Good news for Sprint customers looking to buy an EVO 4G LTE. According to a note posted by HTC on its investor website, some EVO 4G LTE handsets were reviewed by customs officials and given the green light to pass into the country. These handsets will make their way to Sprint customers who pre-ordered the device and didn’t receive it on the expected launch date of May 18.
Starting last week, the EVO 4G LTE and the HTC One X were held up by custom officials who inspected the handsets to see if they infringe on an Apple patent. Last year, the ITC banned HTC”s Android phones that violate an Apple patent covering the action of tapping on a phone number in an email and launching the dialer app. This ban went into effect on April 19, and both the EVO 4G LTE and One X were the first two phones subject to inspection by customs officials.
HTC said it was working with customs and hoped to obtain approval for its handsets very soon. It appears that, at least for the EVO 4G LTE, the process went as smooth as planned. The handsets are now expected to arrive on May 24th, and customers can track the progress of their order on Sprint’s website.