Showing posts with label Sprint. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sprint. Show all posts

Sunday, 12 February 2012

Sprint Showdown: Samsung Epic Touch 4G vs. Motorola Photon 4G

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Sprint currently has two powerful, high-end Android phones available for sale at the $199 price point: the Epic Touch 4G (essentially a Galaxy S II but with a larger display) and the Motorola Photon 4G. Both devices offer dual-core CPUs with a gigabyte of RAM, plus WiMax 4G connectivity on Sprint. The display on the Photon 4G is higher resolution with 960x540 pixels, but the Super AMOLED Plus display of the Epic 4G Touch is a sight to behold, thanks to fantastic contrast.
In this video, we compare the hardware and software of the Epic Touch 4G and the Photon 4G, plus compare web browsing speed, gaming performance, boot up times, and much more. Stick around towards the end of the video where we compare HD video recording performance. comp5
Beyond the displays, the rest of the specs are quite similar. As with most Motorola high-end smartphones, the Photon 4G does HDMI out without a special adapter. comp2

comp3

comp1

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Saturday, 24 September 2011

Sprint Nexus S 4G Receiving Google Wallet-Enabling Update

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All signs pointed to it coming, and now Google Wallet is here. First Samsung released a software update to the Nexus S 4G on Sprint that brought the app to the Android phone, followed by Google's official announcement of the service's launch.

Nexus S 4G system software GWK74 is on its way to users currently. As well as installing the Google Wallet app, the software includes security updates for your phone. We haven't heard any estimate as to how long it's expected to reach all NS4G owners.

Of course, to make any use of Google Wallet, you'll need to set up a payment method. Right now, the only major credit card you can use directly is a Citi MasterCard, but you can always jump through a few hoops by signing up for a prepaid Google card, then transferring funds from another credit card to Google's. As a bit of a reward for your efforts, Google is starting-off this first wave of users with a free $10 on their prepaid cards.

Have any NS4G users received Wallet yet and had a chance to test the app? You can use Google's Wallet site to find locations where retailers are accepting the transactions. If you have a chance to swing by one on your way home from work, let us know how the experience went.


Source: Samsung, Google
Via: Engadget Previous Page Next Page

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Friday, 23 September 2011

Motorola Admiral For Sprint Shown Off On Video

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We've seen Motorola's Admiral show up in still images before, but now we have the opportunity to see the phone in action, thanks to an introductory video Sprint has uploaded to YouTube.

There aren't any features mentioned here that we weren't already expecting for the Admiral, but the video does offer a nice once-over of the phone's layout, showing off button arrangement, that may help you get a better sense of its design that you were previously able to. Those hardware buttons lining the Admiral's flanks include one for Sprint's new Direct Connect system, delivering an IDEN-like push-to-talk environment over CDMA

The five-device hotspot support may not be the feature it used to be, but it will still get your gadgets online in a pinch. The Admiral has a 3.1-inch VGA display, 4GB of internal flash storage, and a five-megapixel camera capable of recording 720p video. The 1.2GHz single-core phone will arrive running Android 2.3 and will be ruggedized against dust, shock, and general user clumsiness. There's no word yet on an ETA.


Source: Sprint
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Sprint Motorola Photon 4G SoftwareTour (Video)

You are in an Android Post By: Dickie Adams | 1:24 PM 16-Sep-11 | Comments

Battle lines have been drawn, and the device manufacturers are trying hard to recruit new members to their ranks. In this video, we take a closer look at the software of the Motorola Photon 4G for Sprint. A winner or loser once the fight is done? You'll have to watch to see.

The Motorola Photon 4G is available from Sprint for $199 with a two year contract.

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Sprint Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch Hardware Tour (Video)

By: Dickie Adams | 12:25 AM 20-Sep-11 | Comments

In this video, we are taking a closer look at the hardware of the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch. As one of the most highly anticipated devices to arrive in the US, will Sprint be able to pull in new users and keep existing ones on its network with this device?

