In in time for CES, Sprint has finally unveiled their latest 4G phone from HTC. That’s right, the Sprint HTC EVO Shift 4G is finally here! Those of you who have been following the rumors on the EVO Shift for some time already know all the basics, but we’ll go over them one more time for anyone who’s been out of the loop lately.
On the hardware side, the HTC EVO Shift 4G is nearly identical to what was rumored. It features an 800 MHz Snapdragon CPU, Adreno 205 GPU, 3.6 inch capacitive display (originally though to be 3.7 inches), 5 mega pixel camera capable of 720p HD video recording, 512 MB of RAM, four row QWERTY keyboard, and support for Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network.
On the software side, the Shift is running on Android 2.2 with HTC Sense. Though the HTC Desire Z (the EVO Shift’s European cousin) is using the new HTC Sense with integration with htcsense.com, it seems Sprint or HTC thought that U.S. Customer simply didn’t need all those amazing features. Our guess is that Sprint wants complete control over the handset rather than giving HTC direct interaction with their customers.
Pricing for the handset is set for $149.99 with a new two year contract or $149.99 for those of you not willing to sign your life over to Sprint. The launch date for the Sprint HTC VO Shift 4G is set for January 9th, but if you are a Best Buy Reward Zone member, you can pre-order your handset and pick it up on January 6th. Keep in mind though that the sticker price doesn’t always paint the full picture. Though it’s not mentioned in the press release, we’re pretty sure that Sprint will be charging and extra $10 monthly fee for the Shift just like they do with all their other 4G handsets. We’re not sure how long Sprint will be keeping up these shenanigans, but we’re pretty sure many of you are getting tired of paying a premium when the majority of Sprint customers don’t even have reliable 4G service yet.
Sprint HTC EVO Shift 4G Specifications
SPECIFICATIONS
- Qualcomm® MSM7630 (800 MHz) processor.
- Dimensions: 4.6″ x 2.3″ x .6″ (LxWxT).
- Weight: 5.9 ounces.
- Main display: 3.6” WVGA (800×480) 65K colors.
- Battery life: 6 hours of talk time*.
- Standard removable 1500mAh Lithium (Li-on) battery.
- Memory: 2GB ROM, 512MB RAM.
The Shift’s fact sheet on the Sprint press release claims it has the updated version of Sense but no integration with the htcsense.com stuff. Which really didn’t bring much to the table that Titanium Backup, dropbox, and other software didn’t already offer. Not a whole lot lost there, imo.