HTC EVO 4G LTE Review

One S, One X, One V, EVO 4G LTE? Something is wrong in that sequence but HTC thinks its right! The EVO 4G LTE is a One X in the dark side, or you may call AT&T the dark side, then the phone just had a bit of a paint job. It’s basically the same phone other than some small design changes and of course the kickstand, we can’t forget about the kickstand!

Video Review

Hardware

The EVO 4G LTE deserves its name, not the One brand but the EVO brand. Anyone can tell thats an EVO even if they weren’t complete phone nerds like us. But underneath its a completely same story as the One X. Its the same thing, 1.5 GHz SnapDragon S4 processor by Qualcomm, 1GB of RAM, and an 8-megapixel camera. What more can we say?

Actually there is a lot to say! We lied. The EVO 4G LTE shares the same internal memory as the One X, 16GB, but there is something special…. a MicroSD card slot! This can expand the memory up to 48GB which is always nice to have when you have massive amounts of data. The phone also has a slightly larger battery, 2,000 mAh opposed to 1,800 mAh found on the One X.

Design

We sort of like this villain look to it, its an EVO. The radical sharper edges on the top, then the round edges on the bottom proves that symmetry isn’t always key. The top half of the rear is glossy black plastic but the bottom half is a matte black which we like. The red accent is out there but its close and dear with HTC. It gives the EVO a bit of the, “I’m better than you and I know it” attitude, and that’s exactly what Sprint needs! The kickstand is a little hard to get out, especially if you don’t have long nails, but thats what ever.

Display

LCD, AMOLED, ABONOBIN Display? (Okay, maybe that last one was made up). This is a Super LCD which means its not a Pentile display, this means it will deliver the same clear picture and text as the One X. It has a pixel density of 312 pixels per inch which when you have that many pixels, you can’t distinguish them. Images look clear, text is sharper than ever. It’s a great display packed on here.

Looking at photos and videos were also very good. The viewing angles of this display is mind boggling, like the One X, the pixels look like they are floating right on top of the display so it gives you insane viewing angles.

The Kickstand

We thought that the kickstand was so important that it needed a bolded section itself. The kickstand has only shown up in the “first” devices. The EVO 4G was the first WiMAX device, the HTC Thunderbolt was the first 4G LTE device on Verizon. Now this, the first 4G LTE device on Sprint. I want more firsts because I love kickstands and this one oddly feels the most built. It may look like a piece of wood holding it up, but its so strong that it can work both ways. Either one way for watching without charging, and one for watching and charging an HTC Rep told me. Thank you for the red paint because it gives it character!

Software

“Ice Cream Sandwiches anyone? Along with a dash of Sense sprinkles please!”

The quote tells it all, the EVO 4G LTE runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich along with HTC’s Sense 4. This version of Sense actually helps out and doesn’t block everything out like previous versions of Sense. We like how everything meshes together, its a very polished experience, and it simply works. Now there are a few times where transitions aren’t needed but its always good when your phone pleases you with a complex transition. The only complaint software wise is the multitasking which only lets you see one at a time while vanilla ICS lets you see multiple applications open.

Performance

The HTC EVO 4G LTE doesn’t disappoint in terms of power. Underneath is still the same dual-core SnapDragon S4 processor by Qualcomm. It delivers a whopping 1.5GHz of processing power which powers this thing to new heights. In our benchmark test, it scored a very high score, it was higher than the One X we had by a 100 points or so. Its no slouch.

Camera

The HTC EVO 4G LTE shares the same image sensor and processor found on the One X. It’s an eight-megapixel sensor capable of shooting 1080P HD Video. The video quality looks superb, lots of color and detail. There is a small focusing problem indoors and in low lighting but thats rare. The stills are also very clear as long as you have steady hands, but if you has shaky hands, you can hold down the camera shutter button and it takes a burst of photos and it picks 5 pictures that may be the best. Then it displays it to you and you can save the best picture, we love this feature.

1080P Outdoors

1080P Indoors

But there’s a catch…

Uh oh… You didn’t expect this coming! The HTC EVO 4G LTE is a fantastic device, it delivers a seamless experience of using an Android 4.0 device, Sense 4 really compliments ICS. The processor can really push it along and the GB of RAM helps in multitasking. It’s all on Sprint’s lightning fast 4G LTE network….which is nonexistent. Sprint says that they will flick the switch in select cities this summer but you will not be on 4G LTE till then. We just which that Sprint can roll this out faster than they are.

Wrap Up

The EVO 4G LTE is a great phone, dare we say the best on Sprint’s network. It would really kick some butt if the Now Network was up to date on being the Now Network. Hopefully the switch will go to the on position some time this summer to light 4G LTE in some cities. But until then, what should you do? The EVO 4G LTE is still the best phone on the network, the only real competition is the Galaxy Nexus which we praise a lot but we think Sense 4 delivers a better experience that just vanilla Android. That’s a lot. Let’s get some LTE action and you have a winner.