Battery

1800mAh Li-Ion

Talk time
8.72 hours

Dimensions
5.11 x 2.74 x 0.38 inches

Display
4.52" Super AMOLED Plus with a 480x800 resolution

Weight
4.60 oz

Processor
1.2Ghz dual-core Samsung Exynos

Memory
16GB Internal, 1GB RAM

Camera

8MP w/flash rear camera (1080P video capture)
2MP front-facing camera

Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi, WiMAX, CDMA

The Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch is available from Sprint for $199 with a two year contract.


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Thursday, 22 September 2011

Sprint Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch Software Tour (Video)

You are in an Android Post By: Dickie Adams | 11:00 AM 21-Sep-11 | Comments

In this video, we are taking a closer look at the software of the Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch. There is a minor amount of bloatware included, but at least some of it can be uninstalled. The new Motion based activities are useful, and the general UI is very snappy.

The Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch is available from Sprint for $199 with a two year contract.

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Motorola Photon 4G Review (Sprint)

By: Dickie Adams | 1:40 PM 21-Sep-11 | Comments Motorola Photon 4G Review (Sprint) Dickie Adams The "weapon of choice", as Sprint would have us believe, is the newest to their mobile lineup - the Motorola Photon 4G. With a body whose beveled The "weapon of choice", as Sprint would have us believe, is the newest to their mobile lineup - the Motorola Photon 4G. With a body whose beveled corners encase its powerful Tegra 2 1Ghz dual-core processor, this phone certainly feels good in the hand. 3.5 |

The "weapon of choice", as Sprint would have us believe, is the newest to their mobile lineup - the Motorola Photon 4G. With a body whose beveled corners encase its powerful Tegra 2 1Ghz dual-core processor, this phone certainly feels good in the hand. Motorola's first 4G device (and a world phone as well) on Sprint looks to be a solid contender, but will it be able to win the battle of the consumers? Read on for the full review!

BOX CONTENTS


Not much in the way of included accessories in the box with the Photon 4G. A wall charger and appropriate USB cable is all you'll find outside of the manuals. No additional microSD is included, although the device can support up to 32GB cards.

HARDWARE


A dual-core 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor is at the core of this Android phone. In addition, 1024Mb of RAM, 16GB of built-in storage, and a 1700mAh battery fill out the rest of the basic specs.

The standard complement of accelerometer, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, are here, but again missing is a gyroscope.

Even without a hardware keyboard, the Photon 4G is quite large, although it feels quite comfortable in hand. Weighing in at 5.57 ounces it feels hefty, but not abnormally so.

Due to PenTile technology, the screen looks great in almost any lighting situation, as long as you don't look too closely or start analyzing the color accuracy. Sporting a four-inch 540x960 (qHD) Gorilla Glass screen, the Photon 4G does suffer from the same issues all PenTile displays seem to have: noticeable pixels, and ghosting during fast panning.

photon front
The front of the device has four capacitive touch buttons along with an LED notification, front facing camera and standard sensor set. The screen edges have a slightly rounded lip, giving an even more unique look to the phone. The beveled edges and corners allow for a great feel. The finish was easily marred however (on one corner and the edge of the screen) as I carried the device in my pocket, revealing flat black plastic beneath.

At the top edge of the Photon is the small chrome power button and headphone jack.

photon back
The battery cover has a soft touch plastic feel, which when removed reveals a 1700mAh battery, the microSD slot and SIM card (GSM supported, but not in the US). photon kickstandSW 575
Also on the back of the device is the silver kickstand. Magnetically held to the device, when extended it allows you to put the Photon 4G into a mini-clock with widget functionality - as long as you use the default launcher. Switching over to a third-party launcher seems to cause the kickstand functionality to be limited to just rotating the device to landscape. photon right
On the right-hand side of the Photon is a textured volume rocker and dedicated camera button. While the ribbed chrome buttons are nice, it would have been more beneficial if the camera button was two stage vs one. But more on that in the camera section.

Volume from the Photon 4G is very loud, whether from the headset or main speaker.

photon left
The HDMI and USB charging/sync ports are found on the left side of the phone. As you can see from our Software Video tour below, this spacing allows easy connection to any of the various Motorola accessories on the market today, such as the car or media dock. If you already have one of these docks, you may just need the proper plastic shim so the Photon fits appropriately.

