Despite some initial glitches, HTC's Evo phone has turned into a best-seller for Sprint. The first 4G smartphone ever, which is running Google's Android operating system, sold three times more on the day of its launch than Sprint's earlier hits, the Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre did over their first three days combined.

The HTC Evo is so hot that it has led to "temporary shortages" at some of Sprint's stores across the U.S., says the wireless carrier.

"HTC EVO 4G has more than lived up to our expectations that it would be one of the most anticipated technology products of the year," Kevin Packingham, senior vice president of product development for Sprint said in a statement. "We are working closely with our partners at HTC to increase the supply and get EVO 4G into the hands of everyone who wants one as quickly as possible."

However, Sprint hasn't given out details on the number of Evos sold.

Sprint's HTC Evo sales announcement mirrors what the carrier said about the Palm Pre almost to the date a year ago.

The Pre was then a hugely anticipated phone on Sprint's network. And as thisnews story we dug up shows, Sprint parroted the same information about the Pre at launch – right down to the shortages and the talk about replenishing inventory quickly.

HTC and Sprint unveiled the Evo in May. 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.

But last week, before the device's public debut, some early Evo users complained of a bug in the device. A problem with the device's 8-GB MicroSD card didn't allow them to save files or photos. HTC fixed the issue on Friday morning through an over-the-air firmware patch. The patch also took care of a security-related glitch in the phone.

Now the question is: Can the Evo sustain momentum, especially with the introduction of Apple's new iPhone today, or will sales of the phone mirror the Palm Pre's and quickly fizzle out?

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Photo: (Sophia AZN/Flickr)