Sprint Confirms June 4 Launch For 'Powerhouse' HTC EVO 4G
Sprint said the EVO 4G, an Android-based smartphone, will officially debut on June 4 for a price of $200 after a mail-in rebate and two-year lock in. It'll be available through Sprint retail outlets, Sprint.com, and retailers RadioShack, Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
"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, in a statement. "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."
Sprint needs a hit, and in the EVO 4G, it may have one of the summer's early contenders for the "hottest smartphone" category. Among the highlights for the handset is a video chat service from Qik that enables two-way voice and video and is available as an upgrade, according to Sprint, from the Qik application that comes pre-loaded on the EVO 4G.
The EVO 4G's other features include Android 2.1 and all the attendant bells and whistles from Google's platform; simultaenous voice and data capability in both 4G and Wi-Fi coverage areas; Google Goggles picture search; a 1 Ghz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor; an 8-megapixel autofocus camera and a forward-facing 1.3-megapixel camera; a built-in mobile hotspot; integrated HD video capture through Qik; a 4.3-inch display with custom web browser; and Adobe flash enablement and pinch-to-zoom and automatic text reflow capability.
The HTC EVO 4G also includes an updated version of HTC Sense, HTC's customizable user interface that debuted last year. Sprint further confirmed availability of the Sprint 4G developer guide.
For users, Sprint will offer its Everything Data plans, starting at $69.99 per month, and optional hotspot plans for connecting eight Wi-Fi devices to the EVO 4G, for an additional $29.99 a month.
Sprint and partner Clearwire debuted a 4G WiMax network in the U.S. in September 2008 in Baltimore. Sprint says it can now offer 4G service in 32 markets in the U.S. and will add an additional 14 -- including most of the country's major cities -- this year.