According to the information forwarded by unnamed ‘inside’ sources at retailer Best Buy and Radio Shack, the much-awaited HTC EVO 4G will be launched by Sprint in early next month. While the Radio Shack employee said that Sprint will release the new HTC handset ‘on or around’ June 6; the Best Buy source had earlier said that the launch of the device is scheduled for either June 6 or June 13.

As per the Radio Shack source, pre-orders for the forthcoming high-end Android-based WiMAX smartphone will be commence later this month. The handset will cost $200 with a new or renewed Sprint contract, or $600 off contract.

The most notable features of the HTC EVO 4G include a 4.3-inch WVGA high-resolution touchscreen; 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor; 4G cellular-wireless networking; and Android OS 2.1 - the most recent version of the Google Android operating system.

Probably one of the most advanced smartphones released this year, the EVO 4G will also run HTC’s alternate user interface - the HTC Sense – over and above the Android; and include Google’s standard suite of Web, communication, and entertainment software.

The EVO 4G, which will also have the 3G standard EV-DO, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, will support Sprint’s WiMAX network; thereby managing to achieve an average downlink speed of 2-4 Mbps, and peak downlink speeds of up to 12 Mbps.