HTC EVO 4G LTE Pro Reviews

While Sprint does not have an official “HTC One” phone, rest assured that the Sprint HTC EVO 4G LTE can go toe to toe with the HTC One X. If anything, I think that Sprint should not have messed with the original name because it dilutes the message, and can’t leverage all the marketing that HTC had done for the One Series. Of course, the missing part here is the LTE network. As it stands, Sprint is rolling it out, but chances are that you will be in a location that has not been covered yet. Also, we would recommend doing some homework to understand the different “flavors” of 4G when you search for coverage. For example, Sprint’s WiMax and LTE networks are labeled “4G”, but this handset does not support WiMax. This post will give you a head start when it comes to 4G networks in the USA.

Let's not mince words here -- the EVO 4G LTE is a great phone in search of a network. Yes, it's thin, light, beautifully made and amazingly fast, with a gorgeous screen and a remarkable camera. Sense 4 enhances Ice Cream Sandwich without diluting the user experience. As such, it absolutely lives up to its EVO namesake. In fact, we dare say that it's the best Android smartphone you can get on the network. While it does not match the One X's incredibly polished design, it improves upon its cousin with a kickstand, a dedicated camera key and a microSD card slot. Still, the lack of GSM/EDGE/HSPA+ world functionality is bothersome on such a high-end device, and the sealed SIM is just downright egregious. So, is the EVO 4G LTE worth its $200 price tag with a two-year commitment? The answer is simple: until Sprint's LTE network becomes widespread, it's hard to recommend any handset stuck on the company's lackluster EVDO network -- unlimited data or not. As soon as the device can live up to its acronyms, however, we'll be much more apt to give it our seal of approval.

Overall though, we enjoyed our time with the EVO 4G LTE. It's a good phone that's very responsive and performs well. The kickstand is a nice added touch and the phone's camera is fast when you want to capture a burst of images.

The Evo 4G LTE's appeal is a question of priorities. If you're committed to Sprint and have no plans on leaving, you should absolutely buy the Evo. It's well-designed, insanely fast, and ready for Sprint's HD Voice and LTE-filled future. I'd recommend it over the Galaxy Nexus and iPhone, the former because of its superior display and the latter because the Evo's ready for HD Voice and LTE. If you're thinking about leaving Sprint, though, the Evo 4G LTE probably isn't enough to keep you around — there are similarly good phones available on other carriers, and the One X already connects to AT&T's fast LTE network. Sprint's got the hardware it needs to compete thanks to the Evo, which will certainly be the flagship phone the carrier's been looking for since the original Evo 4G, but for now the network just isn't ready.

I did run into a few somewhat concerning hangups that cost a few points off the overall score. The phone crashed on its first boot and told me it wanted to send a crash report back to HTC about the crash. That’s not the way to make a good first impression. I’m hoping this was limited just to my particular review unit, so I’m not going to be too harsh. Next, while driving through the middle of town, the network connection kept dropping. For the span of about 15 minutes I was unable to have a reliable data connection. I had another device tethered to the EVO 4G LTE at the time, and I don’t know if the network problems were due to this, or a network issue, or the phone itself. This experience aside, speeds averaged 411kbps down and 719kbps up with a ping of 147ms up from my location. These, combined with the mediocre call quality, non-removable battery, and 16GB internal storage cost the phone some points. Sprint is one of the underdogs among carriers in the US. Choices of phones are limited because it’s not compatible with GSM, so imported devices won’t work on their network. Users are stuck with whatever phones are offered through the carrier. Luckily, customers now have the HTC Evo 4G LTE to choose from. It’s a solid device that you won’t regret choosing. The screen is beautiful, it is very well-built, and its battery life is outstanding. The HTC EVO 4G LTE will be available on the Sprint network soon (though pre-orders are currently closed) for US$549.99 off-contract, or US$199.99 with a 2-year contract. If you’re on Sprint, or looking to change carriers, you’ll have a difficult time finding a better Android-powered smartphone than the EVO 4G LTE. I’m not looking forward to sending this one back.

