Sprint Nextel is hyping its next major 4G phone launch. The Samsung Epic 4G, the latest in the Galaxy S series, will debut on Sprint’s next-generation network on Aug. 31. The device is set to compete in a summer smartphone market where shortages have made more headlines than new phone launches.
The Epic 4G is the first 4G-capable phone with a full QWERTY keyboard and a four-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen. That’s the screen that Samsung couldn’t supply fast enough to HTC to avoid widespread shortages of the HTC EVO 4G and the HTC Droid Incredible.
The Epic 4G will come to market with the Android 2.1 operating system. Sprint plans to upgrade the device to Android 2.2 in the coming months, which would enable improved EAS support, better browser support, Flash 10x support, voice dialing over Bluetooth, and application storage on external memory.
“This is another pretty cool phone. All of the manufacturers of these hot devices now seem to have one trait in common: They can’t keep them in stock,” said Michael Gartenberg, a partner at Altimeter Group. “That shows there’s a diversity of consumers looking at these devices. They all aren’t buying the same thing. And if consumers can’t find one in stock, they may go looking for another. So whoever solves this problem first is going to be very happy.”
Thin and Touchable
The thin-design touchscreen Epic 4G makes possible multi-touch pinch, long tap and zoom, and vertical and horizontal swiping. Users who prefer to type the old-fashioned way can slide out a traditional keyboard. Samsung claims users can input text faster with one continuous finger motion across the virtual keyboard with its Swype technology.
The Epic 4G also comes equipped with a five-megapixel camera and camcorder with autofocus, power LED flash, and 4x digital zoom for photos, as well as HD video…