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EVO LTE Pre-Order under way with ship dates as soon as May 15th


S4GRU

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by Robert Herron
Sprint 4G Rollout Updates
Monday, May 7, 2012 - 10:14 AM MDT

 

 

Good news, everyone! As most of you already know, the HTC EVO 4G LTE pre-order is under way. And you can reserve yours by following this link to the Sprint Pre-Order page. I ordered one for my wife. This is a quality phone, no doubt. And the legions of fans are lining up for their shot at one of the first units. The iconic EVO name will be living on with a superior device worthy of its heritage.

 

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Screenshot of my order showing shipping starts May 15th.

 

S4GRU is ecstatic that the device is coming out so soon, even after our recent report that the device was scheduled to launch as late as June 10th, according to documents we were shown from a source in Sprint's Product Development divison. This morning, the same source contacted me and asked for S4GRU to release screen shots of the actual documents where our reporting came from.

This is an unprecedented move, as we have only one other time received a request from a source to show documents. We typically do not release source documents to protect our sources. The source does not believe the documents that we are disclosing here represent a security risk to him.

 

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Screenshot of a Sprint lab document showing the EVO LTE with a launch date of June 10th.

 

 

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In this screenshot you can see the LTE Connectivity issue that was suspected to cause delay of the EVO LTE. It is in the upper right hand corner section.

 

In these documents you can see the foundation from our reporting about the June 10th launch date and the information about LTE Connectivity issues in the lab, which could have been a source of delay. These are just two pages in a 100+ page Lab Report. S4GRU has seen several of these lab reports since February, each one building more and more on the last one.

To me it seems when you marry the May 15th shipping dates of pre-orders with the source documents listed above, they may not be in conflict. Just differences in snap shots in time. It seems to be that Sprint has decided to proceed with distributing the EVO LTE before the LTE connectivity issues are solved. They probably will be correcting the issue via an OTA (Over-the-Air) Update. Notice that the EVO LTE timeline is marked in yellow, meaning "Risk with Mitigation." Could the mitigation employed be a future OTA?

If this is the case, this seems to be a smarter solution than to delay the shipment of the EVO LTE. After all, if the only issue with the device is maintaining a connection to LTE signals. And if that can be corrected with a software update, why not push them out now? 99% of their customers are not located within coverage of On-Air LTE sites at the moment. And Sprint is blocking access to LTE now at any rate, as we have reported. In fact, it may be the very reason why Sprint is blocking access to the LTE network.

I asked all of this speculation with the source, and he said he only knows what he sees in reports (which is all we know, too). And the last report he has seen says the LTE connectivity issue will be resolved with a software fix. But he is unsure how and when it will be implemented. But he is skeptical that the fix is already in the devices scheduled to be shipped next week based how he just learned that a fix was discovered the end of last week.

When you consider the importance of the new generation EVO and how it is supposed to help retain millions of old generation EVO customers that will start coming off contract June 4th, it seems like a Sprint decision to roll with the new EVO LTE immediately with possible LTE connectivity issues is a no brainer. It will be interesting to see if there is a EVO LTE OTA that comes out around the same time as the LTE network goes live. You may even be prompted with an OTA at activation. That would be very timely.

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Thanks for posting this, I think it goes a long way in maintaining your credibility to those out there that may have doubts about you and this site.

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Hmmm... I wonder what that second MSM8960 (Snapdragon S4) device is? Maybe the Galaxy S3 since the U.S. LTE version was rumored to use this same CPU? I hope they won't wait until September to launch that as suggested in the schedule.

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Hmmm... I wonder what that second MSM8960 (Snapdragon S4) device is? Maybe the Galaxy S3 since the U.S. LTE version was rumored to use this same CPU? I hope they won't wait until September to launch that as suggested in the schedule.

 

It could be the GS3. It could be the new Photon LTE. Some even think it could be a Windows Phone Apollo device. This screen shot is a freebie. I almost edited out that device. But just wanted to throw it out there in good faith to our loyal fans.

 

Robert

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It could be the GS3. It could be the new Photon LTE. Some even think it could be a Windows Phone Apollo device. This screen shot is a freebie. I almost edited out that device. But just wanted to throw it out there in good faith to our loyal fans.Robert

 

Thanks for including it -- the mystery makes things more exciting :)

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Why is the Tri-mode hotspot listed as in jeopardy?

 

When looking at the same report, it says that lab start was delayed due not receiving firmware profiles from OEM in time. Also, there are delays in being able to test Static IP profiles, which would be critical for the customers Sprint will be targeting for this type of device. So the May 18th launch date of the Tri-Network Hot Spot may be delayed.

 

Robert

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My order status had the May 15th message this morning, but I now see the following:

 

Your order or a portion of your order is in backorder status. If you would like to select an alternate product or cancel your backordered item, please call 866-789-8292 between 8:00 a.m. EST to 11:00 p.m. EST Monday to Friday or 9:00 a.m. EST to 9:00 p.m. EST on Saturdays and Sundays.Please note that cancellation requests may not always process successfully due to the speed of warehouse processing.If you cancelled your backordered item but still received a shipment, please refuse the shipment or call us to process a return within 14 days of receipt.

 

Is it possible that the May 15th message was programmed in before these problems cropped up, and that they've replaced it with the backorder message? Or did my order get in too late and the first round of phones are already spoken for (I ordered within 20 minutes of the phone being available)?

