Sprint's HTC Evo 4G LTE to start shipping (around) May 24th

HTC's delayed EVO 4G LTE may finally be nearing its U.S. release.

Sprint will begin shipping pre-orders on or around Thursday, May 24th -- or at least that's the plan. There's no word on a larger rollout quite yet.

Here's the company's official statement on the matter:

Sprint expects to begin shipping HTC EVO 4G LTE for arrival on or around Thursday, May 24 to customers who pre-ordered the device online from Sprint. We will provide details on the full national launch as soon as possible.

Could the announcement mean that HTC has ironed out the U.S. Customs snafu that held up shipments last week? It's certainly likely.

Of course, the EVO 4G LTE is probably a bigger deal for Sprint than it is for HTC, as we've discussed extensively. As a result, it's certain Sprint is a lot more relieved by the device shipping than even HTC is.