Sprint, despite being country's third largest network carrier, is not considered seriously when it comes to 4G LTE network. The company has so far failed to release a true 4G LTE smartphone. But the company is now planning to turn heads by bringing HTC Evo 4G LTE to its portfolio.

HTC Evo 4G was introduced by Sprint on Wednesday. The phone features 4.7-inch HD display. It will have dual-core 1.5 GHz processor with 1GB of RAM. With HTC ImageSense technology, Evo 4G LTE will pack a superior camera. There will be 8-megapixel rear camera in the device that will capture excellent images even in low light conditions. There is also a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera in the device.

Thanks to Beats Audio, Evo 4G LTE will give superior multimedia experience. Evo 4G LTE will be powered by 2000 mAh battery, which will deliver nice number of hours of talk time to the device.

Pre-orders of HTC Evo 4G LTE will begin from April 7. The device will be released sometime in Q2 2012. It carries a price tag of $199 with a 2-year contract.

Sprint has invested $7 million in upgrading its network to 4G LTE. After updating, Internet data speeds will increase by 10 times on older networks. Sprint is planning to release 4G LTE in mid-2012 and the new network will cover the whole of U.S. by the end of year 2013.

Besides offering better service, Sprint is also going to be the first U.S. carrier to bring HD voice into the country, thanks to HTC Evo 4G LTE. HD Voice is based on EVRC-NW system, which is a next level encoder giving high quality voice call experience. HD voice calls are clearer and natural as it removes background noises more efficiently. Verizon was the first U.S. wireless carrier to talk about HD Voice, but the company is now busy with updating its network with VoLTE (Voice over LTE).

Evo brand was released two years back by HTC and the Taiwanese company has sold more than 7 million smartphones by the date. Sprint is aiming to add some million to the current figures by its Evo 4G LTE.

(reported by Johnny Wills, edited by Surojit Chatterjee)