HTC EVO View 4G vs ZTE Optik: 7-Inch Sprint Tablet War

If you're a Sprint customer and you're torn between the HTC Evo View 4G and the ZTE Optik, here's what you need to know.

We generally don't recommend data plans for tablets, but some people do find them necessary, and because Sprint offers both of these tablets on their network, you get them at a subsidized price. Their on-contract prices stand out because the Optik is $100 with a new two-year contract compared with the $250 for the View 4G. One of the main reasons for that is the inclusion of 4G on the View. Sprint's WiMax network is not as widely available as the 3G network, but the Optik is not 4G-enabled anyway.

If you do live in a 4G area, that would be one reason to grab the View. But, we recommend considering these two devices at their unsubsidized price. That would be $350 for the Optik and $400 for the View (around $340 on Amazon). Now it's easier to see their true cost and to compare them to other seven-inch tablets like the Acer Iconia Tab A100 and BlackBerry PlayBook. Both of those devices are just as compelling as the Sprint models, and they cost less.

If you're still thinking committing to another data plan with Sprint, here's how the Optik and View 4G stack up. Optik comes with a 7-inch WXGA display capable of 1280x800 resolution, Android 3.2 operating system, dual cameras, full gigabyte of memory, 16 gigabytes of storage and microSD card for expandable storage. For the View, it's packing a 7-inch LCD panel with 1024x600 resolution, Android 3.2, dual cameras, 32 gigabytes of storage and works with a sold-separately stylus called the Magic Pen ($80).

HTC makes a solid device, but if you're going with the on-contract price, we recommend the Optik at $100. It doesn't have the 4G, but the bump in speed won't be missed. It might even get the Android 4.0 update by the end of the year where the View 4G may get left out.

Tell us in the comments if you're a Sprint customere in a WiMax area and what speeds your seeing with your mobile device.