Unfortunately, the Webtop Connector functionality is less than stellar. Video at full screen is choppy and the browser (Firefox) is two versions behind.

SOFTWARE


Sprint has thankfully kept the bloat to a minimum and given the user the ability to remove some of these apps. Sprint ID is on the Photon, but not forced upon the user.

Alas, the "this-is-not-Blur" Motorola UI was plagued with spurts of lag and stutters. Switching over to a third-party launcher cleared up these inadequacies, but then limited the kickstand in its functionality.

CAMERA

One would think with an 8MP camera, the images would be quite crisp and colorful. Unfortunately, as seems the norm with Motorola cameras recently, if you don't have a lot of light, the results look good on your phone, but are blurry when you look at them full resolution (see the samples above).

The Photon 4G didn't suffer from the same focus issues as the Motorola Droid 3, however. It would easily lock on to a subject, but would still take so long to take the shot that any sort of hand shake would be visible later.

Colors were slightly muted, but didn't suffer any of the blue tinting the Droid 3 has.


The 720P video capture again was okay, but no where near what I would consider appropriate for anything semi-professional. This is a device for recording snippets of your cats doing something interesting. It's perfectly fine in this respect, but expecting anything more from the video portion of the Photon 4G will leave you disappointed.

PERFORMANCE
Outside of the hiccups due to the default Motorola UI, the device was very snappy. Replacing the default launcher made the device even more responsive.

Quadrant: 2350
Smartbench 2011: Productivity 2811, 2585 Games
LinPack Single thread: 38.245 MFLOP, 2.19 Seconds
LinPack Multi-thread: 66.719 MFLOP, 2.53 Seconds

CALL QUALITY/NETWORK SPEED
There were no complaints regarding the call quality on the Photon 4G. No calls were dropped and if I had any signal at all, the calls would go through. Seeing as the GSM portion of the device isn't compatible with US networks, we were unable to fully test this functionality.

3G speeds averaged 500Kbps up and 650Kbps down (peaking at 1200Kbps) which is on par with Sprint. 4G speeds reached as high as 12000Kbps down and 1600Kbps up, when we could get access to the spotty 4G WiMax service. For the most part, I left 4G service disabled, primarily because the hand-off from 4G to 3G on Sprint devices is horrible.

BATTERY LIFE
Battery life on the Photon 4G is fantastic. Like the Droid 3, without my heavy usage pattern, I would consistently see two-plus days of power before the device popped up a low battery warning. While other devices typically feature the screen very high on the battery usage scale, the display in this case is often listed very low on that scale - the power of PenTile, it seems. Most users would easily give up the color accuracy and deal with pixels if it means their device could last even one whole day, let alone two. Even as I write this review, the Photon 4G has been up for 1 day, 2 hours and 27 minutes - with 70% battery remaining.

PURCHASING AND AVAILABILITY
The Motorola Photon 4G can be purchased, with a two-year contract, for $199 from Sprint.

PROS

+ PenTile display in bright sunlight
+ Battery life is outstanding
+ World phone

CONS

- PenTile display ghosting and color accuracy
- Camera focus and capture issues in low light
- Sluggish default UI

CONCLUSION
The battle is hard fought, and it is far from over. But in the case of the Motorola Photon 4G, it certainly is quite the performer, especially when you start tweaking the system to be more efficient. Considering the camera is average, and the Pentile qHD display does have it's own issues, the Photon 4G is weighed down (literally) by some inadequacies. But, if you need a solid world phone for your day-to-day work, then the Photon 4G may be just what you are looking for.

We rate the Motorola Photon 4G a 3.5/5.


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Friday, 16 September 2011

Sprint Epic 4G Touch Now Available Online

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We know this is the moment many of you have been waiting for! The just announced Epic 4G Touch, Sprint's Samsung Galaxy S II is now available online from the carrier.

