HTC Evo Shift 4G hands-on (photos)

The Evo Shift has a 3.6-inch display and runs Android 2.2 (Froyo). You can populate the seven home screens with a variety of widgets.

Slide up the phone to show the full physical keyboard. Four rows of keys mean that numbers share space with letters, but you'll also find a large space bar, a navigation toggle, and a fair number of shortcut keys.

The main menu has an icon-based design. Below the screen are the four touch controls (home, search, back, and menu) that are common on most Android phones.

By pinching your fingers on the display you can see all seven home screens at once.

And on one screen you can add your favorite contacts and access the Evo Shift's connectivity features.

The Evo Shift 4G also has a virtual keyboard, though we suspect most users will stick with the physical keys.

The phone dialer interface features large buttons.

The music player interface is attractive and user-friendly. You can flip among the various album art to find your track.

Since it has a full keyboard, the Evo Shift 4G is a bit bulky. The volume rocker and Micro-USB port are on the left spine, and the power control and 3.5mm are up top.

You'll find the camera lens and flash on the rear side. Unfortunately, the microSD slot is behind the battery.