Boost Mobile's HTC Evo Design 4G hands-on
The HTC Evo Design 4G is Boost Mobile's first 4G phone, leveraging Sprint's existing WiMax network. At CTIA, CNET gets a first look.
NEW ORLEANS--If you remember the original HTC Evo Design 4G for Sprint, clear your mind of that as you contemplate this version for Boost Mobile.
While the two handsets resemble each other, there are some marked differences. First, Boost's Design 4G runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, an OS upgrade.
The phone still retains some girth; it's pretty thick. It might be a bit too thick by today's preferences, but that really comes down to personal preference.
It also has HTC's characteristic classy styling, and keeps the matte aluminum stripe on the back of the phone.
Our team only had a few minutes to check out the phone before we were ushered out of the demo room, but I did register the 4-inch qHD touch screen and 5-megapixel rear-facing camera. There's a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera as well.
The Design 4G also has a 1.2GHz processor. It'll cost $299.99 on May 31.
I was a big fan of the original Evo 4G for Sprint, and although I think the Boost version is a little thick around the middle for not having a keyboard, I'm looking forward to seeing how the handset performs with 4G WiMax and Android Ice Cream Sandwich.
It all seemed to hang together, but it isn't the sexiest device I've seen on Boost, which in my mind is a brand that offers stylish phones.
Still, being the first Ice Cream Sandwich and 4G offering carries a lot of weight -- and a fairly hefty up-front price.
Stick around for a quick video tour, and catch all the latest news from CTIA 2012.
Article updated at 4:01pm CT to correct a design detail in the original Evo Design 4G.