HTC EVO 4G Sets Sprint Sales Records

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Sprint HTC EVO 4G Smartphone

First-day sales of the HTC EVO 4G set a record for the most phones ever sold in one day for Sprint. Sales were higher than any previous Sprint-platform phone, including the Samsung Instinct and the Palm Pre, according to the phone carrier.

Sprint actually sold more HTC EVO 4G devices last Friday, June 4, than the number of Instinct and Pre handsets sold, combined, in their first three days on the market, the carrier reported.

"HTC EVO 4G is a clear winner for customers with the powerful combination of an amazing multimedia experience in 3G coverage areas that becomes even better in our growing number of 4G markets," said Dan Hesse, Sprint CEO, in a statement. "It is terrific to see customers react so positively to this device and the innovative experience it brings to them."

Thousands of customers were lined up for hours before Sprint stores opened on Friday, according to the company. The phones went on sale at 22,000 locations in the United States, including Sprint retail stores, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and RadioShack. In fact, Sprint reported temporary shortages of the EVO 4G at some locations, and officials said both they and HTC are "diligently working around the clock to increase inventory in all sales channels. Additional shipments are arriving in retail stores on a regular basis with many stores seeing daily deliveries."

Kevin Packingham, Sprint's senior VP of product development, said the HTC EVO 4G "has more than lived up to our expectations that it would be one of the most anticipated technology products of the year."

The EVO 4G is built on the Android 2.1 platform and includes a 4.3-inch screen, 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, dual cameras: an 8-megapixel HD video camera and a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, HDMI output jack, simultaneous voice and data capability in 4G or Wi-Fi, and a built-in mobile hotspot for up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices, according to Sprint.

The 4G service is touted to have 10 times the download speeds of 3G. Sprint currently offers the service in 33 markets: Atlanta and Milledgeville, Ga.; Honolulu and Maui, Hawaii; Boise, Idaho; Chicago; Baltimore; Kansas City, Mo.; Las Vegas; Charlotte, Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem, and Raleigh/Durham, N.C.; Portland and Salem, Ore.; Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Reading, and York, Pa.; Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Waco, and Wichita Falls, Texas; and Bellingham and Seattle, Wash.

The carrier said it expects to launch 4G service this year in several other markets, including: Boston, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.