Samsung Epic 4G Available From Sprint August 31Samsung Epic 4G Available From Sprint August 31

Samsung Epic 4G

Sprint says it will start selling the Samsung Epic 4G, the carrier's second WiMax smartphone, on Aug. 31.

Sprint announced Thursday that the phone would be available in all of the company's retail channels, including Sprint retail and online stores and partners Radio Shack, Best Buy and Wal-Mart. The Epic 4G will cost $250 with a two-year service agreement and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

Starting Friday, people can reserve an Epic 4G online. However, customers must complete the purchase no later than Sept. 1 by picking up the device at a Sprint Store.

The Epic 4 is a variant of Samsung's Galaxy S handset. Other variants include AT&T's Captivate, T-Mobile's Vibrant, and Verizon Wireless' Fascinate. U.S. Cellular is sticking with the Galaxy S name for its phone.

All the variants include Samsung's 1GHz A8 Cortex Hummingbird processor, the Android 2.1 operating system with TouchWiz 3.0, a 5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video capture, 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, and Swype software for the on-screen soft QWERTY keyboard. The variants also ship with Bluetooth 3.0, which offers high-speed data transfers between devices, and include Samsung's four-inch Super AMOLED display, which experts says is among the brightest and sharpest screens in the market.

Sprint's inclusion of WiMax makes the Epic unique among the variants and the second Sprint phone for the carrier's 4G network. Its other defining characteristic is a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for messaging.

The Epic will come with a user-facing VGA camera and Qik's video-sharing software, as well as Samsung's Social Hub and Media Hub for aggregating social networking and content. The device will be boxed with a 16 GB microSD card.

FURTHER READING:

-- Samsung Goes For Broke With Galaxy S Variants

-- EVO 4G Shortages Hurting Sprint's WiMax Lead