HTC Evo 4G

At least on paper, the HTC EVO 4G from Sprint absolutely crushes. It's not just one killer feature that puts the EVO over the top; the spec sheet reads like a wish list for anyone who's owned a touchscreen smartphone.

Size and Weight :

The phone measures of 4.8″ x 2.6″ x .5″ & weighs of 6 ounces.

Network and connectivity:

The feature that gets top billing in the HTC EVO 4G is the one you're least likely to use for a while. Yes, the phone works over Sprint's budding 4G network, which makes for some impressive download speeds. The HTC Evo 4G delivered respectable 4G speeds, and the mobile hot-spot feature lets you connect up to eight devices. With the first 4G phone on the nation's first 4G network, you can upload, download and scour the web up to 10x faster than ever before.

Camera and Video:

Even though the Evo 4G is hefty, (6 oz, compared to 4.6 oz for the Incredible and 4.5 for the Nexus One) it’s still pocketable and I find the larger screen great for looking at the pictures of my kids snapped by the 8 megapixel camera and for sharing them with friends. Speaking of the 8MP autofocus camera, it also features a dual LED flash and 720p video recording, albeit highly compressed.

Memory and Display:

It has 8GB microSD card included, supports up to 32GB. The first thing you’ll notice about the HTC Evo 4G is its massive 4.3-inch 480 x 800 pixel screen. It dwarfs the 480 x 320, 3.5-screen found in the iPhone in every way. The Evo screen dominates the entire industrial design, to the point of being imposing — but in a good way. It’s hard not to be impressed when looking the the live wallpapers and gorgeous animations in things like the HTC time/weather widget.

Entertainment Features:

Aside from pricing details and release date, we also learned that the Evo 4G will allow for simultaneous voice and data and will be the first smartphone to ship with a YouTube HQ player and a video chat app from Qik to be used with the front-facing camera. Though Sprint's onstage Qik demo didn't work, we were impressed with the Evo 4G's speed (Sprint brought in a 4G tower for the event) as well the handset's 3D gaming capabilities and HDMI output.

The calculus for deciding if you want this phone is relatively simple: If you want the biggest, brawniest, most ridiculously muscular phone you can buy, it's the Evo. Just don't forget to top off the power before going into work.