HTC Evo 4G LTE Review: Initial Impressions (Hands-On Photos)

Evo.

It’s one of the few HTC/Sprint product lines to make a splash in the mobile ocean, and after a brief stay at U.S. customs, the latest iteration should do the same.

The Evo 4G LTE is the most powerful Evo to date, with a 4.7-inch 720p display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and 1GB of RAM under the hood. But these specs are in no way novel, which means that quite a bit comes down to HTC’s software offerings and design language.

Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich is running the show on this puppy, with HTC’s now-usual 25GB of free Dropbox storage and Beats Audio integration also in tow. The former two are excellent features to have and should be considered when you’re weighing your various mobile options, but I can’t honestly say that the Beats Audio makes much of a difference.

In the design department, there’s quite a bit going on. The front of the phone looks like any standard Android phone that’s come out in the past six months: a large touchscreen, three capacitive buttons within a black bezel, and black edges with rounded corners. In short, the Evo 4G LTE face is nothing to write home about, though I am impressed with the way that HTC managed to squeeze a 4.7-inch display onto a comfortably compact body.

The back of the phone tells a different story. It’s a bit like a mullet — business up front, party in the back.

You’ll find a really nice soft-touch black finish along the bottom two-thirds of the phone’s backside, divided with a bright red, metallic-y kickstand, and finished up top with shiny plastic. The plastic grabs prints like that’s its sole purpose in this world, but the overall aesthetic is quite nice, and the soft-touch finish along the bottom is pleasant as can be.

I haven’t noticed any glaring issues in performance and battery life seems to be pretty good, but we can’t be certain of anything until I complete official testing. In other words, stay tuned for our full review which will go live this week.