On Monday, right before Apple announced its next version of the iPhone, Sprint declared the HTC Evo 4G to be its best-selling device ever.
Sprint said the Evo was such a big hit that just first day sales of the phone were three times higher than the number of Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre devices sold over their first three days combined. Sprint never released exact sales figures. Evo hit Sprint retail stores on June 4.
Now the wireless carrier is admitting that some of those claims may be incorrect.
"We inadvertently erred in the comparison," says Sprint in a mea culpa note. "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."
It's an embarrassing gaffe for Sprint. The HTC Evo 4G, running Google's Android operating system, is one of the strongest competitors to the iPhone. The feature-packed gadget has a huge 4.3-inch touchscreen, 1-GHz Snapdragon processor, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video conferencing and a 8-megapixel camera for shooting photos and videos. It costs $200 with a two-year contract.
An analyst with equity research firm BTIG estimates Sprint sold 150,000 Evos over the first weekend, down from his earlier forecast of 250,000 to 300,000 units, says Reuters.
Sales of Evo have been plagued by shortages. Many potential customers have found that Sprint stores are out of Evo phones. Sprint has tried to spin as a sign of the phone's desirability. But BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk says its more a result of Sprint not stocking up on enough inventory to fill demand.
See Also:
- Storage Bug Hits HTC Evo 4G Phone Just Before Launch
- Wired Review: Sprint HTC EVO
- Showdown: iPhone 4 vs. HTC Evo 4G
- Wired Video: HTC Evo 4G Dissected
- HTC Evo 4G is a Blockbuster for Sprint
Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com
