Wednesday, May 23, 2012

4:30PM #EVOGATE Update

8:30 PM Update: Android Central has a screenshot of a BestBuy internal memo, showing that they will be releasing the pre-orders as soon as they're in stock.: http://www.androidcentral.com/best-buy-fill-evo-4g-lte-orders-soon-may-24

4:30PM

While nothing has been announced *yet* today officially... here's a recap of what we know for sure:

  • Consumer direct pre-orders are being shipped for delivery tomorrow as we already knew (your phone is likely a few thousand feet in the air at this moment, or on the ground, depending on your location)

  • BestBuy.com began charging cards and shipping around noon today for online orders

  • We have multiple verifiable reports of 3rd parties that will be receiving stock tonight as well, but there are a couple that won't receive it until tomorrow.

  • Sprint Store pre-orders have already shipped and should have arrived today or in the AM.


With ALL of that in mind - there has still been *NOTHING* published internally as far as an official launch date. However, If I had to stake a wager - it would be that pre-orders/reservations would be able to be picked up tomorrow (Friday at the absolute latest).. but with that also being said, it's pure speculation until I hear something definitive. With the way the DWL (Device wait list) works, it's to everyone's advantage of giving a good notice of when they will be able to pick up their device - especially given there is an upcoming holiday weekend, and a ton of people have travel plans. So with all that in mind - I think the 'official' launch day will be Friday 5/25.... simply because tomorrow is super short notice.. especially given the fact that nothing has come out with anything new so far today, and it's almost time to close up shop here on campus.

So that's my prediction - 5/25 as an official launch date - but it's just that, a prediction, until I hear otherwise... and of course, as soon as I hear otherwise, you'll be the first to know!

And - my favorite tweet of the day - UPS has a GREAT attitude about all this.. think they're waiting on an EVO too?



https://twitter.com/UPSHelp/status/205407829941682176

94 comments:

  1. A million thanks and I shower you with an excess of LTE pixie dust for your communications during EVOGATE! You were a godsend, and tomorrow I'll be browsing you via a brand new HTC EVO 4G LTE. Wooo hooo!

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  2. Where can we buy you a beer?

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  3. UPS tracker says I should receive mine tomorrow. :) Huzzah!

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  4. When do you think the phone will arrive in Oregon? I am waiting patiently.. Hopefully it doesnt take until Friday.. That would suck..

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  5. Gianni I am in Washington and UPS is giving me an early delivery date by the end of business tomorrow!

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  6. Things are looking good.. Just waiting on that email from Best Buy that tells me to come pick up my pre-order phone from the store. Unfortunatly I think they are waiting for launch date publication before they say anything again.

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  7. @ Kari, Thank you so much! That just made my day!! I really appreciate the note! This phone is going to be awesome! Finally, a Android phone with fantastic battery life.

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  8. I wish Amazon would change their date from July 5th! It is depressing seeing it!

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  9. You will be toasted to by many this weekend, neo! I know I shall raise my beer in your honor and snap a picture. Heck, I'll video it and instantly upload to YouTube and also post to one of the many Android forum hangouts that have also been hanging on your every word for the past 10 days or so! YOU ARE AWESOME!

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  10. If you haven't gotten at tracking number you can go to the UPS website and put your sprint account number in the Track By Reference box and it will give you your tracking number. That should give you the info you need! and Kudos from switching to Android from Apple!

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  11. I was at a Sprint Store yesterday afternoon.
    The store manager came out of the back office, pulled all employees together in a huddle, and told them quietly that the EVO LTE would be in the store for sale on Friday 05/25. I was the only customer in the store at the time, so they weren't trying to be very discrete.

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  12. I really hope i can pick it up from best buy on friday. Im rolling around with a old Blackberry 8330 Curve & have been eligible for an upgarde since last October. Never was interested in the 3d & had been waiting on this for a long time. My blackberry is dying such a slow death im not sure if i can make a call with it when i need to, i need my new evo!

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  13. +1 This site is ridiculously amazing! I will donate!

