HTC EVO 4G LTE delayed at Best Buy

Best Buy may have jumped the gun a little in throwing up a release date for the HTC EVO 4G LTE. The company has now sent out emails to customers saying that the phone has been delayed, with no new date given so far. It comes after it was revealed that the HTC One X and EVO 4G LTE face a customs block, preventing the phones from being sold in the United States until they’ve been cleared of patent infringement. The phone was due to go on sale today, but the devices have been held at customs thanks to a December ITC ruling blocking the import of future HTC Android handsets. HTC was found to be infringing on one of Apple’s patents relating to the use of email address and phone number links. Clicking one of those would bring up a context menu asking the user what they want to do. The two things separately aren’t an issue, but the combination was enough to land HTC in hot water. Best Buy sent out emails last night saying that the phone has been delayed, and while pre-orders are still valid, they don’t have a revised release date yet. A similar situation is occurring with the HTC One X, which is said to be out of stock at AT&T stores across the country due to the customs ban. Handsets did manage to reach America before the customs ban took effect, but the block is preventing fresh stock from being offered.