In what was at least somewhat reminiscent of the first iPhone launch, thousands of customers lined up early Friday morning to get their hands on a shiny new HTC EVO 4G, hailed as the hottest Android device of the summer and a possible iPhone competitor. So hot, in fact, that it broke Sprint Nextel sales records.
According to Sprint, Friday’s sales of the HTC EVO 4G marked the largest quantity of a single phone sold in one day in company history. The Samsung Instinct and the Palm Pre previously held the same record, but HTC blew both former record holders out of the water. The EVO sold three times the number of Instincts and Pres sold over their first three days on the market combined. Sprint is pointing to temporary shortages of the EVO 4G at some retail locations.
But Mike Disabato, a senior analyst at the Burton Group, is skeptical about the EVO hype: “What would it take to break sales records for a Palm anything?” he asks. “Sprint is looking for some good news, but these sales are not sustainable.”
The iPhone Effect
As Disabato sees it, consumers ran out to see what the HTC EVO 4G was all about, but they did so before a potentially market-turning announcement. Apple CEO Steve Jobs was expected to introduce the iPhone 4G at the company’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference on Monday.
“People will be happy with the EVO until Jobs announces the new iPhone, and then people are going to have buyer’s remorse,” Disabato said. “How many EVOs do you think are going to get returned when consumers see the new iPhone? I’ll be watching for the answer to that question.”
Despite the rave reviews for the HTC EVO 4G, Disabato expects plenty of returns. In fact, returns are a common problem that he said…