone missing, back soon
Premium Member
join:2002-05-31
AZ

nightdesigns

Premium Member

Can't Wait

I've actually been holding off on getting one of the Sprint Android phones until this summer. When I first heard about this I got really excited. Hopefully it doesn't break the bank!

Dagda1175
join:2001-06-17
Goleta, CA

Dagda1175

Member

HTC needs to buy Palm

This hardware with WebOS on it would be perfect for me.
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

1 recommendation

xenophon

Member

Re: HTC needs to buy Palm

Many rumors Palm will also release a new phone this year, perhaps with WiMAX. Would sure like to see most of these specs in the new phone otherwise I may consider the Evo. I prefer the one-handed operation of Palm and how well it handles multitasking.

If Palm is planning on a new phone for Sprint, they better announce it before Evo becomes available. With lower than expected sales with Pre, they have to put out a killer phone or die.

No Limit
Just Say No To Social Promotion
join:2000-10-07
San Francisco, CA

No Limit

Member

I just upgraded to an HTC Hero too..

I'm glad there's more Android phones coming out for Sprint, but I'm guessing it's going to be awhile before 4G hits my area.
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

1 edit

xenophon

Member

Re: I just upgraded to an HTC Hero too..

said by No Limit:

I'm glad there's more Android phones coming out for Sprint, but I'm guessing it's going to be awhile before 4G hits my area.
The Bay Area should get WiMAX by end of the year as it's been announced. There might be a few parts of the area that already have it unofficially available. Essentially every market that has been already rolled out had it unofficially available in pockets many months before official.

Same was true with Sprint's EVDO rollout in the mid-2000s. In many cities, it was just there in pockets but not officially not announced until most of metro covered.

Time
Premium Member
join:2003-07-05
Irvine, CA

Time

Premium Member

Wow.

Screw the iPhone.

I'm going after this, Android + 4G is just too much to pass up.

Subaru
1-3-2-4
Premium Member
join:2001-05-31
Greenwich, CT

Subaru

Premium Member

Is it?

$1,000?

•••••••
ricep5
Premium Member
join:2000-08-07
Jacksonville, FL

ricep5

Premium Member

The only thing stopping this....

The only thing that could stop this is an injunction from Apple from their ongoing legal issues with HTC.

Wired posted a rumor that Palm is now looking to moving to Android ASAP.

Everyone I know who took on the Pre has dropped it already for the HTC Hero. One discovered a critical issue on the Pre where when the contacts reached its limit it would start randomly truncating data. Problem is no one at Palm knows what the limit is, even the development team in India. Android has no such limitations so far.

Every new release on Android puts the Palm WebOS and Windows Mobile farther in the hole. If Palm was smart they would license Android and place the WebOS GUI on top and just get it over with. (Not!)

•••

airtouch25
join:2007-05-22
united state

airtouch25

Member

4G definitely sounds better than 3.5 or 3.75G

.... from a marketing perspective.

I would not be surprised however if HSPA + surpasses WiMax availability in the US with more consistent DL/UL speeds and overall coverage at least in the interim.

With Verizon adamantly committed to LTE and AT&T changing their minds every other week what they plan to do, it may be a race between T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel about who can brag about having the fastest speeds or the rest of this year into next year.

Both T-Mobile USA and Sprint are very hungry and have a lot to prove to both consumers and investors alike.

Either way, the rest of this year should be exiting as they try to "up one," eachother. I have a feeling we're going to see a lot more ad wars and PR wars in the coming months as tensions rise and saturation rates get higher.

I'm also interested to see if DT buys or leases spectrum from Clear to create their own 4G network or if they switch teams entirely and allow their US unit to go WiMax.

GlobalMind
Domino Dude, POWER Systems Guy
Premium Member
join:2001-10-29
Indianapolis, IN

GlobalMind

Premium Member

Ooooh shiny!

Well I replaced my Treo 755p when I was gifted a Treo Pro. I still have my "credit" for discounted device cost, so let's see what this sucker comes out to when released.

Either this or the Sprint Nexus One will be a good choice replacement I think.

gball
Master Yoda
Premium Member
join:2000-11-28
South Bend, IN

gball

Premium Member

oh ya

This phone is so freakin awesome! If I had to knock it though I would have liked more RAM and a physical keyboard but who am I kidding I will get this phone!

I don't care about 4g really since it isn't coming to my area anytime soon but 3g is here and the coverage is fine.

What I don't get it why is it everytime Sprint comes out with something all the Verizon and Iphone fan boys have to knock them and go on and on.

Seriously don't you guys have anything better to do?

sapo
Cruising Down Memory Lane
Premium Member
join:2002-09-16
Sacramento, CA

sapo

Premium Member

Re: oh ya

More Ram? What would you really do with it. I have never had ram issues and I have 256MB.

DaSneaky1D
what's up
MVM
join:2001-03-29
The Lou

DaSneaky1D to gball

MVM

to gball
What other high-end Android phone has more than 512MB of RAM?
vlad1000
join:2005-05-19
Brooklyn, NY

vlad1000

Member

do they force you to sign up for a voice or voip plan ??

do you have to have a gsm or voip plan from sprint in order to use this phone? or is it completely unlocked and one can simply use skype on it?

tiger72
SexaT duorP
Premium Member
join:2001-03-28
Saint Louis, MO

tiger72

Premium Member

Re: do they force you to sign up for a voice or voip plan ??

said by vlad1000:

do you have to have a gsm or voip plan from sprint in order to use this phone? or is it completely unlocked and one can simply use skype on it?
You will have to get a voice plan.
Unlocked for a CDMA phone is misleading. Many networks won't allow users to bring phones that aren't sold by that network. So even if it were able to be sold completely unlocked, where would you take it?

On GSM/UMTS that of course wouldn't be a problem.
Jet101
Jet101
Premium Member
join:2009-10-01
Pflugerville, TX

Jet101

Premium Member

A True iPhone Killer...Maybe, Finally, Ya Think?

Of all the new phones that have come out with much publicized hype about being an "iPhone Killer", maybe this is finally the one!

My Palm Pre will be sent packing when this one comes out. I got tired of waiting for a SIP app for it. Love the WebOS, but the apps just don't cut it. I think I see at least two of EVO 4G's becoming part of the family.
mob (banned)
On the next level..
join:2000-10-07
San Jose, CA

mob (banned)

Member

Sweet phones

Seen one, used it. Can't wait to get one.