It goes for $199.99 with a two-year contract, or $499.99 for the phone only. It sports a 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, radio capable of 3G/4G speeds, Mobile Hotspot functionality, video chat capability, 1.2GHz dual-core Exynos SoC and a very slim form factor.

Source: Sprint

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Thursday, 15 September 2011

LG And Sprint Announce The LG Marquee, Arriving October 2

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After seeing the official press renders of the LG Marquee -- the Optimus Black, really -- we knew that an official Sprint announcement was on its way. The carrier has made the phone official with an availability date of October 2.

The LG Marquee runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread and packs a 1GHz single-core processor. It has a super-bright four-inch WVGA IPS NOVA display, 512MB RAM, 2GB ROM, five-megapixel autofocus camera and with flash and two-megapixel front-facing webcam, powered by a 1500 mAh battery. It will be available for a pre-sale between September 20-27 online for $99.99 and will land on October 2 for the same price with eligible upgrade or a new two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate via reward card.

LGMarquee2
Source: Sprint (1)(2) Previous Page Next Page

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Sprint Takes The Axe To Its Premier Program; No More Early Phones

For Sprint subscribers who qualified for membership in the carrier's Sprint Premier program, we've got some bad news for you: the days of all your perks are numbered, with Sprint announcing the discontinuation of the program.

Some members of the Premier program might have been interested in the ability to upgrade their phones more frequently, but we always paid the most attention to the early access members had to some cutting-edge phones. Sprint would occasionally give Premier members the chance to buy a new piece of hardware several days before the rest of its customers. Sure, it was never the week-or-two head start that would give you a chance to rub your new phone in the faces of your friends, but it was a nice perk nonetheless. Now, all Sprint subscribers will be on a level playing field when it comes to new releases.

Sprint will be phasing out the benefits available to Premier members based on their type of membership and when they joined; current benefits will last at least through the end of the year. After that, you could have up to another year to take advantage of an upgrade opportunity, depending on your circumstance; check with Sprint for details.

We're sad to see some of those perks go, but if it lets Sprint keep costs down and offer unlimited data, so be it.

Source: Sprint


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Wednesday, 14 September 2011

Sprint Publishes Samsung Epic 4G Touch User Manual

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If you are currently on Sprint and considering the Galaxy S II -- under the name of Sprint Epic 4G Touch -- which we have recently unboxed, you can also get to know the phone a little better before purchasing as its user manual has been made available by the carrier.

Saving the PDF file from the source link will get you 190 pages of literature about the Sprint Galaxy S II where you can learn about hardware and software features of the phone. On top of Android, there's Samsung's own TouchWiz 4.0 user interface which makes the phone even more usable. You can find that and much more in the manual.

Source: Sprint (PDF)
Via: SprintFeed

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Sprint Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch Unboxing (Video)

You are in an Android Post By: Dickie Adams | 12:32 AM 14-Sep-11 | Comments

The Samsung Galaxy S II is one of the most highly anticipated devices to arrive in the US, and Sprint is the first to receive it in the form of the Epic 4G Touch. With a massive 4.52 inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, a 1800mAh and a Samsung Exynos dual-core 1.2GHz processor - the phone certainly looks to be quite the powerhouse.

The Samsung Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch is available from Sprint for $199 with a two year contract starting on September 16th.

First impressions

- Bright and beautiful display
- No included microSD card
- Lightweight and comfortable

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Tuesday, 13 September 2011

LG Marquee (Sprint Optimus Black): First Press Shots

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It looks like Sprint's version of the LG Optimus Black -- dubbed the LG Marquee, we recently learned -- will bring a little less black than the global version, adopting a gray pinstripe for the back battery cover. Other than that slight change, however, Sprint's LS855 looks very much like the P970 which has been selling internationally for some months now.

Although Marquee promises to deliver one of the brightest screens on the market, the rest of its specs are pretty mid-range: 1GHz, single-core OMAP 3630, WVGA resolution, 512MB RAM, and a five-megapixel camera. Last we heard, Marquee was scheduled to ship on October 2nd, and should also find a spot in the lineups of US Cellular, Alltel, and Virgin.

