Upcoming Sprint 4G Phones

Sprint Nextel is the third largest telecommunications service provider in the United States, and its subscriber base of 50 million users is only behind the AT&T and Verizon networks. Sprint phones operate on CDMA technology and major phone manufacturers like Motorola, Samsung and HTC regularly collaborate with the network to release some impressive new handsets.

The next big thing in the smartphone industry is 4G connectivity, even though there is still plenty of debate and ambiguity about how effective this network really is. Many critics claim that the 4G connectivity that these companies talk of is not true 4G, but the fact is the upload and download speeds are much faster than the existing 3G network, so it must logically be 4G connectivity.

Sprint Nextel 4G Network

The 4G network of Sprint uses the WiMAX technology and this stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. At present WiMAX provides download speeds up to 40 Mbit/second, and this is assumed to rise to as much as 1 Gbits/second in the near future. Sprint promises its users that they can enjoy wireless Internet access at broadband like speeds using their network in more than 100 different metropolitan areas. Recently, Sprint and Google also ventured into a collaboration to provide people with better and faster search results, and this shows how seriously Sprint are taking this prospect.

Before we talk about some of the upcoming Sprint phones that are expected soon, it is important to know about the two Sprint phones that have already made their presence felt in the market. These are the HTC EVO 4G and the Samsung Epic 4G, and as the name suggests they operate on the WiMAX network provided by Sprint.

Upcoming Sprint 4G Phones 2011

There are three major Sprint 4G phones coming soon that are bound to make waves in the market, and these will soon be available at all major outlets. They come equipped with the latest specs and a great OS, so the user is sure to be satisfied with their performance.

HTC EVO Shift 4G
This is the successor to the original HTC EVO 4G and the improvement in the specifications is clear for all to see. This is strictly a CDMA network phone so it will not function on GSM networks anywhere around the world. It is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2011, so its release is very near indeed. Its detailed specs are as follows.

• 3.6 inches TFT Capacitive touchscreen with 480x800 resolution.
• Weighs 130 grams and its dimensions are 117 x 60 x 16mm.
• Side-sliding full QWERTY keyboard, and support for multi-touch.
• Comes installed with HTC Sense UI.
• 512MB RAM, 2GB ROM, microSD card slot available.
• Android OS 2.2 (Froyo).
• 800 MHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 205 GPU.
• 5 MP camera with autofocus and LED flash.
• 720p video recording and presence of secondary front facing camera.
• Integration with Google accounts and Facebook and Twitter integration.

HTC Arrive
This is another upcoming Sprint phone that will function on the 4G network and the difference is that this will come equipped with Windows Phone 7 OS. This handset is also due for a Q1 2011 release so it should be hitting stores in the near future. Its specifications are as follows.

• 3.6 inches Capacitive touchscreen with 480x800 resolution.
• Weighs 185 grams and its dimensions are 117.5 x 59 x 15.5mm.
• Side-sliding full QWERTY keyboard, and support for multi-touch.
• Comes installed with HTC Sense UI.
• 576MB RAM, 512MB ROM, no microSD card slot available but internal memory of 8GB or 16GB.
• Windows Phone 7 OS.
• 1 GHz Scorpion processor, Adreno 200 GPU.
• 5 MP camera with autofocus and LED flash.
• 720p video recording and no secondary front facing camera.
• Integration with Google accounts and Facebook and Twitter integration.

Kyocera Echo

The Kyocera Echo is a new Android based smartphone that Sprint will soon be launching. The most extraordinary thing about this phone is the dual-screen interface that it has. The form factor is similar to that of a side-sliding QWERTY keyboard phone, but when you slide open the second screen it aligns with the first one and converts into one giant screen that resembles a tablet PC. You can also work separately on both the screens simultaneously. The biggest concern however, is the battery life of the device since powering two screens at the same time is sure to take a toll on the battery. A Spring 2011 release date is expected for this device, and its specifications are as follows.

• Two 3.5 inches LCD screen with 480x800 resolution.
• The two screens combine to form a single 4.7 inch screen with 960x800 resolution.
• Android 2.2 OS (Froyo).
• 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.
• 5 MP camera with autofocus and LED flash.
• Can record 720p HD videos.

This is definitely one of the most awaited new Sprint 4G phones. Apart from these three major releases there is no news on any more Sprint 4G phones coming out any time soon. We will keep you informed about any new updates and information on the subject, as and when the news arises.