HTC EVO 4G arrives on Sprint June 4

It's official: the summer blockbuster season in cell phones begins on June 4. Sprint yesterday announced that's the day it will release its HTC EVO 4G, the first phone to use high-speed, fourth-generation wireless networks.

Sprint also confirmed pricing. The EVO 4G will cost $200 with a two-year contract after rebates. Plans will be relatively pricey. They will start $80 70 a month; that's $10 more per month than it charges its other smart-phone customers.

Like the Verizon Palm Pre, the Evo can act as a wireless hotspot wireless hotspot at 4G (where available) and 3G speeds for laptops and other devices for an additional $30 a month.

In addition to the capabilities from its network we covered earlier for the EVO 4G, the phone has the unique ability to allow users to make and take calls while on the Internet. The phone will also be among the first to support Adobe Flash 10 video right out of the box, an upgrade that other smart phones now on the market, including the Palm Pre, will also start to make beginning in June.

Despite the hoopla, Sprint's 4G network coverage is relatively sparse, available in small pockets of 32 cities around the U.S., from Baltimore to Boise. Sprint promises to expand service to more and bigger markets such as New York and Los Angeles later this year, though they made the same promise to me some three-plus years ago.

We plan to have a press sample in our labs before the launch date, and hope to use it in an area nearest to our Yonkers, New York testing center that has Sprint 4G coverage—which will likely mean going outside the New York area, which is yet to get the service. 

—Mike Gikas