It’s no secret that the Sprint bound HTC Evo 4G is the most exciting announcement out of CTIA this year.  With the launch of Sprint’s 4G WiMax network, they really needed a phone that would capitalize on the speed and deliver a truly unique multimedia experience for those who simply need to have the biggest and baddest phone in town.

1. Large 4.3 inch display:

When you walk into Best buy and are looking for a new LCD TV, you naturally walk up to their display wall and stare (with mouth open) at the largest display they have.  The 4.3 inch LCD screen on the HTC Evo won’t be replacing your living room’s TV any time soon, but you get the same reaction when you line it up with other phones on the market.  In the Android kingdom, current phones have screens as large as 3.7 inches and there are a few (Samsung galaxy S and SONY Ericsson XPERIA X10) that will be hitting the market soon with 4 inch screen.

2. 1GB of storage for your apps:

One of the worst things about Android in its current state is the inability to install apps on your memory card.  Yes, you can fix this by rooting your phone and using Apps2SD, but the majority of people who buy Android phones don’t know how to do all that and stare at you blankly when you use the word “root.”  Eventually, users install 30-40 apps on their Android phone and then they are greeted with a lovely message “Low on space” and are asked to uninstall a few apps to make some extra room.  With the HTC Evo 4G, most people shouldn’t have to worry about this since the phone comes with 1GB of internal storage for apps.  Even if you install apps that are 5MB each, you’ll be able to load up 200 of them before you’ll start running out of space.

3. You have 3 G’s I have 4:

With the evolution of the mobile network, most carriers are looking at plans on upgrading to 4G.  While At&t and Verizon have their eyes set on LTE technology in the coming years, Sprint has already started rolling out 4G WiMax service to a handful of cities across the United States.  The HTC Evo 4G will be the first phone to take advantage of the faster 4G data connection.  However, that does not mean your new Evo 4G will be faster than your friend’s T-Mobile myTouch 3G.  Sprint’s WiMax footprint is still quite small and it’s maximum download speeds are slower than T-Mobile HSDPA+ speeds which will cover over 200 million potential subscribers by the end of 2010.   But people are impressed with numbers.  Telling your friends you have a 4G phone is like saying you have a Lamborghini.  Just don’t tell them that the speed limiter only gives you a top speed of 100MPH.

4. Multimedia powerhouse

I’ve always loved the idea of having a phone that can do anything.  When  I purchased by HTC Magician back in the day, I was ecstatic that I could listen to my music, watch video, check my email, and make a phone call all from one device.  With the HTC Evo 4G, you can do all that and more.  You get an 8MP camera with Led flash that can shoot 720p video.  You get a 1.3MP front facing camera for video calls.  You get a huge 4.3 inch display with 480×800 for looking at your pictures or watching video.  And if you get tired of the “small” display, simply plug in the included HDMI cable and continue watching your favorite movie or TV show on your large screen TV.

Yes, there are probably a few good reasons why the HTC Evo 4G is not the phone for you.  But at what point are you simply trying to talk your way out of having the most technologically advanced phone available (sometime this summer).

It’s right about now that I start kicking myself for having a day job and not being able to attend CTIA.  Sprint and HTC have just unveiled the new Sprint HTC Evo, the world’s first WiMax smartphone.  Over the past few months, we’ve come to know this phone as the Supersonic, so it may take a while to get user to the new name.  The HTC Evo features a 480 x 800 4.3-inch TFT LCD, with a Snapdragon QSD8650 1GHz processor to do all the dirty work.  Think of the HTC Evo as an Android powered HTC HD2, but with 4G connectivity.  The Sprint HTC Evo features 1GB of built-in memory and 512MB of RAM, an 8 MP camera with dual LED flash and  720p video recording, HDMI out, and a nice little 1.3 MP camera on the front of the phone as well.  Just like the recently announced HTC Legend and Bravo, the HTC Evo will feature Android 2.1 and HTC Sense.  Sprint users will be able to use the WiMax equipped HTC Evo as a Mifi hotspot and make calls at the same time (something that cannot currently be done on traditional CDMA networks). 

Sprint and HTC are silent on pricing of the HTC Evo for now, but they did mention that the handset will be available this summer.  It’s still unknown if Sprint will be charging a WiMax tax on the HTC Evo by forcing subscribers to pay a higher monthly fee for WiMax data. 

The guys over at Engadget got a few minutes with the Sprint HTC Evo and have put up a few videos of their experience.

Source: Engadget