Hasta La Gadget!

There are actually days when we envy those who are paid to hawk telephones. Today, for instance, we hear that certain Sprint employees have recently obtained an HTC EVO 4G. However, our jealousy is tempered by the fact that we’ve already spent considerable quality time with the superphone, and, quite frankly, by the ridiculous packaging you see immediately above. Pardon our French, but it looks like a microwavable food tub. See a pair of close-ups after the break.

[Thanks, Anonymous]

Continue reading What the HTC EVO 4G packaging does — but hopefully won’t — look like

What the HTC EVO 4G packaging does — but hopefully won’t — look like originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 15 May 2010 20:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Everyone’s favorite WiMAX-powered Android device finally has a date and a price, and you don’t have terribly long to wait: June 4 is the date that you’ll want to be lining up outside your local Sprint store for an EVO 4G, $199 in hand (assuming you’re signing up for a new contract, of course — according to the fine print, the full cost is $450 before all discounts). Interestingly, Sprint has specifically called out that you’ll be able to video chat (remember, the EVO 4G has a front-facing cam) over both 3G and 4G using Qik — not a bad choice, considering the company’s well-established expertise with streaming live video out of handsets.

Unfortunately, there’s a downside to all this: customers will be paying a mandatory (as confirmed to us by Sprint reps) $10 per month “Premium Data add-on” on top of their plan — ostensibly for the privilege of enjoying WiMAX when they’re in a Sprint 4G market — and the 8-device WiFi hotspot feature runs an extra $29.99 a month, which Sprint is quick to point out is half what you’d pay for a dedicated mobile broadband account. As we saw at CTIA, the phone is the first to offer on-phone YouTube high quality video, a feature that automatically kicks in when you’re in the sweet confines of a WiMAX tower. Oh, and check this out: Sprint was hesitant to commit to offering simultaneous voice and data before, but HTC must’ve worked out the kinks, because it’s all systems go — you’ll be able to yap and browse on 4G at the same time.

We’re at the EVO 4G’s announcement in New York as we type, and we can tell you that everything Sprint is demoing is crazy fast — we’d expect no less from an WiMAX device with a 1GHz Snapdragon — and we’re particularly stoked to see them demo Need For Speed Shift on it, which will be launching on Android around the same time as the device. Follow the break for Sprint’s full press release!

Update: According to Phone Scoop, that $10 premium add-on has the benefit of no data cap for either WiMAX or 3G connections. Since we’re on the subject of updates, have you seen our bevy of new EVO 4G videos yet?

Update 2: Starting today, Best Buy is accepting pre-orders for the device, and per usual, they won’t require you to wait for the mail-in rebate — it’s just $199.99 straight-up on contract. Thanks, all!

Continue reading Sprint selling HTC EVO 4G on June 4 for $199

Sprint selling HTC EVO 4G on June 4 for $199 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 12 May 2010 18:13:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In light of Verizon’s recent decision (or was that Google’s decision?) to say goodnight to the Nexus One in favor of the Droid Incredible, we thought it might be wise to reach out to Sprint and get a comment on its own version — the EVO 4G is just around the corner, of course, and it’s lying in wait to cast a long, long shadow over any other Android device in Sprint’s lineup. Sure enough, the carrier says that it’s now taking a pass on Google’s first “superphone,” seeing how the EVO 4G is basically better in every respect: WiMAX support, larger screen, better camera, and so on. Of course, this might peeve a few folks who’d prefer stock Android over HTC’s Sense UI — if for no other reason than the fact that Sense-powered devices tend to have wildly longer firmware upgrade lag times than stock ones do — but otherwise, the move seems to be a perfectly logical one. Oh, and as for that EVO? No update on a launch window, but Sprint says that it’s still targeting Summer, thank goodness.

Sprint cans Nexus One in favor of EVO 4G originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 10 May 2010 15:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HTC’s EVO 4G super-speced handset seems to be everywhere and nowhere at the same time. That situation looks set to change soon based on the pic above nabbed off The Shack’s internal website showing a big “coming soon” exclamation that translates to pre-orders starting “later this month.” Remember, in addition to Android 2.1, an 8 megapixel camera, and 4.3-inch 480 x 800 display backed by fierce Snapdragon silicon, the Evo also comes packing WiMAX with built-in hotspot capability. We’re still not sure if Sprint will charge for that or make it a freebie a la Verizon’s Palm Pre and Pixi offering, but we can hope.

[Thanks, Erin and David]

Sprint HTC EVO pre-orders start this month at The Shack originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 06 May 2010 01:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not the biggest of pictures — the PPCGeeks forum poster says he shot this with his Touch Pro 2 — but what we’re looking at is allegedly the HTC EVO 4G. Wish we could have a better look, but who knows, maybe some lucky contest winner in the next few weeks will have a decent DSLR handy.

[Thanks, Rigo]

HTC EVO 4G found loitering in Sprint store originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 01 May 2010 19:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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