HTC EVO 4G LTE gets clearance to hit Sprint shelves

Though its LTE network is yet to go online, there is no stopping Sprint in making sure that its subscribers have access to 4G LTE-packing smartphones for when the said LTE network finally gets lit up. The wireless provider already started stocking up on 4G devices with the addition of its version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and the LG Viper 4G to its lineup of Android-powered smartphones. The most powerful device to be added on however to the stable of Sprint is the HTC EVO 4G LTE which was supposed to have hit the shelves of the wireless provider last May 18.

The HTC EVO 4G LTE however got held up at US Customs for inspection due to review being held by the International trade Commission wherein the devices are being checked for using an Apple patent. HTC however was on top of its game and was able to find a way to get around this by altering the firmware of the handset and taking out the infringing code. With this in play, Sprint has finally announced that the HTC EVO 4G LTE managed to clear US Customs and is expected get shipped on May 24 to those who preordered the handset. Though this may not be the May 23 rumored date that the HTC EVO 4G LTE will finally make its appearance in the shelves of the wireless provider, waiting for one more day wouldn’t really be that painful at all. With the handset getting delivered to our smartphone-crazed brethren this coming Friday, there is a big chance that the HTC EVO 4G LTE will finally make it to the shelves on Monday at the latest.

This holdup could only mean that though the HTC EVO 4G LTE may be safe at the time being, there is still a big chance that the International Trade Commission will still end up investigating and reviewing every new Android-powered Android smartphone that will be released in US shores. This could lead to further delays for upcoming HTC smartphones so wireless providers could probably just take these delays in their future launch schedules.

With that, we are leaving you with the specs sheet of the HTC EVO 4G LTE for the meantime to give you an idea of what components and capabilities the handset will be bringing to the table.

The HTC EVO 4G LTE is actually a version of the HTC One X but the Sprint version has several differences from the current HTC flagship device. The circuitry of the HTC EVO 4G LTE is built around a QualComm MSM8960 SnapDragon chipset which brings a dual-core Krait processor running at 1.5 GHz and a full gigabyte of RAM to the handset. It also has a dedicated Adreno 225 GUP to handle graphical concerns while its storage space is pegged at 16GB. Unlike the HTC One X though, the HTC EVO 4G LTE has a dedicated microSD slot for memory expansion. As for its display, the handset features a 4.7-inch Super IPS LCD2 panel with a 1280 x 720 resolution while its camera department equips the HTC EVO 4G LTE with a rear-facing 8MP shooter and a 1.3MP camera in its front panel, both with 1080p and 720p cideo recording capabilities respectively.