The HTC Inspire Evo 4G

It's not enough that it's the first 4G phone for any carrier, the HTC Evo 4G is also one of the best Android phones on the market. Some would even argue that it's one of the best phones in general. Maybe it's the blazing fast 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, or it's gorgeous 4.3 inch LCD screen? Those are just some of the awesome specs one can expect from this truly EVOlutionary device!

There are so many features packed into this one device, it's hard not to fall in love with the spec sheet alone. For instance, the HTC Evo 4G has an 8-megapixel camera that can record HD video at 720p resolution. Couple that with a front facing camera for video chatting with loved ones, and that should be enough to satisfy even the most tech hungry crowd. Video chat, by the way, is another first for US phones. The fun doesn't stop there though.

The Evo 4G comes included with YouTube's first HQ player on a mobile phone, which allows users to watch near HD quality YouTube videos. You can also watch those videos, and ones recorded with your new HD camera on your TV via the Evo's HDMI out port. Still not done...

The HTC Evo 4G doesn't only have a fast processor; it's just fast in and of itself. Originally shipping with Android 2.1, which was fast already, the phone is now running Android 2.2, another first for Android phones, significantly increasing the phones overall performance, and adding a slew of useful features. The HTC Evo 4G's Android 2.2 browser is now the fastest mobile browser on the market, even beating Apple's iPhone Safari browser in most speed test.

Speaking of Android 2.2, HTC adds its Sense UI to the mix making Android even more customizable. The Sense UI is sleek and fast, and has customizable widgets and apps made only for HTC Android phones, including 7 home screens. On top of having 7 home screens you're able to set up different "scenes" which allows you to set up customizable layouts to your phone depending if you're at work, home, traveling, or whatever else your heart desires. One of the best HTC Sense features is the contact management system. Contacts can be linked to their Facebook, Twitter, Flckr and other social accounts. Once linked you can view their updates, pictures, text messages and emails from just that contact, all from their contact screen!

Android 2.2 for the HTC Evo 4G also brings Active Sync Exchange support for contacts, email, and calendar. You can also use a Gmail account to sync those same items as well, giving anyone free cloud based back ups and syncs. Getting sick of your pesky iPhone not supporting Flash, Android 2.2 fully supports Flash 10.1 for a truly full mobile web experience. To add to that mobile web experience the Evo 4G runs on Sprint's WiMax 4G network, reaching speeds that rival home high-speed Internet connections. Another good aspect of its 4G capability is that the phone can act as a 4G/3G WiFi hotspot, allowing multiple devices to connect to it, and share its Internet.

With all these good things, the phone isn't 100% perfect, with a couple of small gripes. The first being that Sprint requires a $10 a month service fee to have the Evo 4G since it can connect to its 4G network. This isn't an issue if you're in a 4G city, but since it's only available in select markets, your getting a little ripped off if you can't even use it. The good thing about that though is that it comes with unlimited data, rather then being capped off at 5 gig of usage. Lastly the battery of the Evo 4G leaves much to be desired usually only allowing about a half days worth of heavy use. With light use it can last all day though, but whose going to do that? There's also a bit of a learning curve, but that's only because it's so customizable...which is a good thing!

The Android 2.2 powered HTC Evo 4G is the complete package. So much so that I left a few of the features out of this review for the sake of keeping it short, and allowing you to be wowed even more when you pick yours up!