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  14. I ordered it at the store! So im not sure if I have a tracking number.

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  15. Hoping I can pick up my EVO at Best Buy tonight or tomorrow! I cancelled my Sprint pre-order before this all went down so that I could pre-order at a local Best Buy (I'm traveling for work). I get on a plane tomorrow at 3PM and if I don't have the EVO before then, my pre-order is good for nothing! They said they can't transfer it to a Best Buy in my home town, so I'm kinda screwed if I don't get a call tonight or tomorrow morning.

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  16. Good luck Nick! Tell us tomorrow, how that all played out! haha

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  17. LOL Thanks Gianni - besides all of the great tips & news, this blog is great for bringing people together to VENT and COMPLAIN about this whole situation! #firstworldproblems We all know that it's only a phone but still!

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  18. I have a feeling we're gonna be waiting a long time thanks to Sprint's incompetence.

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  19. So basically another day of no news, and complete silence on Sprint's part (both externally and internally).

    Couldn't be more disappointed with this launch as I am right now.

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  20. This phone is so sick! I wet my bed every night, just thinking about it being in my hands. With my beat head phones and beat audio, ill have eargasms alll day long! I currently, have an Iphone 4S 64GB White.. Im sick of the Iphone for real now... Ive had it ever since the first iphone!

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  21. There is absolutely no way Best Buy is going to have any info for you by 3pm tomorrow. Sorry, I wish it was different.

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  22. This phone is so sick! I wet my bed every night, just thinking about it being in my hands. With my beat head phones and beat audio, ill have eargasms alll day long! I currently, have an Iphone 4S 64GB White.. Im sick of the Iphone for real now… Ive had it ever since the first iphone!

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  23. Cases and Zagg Shield starting to show up on Best Buy website so hopefully that's a sign for something soon.

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  24. Hmmm. I got my UPS tracking number about an hour ago. Patience.....Patience

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  25. Just talked to Best Buy online folks (customer reps) and they said that my pre-order is still marked as "backordered".

    I should've ordered IN STORE and not on the damn Best buy website, i didnt know that unlike SPRINT (Where they ship the device BEFORE the release date), Best Buy ships it ON the release day.. therefore i have to wait 2 - 3 extra days to get it.

    This blows Best Buy!!!!

    Oh and also found out that i cant get my $50 Gift Card because i'm not activating it in store..

    seriously last time i'm doing business with best buy.com

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  26. As I posted before, Friday the 25th makes the most sense, given that the previous retail release was set for Friday. Strange that the original official launch day was set for only 5 days ago, it seems like so much longer! So it's really only a week late, which doesn't seem like much when you think about it.

    I'm still confused about pre-orders with 3rd party online retailers though. Do they have to wait until the official launch date before they can start shipping? Or can they start shipping as soon as they get the stock in? Wirefly sent an email saying phones usually only spend "1 hour" in their facility from the time they get them to the time they ship them. I'm hoping that's true.

    They also said in a chat with a customer that they get their stock shipped directly from HTC, and get them the same time as Sprint. So are the Sprint phones that are already shipped being shipped directly from HTC rather than going to Sprint first?

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  27. Mine is in San Antonio right now. Gonna have it in my hand this time tomorrow. I'm like a kid on Christmas eve.

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  28. Im jealous... I wish i could get mine tomorrow, I probably wont be able to get it until Friday.

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  29. Nothing ever goes TO Sprint unless it's going to a Sprint store, Sprint online orders are handled entirely by a UPS distribution center (sub contracted by Sprint) who ships directly to customers. My guess is in the case of Wirefly they get them from the same distribution hub then re-ship to costumers. There was a post in this blog about how Sprint orders are handled, should check it out.

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  30. Did I already mention that Amazons July 5th date is bugging me?! I do not believe that date of course but would like some damn news!

