Update (6/9/2010): Sprint's first-day sales of the HTC EVO 4G were good, but apparently not quite as good as the carrier initially led us to believe. The company just issued a correction stating that sales were actually "in line with" the number of Instincts and Pres sold over their first three days on the market combined, not three times higher. No explanation was given for the over-estimation other than admitting that they erred in the comparison.

Original story below:
Sprint reportedly sold a record number of HTC EVO 4G smartphones on the device's first day of availability this past Friday. The company did not give any specific figures, but said it was three times the number of Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre devices sold over their first three days on the market combined. Considering the latter two are estimated to have sold between 35,000 and 60,000 units during their respective opening weekends, some analysts put the HTC EVO 4G number at around 320,000.

Whatever the exact figure is it seems Sprint customers are craving for a worthy smartphone to own. Going by early, mostly positive reviews it doesn't look like the EVO 4G is going to disappoint. The device is selling through a network of around 22,000 locations across the U.S., including RadioShack, Best Buy and Walmart. Sprint said it experienced shortages at some of these locations, including its own stores, but it is working with HTC to replenish stock.

While Sprint certainly hopes to keep the hype alive and draw focus to its '4G' network, Apple will probably get most of the attention this week. As I write these lines Steve Jobs is taking the stage at the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco where he is expected to officially announce the not-so-secret next generation iPhone.