CNET takes a hands-on look at Sprint's third and most affordable 4G smartphone yet, the HTC Evo Shift 4G.
Bonnie Cha
Bonnie Cha was a former chief correspondent for CNET Crave, covering every kind of tech toy imaginable (with a special obsession for robots and Star Wars-related stuff). When she's not scoping out stories, you can find her checking out live music or surfing in the chilly waters of Northern California.
The HTC Evo Shift 4G is Sprint's third 4G smartphone and the most affordable at $149.99 with a two-year contract. The HTC Evo 4G and the Samsung Epic 4G are each $199.99 with contract.
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Features
The Evo Shift lacks some of the higher-end features, such as a front-facing camera, 1GHz processor, and an HDMI port, but it's still a very feature-packed device. Running Android 2.2, the smartphone offers 4G support, mobile hot-spot capabilities, and a 5-megapixel camera.
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Design
At 4.6 inches tall by 2.3 inches wide by 0.6 inch thick and 5.9 ounces, the Evo Shift 4G is more compact than the Samsung Epic 4G. As a result, the Evo Shift also has a smaller display (3.6 inches versus 4 inches).
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Keyboard
The Shift's QWERTY keyboard is comfortable and easy to use. Though the buttons aren't as large as the Epic 4G's, they're a good size and have a decent amount of spacing between them, so mispresses were minimal.
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Left side
On the left side of the phone, there is a volume rocker and Micro-USB port.
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Top view
The top of the device houses the 3.5mm headphone jack and power button.
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Camera
As we noted earlier, the Evo Shift doesn't have a front-facing camera for video calls but it does have a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, 720p video capture, and numerous editing options.
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Picture quality
The camera had some problems with indoor shots, producing a pinkish hue on some images, but fared better on outdoor and nighttime shots.