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  31. This whole thing was handled improperly by ALL parties involved. Updates from anyone except this blog has been a joke. I pre-oredered my phone at a local Best Buy as well and was supposed to be able to get it on the original release date if things had gone as planned. Now there is has been nothing from Best Buy other then the "mistake" email. When I called for more information was told might not be until end of June as I put in a post yesterday. How did I go from getting phone on release date to possibly waiting over another month? If all the phones got released, shouldn't they be where they were scheduled to go? Way to drop the ball Sprint, Best Buy, and HTC!!!!

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  32. Best Buy is a jokeMay 23, 2012 at 11:40 AM

    I am hopeful that we get something from BBY tonight. Such a joke. I went into the store to explain that I see people who bought directly from Sprint are getting shipping emails. The clown at the store told me that is just internet pranks. I explained that I dont think so and that I cant believe that its all over the net except for hearing anything from the store or via email. Not one update. Best Buy has lost any future business from me. No wonder they are having problems. Only thing they have over the internet is a store and even then their only asset of a store is completely a waste of time.

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  33. I'm glad EVOGATE went down because I never would have known of this site. Always find the good in the bad!!!! Thanks for all the hard work and keep it up!!! BTW..... set for early delivery tomorrow and the UPS truck usually drives down the block around 11AM.

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  34. In store no better...check my post a few below here. No info from them either...customer service sucks!!

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  35. How do you know this? I am in San Antonio also and preordered day one, hour 1 at the NW Loop 410 location. Can you confirm this?

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  36. LOL I am on the website :) To all the Evo people out there... great job with all the updates. Tomorrow we will all be looking at a HD screen reading this website :)

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  37. http://www.androidcentral.com/best-buy-fill-evo-4g-lte-orders-soon-may-24

    Please be real :) And see as i thought we are counted as preorders!

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  38. androidcentral.com/best-buy-fill-evo-4g-lte-orders-soon-may-24

    Stupid moderation..

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  39. Thanks, I was confused by Wirefly saying they get the phones "the same time" as Sprint, directly from HTC. I guess that's true, but it makes it sound like the phones are in their possession at the same time as Sprint has theirs. Obviously, they have an extra step in the delivery process.

    It's still unclear to me as to when the 3rd party online retailers will be able to ship the phone. Since I last posted, I had a chat with Wirefly. They couldn't say exactly when the EVOs would ship, but that they would be shipped "once we have the phone model available in our stock." That along with other info I've found sounds to me like they can start shipping the minute they get them, and not have to wait for an official release date from Sprint, but that's still me speculating.

    If it's real, that leaked memo posted below by random882 would seem to help corroborate my theory. Though it's for Best Buy, it would make sense if all pre-orders would be allowed to be shipped as soon as stock is available.

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  40. Looks real, though I have no way of knowing. Like I posted above, it gives hope that other pre-orders wouldn't have to wait for Sprint's "official" launch date. Maybe Sprint's holding off to make sure the pre-orders are covered before officially launching in stores.

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  41. I know, right? I was all ready to wait an extra couple of days in order to save $75 bucks. But sheesh ...

    Now I did write to customer service to inquire. Got the same old yadda yadda the only date they have is July 5, but they did upgrade my orders to one-day shipping. Oh yay.

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  42. UPS has an arrival scan at 4:45 pm.

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  43. [...] us that Sprint and BestBuy will cover all pre-orders made for the EVO 4G LTE by the end of the day. InsideSprintNow has been tipped about Sprint pre-orders, while the guys at AndroidCentral managed to get their [...]

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  44. [...] m&#1072&#1281&#1077 f&#959r th&#1077 EVO 4G LTE b&#1091 th&#1077 &#1077n&#1281 &#959f th&#1077 day. InsideSprintNow h&#1072&#1109 b&#1077&#1077n tipped &#1072b&#959&#965t Sprint pre-orders, wh&#1110&#406&#1077 [...]

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  45. [...] us that Sprint and BestBuy will cover all pre-orders made for the EVO 4G LTE by the end of the day. InsideSprintNow has been tipped about Sprint pre-orders, while the guys at AndroidCentral managed to get their [...]

