Sprint CEO Sees Spot Shortages In Evo Phones

29th Jun 2010 16:19

By Roger Cheng Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) Chief Executive Dan Hesse said he continues to see "spot shortages" of the company's flagship Evo 4G smartphone at some of its stores. "The fundamental reason is the device is more popular than we had anticipated," Hesse told Dow Jones Newswires on the sidelines of a customer-service conference Tuesday. HTC Corp. (HTCXF, 2498.TW), which makes the Evo 4G, has suffered from supply issues over the past few months. Both Sprint's marquee phone and Verizon Wireless's Droid Incredible have seen shortages, with the Incredible unavailable until late July. [Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Vodafone Group PLC (VOD, VOD.LN).] Hesse, however, didn't believe the issue with the Evo 4G was as severe. "It's a high-class problem," Hesse said, adding the company was "doing our best" to increase its stock of available Evo 4Gs. The incredible demand for smartphones has created a problem for the carriers and handset makers, who have to anticipate how many units of a particular phone consumers will want to buy. Even Apple Inc. (AAPL) struggled to meet the extreme demand for the iPhone 4, leading to long lines at its own stores, and limited supplies at AT&T Inc. (T), and other electronic retailers. In the wake of the iPhone 4 launch, Hesse said the Evo 4G was still selling briskly. Speaking during the conference, Hesse took a shot at AT&T, noting that, despite the emotional reaction to dropped calls, "They still carry iPhones." With the iPhone 4 launch came AT&T's decision to move to a tiered pricing plan on data services. Sprint has stood out as a champion of simple and unlimited plans. But Hesse said it was something the company would carefully consider and that the move wouldn't be a decision that was "taken lightly." For now, the company continues to push its batch of unlimited plans, which it has said would help set itself apart from its competitors. -By Roger Cheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2153; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 29, 2010 11:19 ET (15:19 GMT)