The Evo Shift 4G is shaping up to become the worst kept secret of this year's CES. Engadget received some anonymous photos of the real thing up close. They even managed to nab a shot of the Evo Shift 4G's software information. At this rate, the phone will be rooted before it's even officially announced (not the first time that's happened). But don't fret, when this baby is officially announced, we'll be sure to let you guys know all the details. Hit the source link to see more shots of this QWERTY Android device up close. [Engadget]

There are 58 comments

digink#AC says:

Damn this is tempting.. i miss the fully qwerty from my Pre.

robman62 says:

I was just about to buy out the rest of my contract to get this, but no front facing camera hindered the deal for me, then finding out it is a 5 mp camera without dual flash totally killed it for me. I guess i'll just be sticking with my Hero until the EVO 2 drops :(

babybear293 says:

my God dual flash is not that serious. it has a flash.
5mp is not the end of the world. my Hero takes better pictures than my BF EVO(that's because he has shaky hands, lol). i'll wait till Sprint/HTC releases the specs to see if it has a FFC. keep in mind the leaked photos had QIK in the home screen.

weehooherod says:

It has a front facing camera. I have an Evo and I wish it only had a single flash. All the photos taken with the evo are white washed, the single flash back on my nexus one took way better night shots. Also the photos taken with my Nexus one (5mp) were better than the ones I take now with my evo, which is weird because I use Cyanogen mod on both of them so even the camera software is the same.

stoneworrior says:

I agree in low light/Dark conditions pictures are unusable for close up shots. Now if you have time and want to take 3 or 4 pictures @ about 8 or ten feet to get just the right one sure it'll work but it gets annoying for your subjects.

babybear293 says:

you know there are better pictures than this one that has since leaked.

post a link for us :D

babybear293 says:

the source for this post has more pictures. that's the best i can do & stay neutral..

thanks anyway.

No Front Facing Camera. im getting an EPIC instead...

babybear293 says:

good luck. 2.2 out the box, compared to waiting for 2.1 to update to 2.2?

Zardos says:

I Want it right fucking now.

Don't need a FFC.

dguidry12 says:

Can't understand why they would call this thing an "Evo" when the specs are a downgrade in respects to features. Can't understand for the life of me why would Sprint and HTC not bring a phone that has a front facing camera and a rear camera that is 3mp less and with only one flash?? Was going to sale my real Evo to give this a test but i'll pass and wait on something from HP/Palm I guess..:(

briankurtz79 says:

Your an id!ot. Are the droid, droid 2, eris, incredible, X, pro, all upgrades from the one before each with the same specs and then some? Evo is a name htc is associating with android and sprint the way moto has with vzn. Don't be such a tool bag dude.

crxssi says:

He has a point. The word "Evo" was not a "line" of phones. It was a single model of very high-end stuff. By calling this Shift thing an "Evo", it waters down the name "Evo" considerably; which could be insulting to some users.

But maybe this marketing ploy will work for Sprint. Comparison to the "Droid" line is very appropriate.

how do we know officially that the dot isnt a camera?

dguidry12 says:

Well I looked at the box on the Engadget link and it didn't disclose a front facing camera but did disclose that it has a mere 5mp camera and didn't state if it was "high def" recording. Guess we just have to wait for HTC to actually announce it.

tehskazz says:

It HAS a front facing camera guys. The specs were released... including a FFC. Keep up.

too many inconsistancies. i think there was a blending of EVO and EVO shift specs with previous news... im disappointed too.

tim242 says:

OMG! THE PHONE HAS A FRONT CAM! IT IS TO THE LEFT OF THE EARPIECE! GOD! Anybody with a newer htc phone, specifically the Evo, knows that the LED is in the ear grill...NOT BESIDE IT. The camera on this phone looks IDENTICAL to that of the Evo!

dude, look at the HTC Merge (sister to this phone). it has an LED notification in roughly the same spot as this phone does...

tim242 says:

The Merge is not an Evo branded phone. The Epic is the only Galaxy S with a front cam. Not to mention the Cam dot looks nothing like a notification light. You have proven nothing.

why are u mentioning galaxy s? the point is the EVO shift is closer related to the HTC G2/DesireZ/Merge than to the original EVO. names are just there for image... that u have clearly bought into.

tim242 says:

I mentioned Galaxy S to prove to you that the same phones on different carriers aren't always the same. Meaning, this phone is not the same as the G2/DesireZ/Merge. Your argument was because it is supposedly a version of those, that there is no way it could have a front cam. Understand my points?

i want it to have a FFC, but the door is closing on that idea every minute...

babybear293 says:

This is the phone i've been waiting for from HTC to go to SPRINT!!!
look for the people still confused about this phone being branded as the Evo, a lot of people dont want to buy an Evo, for many reasons(ie too big & no keyboard). ALSO Sprint needs to market this phone to a new demographic, young people. there are also people that own older Sprint phones that can use a upgrade(phones that have KBs). i understand they have two Samsung phones with KBs, but there are intelligent people out there that do not wish to purchase/keep a Samsung people.. LOL!! People are going to buy this phone & the fact that is related to the POPULAR EVO brand will encourage people to purchase it.

tim242 says:

And to the ones still bitching about Evo in the name. You are completely stupid. The Droid line includes the Eris! Gawd, what's so hard to understand about a brand of phones with different specs?

babybear293 says:

i wish they would listen, but some people just don't get MARKETING.

lol the pics from engaget look good imo. Someone will have official specs. I am thinking that they should have put the Dpad on the left side.

hmmm says:

I hear ya about the d-pad on the left. Would be a dream machine for games...

is engadget down for anyone else?

babybear293 says:


There's no software for a front facing camera in the camera settings. Surprised nobody looked before.

tim242 says:

Guess we shall see soon enough.