To me, the HTC EVO 4G LTE for Sprint presents a conundrum. HTC and Sprint took everything I liked about the One X design and killed it. They kept all the important features and capabilities the same, though. The guts of the device are mostly the same, the software is identical, and the overall performance and daily user experience are great. Sprint is obviously hoping the owners of the original EVO, which went on sale in June 2010, will go straight from that EVO to this EVO. The original EVO uses WiMax, which is still operational. The EVO 4G LTE uses LTE, which won't launch until later this year. Even when it does, it will only grace six cities at the start, and won't ramp up to cover 120 million people until the end of the year.

The HTC Evo 4G LTE is undoubtedly the best-spec'd smartphone currently on offer in the United States. The flagship handset offers all the latest smartphone tech in a neat, well-built package. We reckon that even the most demanding Android users will not be able to find too much to frown about as far as the smartphone's hardware is concerned - it simply ticks all the boxes. While most of the Evo's features are already familiar from our encounters with the AT&T-bound HTC One X, the addition of a microSD card slot and a dedicated camera button, to go with a beefier battery actually take the device up to an even higher level. As we said, quite a few HTC One X owners across the Atlantic will rightfully feel jealous because of them. The EVO 4G LTE's biggest limitation is hardly its fault - the limited coverage of the Sprint LTE network for the time being. The carrier's 4G network is still the early stages of its rollout, so it might be a while before you can enjoy the blazing transfer speeds in your area. The upside here is that your Evo will have a seriously great battery life when running on Sprint's EV-DO CDMA 3G.

The Evo phones have always been Sprint's strongest offering, and the Evo 4G LTE is no exception. From its beautiful design to the versatile camera to the fast performance, this is Sprint's best phone--and one of the best Android phones available. But without LTE, it feels as if it is not quite living up to its potential. That Sprint is releasing LTE phones (the Evo, the LG Viper, and the Galaxy Nexus) without an actual 4G LTE network in place is a bit frustrating. While the company has disclosed the initial six cities for launch (Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio), it has not said when these networks will turn on. And unless you live in one of those cities, you'll find it hard to get excited about LTE. Sprint's 3G network feels painfully slow, too, especially when you compare it to other carriers' 4G networks. Sprint has announced that it will release 15 more 4G devices, most of them handsets. Unless you are 100 percent committed to the Evo legacy or are dying to upgrade your phone, I'd hold off on buying the Evo until you know that you'll get LTE or have seen what else is available before locking into a two-year contract.

So, the big question remains: which device is better? As always we’re going to remind you that this is a subjective question, and what you value in a phone is most important to you. Are you a Sense or TouchWiz person? Do you prefer the heavier HTC, made of aluminum, or the lighter, plastic Galaxy S III with its color options? The S-LCD2 display of the EVO 4G LTE is slightly better, but Samsung’s HD Super AMOLED panel is slightly bigger and more eye-catchy. While the EVO runs better in benchmarks and real world usage, the Galaxy S III will get you double the RAM and storage along with a removable battery. Both devices are at the top of the mobile mountain right now, with blazing fast processors, gobs of memory, good cameras and tons of cool features, and no matter which you choose you’re going to have a phone that should last the next two years without any problems.

If you’re on Sprint, you have a lot of good choices right now. The Galaxy Nexus and the EVO 4G LTE are both great phones and the upcoming Galaxy S3 will make a decision more difficult still. The advantages of the EVO 4G LTE are its HD Voice, camera, and kickstand. The downside is that to really take advantage of it, you’ll need to wait until Sprint launches its 4G LTE network in your area, which could be many months away – right now, we just don’t know. But at $200 with a two-year contract, it’s as good a phone as you’re going to get on Sprint. Honestly, the only problems with the EVO are on Sprint’s end. If you want a phone that will keep you up to date with Sprint’s network advances, the EVO 4G LTE is for you.

