The Sprint HTC EVO 4G is hands down one of the most powerful Android phones on the market. The carrier announced today that it would become more powerful with the Android 2.2 Froyo update. Sprint also brags that it is the first carrier to bring this update to an Android phone. Some of the improvements include:

• Voice Dialing Over Bluetooth.
• Application Storage on External Memory, giving users more storage room for all their apps.
• Camera 4-way rotation allows the camera icons to rotate with the camera.
• Improved Browser Performance including a faster JavaScript engine and Flash 10x Support improving the user’s ability to view videos and available content associated with web pages.

Sprint says that the update will start hitting phones on August 3rd and will proceed throughout August. Customers who hate waiting can go into Settings and initiate the update themselves. Hit the jump for the full release

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Sprint is the first wireless carrier to bring Android 2.2 to customers using the award-winning HTC EVO™ 4G beginning Tuesday, Aug. 3

Android 2.2 offers HTC EVO 4G feature enhancements including Bluetooth® voice dialing, built-in Flash, the ability to store apps to the memory card and much, much more

The award-winning HTC EVO 4G just got that much better. We are excited to announce that beginning the week of Aug. 1; Sprint will begin rolling out the Android 2.2 upgrade to its HTC EVO 4G customers.

Sprint will be the first wireless carrier to bring the latest version of Android to its customers. The Android 2.2 software release provides a significant number of feature enhancements, including:
• Voice Dialing Over Bluetooth.
• Application Storage on External Memory, giving users more storage room for all their apps.
• Camera 4-way rotation allows the camera icons to rotate with the camera.
• Improved Browser Performance including a faster JavaScript engine and Flash 10x Support improving the user’s ability to view videos and available content associated with web pages.

“Sprint is thrilled with our customers’ response to HTC EVO 4G and the innovative and exciting experience it offers,” said Fared Adib, vice president – Product Development for Sprint. “It is exciting for us to lead the industry in bringing the Android 2.2 update to these customers and improve on the amazing experience they receive with America’s first 4G capable phone.”

Easy Downloading
Sprint will begin sending update notifications to users in waves beginning Tuesday, Aug. 3 and the upgrade should be available for all HTC EVO 4G users by the middle of August.

The notification will let the users know that the update is available and it will provide the simple two-step over-the-air download process.

1. Users will receive a notification that Android 2.2 is available for download.
2. Once the user has downloaded the update, they will be prompted to install the update. The user will be notified that their device will be disabled during the installation process. The phone will be ready to use once the process completes.

For those who just can’t wait to get Android 2.2, there will be an easy user initiated option to download the upgrade. Customers can access the software update through their HTC EVO 4G under the Settings Menu System Updates HTC Software Update. This will initiate the three-step process also.

Rave Reviews and Accolades for EVO
Check out what the top tech reviewers are saying about the device.
Walt Mossberg with the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) says:

“The HTC EVO 4G, when used on Sprint’s 4G network, offers the highest consistent downstream data speeds I have ever seen on a cellular network. It also has a number of other strong features: a front-facing camera for video chatting, and the ability to serve as a Wi-Fi hotspot (for an extra fee of $30 a month) that can simultaneously connect up to eight laptops or other devices to the Internet.”

Chris Ziegler with Engadget says:

“Let us be crystal clear: we love this phone. Nay, we adore it. …truly one of the best smartphones ever made…”

Sascha Segan with PC Magazine says:

“…if you live online, the EVO offers a big, beautiful, and powerful window to the world.”

“The EVO starts with a world-class 3G smartphone and adds 4G as a “turbo boost” option. If you’re an intensive Web user, you’ll like it even without 4G.”

Bonnie Cha with CNET says:

“Overall, the HTC Evo 4G is, hands-down, the best smartphone that Sprint has to offer and certainly ranks as one of the best Android phones on the market today.”

Jessica Mintz with the Associated Press says:

“HTC’s Evo 4G phone is fast, powerful and fun to use – as long as your heart isn’t set on tapping into the speedier new network it was designed for.”

Mark Spoonauer with Laptop Magazine says:

“Even if 4G hasn’t yet reached your neck of the woods, the Evo 4G is a killer device thanks to its zippy processor, huge display, and an interface that makes Android more intuitive and user-friendly. While the keyboard could be better and the battery life longer, the Evo 4G richly deserves our Editors’ Choice award. It’s a no-brainer for Sprint customers, and a tempting choice for those on other carriers.”