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Monday, 12 September 2011

Sprint LG Marquee Confirmed as LG Optimus Black

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Last week, Radio Shack uploaded a video to YouTube showing off the new, white edition of the HTC EVO 3D. What really caught our eye, though, wasn't the autostereoscopic handset, but another shown for just a brief moment; an establishing shot of the expo at which the video was recorded shows the LG Marquee, a smartphone name we hadn't heard before. At the time, there was some speculation that the device might be the LG Optimus Black, since the glance we got looked similar enough to the Black, and it's an LG model we've been expecting to arrive on Sprint. Now it looks like we can confirm the Marquee as none other than the Black, thanks to some Sprint Cellebrite data.

Cellebrite's products, often used to transfer contact information from one handset to another, can see themselves updated with information on new phones before the handsets arrive. In this case, an entry was added to the master list of Sprint phones that identifies the LG Marquee as model LS-855, an Android we've known for some time to be the Optimus Black.

Sadly, there's no indication here of just when me might hope to expect the Marquee to actually show up for sale, but at least we have one mystery out of the way.

sprintlgblackcellebrite

Source: Sprint

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iPhone 5's 1st Test Photo, Sprint iPhone 5 Rumors & More; iReview

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Watch this week's iReview as we go through all things Cool and Not So Cool inside the world of Apple's iOS devices. In today's show we talk about the iPhone 5 test photo we unveiled last week and how the image sensor raises the bar in what to expect for the next generation device. We go through the N94 prototype and how it already gained FCC approval through some leaks within iOS 5. We round up all the Sprint iPhone 5 rumors and tell you why this phone will matter a lot to some. We also go through the recent pre-order strategy launched by Deutsche Telekom, even if there is still no real name for the iPhone they are preparing customers for. We talk about the release of iTunes 10.5 beta 8, an HTML 5 version of Google Music and other recent software updates. Finally, we end the Cool section with an odd new strategy from Adobe to port Flash based video on iOS devices.

In the Not So Cool section we go through the recent disappointment we all felt when the screenshot of the probable iOS 5 running on an iPhone 5 ended up being a Hoax, and who's fault it is.

All this and more after the break.

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Sprint Motorola Photon 4G Hardware Tour (Video)

By: Dickie Adams | 12:16 PM 12-Sep-11 | Comments

The fight continues for the hearts and minds of today's phone consumers. In this video, we take a closer look at the hardware of the Motorola Photon 4G for Sprint. Thus far, impressions are very favorable, with some caveats. Is it enough to cause users to defect over to Sprint? We shall see.

Battery
1700 mAh Li-Ion

Talk time
10 hours

Dimensions
2.6" x 5.0" x 0.5"

Display

4.3" qHD Capacitive Touchscreen

Weight
5.6 oz

Processor
1 GHz NVIDIA? Tegra? 2 Dual Core Processor

Memory
16GB Internal, 1GB RAM

Bluetooth, WiFi, WiMAX, CDMA, GSM

The Motorola Photon 4G is available from Sprint for $199 with a two year contract.


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Friday, 9 September 2011

Sprint Gets Kyocera Milano QWERTY Slider Android Tomorrow

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Kyocera's Oblique first garnered our attention when some pics of the QWERTY slider showed up in early August, foretelling the smartphone's eventual arrival on Sprint. Late in the month, a leaked Sprint document showed the phone again, but this time after undergoing a name-change to the Kyocera Milano. We had been expecting the phone to launch on September 9, and right on schedule, Sprint has officially announced the Milano's addition to its line-up starting tomorrow.

The Milano will fill the role of a budget-priced, non-WiMAX messaging smartphone for Sprint. Hardware-wise, the phone features an an 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and a 3-inch QVGA display. That petite, low-res screen may turn off some potential buyers, but Sprint's got plenty of other options for them.

To help make the most out of the phone's battery, Kyocera includes its Eco Mode app that lets you specify a battery level, dropping below which will put the phone into a low-power mode to help keep things functional until you can get to a charger.

