HTC EVO 4G is Sprint's Android-powered knight in superphone armor, we go hands-on

We've been rumoring a WiMAX "HTC Supersonic" for a while now, and Sprint just dropped the hard news: the phone will be dubbed the HTC EVO 4G, will be released this Summer and it's easily the best specced phone we've ever witnessed. The hardware is of quite obvious HD2 descent, but with Android onboard and some nice aesthetic tweaks, the EVO 4G takes on a life of its own. The handset is centered around a 480 x 800 4.3-inch TFT LCD, with a Snapdragon QSD8650 1GHz processor under the hood (the CDMA version of the QSD8250 in the HD2 and Nexus One), and even a helpful 1GB of built-in memory and 512MB of RAM -- hello app storage! Even the battery is bigger than the HD2, and the camera is an 8 megapixel monstrosity with flash, that's capable of 720p video, and is augmented by a 1.3 megapixel front facing camera for good measure. The phone features HDMI out (though you'll need an adapter for turning it into a TV-familiar HDMI plug), 802.11b/g WiFi, and an 8GB microSD card. There's that still-rare Android 2.1 underneath an updated version of HTC's Sense UI. But... despite all these wild features, what actually sets the EVO 4G apart is the fact that it's Sprint's first 4G phone. The handset runs a combo of EV-DO Rev. A and WiMAX, with calls still being made over CDMA and the EV-DO / WiMAX options for data. Interestingly, it sounds like concurrent data and voice use might be possible for the first time on CDMA carrier in this way (killing AT&T's well-advertised differentiator), though Sprint says that's still in the testing phase. One other new feature is the Sprint hotspot app, another MiFi-style connection sharing number, which is obviously aided greatly by the WiMAX on board and can support up to eight concurrent users. Follow after the break for our hands-on impressions and videos of the phone in action, including an up-close-and-personal test of the touchscreen keyboard. Below you'll find galleries of the phone by its lonesome and up against the Nexus One and iPhone 3G.

Update: We've got a graph comparing the Nexus One and Droid with the EVO spec for spec, and there's also a pictorial shootout with the Desire and HD2. Pick your comparo poison!

HTC EVO 4G press shots

HTC EVO 4G hands-on

HTC EVO 4G vs. iPhone vs. Nexus One

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. The capacitive face buttons are flat and almost a little difficult to see due the thin chrome icons, but the physical buttons (a volume rocker and a power button up top) are very large, tactile and friendly. Around back there's strong, chrome kick stand, and when you pop off the cover the battery is surrounded by beautiful "Ferrari red" plastic. The touchscreen keyboard is positively ginormous, though we're not sure we're feeling some of the recent things that have been crammed in there like huge cursor buttons and the voice recognition button -- just because you can fit stuff in there doesn't mean you should, and they look a little comical at this size. In our testing we weren't really able to get a feel for the browsing speed on WiMAX, but at this point we're primarily enthused that it's even an option, and obviously the theoretical speeds are far beyond 3G, with a bunch of new markets due to go online this year. Battery life is stated as "comparable."

Our biggest questions at this point are availability and pricing. Sprint is keeping mum, just stating a "Summer" availability, and interestingly clarified that not only is it not announcing device pricing, but it's not announcing plan pricing yet either -- sounds like a 4G-on-a-phone surcharge could be somewhere in our future.

[jawman Posted Apr 14th 2010 2:06PM]

Can someone please help me out with the "x screen is better than y screen" confusion I am having?

according to these videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FICAHsE_enE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Wd6J4DNzMI
OLED blows TFT away.

However, according to this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1EqEZe3lcI
TFT is better than OLED.

WTF!!?

[polird Posted May 9th 2010 5:23PM]

@jawman
Indoors, OLED looks a million times better than LCDs like this phone has. Outdoors, OLED screens (especially the one on the Zune HD) do not reflect much light, and are therefore very hard to see. I can say that in direct sunlight and maximum screen brightness on my Zune, it is difficult, if not impossible to see it. However, newer OLEDs are becoming better with outdoor light. LCDs, especially the one on this phone, perform better outdoors and will still look great, that is until you hold it next to an OLED screen. One more thing, with mostly black interfaces like Android, OLED screens use much less power (because each pixel is it's own light), however, on mostly white pages (like internet) every pixel has to light up, which can use more power than an lcd. I hope this helps.

[PatrikJohnsson Posted Apr 14th 2010 6:24PM]

Living in the UK I feel a bit left out...

[Kode Posted Apr 15th 2010 9:13AM]

Hey!