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  46. [...] us that Sprint and BestBuy will cover all pre-orders made for the EVO 4G LTE by the end of the day. InsideSprintNow has been tipped about Sprint pre-orders, while the guys at AndroidCentral managed to get their [...]

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  47. My latest order tracking status is "out for delivery " which means it's in UPS truck on its way to my house. WOOHOO!

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  48. [...] us that Sprint and BestBuy will cover all pre-orders made for the EVO 4G LTE by the end of the day. InsideSprintNow has been tipped about Sprint pre-orders, while the guys at AndroidCentral managed to get their [...]

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  49. [...] us that Sprint and BestBuy will cover all pre-orders made for the EVO 4G LTE by the end of the day. InsideSprintNow has been tipped about Sprint pre-orders, while the guys at AndroidCentral managed to get their [...]

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  50. Same here. In the truck and on the way to my door step! Finally!!! My current phone sucks...need my EVO, thanks Neo...hey that rhymes!

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  51. called amazon "the delivery is on the way to their fulfillment center and they hope to start delivery as soon as they receive it. Hopefully in the next week!!!! I told him that best buy started shipping yesterday and I am shocked they are behind them, he said they are probably about the same as best buy and I repeated that best buy had started shipping to its pre order people yesterday. All he could do was tell me that they will ship them as soon as they reach the fulfillment center! He was very nice which doesn't help me at all :-) said that July 5th would not happen which I already knew! If anyone else talks to them please post, this is making me crazy!

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  52. so basically they've told their reps about as much as they've told their customers :) sounds like another company i know :P...... hang tight, i think your answer is hours away

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  53. Just spoke to my Best Buy where I preordered. They gave me the canned response of we have no idea when we will get them. When I pressed them and said it was all over the internet that they would get their shipments today or tomorrow at the latest, they caved and said that they were being drop shipped by UPS and weren't sure if it would be today or tomorrow. They would be notifying us when they arrived so we can come pick them up.

    Only reason I preordered with Best Buy was that with the gift cards and my trade in of my Epic, it came to $25 purchase. I would have bought through Sprint but couldn't pass up the deal with Best Buy.

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  54. thank you! If it weren't for you I would know nothing at all!

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  55. Mine was delivered at 11:30. Let the fun begin.

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  56. Just got a call from my Best Buy store and my phone is here!! Hopefully i dont get a speeding ticket on the way there!

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  57. Just stopped at bestbuy. They said they have the phones in stock but could not sell them yet. Gave an excuse about the system could not close out the pre-order yet. I hope that they release them soon.

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  58. Just got the call from Best Buy to come in and pick up my new phone! YEAH!!!

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  59. [...] EVO 4G LTE by the end of the day. InsideSprintNow has been tipped about Sprint pre-orders, [...]

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  60. UPS just left after dropping off my evo!!

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  61. Wow... Im so fricken pissed off... I reserved my HTC Evo at the Sprint store, I call and the worker tells me that only people who reserved it through Sprint.com are the ones who get it first. So that means i probably wont get mine until next week.... I cant believe this... Ive been waiting like a horny dog, for my phone since last Friday.. Every day i waited for it..

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  62. Radio shack will have my preorder tomorrow morning. Confirmed by manager today. Just a tidbit of insider shack info. They get a few extra phones to sell on top of their preorders, the shack auto orders 2-4 extra phones for every preorder.

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  63. This is what Sprint told me.

    Thank you for contacting Sprint regarding the HTC EVO 4G Pre-Order.

    The Pre-Order through third party companies are also considered as Pre-Order. Our warehouse is processing pre-orders and delivery is expected by 5/24. We will provide details on the full national launch as soon as possible. To access the latest news and device information, visit our Sprint Community page where we’ll be providing regular updates. Keep watching your news and headlines for information.

    We value your business and appreciate the opportunity to answer your questions. Please reply to this email or visit sprint.com if we can be of assistance.

