The Samsung Epic 4G marks Sprint's second 4G-capable Android handset and the first one with a slide-out hardware keyboard. The phone features a 4-inch, 800x480 Super AMOLED screen, Android 2.1, rear-facing 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, front-facing VGA camera, 1GHz processor, and 16GB of storage which is expandable to 32GB via microSD cards.
- Hardware: The Epic may not have a 4.3-inch screen like the Droid X or EVO, but at 4 inches, it's close -- and for all practical purposes, it appears to be just as large. The slide-out physical keyboard doesn't add as much girth as we expected, though it still adds to the height of the phone. While the curved edges give it a similar look to the Galaxy S we've seen overseas, it has four touch sensitive buttons along the bottom instead of those physical buttons. Oh, and about that physical keyboard, it's pretty glorious -- the keys are slightly raised and there's a bit of space between each of them. We have to admit it looks a bit odd to have a keyboard with such a big screen, but if anything it's a throw back to UMPCs or MIDs.
- Screen: The Epic 4G has the same 4-inch Super AMOLED display as the Galaxy S and Captivate. But we aren't letting that diminish our love of it -- every time we see it we are pretty blown away by the crispness. Yet again, we didn't get to test the display in sunlight, but indoors it was seriously bright, albeit glossy. (Oh, and if you missed it, check out our head-to-head between Samsung's Super AMOLED screen and Apple's Retina display.)
- Software: The Epic 4G will run Android 2.1 at launch, but Sprint tells us it will be rolling out the 2.2 update not too long after it hits the market. Just like the Captivate, it has the latest version of Samsung's TouchWiz skin, which isn't too distracting and actually polishes up Android a bit. It's also preloaded with Swype and Qik as well as a few Sprint applications -- including the mobile hotspot app, notably. Speaking of Qik, we did confirm that the Epic 4G has a VGA front facing cam, while the one on it's backside will take 5 megapixel shots.
- Performance: Unlike the early version of the Captivate that we saw, the Epic 4G's 1GHz Hummingbird CPU was zippy. As you will see in the video, scrolling was super snappy and there was no noticeable lag in opening applications like Amazon's Kindle app or firing up the camcorder. Video playback also looked super smooth. Sprint's still not giving out information on pricing or availability, though we're told the price will be aggressive and the handset will be available before the end of Summer.
