Sprint And HTC Unleash 4G Smartphone Super-predator

Sprint and HTC have leaped ahead in the race for 4G, with today’s unveiling of HTC’s new, Sprint-powered EVO 4G smartphone, likely to be the first smartphone in the U.S. able to run on a 4G network when it hits stores this summer.

It looks to be a brute of a phone — big, and armed with an array of impressive specs: an iPhone-dwarfing 4.3-inch screen that’s even larger than the HTC Nexus One’s 3.7-inch display, two cameras (the rear-facing has an 8-megapixel sensor that’ll shoot HD video, the front a 1.3-megapixel for videochat), a 1GHz Snapdragon processor borrowed from the Nexus One, an HDMI jack that’ll output in 720p, and even a “kickstand” that’ll prop the phone up. And as in the Nexus One, the EVO ditches the physical keyboard.

But the thing seems massive, and will likely be one of those “or are you just happy to see me” gadgets when stuffed in a pocket. Also, Sprint’s 4G network is hardly extensive, apparently even absent from such data-thirsty cities like San Francisco, says Wired, though there are plans for network expansion.

So, where does this leave the iPhone? Combine the imminent release of the next-gen iPhone with the Jobsian characteristic of never letting his company get left in the dust, and perhaps we have the recipe for a summer 4G iPhone-EVO cage match? Maybe. The key ingredient missing here would be the iPhone’s access to a 4G network, as it looks like AT&T’s won’t be up till 2011 — but Verizon says it’ll have a 4G network up this summer.

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[via Wired, and thanks to reader Brian F.]

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About the author

When he was eight, Eli Milchman came home from frolicking in the Veld one day and was given an Atari 400. Since then, his fascination with technology has made him an intrepid early adopter of whatever charming new contraption crosses his path — which explains why he's Cult of Mac's technology editor. He calls San Francisco home, where he works as a journalist and photographer. Eli has contributed to the pages of Wired.com and BIKE Magazine, among others. Hang with him on Twitter.

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Posted in iPhone, News |

porkchop1234
Oh wow that phone looks sweeeetttttt. Its got everything except the iTunes app store and the kitchen sink. The crappy thing about it is even if I wanted one Canada probably won’t see that handset for another 4 or 5 years. Its a real pisser.
Joseph
Judging from the home screen, I’ll give it a couple weeks’ worth of headlines before it disappears into the garbage heap.
bash$
man, that thing is UGLY!
Peter
@bash$
Yeah, no one comes close in design as the Apple aesthetic.
Grampa Dan
Got to agree with Porkchop1234. But Rogers is coming out with some new Android stuff in the summer, but that’s a long wait and I’d like a phone now. The Nexus One seems to have some problems, so I’m in a holding pattern waiting to see where Android is going.
porkchop1234
I kind of wonder if Android has any chance in Canada. Lets face it unlike our American neighbors most people are more into old style flip phones then smart phones (with the exception of the younger crowd of coarse). Maybe if the carriers would finally stop raping us over the coals for the data plans we would see more smart phone penetration in the population.