Simply put, the HTC Evo 4G LTE is the best phone on Sprint. In fact, Sprint is really the major negative about this phone. For many, that won't matter. If you're tied to the network for some reason or another, the HTC Evo 4G LTE is your best bet. If it takes Sprint a year to roll out LTE in your city, then you'll have LTE on your phone as soon as anyone else on Sprint's network does - and while those yet unfulfilled promises might make it a risky purchase, it's simply too good of a phone to really care. From snapping photos to Dropbox integration, to a very sleek and very sexy chassis this is a phone you have every right to brag about, and should be proud of - promises yet fulfilled or no.

These are undoubtedly the two best Android devices Sprint has to offer, and really are two of the best smartphones available today. Some of this is going to come down to preferences, for example Sense versus stock or AMOLED versus S-LCD. All things considered the HTC EVO 4G LTE was the better performer of the pair in our opinion. It offers a superior display, top notch performance, excellent call quality and has an inspired design. The Galaxy Nexus is not without merit, and we would certainly carry one as our everyday phone if one were handed to us, but given the choice the HTC edges out the Nexus in too many categories to call it even.

Sprint's fastest, most powerful and elegant smartphone is now waiting for the carrier's new LTE network.

While we couldn’t test the HTC Evo 4G LTE at its speedy best, it’s a very high quality smartphone even without 4G. The build quality, screen, camera and processor are all top notch, the kick stand is a useful feature, and most other aspects are well above average. We’re not so keen on the embedded SIM and battery and the unsightly backside of the phone, but neither of these are deal-breakers. If you’re happy to sign up to a long-term contract with Sprint and live in a US city where the carrier’s LTE network is incoming, you should definitely give the Evo 4G LTE a lot of consideration. It’s a very solid high-end smartphone.

The HTC EVO 4G LTE is a tough nut to crack: on the one hand, I love its solid hardware and speedy performance, but the data speeds offered by Sprint's 3G network really put a damper on my excitement. If you are married to Sprint's network, then by all means, the EVO 4G LTE is the best Android smartphone available to you right now. But if you have the luxury of shopping around on different carriers, the One X from AT&T offers the same display, performance, software, and camera as the EVO, and has the advantage of a wickedly fast LTE network that can be used right now. Of course, if you buy the EVO, you are more or less buying into Sprint's future plans, and the phone stands to only get better over time as the LTE network and HD Voice features eventually become available. And at $199.99 with a new two-year contract, the EVO 4G LTE does offer a bit better bang for your buck than the One X (or the One S, for that matter), so that might make it a winner for many right there.

The HTC EVO 4G LTE is undoubtedly one of the best Android devices available right now. A lot of time went into the design, features and software of Sprint’s new flagship and it shows. It is wonderfully crafted with elegant software to match. The processor flies, the display is downright beautiful, and both multimedia and phone sound quality are amazing. There are shortcomings, such as questions about the battery, lack of an LTE network to run on and at times the camera is not up to par, but all around we don’t have much to complain about. The HTC EVO 4G LTE is a worthy flagship in Sprint’s lineup, and when LTE finally does launch it will make an already fast phone even faster.

As mentioned above, this device easily beats the rest of the Android devices on its chosen carrier and certainly trumps what HTC has done in the past with every other EVO. This smartphone is both thin and light, has the same HTC One features for on-the-surface images with the display being essentially impossible to tell apart from the glass that covers it, and the whole smartphone feels nice to hold in general. This is the Android smartphone to have if you don’t have the option at the moment to pick up any other HTC One device – pick it up soon!

Would we pick the One X or the Evo 4G LTE over their Android peers, or the iPhone? That depends entirely on what you value and how much you're prepared to pay. If you're interested in fast Android updates and having all the latest features as soon as they're available, the Galaxy Nexus (preferably in HSPA+ unlocked form) is still the go-to device. The iPhone 4S still has a slightly better camera, up to 64GB of storage, the fastest OS updates of any mobile platform, and an app ecosystem with both more apps and overall higher quality. We'd also be remiss if we overlooked the wildcard of Samsung's third-generation Galaxy S. As of this writing, the S III (or whatever it might be called) was just days away from being announced, and Samsung had already confirmed that it would bring its own quad-core chip to a phone that most would expect to also have a next-generation 720p screen and new software.