HTC Evo 4G LTE shipments now delayed at Best Buy
The retailer is now alerting customers that orders for the Evo 4G LTE are being delayed indefinitely because Sprint changed the release date.
Customers who pre-ordered HTC's Evo 4G LTE through Best Buy may have to wait a while for their phone to show up.
Best Buy has starting e-mailing customers to inform them that Sprint has changed the phone's release date. But the new date is as yet unknown, according to blog site Phandroid. As a result, the carrier can't even provide an estimate as to when the new Evo may ship.
Best Buy's order page for the phone simply indicates that it's "coming soon." Likewise, Sprint's page says that it's "out of stock" and "coming soon," but offered no other details.
The news will certainly disappoint many buyers of the phone, especially since Best Buy sent out notices yesterday promising that the Evo 4G LTE would ship on May 23.
Why the delay? Blame it on the ongoing patent squabbles between HTC and Apple.
Earlier this week, HTC confirmed that its Evo 4G LTE and One X phones were being delayed by U.S. Customs agents over unresolved patent infringement problems with the iPhone maker. But HTC said it believes it's in compliance with an exclusion order from the U.S. International Trade Commission.
An HTC spokesman told CNET today that "HTC is working closely with U.S. Customs to secure approval for shipments of the HTC One X and HTC EVO 4G LTE. We have not made any announcements about a new launch date and will provide an update on availability as soon as we can do so confidently."
Updated 9:00 a.m. PT with response from HTC.