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  64. I agree with a lot of the above comments. I think the only thing keeping this phone afloat at this point is the fact that the Samsung Galaxy SIII hasnt reached the Verizon stores yet. If they did I think droves of people would be canceling there Sprint accounts. I know I would be!

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  65. I pre-Orderd mine about noon on the first day via sprint.com . I just got an e-mail stating my order was cancelled. Then another e-mail stating my order is replaced with a new Sprint order number. Any idea why? I see people are starting to get thier phones. Patiently waiting! FYI moving from HTC Hero, can't wait for the speed and power!

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  66. Agreed with those who are just stumbling into this site. this is a gold mine and I am pissed and happy that EVOGATE happened. I canceled my sprint preorder to take advantage of the BB deal and hope (I can only hope) that I get my phone today or tomorrow (hopefully today). I have a HTC Touch Pro 2 and that shyt is on it's last leg even with my mods...time for an upgrade BADLY.

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  67. Thanks, that helps clarify things a bit more. Although they say their warehouse is processing pre-orders, but I don't think that's the case for all 3rd party orders. I thought some 3rd parties got their stock straight from HTC. Unless Sprint's UPS center actually handles the all the stock to be shipped to retailers.

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  68. Well I dont know how true that last bullet point is..No Sprint Corporate store has gotten their shipments in the central Florida area...i called personally,i drive all day and had the time so i did it lol

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  69. Agreed with Brian. Just called the Sprint store I pre-ordered with - they haven't received any. And I'm going on vacation tomorrow. Ugh.

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  70. Called the BB in Milwaukee, they have the EVOs in....headed to get mine RIGHT NOW

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  71. Same, I preordered through the Sprint store near me, and they're clueless as to when they'll get theirs, but Best Buy has theirs in already. This makes no sense.

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  72. Somehow, Best Buy has their preorder Evos in, but the Sprint store still has no idea when they'll have theirs in. This makes no sense at all, and I'll never be preordering anything through the Sprint store ever again.

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  73. I got mine and it does not disappoint!!!

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  74. Well I kept waiting for mine which was preordered back on the 7th. And today I checked with Sprint and they tell me the order got canceled and they created a new one and now they tell me I did not lose my preorder placement but I will have to wait some more now. I was able to get a tracking number using the track by reference number and I saw where UPS delivered it to Lexington, KY and when I called UPS they told me that they were instructed to deliver it to the Sprint warehouse. So now I wait.

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  75. I too ordered two phones from my local store several weeks ago. What a mistake. I will never give them business again. They never ordered anything for me, just took my money and are waiting for the launch to get to me.

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  76. Tell me about it..Why are we the red headed step child in this situation?I thought for sure we would have our Phones going to a Corporate store of all places..Just seems like Sprint saving face with 3rd party stores(just Best Buy at the moment).Its not fair and it really sucks.I pre ordered on May 7th in store and expected more from Sprint...If it was the same for everyone fine,but to cut us who ordered in YOUR store out is messed up.

    Just give me a damn date and let me decide if its worth waiting.Because what im hearing is July and if that is the case I will just wait to see what the SGS3 is all about.Or maybe just go to another provider.

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  77. So I mozied over to BB and lo there sat an EVO with my name on it. They so kindly let me take it home.

    I am in Dallas, I've got a sprint tower not too far from me that has WiMAX on it. The EVO is defaulted to LTE/CDMA. And LO I've got ACTIVE LTE signal. Speedtest says 22+ mbps, wow....

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  78. Got my pre-ordered EVO at Best Buy in Davenport Iowa about two hours ago...Nobody knew they were coming apparently. Was the second person to pick it up. Thanks to this site I was prepared and ready!!! Thanks for all the information and keeping us up to date so quickly!! So many bells and whistles, going to spend most of the weekend trying to figure it out I bet. Good luck to the rest of you.

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  79. Yeah, and I was dumb enough to get a Sprint gift card, so I've got over $190 tied up that I won't be able to do anything else with.