This phone looks pretty amazing. I've been doing some research and comparing it to other HTC phones that are coming *aka, HTC Incredible* and when comparing the specs I see that in some websites it says that the EVO will have 1GB of internal memory and the Incredible will have 8GB.

This doesn't seem right to me... does anyone have an explanation for this?

[cdubc2012 Posted Apr 15th 2010 1:39PM]

8GB of internal storage definitely blows all the other android 2.1 devices out of the water, especially when you consider that you can't run apps off of the expanded storage, at least not yet (and even if/when that changes, it will be slower).

It almost feels like this was some sort of bargained deal between the various carriers and HTC or Google, so that each gets their own distinguishing feature. Perhaps that;'s a bit conspiratorial, but I'd certainly pay more money to get the EVO 4G with 8 or 16 GB of internal memory.

[thunder18 Posted Apr 22nd 2010 2:04PM]

@cdubc2012
In Engadget's review of the Incredible, it sounds like the 8GB of built in memory is a mixed bag and possibly not as useful as we'd think it should be. They mentioned that a lot of programs that download information for later were not able to access said information if they app itself was stored in memory because it keeps looking for the microSD card where it thinks this additional info is stored. Probably going to be a problem until Google actually updated Android to be able to handl apps off the internal memory.

[xBASTIONx Posted Apr 15th 2010 7:30PM]

Well hot damn! There's already 4g in Boise, ID. Which is my city...odd to say the least. But I'm excited. Plus I've already managed to save enough up for what will likely be around $200 with a new contract and rebates. I'm ready now Sprint, lets do this thing.

[Z40 Posted Apr 16th 2010 9:14PM]

I want. Nao.

[benthe1 Posted Apr 18th 2010 7:43PM]

Man the specs on this phone is sick. I just hope Sprint will market this the right way. They need to make their comercials interesting to catch the viewer's attention and then show what makes it better then any other phone out right now; (1) 720 hd recording, (2) 4.3 in. screen, front facing camera for video chat on the go, (3) 4G!!, (4) hdmi out port to watch HD content from phone to TV,(5) 1 Ghz processor, (6) 8 mp camera, (7) Android 2.1 OS, aaand..... (breath) (8) connet up to 8 devices at once via Mobile Hotspot feature. WOW!!!!!! Only a very few have just one of these features and even fewer have only two. Only one other device has three of these features which comes out for Verizon on the 29th of April, the HTC Incredible. Just over a month after that the EVO will come out and destroy the competition. EVO FTW!!!!

[Mofetti Posted Apr 19th 2010 9:55AM]

As long as the Mifi service is not that expensive or better yet (free) this is a day one purchase for me.

[ipaladin Posted Apr 19th 2010 1:54PM]

It will not matter for me because Sprint doesn't really cover my town. If Sprint had been building out networks instead of cheaping out they wouldn't be losing money hand over fist. I hope 4G WiMax works for them. Otherwise things could be hard. This is a great device, no doubt, but HTC needs to release it to other carriers even without 4G carrier support.

[gigarath Posted Apr 19th 2010 4:29PM]

Sadly I got a Blackberry 8900 about 5 months ago on a 2 year contract. But on the bright side. By the time my contract is up Sprint should have a full line up of 4G phones to choose from. So yeah, I will be jumping ship, but just not yet.

[silverdeath00 Posted Apr 19th 2010 8:13PM]

Will this absolute beast horse of a phone that is more beautiful than the stars themselves becoming to the glorious land of the United Kingdom?

[gigarath Posted Apr 20th 2010 1:21AM]

@silverdeath00 Probably not until early to mid 2011 at the earliest. You realize that you live in a country with 110% cell phone saturation rate right? America hasn't even hit the 80% mark yet. So a very expensive phone coming to a country where people already have so many other phones, it seems that you might be out of luck for a few months. But look on the bright side if you happen to have WiMax in your area by the time this gets released I'm sure you can spend both your arms, and legs, and your right eye to get it unlocked.

[silverdeath00 Posted Apr 20th 2010 11:39AM]

@gigarath yaaayy spending loads of money ftw. Damn the uk its smallness with all business people having an iphone and a blackberry

[uHorndog Posted Apr 19th 2010 10:40PM]

I wonder how much $ this thing is worth alone..

Like.. $1,200?

lol

niice -.-

[blusanders3 Posted Apr 20th 2010 11:13AM]

they should film the commercials for this on the device

[flst2000 Posted Apr 20th 2010 11:31AM]

This phone looks amazing and seriously looking at this.. But I just tried the Sprint Overdrive a few days ago and the 4G was spotty at best and with a 5Gig cap on 3G data makes me wonder if this would be the same case. If I was to go for this I would buy the phone out right then sign up for a month by month plan no more 2 Year contracts for this guy.

