Epic 4G May Put Sprint on Top

Sprint has been the punching bag of the mobile world for a while now, but that may be changing thanks to its lightning-fast 4G WiMax network—and the spiffy new Android smartphones that use it. First there was the HTC EVO, and now comes the Epic, part of Samsung’s Galaxy S line. It’s bulky, thanks to its full QWERTY keyboard, but it’s also so packed with features that most reviewers are in love.

• “The Epic 4G is a great device. Killer, even,” raves Engadget. Together with the EVO and Pre, the Epic makes Sprint “perhaps the most gadget-savvy carrier in the US today.”
• “I am in love with this keyboard,” says Jason Chen of Gizmodo, who thinks the Epic is the “clear choice” over the EVO, thanks to a better screen and longer battery life—though the latter still isn’t great.
• And Fortune calls the phone “a Blackberry upgrader’s dream,” because it’s got “probably one of the top keyboards on any phone, ever.” Samsung’s Android modifications aren’t great, and the GPS has some problems, but those are software issues that will likely be fixed quickly.

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