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  80. I know this is redundant but I called Amazon again and again they have no idea what is going on!!!!!! No idea when they might be getting phones or shipping them! This is ridiculous! They can't even give us information!

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  81. Same here, no info! I'm so mad right now.

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  82. I am too!! Tonight is the first time I have actually been angry about their lack of information. The girl supposedly even spoke to a supervisor who had no idea when they might be getting them.

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  83. Amazon not having info all stems from Sprint not giving the info..Its getting very obvious now that they do not have the supply to match the demand...Hence,we're F*****

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  84. Exactly!

    That is what I plan on doing. IMO, Sprint has really F@*&'ed up...again, and as a paying customer who can carry his current phone # to any provider he chooses as far as I am concerned, I am giving Sprint till the point the Samsung GSIII comes out to correct this situation.

    I dont get it, every high end phone Sprint comes out with they always f@#k up the launch. And to try and keep us in the dark especially now in the internet age of things is back firing on them Big Time and they fail to see it, dumb.

    I dont think Im asking for much. you promise a product, you hype it up, get the demand going, just make sure you deliver. If there is a problem, a snarl, keep us updated with the truth, dont lie to me. Lie to me and your finished doing business with me. 99.9% sure I am done at this point with Sprint. I would be 100% if I could go down to Verizon right now and get the GSIII but its not out quite yet. I think that is what is saving Sprint right now.

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  85. I am beyond glad that I dropped amazon and switched to bestbuy.

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  86. For those of you who were able to pickup your phone from the best buy store, did you preorder through the store or through the website? I preordered it online and the status now says order in process of being filled.

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  87. Want to know what is make me feel shorted; that ISN is tweeting but dont post that info on the site. It sounds like ISN is discussing the lack of info of stores inventory. I love this site & S4GRU.com

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  88. If mine doesn't come tomorrow, i am going to be so fucking pist..... Ill try buying it from Radio Shack or any where else, as long as i can get my hands on the damn phone.. I called Radio Shack,Best Buy and Best Buy Mobile and they all received it today! Radio shack is even getting a couple extra apparently!!!

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  89. SOOOOOO i called bestbuy and they said they had the EVOs in and since i pre-ordered (on May 19th) I could come in and pick up my phone. Once I get there they pull out the an EVO (packaged in its earth friendly package) and the process began. Well halfway through the process they cannot release the phone from the system. They then offer to return my pre-order and sale me the phone as a walk-in upgrade...but I say 1. Will i still get my $50 Best Buy Credit and 2. I thought you can't sale EVOs to non-preordered orders. They look at me in shock and aww (kinda), and the manager goes to the back. Come to find out this particular BB only received 9 phones and these new phones were "pre-allocated" to the first 9 preorder purchases....BASICALLY they are releasing the EVOs on a First In First Out (FIFO) methodology. Then they tell me that i was number 10 or 11 on the list....so if they would have received one more EVO, I would have been one of the happy people. BUT instead they tell me they have no clue when they will get anymore EVOs in.

    So not only do i have to continue waiting for my phone, I am "supposedly" next in line (which I highly doubt), I have no clue when BB when get a new shipment (hopefully tomorrow), but I still effing have to use my HTC Touch Pro 2.....SHOOT ME IN MY FACE

    DAMN YOU SPRINT, HTC and BEST BUY

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  90. Finally got my EVO from the best buy store...I am on a corporate account and somehow when they went to process the upgrade the store was told by Sprint that they were not allowed to do corporate account upgrades...literally spent 4 HOURS at the store while the store called department after department rep after rep. If this phone was not as awesome as it is...I would say F@&$ Sprint after all this BS way of not communicating with their customers...you know..US... the people that keep you in business

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  91. I LOVE this phone! I even like the contrast on the back. Its so fast... I even managed to get it rooted! But i think the speaker is blown lol cause when im talking on the phone the speaker crackles allot. Might have to get it replaced. Hope the root doesn't screw me outta that.

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  92. sorry about that - it was a super busy day, and it's MUCH easier to sneak a tweet than to try to compose a post during the workday.

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