In a Shift from Nextel's Network, Sprint Releasing Rugged CDMA Phones

Although Sprint has already announced their plans to phase out their iDen network acquired by Nextel, they haven't given customers on the aging network a real reason to switch over to CDMA. In a first move to change this situation, Sprint has released the Sanyo Taho, a rugged flip phone that runs on the CDMA network. Although the phone isn't totally waterproof, it can withstand total submersion in up to one meter of water for thirty minutes, along with other military-grade specs. The phone doesn't have any type of push-to-talk service that doesn't use iDen, however, so this is only a phone for Nextel customers that like the rugged style of some of the phones. Sprint also has the Motorola ES400S smartphone, which is also a rugged phone. The ES400S has a full QWERTY keyboard on a candybar design and is running Windows Mobile 6.5.3. (Sprint)

Sprint 4G Launches In Sacramento, California

If you live in the Sacramento area and haven't already figured it out, Sprint 4G launched on November 15th. This makes the 62nd market to have the Wimax technology. So everybody with an Epic, Evo, and Overdrive, turn on 4G and start experiencing the Wimax! (Sprint)

Samsung Galaxy Tab Available for Preorder by Sprint Premier Customers

For the next three days, Sprint will be taking preorders for their version of the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The seven inch tablet is expected to be a major iPad competitor, and has been announced for T-Mobile and Verizon, too. The Galaxy Tab features a seven inch capacitive touchscreen, dual cameras, and Android 2.2. The tablet also has support from Google and features the Android Market and Google apps, something that some other tablets have failed to get. The tablet has already been reviewed by a few sites, such as Engadget, with one of the major complains being that some of the apps don't scale properly for the different screen size of the Galaxy Tab. Pricing is $400 with a new two year contract, and the smallest data plan is $29 a month for 2 GB of data. Oh, and for all you 4G fans out there, this is a 3G only device, so sadly no Wimax.

ZTE Peel Creates a Mobile Hotspot On Your iPod Touch

For Sprint fans that like the idea of carrying aaround an Apple device that is internet connected, but don't like the idea of being tied to AT&T's network, now have another option for their devices. The ZTE Peel is a case that is used for your iPod Touch that has a Mifi-like device built into the case. The case has a power button near the top of the case, and will run you $79 with a new two--year contract. The monthly charge for the case is $29, but unlike a normal Mifi, you can only connect two Wifi devices to the ZTE Peel at a time. So for road warriers that like their iPod Touch, the ZTE Peel is a device to consider, but a Mifi or Overdrive might better suit your needs if you want to connect more than two devices to your mobile hotspot, especially if you wannt the ability to access the Wimax network. (Sprint)

T-Mobile Claiming It Has the Fastest 4G Network

T-Mobile recently started an ad campaign claiming that they have the nation's largest 4G network. Although this sounds horribly familiar to Verizon making ads about it having the largest 3G network, their ads weren't false and actually made sense. T-Mobile currently operates a 3G network based on the HSPA+ standard, which T-Mobile claims is a 4G network as far as consumers are concerned, along with LTE and WiMax. Yet this is not true. Although WiMax and LTE aren't technically considered 4G networks at this point, they are based on a 4G standard, while HSPA+ is just another evolution of 3G. T-Mobile claims the consumers won't notice the difference, because they don't know enough about 4G networks and standards yet. But calling a 3G standard 4G is just false advertising and further confuses the consumers. Once T-Mobile finally does release a network based on 4G standards, what are they going to call it? I'm sorry, but false advertising is not going to help you in the long run, T-Mobile.

Sprint 4G Launched In Five New Markets, Including New York City

Sprint has finally launched WiMax in New York City, along with Hartford, New Haven, New Brunswick, Trenton, and Tampa. For everybody out there with 4G devices, this means you can finally get a taste of 4G speeds in all these locations. The addition of these five markets brings the total number of markets with 4G coverage to 61, which is a good number considering that no other wireless carrier has publicly launched a 4G network yet. (Sprint)

Sprint Plans to Phase Out iDen

Sprint has plans to end its iconic push to talk network within the next few years, according to CEO Dan Hesse. Although the service is popular with customers looking for the very best push to talk service, the network technology used for the service is aging rapidly and doesn't work well for data transfers, which are quickly becoming the most important thing in mobile phones. Although they won't be ending the service right away, as time goes on it should be easier to end it with the amount of customers that have been leaving the iDEN network. Sprint plans to get customers to use the more popular CDMA network. When they eventually shut down the iDEN network, they will use the spectrum for other services. (Engadget)

Sprint Announces Third Quarter Results

Sprint has announced another quarter of results recently. Sprint kept up the customer increases, adding a total of 644,000 customers last quarter. 354,000 postpaid subscribers were added to the network, which are valued customers because they sign new two-year contracts. Sprint also did well in the prepaid department, gaining a total of 471,000 prepaid subscribers. A whopping 1.2 million of those customers are new to the CDMA network, but the total number of additions was dragged down by 700,000 prepaid customers leaving the iDen network. Although Sprint is gaining customers again, they lost an average of thirty cents per share this past quarter. The strong customer gains are good news, but the loss might be troubling to Sprint investors. (Sprint)