Matt Buchannan with Gizmodo says:

“It’s actually staggering how different the experience is of using a phone that has over 4 inches of display, diagonally, versus more conventional screens, which run closer to 3.5 inches. Even when you’re using the same OS at the same resolution-in this case, Android 2.1 with HTC’s Sense UI at 800×480, seen on their last few Android phones.

It’s kind of like when the jeans you’ve been wearing forever start to fit a little too snugly because you’ve been eating a little too well, and you finally cave and buy a bigger pair of jeans, there’s a mindblowing moment when you close the button for the first time of how much freedom you suddenly have to breathe. So you kind of hyperventilate.”

CNET, LAPTOP Magazine and eWeek gave HTC EVO 4G awards for Best of Show when it was announced at CTIA this spring. It was also recently cited on MobileTechReview’s Best Smartphones and Best Touch Screen Phones lists.

Customer favorites on HTC EVO 4G’s long list of features include the 4.3-inch screen, dual 8MP video camera capable of capturing HD quality and front-facing 1.3MP camera. They also appreciate the HDMI output jack making it simple to start a movie for your children in the backseat of the car with the phone and then connect to an HDTV to finish it when you arrive at home.2 Business customers highlight its super-fast 1GHz processor, simultaneous voice and data capability in 4G or Wi-Fi coverage areas enabling Web surfing and more during conversation, and built-in mobile hotspot for up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices.3 For HTC EVO 4G images visit Sprint’s image gallery.

Amazing at 3G, Unbelievable at 4G
Sprint is the first national carrier offering the next generation of broadband technology today in 43 markets. Sprint 4G delivers download speeds up to 10 times faster than 3G from any other wireless carrier4, giving HTC EVO 4G a faster data speeds than any U.S. wireless device available today. HTC EVO 4G’s exciting features and applications are compelling and powerful in a 3G world, but they become even more amazing when experienced with 4G speeds.

First there was the Motorola DROID that started the Android revolution on the Verizon Wireless network. But now there is the Droid Incredible and there are some major differences from the original Droid. The specifications on the Droid Incredible really make the phone incredibly fast and responsive. You may have seen this phone on the new Verizon “Droid Does” commercials, and now we are bringing you the review after a month of real use with the phone.

Hardware:

The Droid Incredible has an interesting body to it. From first glance it just looks like a thin phone with a really high quality display. However once picked up, the Incredible reveals a shapely back panel and a interesting color scheme. On the left side of the phone there is the volume toggle and the charging port, which takes a microUSB connection. One of our complaints about the design is that the charging port is placed on the bottom half of the left side of the phone which makes it difficult to charge and talk on at the same time. On the front of the phone there is a optical joystick that allows you to navigate around the phone without using the touchscreen display.

The HTC Droid Incredible has some powerful internal specs that make the phone fast and usable. With a 3.7″ 480×800 WVGA OLED touch screen display, this phone’s display really shines and looks fantastic. With a 1 Ghz Snapdragon processor, you will rarely find lag and slow response on the Incredible. 8GB of internal memory (and the opportunity to add 16GB more with a microSD card) gives users the opportunity to take advantage of all the media capabilities of the Incredible and put the 8 megapixel camera to good use.

The HTC Droid Incredible weighs in at 4.59 ounces which makes it just a tad bit lighter than the iPhone.  The phone is pretty thin and easy to hold in the hand. On the front of the phone, under the display, there are four touch buttons that allow you to go home, bring up the menu, go back, or search for something. We had no problem working with these and never seemed to hit them by accident.

Software:

The HTC Incredible runs Android 2.1 and has the HTC Sense interface. With its Snapdragon possessor and 512MB of RAM, the Incredible runs really smoothly and can have a decent amount of apps open at the same time. There were times we would have 7 or 8 apps open at a time and didn’t notice any difference in performance.

HTC Sense is the user interface that runs on top of the Android operating system. It really makes the operating system shinen with its graphics and functionality. Sense has a widget called FriendStream that allows you to connect it to your social networks and see what your friends are doing. We found that really useful and set as one of our homescreens. There are multiple other widgets that can be added to homepages. We have used Android phones without Sense and we can honestly say that we just don’t enjoy them as much. This user interface really adds what we believe is needed for a great smartphone.