Sprint and AT&T will screw the consumer on the contracts. But buying the device then month by month could switch to Version.

Cell phones are cool but the costs make me question any service. I just broke my Iphone plan and will be using my IPAD 3G for phone calls (VOIP) and truly unlimited data for $30 month vs $60 month and be limited to 5Gig.

[Larz Posted Apr 20th 2010 3:25PM]

Nice. I may have to switch to sprint...

[patrick159 Posted Apr 20th 2010 8:07PM]

@Larz
I know they also have very good plans too.


http://www.patscowindshieldrepair.com/

[tenaciouswho Posted Apr 23rd 2010 5:05PM]

@Larz
I did... And I do NOT regret it! Great rates and the Free Mobile to Mobile thing saves me tons of money. I have a discount through my company so with 5 lines, with unlimited data and txt and free mobile to mobile, we pay 205 a month for 5 people... thats kinda awesome if you ask me :)

(I am not a sprint employee BTW)

[patrick159 Posted Apr 20th 2010 8:02PM]

I can not wait to get this phone. It beats the iPhone in every way, maby except when it comes to apps but every thing else is better on the evo.

[patrick159 Posted Apr 20th 2010 8:02PM]

I can not wait to get this phone. It beats the iPhone in every way, maby except when it comes to apps but every thing else is better on the evo.


http://www.patscowindshieldrepair.com/

[mnemosynthe Posted Apr 20th 2010 11:26PM]

But you cut off the part when he starts talking about the front camera in your video! I'd like to learn more about that. I hope it's videophone capabilities. It would be great when calling Skype to PC.

[CaptainCanary Posted Apr 21st 2010 5:49AM]

This phone looks great! I hope the UK networks get moving rolling out a 4G network.

[beldave Posted Apr 21st 2010 2:34PM]

How is Sprint's service (calls and data) compared to Verizon? Currently a Verizon customer and love it, but to get my first smartphone, I'm going to be paying almost $200 a month for our plan rather than $120 or so for a comparable plan with Sprint. I like the HTC Incredible, save for negative comments on the display being tricky in sunlight. Thoughts?

[polird Posted May 9th 2010 5:30PM]

@beldave
Well, i can't comment on the call quality, but i can say that the data is great. When using a sprint 3G mobile card, it is usable at any signal strength, and with 5 bars, it's FAST (probably DSL speeds)

[mr9872 Posted Apr 21st 2010 9:29PM]

My dream phone:

4.1-inch Multitouch AMOLED Display
1.5 GHz Snapdragon Processor
Nvidia's Tegra System-in-a-chip
8mp AF camera with xenon flash and 720p video recording capabilities
OS mixed with Android, WebOS, Windows Phone 7, and HTC Sense
Front-Facing 1.3mp video camera for video chat
Full Flash, Silverlight, Quicktime, Realplayer
Optical Joystick like on HTC Desire
Slide-out QWERTY keyboard similar to the HTC Touch Pro2's
4G
HDMI Port
True HD Video
HD and FM Radio
App Store (iPhone, Windows Phone 7 and Android apps)
A true portable Xbox 360 (actual Xbox games and Xbox live exerience)

[Ted S Posted Apr 22nd 2010 1:18AM]

Looks great, however...

The BIG QUESTION is whether THIS Android phone will support TRUE hands-free Bluetooth operation.

Let's hope the Sprint HTC EVO will support true hands-free Bluetooth operation because as of right now -

NO US Android phone supports true hands-free Bluetooth operation. (eg. Hand-free voice calling or hands-free application control)

The Motorola Droid doesn't, neither does the Google Nexxus One, Verizon Incredible, Verizon Eris, Sprint Hero, T-Mobile My Touch, or T-Mobile G1.

Even though this unresolved Android problem has existed from the very first Android phone, I have yet to see any announcements from Google/Android about a possible cure...much less, any acknowledgment that this potential safety problem exists.

For all of the goodness that the Sprint EVO promises, the Sprint EVO must have true hands-free Bluetooth operation!

[homelessbill Posted May 31st 2010 1:56PM]

@Ted S Check 2.2, buddy.

[Ted S Posted Apr 22nd 2010 1:20AM]

It would be sad if the Sprint HTC EVO doesn't feature true hands-free Bluetooth operation.

Hopefully some Mobile Engadget writers/readers have some info on this safety issue.

Not talking about a quasi-work around....rather, the true hands-free Bluetooth experience many of us currently have with WinMo and Blackberry phones.

