Sprint will later this month launch the LG Viper 4G LTE handset which will be its second handset supporting Google Wallet since the mobile payment service launched last autumn . The LG device will also be the first handset launched by Sprint for its LTE network that is due to launch in mid-year 2012.

The US mobile operator announced two new NFC handsets supporting Google Wallet, including the LG Viper, at CES in January this year. Sprint is the only US operator that supports Google Wallet. The other handset announced at CES was the Samsung Galaxy Nexus which has yet to launch although Engadget speculates that the handset will “make its way into retail outlets in late April or early May”.

However the only handset currently supporting Google Wallet is Samsung’s Galaxy S 4G which was available from the service’s launch last autumn.  Sprint has said it will launch at least ten other NFC-based handsets this year in addition to the two Samsung and one LG models.

Sprint will offer the LG Viper for US$100 with a two-year contract and US$50 mail-in rebate card. Pre-order for the new handset starts on April 12. The company said in January it will launch LTE in ten cities by mid-2012. To date it has named six cities where the service will be available: Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City and San Antonio.