T-Mobile has announced that it will soon offer a highly spec'd smartphone with its 4G (HSPA+) network support in the U.S., in the form of the HTC Amaze 4G. Slated for an October 12th release, the Amaze features a 4.3-inch qHD (540x960) touchscreen, along with an 8-megapixel camera equipped with several features tailored for fans of smartphone photography.
Running Android 2.3.4, the Amaze 4G comes as the first NFC-enabled unit from HTC. It also offers T-Mobile's 4G (HSPA+) network access with "theoretical peak download speeds of 42 Mbps" (average speed might be around 8Mbps though, according to T-Mobile).
The Amaze 4G is described by T-Mobile as a "camera phone," as its camera comes with a dual LED flash, zero shutter lag, backside illuminated sensor (for low light images), dedicated camera button, as well as Full HD (1080p) video recording capability. There's also a 2-megapixel front-facing camera. Other functions of the rear camera include:
- SmartShot - takes five photos and compiles them to create one "perfect" image
- BurstShot - takes five images with one click
- SweepShot panorama - for panoramic imaging
- ClearShot HDR - a feature utilized in mixed or direct light
- Perfect Pics - a feature that groups photos after analyzing and scoring them
Billed as T-Mobile's fastest smartphone, the Amaze 4G is powered by a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 CPU and 1GB of RAM. There's also 16GB of internal storage, expandable via a micro SD card slot.
The HTC Amaze 4G will be available in the U.S. starting from October 12th, while pre-orders will begin October 10th. The device will cost US$259.99 (US$50 mail-in rebate card required) with a two-year contract.
