When is the HTC EVO 4G coming out? Next month.
Sprint announced this week that the HTC EVO 4G will arrive in stores Friday, June 4. The sleek, speedy smart phone will cost $200 after mail-in rebate.
Despite whispers of an iPhone 4G, the EVO will be the first truly next-generation phone from a major American carrier. Sprint has poured millions of dollars into developing a cellular network that's faster than the 3G available on most smart phones today. But just as Verizon and AT&T have quarreled over each others' 3G maps, Sprint's extra zippy service will not work everywhere. As of March, 27 cities offered Sprint 4G, including Baltimore, Chicago, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, Portland, and Seattle. That covers 30 million potential customers. Sprint hopes to quadruple its coverage by 2011.
If you live in one of the 27 cities – and are in the market for a new phone – definitely put the EVO on your short list. It boasts a 4.3-inch touch screen, 8-megapixel camera, and an extra 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat.
The EVO sports the increasingly impressive Android operating system, plus all of the apps that come with it. And, as fellow Monitor blogger Matthew Shaer wrote when the EVO first stepped into the spotlight, "With integrated HD video capture and 4G speeds, HTC EVO 4G makes slow uploads and grainy video a thing of the past. Now, it is possible to post high-quality video to YouTube or Facebook, or share moments in real time over the Internet live, via Qik. After these videos have been captured, it is easy to share them on an HDTV via an HDMI cable (sold separately)."
Sprint's standard 3G contract comes with a 5GB cap on data, but a $10 upgrade will unlock 4G service and allow for unlimited data.
