[IP] Testing 4G handsets

Re: Ordering HTC EVO

Small correction. The phone is actually $299 through Sprint with a $100 mail in rebate. It's $199 at Best Buy and Radio Shack with the $100 rebate instantly applied. Radio Shack is the best deal because you have to put down $50 to order the phone and they give you a $50 gift card which you can use towards paying for the phone when you pick it up. At the time of pick up Radio Shack gives you an additional $20 gift card hoping you will buy accessories there. So in the end it's $179 at Radio Shack. Of course all deals have a 2 years commitment. I ordered 3 last week in NH at The Shack-no sales tax. ;)

On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 8:35 AM, David Farber <dave@farber.net> wrote:

Begin forwarded message:

From: dewayne@warpspeed.com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: May 29, 2010 10:13:28 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy@warpspeed.com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Testing 4G handsets

[Note: This item comes from friend Janos Gereben. DLH]

From: janosG <janosg@gmail.com>
Date: May 28, 2010 6:55:34 PM PDT
To: Dewayne <dewayne@warpspeed.com>
Subject: Testing 4G handsets

<http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/877f7670-69ef-11df-a978-00144feab49a.html>

An insight into the 4G future

By Paul Taylor / FT / May 28

Increasing numbers of smartphones that aim to deliver a broadband-style internet experience are expected to become available over the next few years, as the big mobile network operators start rolling out so-called fourthgeneration technology.

But a question remains as to whether 4G handsets will deliver on their makers' and network operators' promises to bring bandwidth-hungry applications such as streaming video, two-way videoconferencing and location-based services to mobile users.

I have been testing the first 4G smartphone to be available - HTC's EVO 4G , which goes on sale for $199 with a new two-year contract from Sprint Nextel, the third-largest US mobile operator, next week.

HTC, the Taiwan-based smartphone maker, has launched a wide range of handsets recently as it vies with leaders in the smartphone market, such as Apple and Research in Motion.

The new handset uses Sprint's 3G network for ordinary voice calls but can switch to Clearwire's WiMax-based 4G network for data-heavy applications in areas of the country where the Clearwire WiMax network has been rolled out including several East Caost US cities but not yet New York. (Sprint holds a majority stake in Clearwire).

Even without its 4G mobile broadband capabilities, HTC's Androidpowered EVO 4G smartphone is an impressive touchscreen-based handset because it combines many of the best features found in other devices to produce what could start a whole new category, which might possibly be called "superphones".

It competes directly with the latest generation of 3G-based smartphones, which includes HTC's own Droid Incredible and HD2, Apple's iPhone 3GS and Research in Motion's BlackBerry Bold (see right), all of which have many advantages except they lack the EVO's WiMax capabilities.

Like the Droid Incredible, the EVO 4G uses Qualcomm's popular 1Ghz Snapdragon processor. It runs Goog-le's Android 2.1 operating system, en-hanced with HTC's Sense user interface - my personal favourite because of its design and smooth operation.

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