Sprint's Evo 4G to become second device to get Froyo

The Sprint HTC Evo 4G will be the first carrier-branded device to get an Android 2.2 (Froyo) update. The first device (period) to get Froyo was the HTC Nexus One (AKA the "Google Phone"), but while that was subsidized to T-Mobile, it wasn't carrier-branded as most phones are.

Sprint's press release says that end users will get OTA notifications starting on August 3rd, with everyone covered by mid-August. However, for those who don't want to wait, they can attempt to initiate the download by going to the Settings Menu / System Updates / HTC Software Update.

The Sprint press release didn't say when users could start trying to do the update manually, but an earlier leaked Sprint memo seemed to indicate that the build will be ready by 12PM CDT on Friday, with "client-initiated" updates available by Friday afternoon.

The leaked memo states that the MR (maintenance release) is a "high priority for competitive reasons." Those reasons could be the Droid X, the iPhone 4, or the Vibrant / Captivate that are definitely rivals of the Evo 4G.

The Froyo update will bring what folks are expecting from the earlier Nexus One release, that is, performance improvements, the ability to move apps to the SD card, and more, but in terms of the Evo 4G, it will also bring a bunch of new widgets, a flashlight mode for the LED flash, light-assisted 720p video, and "improvement" to the quality of video.

What say you, readers? Will you be among the "client-initiated" updaters?