The HTC EVO 4G LTE may have me changing carriers yet again

I tested the HTC EVO 4G in May 2010 and bought my own soon after. It was a phone I kept longer than most all other smartphones and I couldn't stop picking it as one of my favorites all year long. I still see many people using this phone almost two years later and today HTC announced a successor that may have me going back to Sprint again. The HTC EVO 4G LTE is coming to Sprint for $199.99 in the 2nd quarter with pre-orders beginning on Monday, 17 May.

Sprint is the only carrier with non-throttled, unlimited data and if this was a WiMAX phone I wouldn't even think of it. However, it runs LTE and while Sprint is just getting into the LTE game (rolling out to six cities by mid-2012) they have fewer customers than Verizon or AT&T so maybe we can get faster LTE speeds with less people on the network.

I know this may sound stupid, but I am a big fan of the kickstand and used it like crazy on my HTC EVO 4G. My daughters loved watching TV shows when we traveled and it was nice to sit on my commuter train with my phone propped up and playing video content. HTC is taking some of the great features from its new HTC One line (oh yeah, what happened to that whole simplying on the One series thing?) and bringing them to the EVO 4G LTE.

Check out the HTC Evo 4G LTE hands on image gallery that shows off this slick device.

Specifications include:

• 1.5 GHz dual-core processor
• 4.7 inch HD Super LCD2 display with Gorilla Glass
• Sprint LTE with HD voice support
• Android ICS with HTC Sense 4
• 8 megapixel rear camera iwth ImageSense
• 1.3 megapixel front facing camera
• 2000 mAh battery
• Beats Audo support

Is anyone else as excited as I am about this device? I was thinking of a One S on T-Mobile, but may have to consider giving up my Verizon account to get this device on Sprint.

Related ZDNet coverage

• Hands-on with the Sprint HTC EVO 4G; is it a carrier changer?
• Tpp 10 smartphones of 2010... for now
• 4 carriers and 4 super smartphones; which is your favorite?
• Back to School Guide 2010: Smartphones
• World heavyweight title fight; Motorola Droid X vs HTC EVO 4G
• Updated: Top 11 smartphones to end 2010
• HTC Evo 4G LTE hands on (photos)