Introducing the HTC Evo 4G LTE

At an April 4 event in New York City, Sprint and HTC rolled out the Evo 4G LTE smartphone. Presales for the device start May 7, although neither company offered a specific release date. The new Evo will cost $199 with a Sprint contract.

HTC is almost trying to overwhelm customers with features. In addition to Android 4, or Ice Cream Sandwich, the smartphone offers a 4.7-inch LCD display, a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon chip and up to 16GB of memory with an microSD card option.

While the display is rather large for a smartphone, the Evo is fairly thin and light. The device measures 5.3 inches long and 2.7 inches wide. It is also 0.35 inches thick and weighs 4.72 ounces.

In addition to Android, the HTC Evo 4G LTE offers the company’s own Sense 4 user interface.

Sprint and HTC touted the Evo’s new 8-megapixel camera, which executives claimed can take professional-quality pictures. In addition, the camera takes HD video in 1080p. The device also allows users to capture pictures and video at the same time.

For fans or the original Evo, the new model offers the familiar kickstand on the back of the phone. The idea is to allow users to view video and pictures hands-free. HTC also gives it a distinctive red color.

With the new Evo, Sprint is rolling out a new technology called HD Voice, which cuts down on background noise and makes voice calls cleaner. The technology goes live later this year, although the Evo is shipping with dual microphones to help it along.

Both Sprint and HTC are in need of a hit. Sprint needs phones for its new LTE network in order to compete against AT&T and Verizon Wireless, which are already offering LTE phones. In the meantime, HTC finds itself fifth in the U.S. smartphone market, according to comScore.