Sprint's HTC Evo Shift 4G Coming January 9th!

Not too long ago I posted about a leak regarding Sprint's next big phone headed out this month. Well the new HTC Evo Shift 4G will officially be available January 9th for $149.99. Though many are thinking of it as a sucussor to the Evo, I'd say it's more of a sibling; similiar to the Droid 2, Droid X, and Droid Incredible on Verizon. It shows Sprint's decision to launch an Evo line of phones; a smart move in my opinion. I'm loving HTC's phones right now and Sprint's line up was definitely in need of more variety and another  NON-SAMSUNG full qwerty Android device. I am not really feeling Samsung right now for a number of reasons (possibly an entire separate post), so a qwerty device from HTC is definitely welcome.

Not quite the "Evo with a Keyboard" I hoped it to be, the Shift ( as I am dubbing it) is still a really good phone!  It basically takes the Evo, adds a keyboard and a newer snappier processor but reduces the screen and rear camera and removes the front facing camera.  It's actually a lot closer to the the T-Mobile G2 (also made by HTC).

Looking at the Specs might draw a better picture:

HTC Evo Shift 4G	HTC Evo 4G (OG Evo)
800MHz Scorpion (Qualcomm MSM 7230) Processor	1GHz Snapdragon (Qualcomm QSD8650) Processor
3.6 inch LCD screen	4.3 inch LCD screen
4G	4G
512MB RAM	512MB RAM
1GB internal memory	1GB internal memory
Android 2.2	Android 2.2
5MP rear camera	8MP rear camera
X	1.3MP front facing camera
Physical QWERTY keyboard	X

*Forgot to add OG Evo has HDMI out. I don't believe the Shift does

At the end of the day the new Evo Shift 4G will definietely be one of the best phones on Sprint and right at the top of the Android class across carriers.  Priced well at $150 too.  Given my preference for HTC mainly because of their far superior software support and modifications, I'd definitely say it's between the Evo's for Sprint's top smartphone spot.  HTC provides a more reliable stock route to Gingerbread ( Android 2.3), and has proven to respond to software bugs and glitches much more reliably than the Samsung alternatives. 

Check out the video:

Source: WireFly

  

Evo 4G Gets a Keyboard Equipped Brother

Whats better than an Evo 4G? Why an Evo 4G with a keyboard of course.... Right? Well soon customers will be able to choose between the two! Sprint's long rumored Evo Shift 4G / HTC Knight / HTC Speedy recently leaked a few pics and a January 9th release date! The pic shows it sporting some sort of protective case, but essentially its looking like an Evo with a smaller screen and a slide out qwerty keyboard. Though HTC added a keyboard unfortunately rumors are saying the screen is 3.5", which is .5" too small in my opinion, and that the front facing 2nd camera may have been dropped.

I love my Evo, but I have to admit the idea of an optional physical keyboard is appealing. Just not at the cost of all that screen real estate and my front camera (even if I barely use it). I definitely have had some times I wouldn't mind a keyboard.  The emulators I've blogged about before would be perfect with a physical keyboard controller. Plus back in the day on my PPC 6700, Mogul or Touch Pro I used to actually type papers and do work on my phone. I think I typed faster on there than on a real keyboard honestly lol. But I'll likely be riding my Evo out until the Evo 2 is dropped though. I would've gladly traded a 4.3" for a 4" screen and a keyboard. Four inch screens seem to have become the high end phone standard screen size especially for sliders. Any less won't really float for me not coming from an OG Evo; and the camera seems to quickly be turning into an essential spec for elite devices. And I mean, the Epic has one..... I'm just saying.

Oh yeah, and I'm feeling the touch pad on the keyboard. Just wish they would've put it on the left hand side for games smh.

Source: Boy Genius Report