Everyone knows about the Droid Incredible on Verizon and the HTC Evo on Sprint, and how, because they both run on CDMA-spec networks, they are incompatible with any other network. Contrast this to, for example, a Nexus One, which out of the box comes unlocked and compatible with multiple GSM carriers around the world (in two versions, however) as long as the radio bands are compatible. That means that if one should need to travel overseas, his or her Nexus One (or any other GSM-compatible device; I am just using the N1 as an example) should work to make phone calls and send text messages on a local network, as long as one buys a SIM card.

Up in Canada, we have are in an Android drought. Sure, the HTC Desire is coming to Telus shortly and the HTC Legend was just released on Bell, but it is unlikely that any Evo or Incredible-like devices are going to make their way up north any time soon. Canada’s carriers are phasing out their CDMA infrustructure, and it seems that the two aforementioned CDMA devices are US-exclusive.

So what happens when HTC decides to take those designs and port them over to make them GSM compatible? They could potentially go to a lot more places around the world. Sure, the EVO 4G will likely just be an HSPA device, but the world could use more Android handsets, period. According to Pocket-Lint, one of their tipsters mentioned that an HTC device, code named “Ace,” is going to be released later in the year in the UK, and has a striking similarity to the HTC HD2 (a sexy, Sense-covered Windows Mobile 6.5 device). Whether this is going to be a strict port of the Incredible or EVO, or a unique device altogether, we don’t know, but if it’s released in the UK, a Canadian/South American/European release can’t be too far off.

One has to wonder whether, by the time these ports are completed and released, the high-end specs (1GHZ Snapdragon 512MB RAM, etc.) will seem a bit antiquated. Newer dual-core Snapdragon processors are being released later in the year, and HTC surely has them already planned for devices. Personally, I’d like to see the EVO ported to GSM to run on Bell or Telus’ new HSPA+ network. That would be hot.

(Pocket-lint)