HTC Evo 4G LTE

Sprint theoretically began selling the HTC Evo 4G LTE May 18 for $199.99 with a two-year contract. With AT&T’s HTC One X (shown here), the Evo was held up in customs for a few weeks, while HTC and Apple debated whether the phones infringed Apple patents. The phones are definitely siblings.

HTC’s updated Evo is larger but thinner and—as anyone holding the two doesn’t need a scale to tell him or her—much lighter.

Like the original Evo 4G, the Evo 4G LTE features a black and red design aesthetic—which is about all the two share now.

Or rather, along with their color palettes, they also have kickstands in common. The new Evo’s kickstand melds better into the design. A person not looking for it isn’t likely to know it’s there.

The Evo 4G LTE’s kickstand—thin, stiff, serious and versatile—is a tremendous upgrade from the original’s rounded-edged version, which is annoyingly inclined to close at the least provocation.

A final word on the kickstand (a distinguishing Evo feature) is that the new one can be used with the hinge at the top (as in the previous photo) or at the bottom, which enables a user to charge the phone while watching video.

HTC smartly added a physical shutter button that’s a pleasure to use.

The combination of Ice Cream Sandwich (or Android 4.0) and Sense 4.0 makes for some great camera upgrades. There are easy-to-apply filters, no need to enter a menu to choose video or camera options, the ability to hold the shutter and take numerous shots at once (the camera will then choose the best one), and the ability to snap a photo while taking video.

Like the HTC One X, the Evo 4G LTE benefits from Beats Audio’s “Authentic Sound” experience. In August 2011, HTC purchased Beats By Dre for $300 million. The result: better sound. (Shake the phone and it will find you a new radio station, among other things.) Even call quality is notably crisper.

HTC redesigned the grille on the new Evo (at left), but not in a way that prevents sand and crumbs and other purse or pocket detritus from still getting into it. In this way, the One X (see phone 1) is superior.

While the new Evo can cruise at LTE speeds, it’s for now relegated to Sprint’s 3G network. This summer, Sprint will begin its LTE rollout, with Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio the first to go live.