Sprint has finally released its long-awaited WiMax handset. The latest smartphone is a 4G device designed just for Sprint.
It will be the first phone to access Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network, which just happens to be the fastest wireless data network currently available in the U.S.
The handset called HTV Evo, is a feature-packed gadget that will have the distinction of being the first phone offered for a 4G network in the United States.
A Taiwan’s HTC production, it’s most striking features is its large 4.3-inch display screen that has a wide video graphics array (WVGA) display of 800×480 pixels.
Price hasn’t been declared yet. But it has been announced that the 4G device will come in the market in late September.
Taking Google’s Android 2.1 platform as base, HTC’s EVO 4G WI Sprint claims its 4G network can offer download speeds up to 10 times faster than current 3G networks, allowing the Evo to be blazing fast when it comes to data access.
Max handset puts the emphasis on 720p video with two cameras and a 4.3-inch screen.
The handset features two cameras — an 8-megapixel flash camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera. The latter device indicates Sprint and HTC think users will want to make video calls.
The EVO pushes standard mobile phone technology in other ways, through built-in mobile hotspot functionality that allows as many as 8 Wi-Fi devices to link to the EVO hotspot. Also, built-in voice-to-text messaging enables users to compose texts by speaking.
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse in a statement, said that not only was the feature-rich device incredible on the Sprint 3G network, but Sprint 4G speeds would take mobile multimedia, including live video streaming, gaming and picture downloads, to a whole new level.
Sprint informed that it expected the EVO to be acquired by users of its current 3G CDMA network, although the handset is primarily aimed at Clearwire’s mobile WiMax network, which is being rolled across the U.S.
The phone operates on both EV-DO Rev. A and WiMax and it will also support Adobe Flash and will have a “custom” web browser, says Sprint.
The EVO has other advanced features that are routinely appearing on advanced smartphones including Qualcomm’s 1 GHz Snapdragon processor, 1 GB built-in memory, 512 MB RAM, Wi-Fi 11b/g and 8 GB microSD card.
Sprint also said that the handset would have easy-posting capability for YouTube and Facebook.
HTC CEO Peter Chou said that the HTC EVO 4G represent the best of Sprint and the best of HTC working together.
As, Sprint had been losing subscribers at a rapid rate over the past several quarters HTC stepped up to the challenge by unveiling its own device that not only has equivalent processing power but also is capable of running on Sprint’s high-speed WiMAX network.
But critics warn customers, to look for Sprint coverage map before going for 4G-phone. They say that though Sprint has promised to expand its coverage in U.S., there is no surety that the company would live up to its promises, considering its past records with WiMax.
They argue that hardly anyone in the U.S. has access to 4G coverage and most people won’t be able to take advantage of it until 4G is deployed into many more markets. So they ask users to not to just run for 4G features and not buy 4G phones for only 4G features.