The HTC Droid Incredible does not have a physical keyboard. Therefore, there is a on-screen keyboard that pops up when needed. The keyboard turns as you turn the phone making it easy to type when holding the phone sideways. After extensive email, web, and text messaging use, we found the keyboard to work fine. We had some trouble getting words right when the phone was upright. However, we loved the keyboard when using the phone turned sideways. If you spell a word incorrectly, it will give you options to fix it or add it to the dictionary.

Camera:

The Droid Incredible has an impressive 8 megapixel camera with a flash. This camera can be used to take some pretty nice photos and videos, but it probably will not replace your real camera. The quality is good, but it just isn’t up to par with a real camera. Check out some pictures below.

Conclusion:

The HTC Droid Incredible really shines when it comes to Verizon smartphones. At this point, I can honestly say that the Incredible may be the best smartphone currently available on Verizon. If you are a hardcore BlackBerry user, you may think otherwise. However, for the standard user looking to get a smartphone, the Incredible is a great choice at this time. The camera quality is ahead of most phones, the Sense UI and speed of the phone really make it usable.

A little bit late, but Google has decided to stop selling their famous Nexus One Android phone online and go through the normal way and have carriers subsidize them. Apparently, consumers would like to try and have hands on with the phone before they decide to purchase it. Quite true actually. How many of you people walk by your local carrier and play with their phones and pretend to make calls even though it doesn’t even power on. I sure did when I was young.

So which carriers will get them? Well besides T-Mobile, we’d say there wouldn’t be too much wanting to pick it up. Rogers? AT&T? All of which have Android phones already comparable to the Nexus One, especially since the HTC Incredible is out and the EVO 4G coming soon. Nice try Google, but not too many people would pay full price for their cellphones and not too many carriers want to pick it up roughly 6 months after it’s been released.

[Source via: Engadget Mobile]

We just told you about the Dell Lightning, which runs Windows Phone 7, but Dell couldn’t stop with that. The Dell Thunder has leaked out with some juicy details and press shots. The phone ties a lot of social networking in and has a “HTC Sense” look to it. Check out the full details:

• 4.1-inch WVGA OLED screen
• Intregrated Hulu app
• Flash 10.1 support
• 8 megapixel camera

The phone will be sold on AT&T Stateside and will also have HSDPA versions for world use. The phone is coming in Q4 of this year. Might want to hold off to the end of 2011 for the LTE model.

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Today T-Mobile and Garmin announced availability of the Garminfone. The Garminfone will be available exclusively on T-Mobile later this Spring. Running Google’s Android operating system, the Garminfone will be the first Android phone to feature “Garmin’s premium navigation”. The Garminfone has 3G, a 3 megapixel camera with auto focus, and Wi-Fi.

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After many speculation dates, Verizon has announced that the HTC DROID Incredible would be making its way onto the network on April 29th. Many early reviews have called this device the best Android phone available in the United States and really think the phone has potential. The Incredible has a very fast Snapdragon processor and a 8-megapixel camera. Running Google’s Android OS 2.1 and HTC Sense, the phone really shines and takes advantage of its amazing display. The phone is available for pre-order beginning today on the Verizon website. The phone is priced at $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a contract.

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Earlier today Verizon sent an internal memo to its employees letting them know that new devices would be launching on April 25. However, the company failed to tell its employees what devices would be launching in particular. Later today, internal Best Buy documents leaked showing that the HTC Incredible was set to launch at Best Buy stores on April 29th. The Incredible packs a 8 megapixel camera and runs on Android 2.1 by Google.

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We have just learned from AT&T that the Dell Aero will be its second smartphone this year. This phone will be Dell’s first smartphone to drop in the US and will be coming straight to AT&T. The Aero has a 5 megapixel camera and a 3.5-inch touchscreen display. With a full HTML Browser, Flash Light, and Wi-Fi, the Aero will be great for browsing the internet. There is no word on pricing or availability yet, but we will let know what we hear.

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The Nexus One from Google is finally making its CDMA debut on the Sprint network. This comes one day after Google released the Nexus One that is compatible with AT&T 3G networks. There is still no launch date or pricing, but Sprint promises all the details soon. The Nexus One runs the Android operating system and is arguably the best looking Android phone on the market. Check out the full press release after the jump.

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Today AT&T announced the availability of its first Android phone, the MOTOROLA BACKFLIP. You may remember our hands-on with the BACKFLIP back at CES. This phone runs MOTOBLUR which is powered by Android. MOTOBLUR syncs yours contacts with your social networks and delivers the content right to the homepage. The phone will be available on March 7 at AT&T stores and online for $99.99 after mail-in rebate with a two-year contract.

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