Over the past couple of months, I’ve had a new toy to play with: a new phone from AT&T, the HTC Inspire 4G.  This is one of AT&T’s first 4G phones, although their network doesn’t fully support 4G speeds yet.  Using the HSUPA+ speeds for now, it is one of the fastest devices AT&T offers.

Design:
Boasting a brilliant 4.3″ WVGA screen with a 480×800 screen resolution, there is plenty of screen to view everything you could imagine on a smartphone.  It’s your typical candybar  type phone, however is much thinner than most phones I’ve seen.

HTC Inspire 4G screen

HTC Inspire 4G thickness

Performance:
Boasting a 1GHz processor, the HTC Inspire 4G seems to be plenty fast.  With the 2.2 Froyo operating system, the Inspire 4G multitasks much nicer than the iPhone 4.  It has 768MB of RAM, which is more than most phones available from retailers.

Hardware:
The Inspire 4G is pretty tricked out with faster hardware than most other devices available on the market.  As mentioned previously, it has a 1GHz processor, 786MB RAM and 4GB ROM.

Battery:
This is my favorite part of the phone.  The battery life is amazing.  With the Froyo update, I can easily leave WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS on all day and still have approximately 70% battery remaining by 5pm.  By listening to internet radio on WiFi, I can usually have 50% remaining at the end of the day.  Texting, surfing and calls are kept to a minimum, which I usually send/receive a few text messages, receive 30 emails and talk for approximately 5 – 10 minutes each day.  I can comfortably stay unplugged for 12 – 15 hours.

Pictures:
Coming from an iPhone 4 and being used to a phone with a 5MP camera, I figured this camera would be much nicer, seeing how it boasts an 8MP camera.  It has two built-in LED flash strobes which are surprisingly bright.  During the day, the pictures come out pretty crisp and clear, as seen below:

HTC Inspire 4G picture, in daylight

In dimly lit conditions, the camera begins to lack, as seen here:

HTC Inspire 4G picture in dim light

The camera has a built in auto-focus feature, where you can tap anywhere on the screen and set the auto focus point.  This works very well, yet it can still be difficult to get a crisp picture.

Video:
Video playback is smooth.  YouTube videos and other web videos appear sharp and load quickly, whether on WiFi or  on HSUPA+.  The YouTube app launches quickly, whether surfing the web, or from another app such as Facebook.

Audio:
The back of the phone says it has Dolby Mobile audio, yet it sounds like any other phone.  I’ve found it a bit difficult to hear the phone when it’s in my jacket pocket, or when I’m driving in the car with the sunroof open.  Other than that, in most situations, it’s easy to hear and plenty loud.  The speaker in which one listens to voice calls could definitely use a volume tweak — I’m constantly finding myself wanting to turn it up louder.

Dual LED flashes and Dolby Mobile audio

Apps:
Being an Android phone, there is a large amount of apps available on the App Market.  You can find an app for anything, and now that mobile app development has taken off, it’s easy to find an app for just about anything.

Conclusion:
Of the phones that AT&T now offers, I think this is by far the best Android phone.  I’ve had experience with the HTC Aria, but liked this phone much more.  I’m now used to the massive 4.3″ screen and am getting used to it, although I would prefer to have something a bit smaller.  Since the phone is so thin, it does not take up much space in a pocket, however, it does tend to slide out of jacket pockets easily.  The case seems to be durable, however it is a bit slick and can slide out of your hand easily.

Overall, I’m happy with the phone and the features it offers.  HTC has done a magnificent job bringing this to AT&T.  Let’s just hope AT&T releases their 4G network soon, and that it’s reliable.