Alongside the Milano, Kyocera is also bringing its Brio to Sprint, a free-on-contract dumbphone. Seeing as the Milano is only $50 on-contract, though, we think it's a well-worth-it upgrade.

Source: Sprint

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Thursday, 8 September 2011

Sprint Delaying BlackBerry Curve 9350 Release For Another Month?

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Sprint had announced that it would be offering its subscribers access to RIM's new BlackBerry Curve 9350, beginning September 9. With that date practically on top of us, we've heard a new rumor that the carrier may have to postpone its launch plans, and reschedule the Curve's debut for October 12.

While it's certainly better than an open-ended delay, an extra month is still quite the length of time to wait for the phone. This information comes courtesy of an anonymous source, who reported news of the delay being disseminated amongst Sprint employees.

We wonder if there's some sort of stock problem, which means we might expect to see similar delays pop up with the other new Curve models, if the issue is confined to just the CDMA 9350, or if this is a strategic move on Sprint's part and has nothing to do with any inventory issues.

Considering that Sprint put out a formal press release announcing the Curve 9350's release date, we'd think it would make an official statement regarding the delay, assuming this rumor is true. If that's the case, Sprint had better speak up fast.

Source: Phone Arena

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Kyocera Oblique Revealed as Milano, Headed to Sprint

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A leaked Sprint ad shows off the carrier's continuing relationship with Kyocera, which will bring Sprint a new Gingerbread-running Android early next month.

The Kyocera Milano is a QWERTY slider that we last visited as the Kyocera Oblique that made its FCC appearance a few weeks back with Sprint bands in tow. The hardware is nothing to get excited about, with an 800MHz processor, 512MB of RAM, and 512MB of flash, but the price isn't bad: about $50 on-contract.

Look for the Milano to have a compact three-inch display (no word on resolution, but our money's on HVGA), Swype for if you don't feel like whipping out the hardware keyboard, and a 2GB SD card. If you're looking for 4G speeds, keep searching, for the Milano tops out with EV-DO 3G.

Just as we expected when the phone was called the Oblique, the Milano will arrive on September 9.

Source: Android Police

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Saturday, 30 July 2011

Pre-paid, wholesale subs keep Sprint afloat ahead of LTE

om: Amber in san Francisco needs new managers and not amateurs who can't handle booking and being honey with guests. Avoid for now!

Sprint announced Thursday it gained 1.1 million subscribers in the second quarter in addition to its lowest churn rates ever for both pre- and post-paid customers. That good news on the customer side was offset by another quarterly financial loss: The no. 3 carrier in the U.S. experienced a net loss of $847 million on $8.3 billion in revenues. Sprint did report higher overall average revenues per user as more consumers added 3G and 4G data plans, but it still lost money due to its mix of customers.

In a statement today, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse focused on the positives:

Sprint’s second quarter results, including our fourteenth consecutive quarter of improved customer care satisfaction, our best ever postpaid churn, more than 1 million net wireless subscriber additions and wireless service revenue growth, validate that our focus on providing simplicity, value and an unmatched customer experience is working.

Hesse’s statement is correct and factual, but unfortunately, overlooks other facts contributing to Sprint’s current challenge. Although the company gained 1.1 million net subscribers adds, net post-paid consumers declined by 101,000. That means the bulk of the new customers would be from less profitable segments. Indeed, 519,000 of the new subscribers are wholesale or affiliate customers, while 674,000 were added through pre-paid channels. That’s a problem, because ARPU on the pre-paid side actually declined slightly to $28.

Part of the issue here for the more lucrative post-paid side could be due to Sprint’s choice of 4G technologies. Sprint initially opted for a WiMAX network it opened for business in October 2008, but the speeds are getting leapfrogged by LTE and HSPA+ networks from competitors. Sprint is now turning to LightSquared’s spectrum, and bank account, to build out an LTE network. As a result of the deal, also announced today, Sprint will receive $9 billion over the next 11 years from LightSquared, and will be able to offer competitive speeds and coverage as its grand WiMAX experiment comes to an unprofitable close.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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