[nicoz Posted Apr 27th 2010 12:21AM]

Sprint promised 3G in my market by 3rd Quarter 2009. Despite no response from direct letters to Daniel Hesse they can't tell me when 3G will be available, southern states. At this point i believe 4G is just a Mirage despite the fact that they have a few markets up. Logistically they have to make big changes internally if they expect to regain any market share with their current provisioning model. Nice phone, but faster rollouts Sprint!..

Nicoz.

[techtroll Posted May 1st 2010 2:54AM]

Good Lord have MERCY!

[SCB Posted May 3rd 2010 8:49PM]

I know!! This wait is killing me!!!

[uHorndog Posted May 6th 2010 4:09AM]

Will I be able to order this thing and have it sent to canada and then put it on a contract in canada? or do I have to wait for a carrier to bring it here?

:)

I want this monster!! ITS AWESOME

[oneofayykind Posted May 10th 2010 1:14PM]

Who here is going to buy the EVO even if Sprint decides to go to LTE instead of WiMAX. According to this article http://droidedup.com/2010/05/htc-evo-4g-but-for-how-long/ they may do just that and then our 4G network on the EVO is useless!

[Leozno1 Posted May 10th 2010 4:44PM]

@oneofayykind Well sprint says that the difference between WiMAX and LTE is software not hardware, so it is possible that the EVO can be adjusted to work on LTE if they do switch. But either way Im still getting the EVO 4G

[furiousgtz Posted May 10th 2010 11:39PM]

Man I just want to know the pricing and 4g plans.

[bvalentine Posted May 17th 2010 3:03PM]

Sprint is price gouging families with an interest in the EVO. Here is how:

If your like me, you want an Android phone and your spouse just wants a basic phone without data. Sprint is attempting to rip off customers like us with the EVO plans. For this scenario, Sprint is $40 more expensive than Verizon, $50 more expensive than AT&T and $65 more expensive than TMobile and on a monthly basis when you go with the cheapest family plan. Sprint is closer to the other carriers on the individual plans but still $10 more expensive (the EVO "premium data" BS).

They will tell you that you are going to use more data with the EVO and that is why they need the extra $10, but 4G is anything but widespread right now and they are not going to let you get away without paying the $10 if 4g is not available in your area. So Sprint is really just searching for ways to squeeze more money out of you. Either that, or they know they can't handle a large amount of data users.

Here are the monthly costs for individuals and families looking for the cheapest way to get a single Android phone or the EVO in Sprint's case. Because of these prices, I will wait for either the Samsung Galaxy S which has a 4" AMOLED screen among other things. Besides in the Android world, a better phone is announced every month. The EVO is a beautiful phone that should be a big hit. Unfortunately Sprint got involved and is holding all of that great hardware for a hefty ransom. If Sprint doesn't correct their family plan pricing, I'll wait a short time for the next great Android phone.

Sprint data is a compilation of 3 online chats with Sprint customer service and two in store visits. The other numbers are from shopping carts online.

Sprint
---------------------------
Individual:
$70 for 450 min voice including data
$10 for the EVO
$80 Total

Family:
$130 2 lines sharing 1500 min voice including data
$10 for the EVO
$140 Total

Verizon
---------------------------
Individual:
$40 for 450 min of voice
$30 data
$70 Total

Family:
$70 2 lines sharing 700 min voice
$30 data for 1 of those phones
$100 Total

T-Mobile
---------------------------
Individual:
$30 for 500 min voice
$25 for data
$55 Total

Family:
$50 2 lines sharing 750 min voice
$25 data for 1 of the phones
$75 Total

AT&T
---------------------------
Individual:
$40 for 450 min voice
$30 for data
$70 Total

Family:
$60 2 lines sharing 550 min voice
$30 data for 1 of the phones
$90 Total

[nicolv00 Posted May 28th 2010 1:50AM]

I found this phone allot cheaper at http://wireless.5linx.com/mobile/?r=5linx&eid=L405840 which gives you an instant rebate instead of ordering through Sprint which only offers a mail in rebate.

[suziehopedope Posted Jun 4th 2010 3:36AM]

The unleashing of the EVO 4G is sure to be beyond belief. I cannot wait to get in line and wait this phone out. My local Sprint store is going to be open at 8am. I hope this phone is not a failure like the Palm Pre. Such a horrible phone. I got a lot of good info from HTC EVO Review

[suziehopedope Posted Jun 4th 2010 3:38AM]

The unleashing of the EVO 4G is sure to be beyond belief. I cannot wait to get in line and wait this phone out. My local Sprint store is going to be open at 8am. I hope this phone is not a failure like the Palm Pre. Such a horrible phone. I got a lot of good info from http://htcevoreview.com