Best Sprint Phones

Close behind the Samsung Epic 4G is the HTC EVO 4G, Sprint's first phone to support 4G WiMax coverage. The stylish, minimalist design of the EVO shows off the phone's plethora of multimedia features, including a 4.3-inch WVGA touchscreen, an 8-megapixel camera, and a built-in kickstand for viewing videos through the crisp YouTube HQ feature. The EVO also serves as a mobile hotspot that allows you to connect up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices--granted that you're in an area with 4G coverage.

A killer combo of the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Curve 8900, the RIM BlackBerry Tour 9630 gives Sprint users a refreshing CDMA BlackBerry device. The phone's chrome-and-black body houses a bright 2.4-inch display, a well-designed keyboard, and the familiar BlackBerry navigation buttons and trackball. Although the phone lacks Wi-Fi and has a lackluster 3.2-megapixel camera, the Tour 9630 is a great choice for BlackBerry loyalists until RIM boosts its smartphone lineup.

If you're selecting your first Android phone, consider the Samsung Transform. The phone comes loaded with Sprint ID packs--groups of applications based on the theme of that ID. For example, the "Entertainment" ID makes Transform more media-friendly with apps such as Sprint TV and TeleNav GPS Navigator. It has a slide-out, full-QWERTY keyboard to complement the 3.5-inch capacitive touchscreen, and it runs on Android 2.1 (Éclair). Keep in mind that the Transform is a midlevel Android phone with limited speed and storage; for more power, check out other Sprint selections.

The compact RIM BlackBerry Style pays homage to the dying flip-phone design with style, sporting rounded curves, a black and chrome finish, and a textured battery cover. Its distinctive 2-inch outer display shows new messages, calls, calendar reminders, and song information when you're using the music player. The inside display is slightly larger at 2.7 inches, making this phone--which runs the new BlackBerry 6 OS--ideal for messaging and brief Web browsing. The screen is a good size for navigating around the Style's user interface, too. Consider the Style if you want a connected phone without frills.