HTC EVO 4G LTE To Launch on May 18

The highly-anticipated release of the HTC EVO 4G LTE is just around the corner, with Sprint announcing today that the phone will be available starting Friday, May 18.

Pre-orders for the device, which will cost $200 with a two-year service agreement, can already be placed on Sprint's web site.

More about this Android Smartphone

For those unfamiliar with the handset, the EVO 4G LTE is going to sport a 4.7-inch, LCD 2 display and will be powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor. The handset will run Android OS 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) with HTC's Sense 4 overlay, and other features are going to include Global Beats Audio, an 8-megapixel front-facing camera, a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and a kickstand.

As its name makes clear, this phone will be one of Sprint's first with 4G LTE. This service is not yet available, however. The carrier will begin rolling out LTE service by the middle of this year, with the process stretching out into 2013 and beyond.

For more information about the EVO 4G LTE, check out our hands-on preview from a Sprint and HTC event held in New York last month.