HTC Inspire 4G Quick Take – AT&T’s Finally Taking Android Seriously
AT&T was the lone carrier who wasn’t claiming their high speed network to be 4G – that all changed once the standards changed. Suddenly, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon are no longer falsely advertising and AT&T saw their opportunity to follow suit.
As you may have heard, they’ve announce the HTC Inspire 4G, a 4.3-inch Android that anyone would be proud to carry. I likened it to the HTC Desire HD and the HTC EVO 4G, and while it doesn’t have all of the same bells and whistles – no HDMI, no kickstand, and no next-generation processor – it’s still quite the looker.
Speaking on that processor, it’s the same 1GHz Snapdragon featured in the EVO 4G and the Nexus One, so it isn’t the fastest out these days. Still, anyone would tell you that these things still kick butt when it comes to speed and responsiveness. It runs Android 2.2 and the latest version of HTC Sense and has an 8-megapixel camera (with HD video recording capabilities and dual LED flash).
HTC informed me that the software wasn’t near completion, so no tour of what AT&T’s included there, nor could we get them to offer up any sort of information in regards to future plans.
Alongside the Infuse 4G from Samsung (which I have yet to get my hands on), AT&T’s finally looking to take Android seriously. Most folks would have no problem telling you it’s because they’re afraid of the momentum they’ll lose if or when the iPhone makes its way to Verizon. If that’s what it takes for AT&T to adopt Android just as enthusiastically as every other carrier has, then I’m 100% for it. Video coming soon.
EDIT – I was told by the HTC rep that it was the same 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon as in the Nexus One and EVO 4G. They didn’t have the entire slate of specs available, so I just went on his word. My apologies for any confusion.