Best Buy preorders are also live with a delivery date as soon as this Friday, May 11 [Updated]
Best Buy is now officially taking preorders for the HTC EVO 4G LTE, matching Sprint's price of $199.99 with a new two-year contract or an eligible upgrade. Preorders can be completed online or in a Best Buy retail location, and we are receiving miscellaneous reports from individuals who are being offered a $50 Best Buy gift card when preordering in-person.
According to what we're hearing, local Best Buys are confirming a May 18 release date. You should know that if your local Best Buy offers you the gift card deal, it can be used towards the purchase of the phone, although you won't actually receive the card until the release date; in effect, the price of the phone will go down to $149.99 with this deal.
Personally, I just preordered the phone through Best Buy's site, and I was given an estimated delivery date of 5/11-5/16. In other words, Best Buy is saying that it's possible I could get the phone this Friday, instead of waiting an additional week. Today just keeps getting more interesting, doesn't it?
Update #1: As noted in the comments, the off-contract price for the EVO 4G LTE is listed as $99,999.99. Either that's a huge mistake, or Best Buy really doesn't want you to order this device off-contract.
Update #2: The $50 gift card has been confirmed good for online orders, too.
Update #3: Best Buy has finally started sending out its email reminders (see the screenshot below).
[Best Buy] Thanks, Fachadick and Jordan!