HTC Evo 4G preorders begin at Best Buy, Radio Shack

(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET)

Hot on the heels of the Sprint announcement from Wednesday night, Best Buy and Radio Shack have already begun the preorder process for the HTC Evo 4G.

Starting today, customers can go into a Best Buy store and preorder the Evo 4G for pickup when the Android superphone launches on June 4. You will have to go into an actual store to place the order, but the good news is that you'll get the $199.99 price instantly (provided that you sign up for a two-year contract, of course) and therefore won't have to send in a mail-in rebate as you would if you bought it directly from Sprint.

Meanwhile, Radio Shack will begin its preorders on May 14 and, like Best Buy, you will be able to preorder the phone only in stores (the Evo 4G will be available at all of Radio Shack's 4000-plus retail locations nationwide) and you won't have to deal with a mail-in rebate.

Radio Shack is sweetening the deal by offering a free $20 accessories gift card to those customers who put down a $50 deposit. You will receive the gift card once you pick up the device on June 4 or June 5. This certainly sounds like the better deal, but we should note that if you preorder a device, Radio Shack will hold the phone for you only for two days and cannot guarantee it will have the handset in stock if you come in after June 5.

So, who's preordering one?