The CTIA show in Las Vegas this year was a big hit. Many companies went all out to show off their new products to the world. One of those companies pulling out all of the stops was Sprint.

Sprint filled a small room with invited media and our team was able to be there in the front row as Dan Hesse, the CEO of Sprint announced their newest smartphone which also is a 4G device. With a flick of his wrist Mr Hesse lifted the black sheet covering the  HTC EVO. Sharing the spotlight with Mr. Hesse was the CEO of HTC Peter Chou. (both pictured above)

Sprint put a lot of time and effort into this event as they didn’t just announce the device they also let us play with it.  We also enjoyed a live demo of the HTC EVO by Senior Vice President of Product and Technology Development Kevin Packingham and the Vice President of Product and Technology Development Fared Adib. During this demonstration we were able to witness many features the HTC EVO will sport such as high quality video streaming of HD YouTube videos, pinch-to-zoom display, a 4.3 inch high resolution screen, Google Goggles, and the amazing 4G speeds.

 Just when we thought we knew everyhing this device could do Sprint announced that the  HTC EVO will also function as a Wi-Fi hotspot  allowing up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices to share the experience of  4G.

Below is the list of published specs. We were told that many surprise features will be announced just prior to launch.

-A 4.3-inch screen

- Android 2.1

-HTC Sense, the award-winning user interface that takes social networking, navigation and customization to new levels

- 1 GHz Snapdragon processor

- 1,500 mAh battery

- Wi-Fi capable

- 3G/4G mobile hotspot capability-extend the power of the Now Network

- Dual cameras including an 8.0 megapixel primary and 1.3 megapixel front-facing, opening up new frontiers for user-generated content, social networking and streaming video (speculation of video calling with the front facing camera)

- GPS Navigation (Sprint Navigation powered by TeleNav)

- Stereo Bluetooth wireless technology

- mircoSD Card slot (support 32 GB)

- 3.5 mm headset jack and micro USB

- Proximity and motion sensors

- Premium high-style design with unique kickstand for easy media viewing

-Mobile HDTV experience in your hand

-Download, view, edit and share HD-quality content from your phone

- Output pictures, slides and video in HD (HDMI output at 720p)

- Messaging- personal and business email, IM and text messaging

- Social networking integration with FaceBook, Twitter, Flickr and more

- Live video sharing with Qik

- Sprint apps including Sprint TV and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile

- Visual Voicemail

- Google mobile services including YouTube, Gmail, Google Talk, Google Voice, Google Maps and more

- Android Market with access to more than 30,000 apps

Our good friend Kenji from TeleNav joined us in the Sprint Media lounge and put together the following  video of the HTC EVO.

The HTC EVO is going to be able available for users this “summer”. Be sure to go to this link and register for more information.