Don't Buy '4G' Phones for 4G Features - Yet

There's no doubt that the HTC EVO 4G, Sprint's first 4G phone that will release this summer, is impressive. But how long will it take before the "4G" aspect really matters?

The EVo 4G's specifications are impressive: it runs Android 2.1 with HTC's Sense UI, has a beautiful 4.3-inch, 800-by-480 capacitive touch screen, a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, and an 8-megapixel camera, among other neat features. With those specs alone, it already beats the Google Nexus One, which was just announced for the Sprint network.


But it's the promise of Sprint's 4G service, with the potential to get fast download speeds and browse the Web as fast as on a desktop PC, that really sets the HTC EVO 4G apart. There's a serious problem, though – hardly anyone in the U.S. has access to 4G coverage and most people won't be able to take advantage of it until 4G is deployed into many more markets.



Sprint's 4G network more or less mirrors Clear's offerings. It's currently available in 27 cities, including Baltimore, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, Las Vegas, and Philadelphia, covering about 30 million people. Sprint promises by the end of 2010 to quadruple that number with an expansion into many other metropolitan cities. On Tuesday, Sprint promised to cover Cincinnati, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, and St. Louis by the end of 2010. And back in February, Sprint said that 4G would be accessible in Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Houston, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. by the end of the year.

But given Sprint's spotty history with WiMAX, who knows if the company will deliver on those promises? Since we don't know for sure, we would strongly recommend prospective customers who don't already have 4G coverage to look at Sprint's data coverage map. Assume for a moment that your city won't get 4G, and the HTC EVO 4G becomes a less interesting prospect. Yes, the hardware still looks wonderful, but will you actually be able to use it to its full potential? Stay tuned to PCMag.com to find out if Sprint keeps its 4G promises.

It's also good to keep in mind what other carriers are beginning to offer in the next-generation data buildout. T-Mobile has HSPA+, which builds on 3G technology to deliver 4G-like speeds, and the company said it will be expanding the high-speed tech to 100 cities over the course of 2010.

Verizon Wireless has been testing out its LTE 4G services as well and said it could be in 25 to 30 major cities before 2010 ends, with 4G-enabled headsets by mid-2011. AT&T won't be releasing LTE services or phones into the market until 2011. And budget carrier MetroPCS said Wednesday that it planned to launch LTE 4G in Las Vegas by the end of the year.