SdotJ says:

I'm surprised too. Its not a deal breaker for me as the new processor is huge upgrade IMO . Oh well I will duck out before the flames burn me lol

pDoG says:

People are conplaining about this being called an evo...its called marketing. Its a type of evo, just like there are many types of droids for Christ sakes. good god.

tim242 says:


dguidry12 says:

I will wait to see but no front facing camera to me is a "fail". If it doesn't have FFC, only a 5mp camera with single flash and a 3.7 inch screen it shouldn't cost more than 129.99.

dguidry12 says:

Not just for Video chat my friend..I use the front face camera to take face pictures so I don't have to turn the phone around and awkwardly try to press the capture button while smiling and trying to make a good pose. Maybe if the evo had a dedicated camera button it would be much better but it doesn't.

babybear293 says:

are you serious?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? you're off completely
the Epic doesnt have "dual flash" but it cost $250 for a new contract!!
many people with FFC barely use the feature. i have an iPod with a FFC and i dont even use it. plus the FFC will always have a less quality mp.. some people just dislike things with REAL logical reasoning.

tim242 says:

Front cams seem to be something that so many lust after, but so few that have them use. Video chat is the most over-hyped feature of all time. It is awkward, and choppy. If you are looking at the the screen to see the person on the other end, they are seeing you looking down. The cams would work better on the bottom of the phone. People rarely speak to eachother on the phone anymore, who wants to go to all the trouble to videochat? Hardly a must-have feature!

dguidry12 says:


tim242 says:

So, you want to post vga or 1.3 MP quality pics of your face? I can see where it may have some uses. But, even the one you mention isn't a deal breaker. Would you pass on a phone because you can't take low quality pics of your face with a front cam?

babybear293 says:

great point!
or you can ask a friend to take pictures of you with a higher mp quality.

ron87 says:

Sounds like babybear293 works for HTC or If a person doesn't want a phone because of something they deem as a "dealbreaker" then so be it. People get used to a standard so if something comes out that doesnt meet THEIR standards then that doesn't mean their dumb or ignorant for not wanting to buy this phone. About you mentioning the Droids on VZW, we all know that the Droid Eris is no Droid BUT it meets someone's needs so it sells. I understand the phone from a marketing standpoint I guess. I am an Evo owner but if I was new to Sprint and had to choose a phone. This one would not be it.

babybear293 says:

LOL i wish i worked for HTC i would've gotten rid of that unnecessary D-pad. i understand but trashing it just by looking at pictures seems a bit much. judging it without seeing how it works & what it can really seems unfair to me. but everyone is different. *shrug*

tim242 says:

Not buying a phone for whatever reason is your business. The part that makes people stupid is declaring a phone a failure that lacks the feature you want...especially if it's a crappy front cam that is useless.

babybear293 says:

thank you Tim!!! that too

JaeeMorales says:

Faster Than Nexus S?

reeper55 says:

I'm sorry but I don't understand how a front facing camera could sway someone to buy or not buy a phone. To me that is about as insignificant a feature as I can imagine. It's a novelty that someone can show their friends...."look my phone can video chat". When in reality they might use it for .05% of their phone calls.

JM4G1C says:

I really hope you Sprint guys aren't teased to death like we Merge hopefuls on VZW... having said that, looks like a pretty sweet handset... first time I've considered switching carriers in a looong time.

hmmm says:

Yeah, a lot of rage over this phone going on. Most seem hung on the no FFC thing or the fact some of us don't want a big screen TV bulging out of our pockets.

My wife, my 18 year old daughter and myself all have Evos and not one of us have ever used the ffc. We may have used it once to see the pic quality and not again since (my daughter and I are running cyanogen so FCC is out the window). If that's a deal breaker for some so be it, that's their preference. For our family its just not smooth enough and pic quality is too poor.

crxssi says:

Agreed. I have not used the FCC on my Evo even once. I am not saying it isn't a nice feature to have, nor that some people wouldn't value it greatly.

The "dealbreaker" on the Shift, to me, would be the small screen.

iGreg01 says:

It has been posted by Sprint on FB...

Be one of the first to get the EVO Shift™ 4G coming Jan. 9! Head to a Sprint Store now to find out how to get on the waiting list. Check out the Shift at

Check the Evo shift out in this review from wirefly. Its ok but I wont give up my Evo 4G up for it

hmmm says:

So, that little hole is an accelerometer. Oh well. I will have to hold and try this one out before making a decision. It also looks like it is .625 inches thick according to Sprint, which is thicker than the Epic.