Boost Mobile's HTC Evo Design 4G hands on - MobilEgypt

NEW ORLEANS--If you remember the original HTC Evo Design 4G for Sprint, clear your mind of that as you contemplate this version for Boost Mobile. While the two handsets resemble each other, there are some marked differences. First, Boost's Design 4G runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, an OS upgrade. Second, it lacks the slide-out QWERTY keyboard so characteristic of the original Design 4G on Sprint. The phone still retains some girth, though; it's pretty thick. It might be a little too thick, but that really comes down to personal preference. It also has HTC's characteristic classy styling, and keeps the matte aluminum stripe on the back of the phone. Our team only had a few minutes to check out the phone before we were ushered out of the demo room, but I did register the 4-inch qHD touch screen and 5-megapixel rear-facing camera. There's a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera as well. The Design 4G also has a 1.2GHz processor. It'll cost $299.99 on May 31. I was a big fan of the original Evo 4G for Sprint, and although I think the Boost version is a little thick around the middle for not having a keyboard, I'm looking forward to seeing how the handset performs with 4G WiMax and Android Ice Cream Sandwich. It all seemed to hang together during, but it isn't the sexiest device I've seen on Boost, which in my mind is a brand that offers stylish phones. Still, being the first Ice Cream Sandwich and 4G offering carries a lot of weight -- and a fairly hefty up-front price.