The latest Sprint Android to surface is the Nexus 4G. This 'pure Google' phone is a promising addition to the Sprint line up of eleven Android devices. The Nexus is growing in popularity as the best Sprint Android. The reason for this is the Nexus comes preloaded with Gingerbread (Android 2.3 Operating System - the latest to date) and has 4G connectivity. You might be wondering what is a 'pure Android' phone. It is simply an Android phone that does not have a manufacture interface overlay. The advantage of not having a manufacture interface running on top of the Android platform is that the phone can get immediate upgrades to the latest Android Operating System versions. In the case of phones with manufacture overlays, the manufacture has to reprogram the overlay to adjust to the new Android version. Many users prefer the 'pure Android' interface from a visual and ease of use point of view. For extreme users that like to custom ROM their phones so that they can install unofficial updates, apps, and customize their phones, the 'pure Google' is easier to hack. The Nexus comes with a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor, WiFi hot spot capabilities for up to five devices, 4 inch display, front facing VGA camera and a rear 5 megapixel camera and 16 GB of internal storage.
The HTC EVO 4G is the best contender for the top Sprint Android position, with its closes competitors being the Nexus (mentioned above) and the Samsung Epic 4G. The EVO has a slightly larger WVGA display at 4.3 inches (800 x 480 pixel resolution). This makes viewing web pages a breeze due to the impressive screen size and sharp clarity of the display. It sports both the front facing 1.3 VGA megapixel camera for video calling and an 8 megapixel rear camera. The rear camera takes excellent pictures and has HD video capabilities. If the camera is an important feature for you, take a look at this phone. The EVO makes use of the Sense user interface, which works well and has the Leap feature that allows you to pinch anywhere on the screen to view all open programs. Like the Nexus and Epic the EVO runs on Sprint's 4G network, which has good download speeds though is not available in all cosmopolitan areas. This phone has picked up some criticism with regard to battery life, however, I think that it is fair to say that all the smart phones, and particularly the ones running on 4G, have battery issues. This will surely be the next feature for developers to tackle. For some this phone is on the large size being 4.8 inches tall, 2.6 inches wide and 0.5 inches thick.
The third flagship Android for Sprint is the Samsung Epic 4G. The phone comes with an excellent Super AMOLED screen, 1 GHz processor, front facing VGA front facing camera, a five megapixel rear camera with LED flash and supports Sprint's 4G WiMax network. Possibly the best feature of this phone is the large slide out physical QWERTY keyboard. If you text message and email frequently, this might be a good option as the phone has fairly similar options to the above two phones and an excellent keyboard. The biggest downside to the Epic and the EVO is that the phone comes with Android 2.1 operating system installed, with no current official updates. However, you are able to load Gingerbread (Android 2.3) if you custom ROM your device and download an unofficial version.