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My order status had the May 15th message this morning, but I now see the following:Is it possible that the May 15th message was programmed in before these problems cropped up, and that they've replaced it with the backorder message? Or did my order get in too late and the first round of phones are already spoken for (I ordered within 20 minutes of the phone being available)?

 

Mine has also changed to the same quote. I ordered mine right in the first minute the site accepted pre-ordering. So if I was too late, how many did they have??? I have to think it is an automation issue with their system. I cannot imagine I was too late.

 

Robert

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I am very curious what the 5/7 device is that hit the labs today. I hope its either the GS3 or the Photon 4G LTE phones.

 

Sprint should wait until Apollo comes out to release a Windows Phone since it will have better specs. There is no point for Sprint to make windows phone devices currently which are so cookie cutter since the Mango software is so limited still. It doesn't support multicore processors, any other processors besides Snapdragon, no resolution other than 800x480, etc.

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Mine has also changed to the same quote. I ordered mine right in the first minute the site accepted pre-ordering. So if I was too late, how many did they have??? I have to think it is an automation issue with their system. I cannot imagine I was too late.Robert

 

Yeah mine came out the same way too now in the email that I got. 20 min after the preordering started.

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my says the same thing. but i did just call and the rep told me that the phone will launch on the 13th she put me on hold and reconfirmed it. but we will see.

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When looking at the same report, it says that lab start was delayed due not receiving firmware profiles from OEM in time. Also, there are delays in being able to test Static IP profiles, which would be critical for the customers Sprint will be targeting for this type of device. So the May 18th launch date of the Tri-Network Hot Spot may be delayed.Robert

 

 

Ah, understandable. Thanks.

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so i just ordered mine, this is what mine says..

 

 

Product ID
Description
Qty.
Order Date
Tracking #
APX325CKT HTC EVO 4G LTE 1 2012-05-07
Status:
Your order is awaiting processing at the warehouse. Please allow 2-5 business days for delivery. If you have questions, please call

866-789-8292

between 8:00 a.m. EST to 11:00 p.m. EST Monday to Friday or 9:00 a.m. EST to 9:00 p.m. EST on Saturdays and Sundays.

 

EDIT: now changed to backorder...

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E-chat told me that the May 15th message was a system error, and that the backordered message is a general message for the preorders. They also said that I should check back in 24 hours for an update.

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Don't worry if your status is listed as backordered.

 

I pre-ordered the One X on AT&T day one. I did mine in-store, my status always showed as in-progress. Everyone who ordered online had theirs listed as backordered, but everyone who pre-ordered had their phones shipped on Wednesday the 2nd.

 

There was a shipping error with mine and dealing with AT&T customer (dis)service was one of the worst experiences I've ever had. I cancelled my plans to move over to them and just decided to wait for LTE on Sprint. I've been on the phone with Sprint a couple times today to update my service address and verify my pre-order and both times were excellent. AT&T isn't even remotely in the same galaxy as Sprint regarding customer service. I have no idea why AT&T was awarded a customer satisfaction award last year.

 

Anyway, being in Austin and going by information on this site, doesn't look like I'll have to wait too long for LTE. I've definitely noticed 3G service has improved so that should mitigate the wait.

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My initial message was that it was on backorder. It has now switched to this:

 

Status: Thanks for pre-ordering a shiny new HTC EVO 4G LTE, an email will be sent the second it ships. The launch date for this handset will be announced in the next few days, thank you for your patience. Delivery should occur within 1 to 3 business days thereafter. You may continue to track the status of your order on this web page. If you have questions, check out...

 

I'm feeling a bit better now...

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My initial message was that it was on backorder. It has now switched to this:Status: Thanks for pre-ordering a shiny new HTC EVO 4G LTE, an email will be sent the second it ships. The launch date for this handset will be announced in the next few days, thank you for your patience. Delivery should occur within 1 to 3 business days thereafter. You may continue to track the status of your order on this web page. If you have questions, check out...I'm feeling a bit better now...

 

Mine has change to the same verbiage as yours now. Thanks for the update.

 

Robert

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Anyone know why the final version of the EVO 4G LTE was changed to exclude the Beats Audio logo and the Sprint logo was moved from the top to the bottom of the back panel? I was looking at a video that showed different versions, I suppose design prototypes including what appeared to be a dual camera 3D version, one with an all matte back panel instead of the shiny top and matte bottom. Just curious, does Sprint have to pay to include or maybe exclude the Beats branding on the exterior of the handset? I would assume HTC would prefer the Beats logo be on the device.

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Anyone notice this diagram was made back on 4/11? The Galaxy S III was just probably exiting beta! I bet that mystery device is something like the new Photon or maybe a Windows Phone 8 Device

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Anyone notice this diagram was made back on 4/11? The Galaxy S III was just probably exiting beta! I bet that mystery device is something like the new Photon or maybe a Windows Phone 8 Device

 

That mystery device has been on there several months. This is something Sprint has planned with the OEM a long time in advance.

 

Robert

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Well I just left the Sprint store....the rep I spoke with was sceptical about the May 18th date.

 

He said that they had received nothing on the EVO Lte....no training, no floor schematic (for displays), no cut sheet, no test phone, no launch date...nothing.

 

He went on to state that they typically that sort of stuff would arrive about a month before launch.

 

So I dunno what to think...

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