Just moments after I posted my last entry, Sprint announced the HTC EVO at the CTIA conference.  It is the first 4G smartphone in the US and looks absolutely stunning!  This phone has some killer specs and had some surprises that not even the rumors new about.

Here are the specs from the EVO fact sheet:

• 3G/4G capability
• Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ QSD8650 (1GHz) processor
• 4.3” capacitive display with pinch-to-zoom and tactile feedback
• World-class HTML browser – bandwidth and quality that rival that of netbooks
• Android 2.1, with access to more than 30,000 apps on Android Market
• GoogleTM mobile services including Google SearchTM, Google MapsTM, Google TalkTM, GmailTM, YouTubeTM, and syncs with Google CalendarTM
• Access to Google Goggles™ to search with pictures instead of words
• Sprint Navigation, with turn-by-turn driving directions and 3D maps
• Updated HTC Sense, award-winning user experience, which includes Friend Stream to integrate Facebook, Twitter and more into a single flow of updates
• Visual voicemail
• Messaging – personal and business email, IM and text messaging
• 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot capability – connects up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices
• 4G data speeds (WiMAX) – peak download speeds of more than 10 Mbps; peak upload speeds of 1 Mbps; average download speeds of 3-6 Mbps.
• 3G data speeds (EVDO Rev A.) – peak download speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps; peak upload speeds of 1.8 Mbps; average download speeds of 600 kbps-1.4 Mbps.

There isn’t another phone on the market that has specs like these.  That 4.3″ screen is a thing of beauty and the 1gig of memory is awesome!  This 4G phone along with today’s announcement that 7 additional cities are getting 4G service is really making Sprint look good.  They may not be #1 or #2 but their prices, phone lineup and 4G sure stands out among their competitors.

Press Shots

Hands-On Shots

HTC EVO vs iPhone vs Nexus One

Check out these videos to see some hands-on action of this beast!