Sprint Overstates Early EVO 4G Sales

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Sprint HTC EVO 4G Smartphone

Sprint has sold out of the new HTC EVO 4G smartphone on its Web site and there are very few devices left in the carrier's stores. Sprint's site says the new $200 phone is "so hot we can't keep it on our virtual shelves. Check back later -- more are on their way!"

Many of Sprint's retail stores are also sold out of the EVO 4G and the carrier is not taking pre-orders right now. It is not known when more shipments will arrive.

Meanwhile, Sprint has acknowledged misstating the sales numbers it reported for the HTC EVO 4G devices. Originally, the carrier reported that the total number of HTC EVO 4G devices sold on its June 4 launch day was "three times the number of Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre devices sold over their first three days on the market combined."

Sprint is now saying in a statement, "We inadvertently erred in the comparison. The total number of HTC EVO 4G devices sold on launch day was in line with the number of Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre devices sold over their first three days on the market combined."

Sprint is still claiming the company set a new record with sales of the HTC EVO 4G, but revised its estimates to sales six times greater than the Samsung Instinct, and double that of the launch of the Palm Pre. Sprint has not released sales figures for the HTC EVO 4G, however estimates range from 150,000 to 200,000 devices sold in the first week.

The HTC EVO 4G is the first smartphone available in the United States with WiMax. The high-end device has a 4.3-inch multi-touchscreen display, a slim tablet shape, and a 1-GHz Snapdragon processor.

It runs Google's Android 2.1 OS and has HTC's Sense UI with Google Search, Google Maps, Google Talk, Gmail, Google Goggles, YouTube, and Google Calendar syncing. Other features include 8 GB of removable storage, GPS, an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, video conferencing, Wi-Fi, and more. Early reviews have been mixed, with some criticism over Sprint's limited availability to provide 4G coverage.

The HTC EVO 4G is available exclusively from Sprint, and requires a two-year contract.