HTC EVO Shift 4G Shows Off Its Keyboard, Could Launch Around January 9

by Kevin Krause on December 13th, 2010 at 7:31 am

evoshift4g

Finally someone has snapped off a picture of what will supposedly be the HTC EVO Shift 4G’s (otherwise known as the HTC Knight) slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a feature oft-mentioned but never 100 percent confirmed. It looks a lot like this phone could line up as Sprint’s closest relative to the HTC Desire Z, much like the T-Mobile G2 and yet-to-launch HTC Merge. The phone definitely carries some EVO-like stylings, so we are pretty confident the Shift 4G name will stick.

sprint-inventory-a7373-small-500x153

And as leaks are heating up for the new HTC handset, so too are release rumors. The latest assumes an HTC A7373 model number belongs to the EVO Shift 4G and pegs a January 9th, 2011 release date on the device. The date comes from the above internal Sprint document. That gives them plenty of time to show it off at CES before launch, right?

[via TalkAndroid, AC]

In the news:

Sprint issues HTC EVO Shift 4G software update to version 2.77.651.3

HTC EVO Shift 4G

4.5 / 5 stars

Jeremy
why is there a “ROFL” above the sun on the weather widget?
Aztec
@jeremy
lol i didnt catch that and i am sure most woulnd’t have if it wasnt for you.
Now i wonder if it has meaning or if it just someone who was bored.
Riggs
Guys, read the source for this article.
R0FL is the guy who provided the image at Sprintusers.com.
Rio Hamasaki
Hmmmzz this phone looks abit weird :S
mu$h da great
So is everything pretty much the same as the o.g. evo aside from the keyboard?
King
Looks like it has a hard case protector. . . . .Doesn’t it?
Caleb
I would have preferred a bit more screen size, but I’m sure that this phone will be fine.
Curry
That screen isn’t the same size as the screen I saw in my dreams :/
Eric
Is there a picture of this phone without a case around it? That is a case right?
Juan
can someone please tell me why HTC keeps making android phones when they constantly use HTC sense? can sprint just get a vanilla android phone with no keyboard ONE TIME!?
MonkeyCheese
did anyone notice that the dude that sent the picture not only wrote “ROFL” but he unlined the words as well on the keyboard. He underlined the number 0 not the O
Fred
Is that a D-pad on the right bottom section?
Keith
Have the full specs for this phone been released yet? Wondering if it’s the same as the EVO or better (or worse). Still have a Hero and waiting for whatever Sprint’s follow up to the original EVO will be to upgrade.
Aaron
That keyboard looks as bad or maybe even worse than the one on my droid.
loc
Probably will be announced on January 9th then released another date.
Bela
Was torn about waiting for this or just going for the EVO… glad I didn’t wait! :P
Joshua
def looks like it has a hard case protector on it.
Al
yes it looks like there’s a cover attached to it. Probably not stock.
Hampteezy
can you imagine the of this beast? lol brick in pocket anyone?
Hampteezy
okay so i went to another site and if this is true then this phone is an absolute fail. Its going to launch with 800mhz processor??????? That means no gingerbread for shift. Confirm or Deny??