Sprint Announces WiMax for New York City, San Francisco, and Los Angeles

Three of the largest cities in the United States have also been three cities that don't have 4G coverage. Sprint and Clearwire have finally announced the launch dates for these three cities. New York City will have WiMax coverage on November 1, San Francisco will be lit up in late December, and Los Angeles will get WiMax on December 1. The WiMax network will be shared by Sprint, Clearwire, Time Warner, and Comcast. Time Warner and Comcast will use the network for their mobile internet service, rebranded for the respective company. Hopefully, the long wiat for service in these three large and tech-centered cities was to make sure the service thoroughly covered the cities, and to make sure that speeds would be top notch for everybody using a 4G device. If you have 4G in your area, or have spotted 4G coverage in any of these three cities, let us know in the comments how the speeds and coverage are for you.

Sprint Announces the Blackberry Style, With Blackberry 6

Sprint has announced the Blackberry Style flip phone, the first flip-style Blackberry with a full keyboard and the first CDMA Blackberry to launch with OS 6. The phone features a 360 by 400 pixel internal display, a five megapixel camera, GPS, b/g/n wifi support, and support for dual-band CDMA Rev. A. The Style will come in both black and purple, and is exclusive to Sprint, at least for now. The Blackberry experience is even better with the addition of OS 6, bringing an improved Webkit browser, universal search, and Blackberry Media Sync, although the phone's style isn't the most attractive. The phone will be available on October 31 for $99 with a new two-year contract and a mail-in rebate. (Sprint)

Sanyo Innuendo Full QWERTY Messaging Phone Now Available from Sprint

The Sanyo Innuendo, an update to the Sanyo Incognito, is now available from Sprint. The phone is very similar to the Incognito, featuring a "glow-thru" display and dial pad on the outside of the display, which means that when the keypad and outer display aren't lit up, they blend in with the rest of the phone. Other features of the Innuendo are a 3.2 megapixel camera, a full QWERTY keyboard, Sprint OneClick interface with dedicated Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter apps, GPS navigation, and threaded text messaging. Although the phone is currently only in bright blue, messaging phones are frequently available in multiple colors. The phone is available from Sprint for $49 with a new two-year contract. (Sprint)

Sprint Launches the Blackberry Curve 3G

The Blackberry Curve 3G smartphone, the next phone in the large Curve line from RIM, has been launched on Sprint. Besides a few minor cosmetic tweaks, the phone is very similar to the Curve 8530, featuring a 2.0 megapixel camera, a QWERTY keyboard, and an optical trackpad for navigation. The differences lie in the internals of the phone, where the Curve 3G sports double the memory as the Curve 8530. This means that the phone will be upgradable to Blackberry OS 6, which gives the Blackberry a much-improved web browser and other features, such as universal search and a redesigned home screen. The phone is available now for $49 with a new two-year contract, and an eligible data plan. (Sprint)

Samsung Intercept Now Available on Virgin Mobile

Virgin Mobile, the prepaid, no-contract carrier that operates on the Sprint network, is now offering the Samsung Intercept. The Intercept, which is an entry-level Android handset that has been available from Sprint, features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, a 3.2 megapixel camera, a 3.2 inch capacitive touchscreen, and Android 2.1. The phone is the first Android handset to be available from Virgin Mobile. The Intercept will cost $249, but you won't have a contract to deal with when buying the phone, and can cancel your service at any time without an early-termination fee. (Sprint)

Sprint Finally Offering Refurbished Phones for Regular Sale

Sprint has finally decided to let customers buy refurbished phones in addition to new ones, a great way to save some money the next time that you buy your next phone. Something that other phone carriers have been doing for a long time now, refurbished phones used to only be available when you got needed to get a phone replaced. Some of the phones that are available to be refurbished include the HTC Hero, Blackberry Bold 9650, and the Sanyo 2700. Hopefully, more and more phones will be available refurbished soon, since you can save over $100 buying a phone refurbished instead of new from Sprint. (Sprint)

Sanyo Vero Launched on Sprint

While there has been lots of talk about smartphones lately, there have also been other, more basic phones released on Sprint, like the Sanyo Vero. The basic flip phone features a 1.3 megapixel camera, a large and easy to use keypad, and text and picture messaging capability. The phone can hold 600 contacts in it's phone book, and it's name means "true" in Italian. The Vero also has a "glow-thru" external display that, when not active, blends in with the rest of the phone. The phone also has great battery life and a soft-touch backing for a better grip. The phone will be available for $9.99 with a new two-year contract from Sprint. (Sprint)

Sprint to Release Third-Quarter Earnings on Wednesday

This Wednesday, we will find out whether Sprint has been able to keep gaining subscribers to their network, like they did last quarter. They will be announcing their earnings information on the thirteenth at 8 a.m. (Eastern Time). If you want to listen in, you can call 800-938-1120 in the United States and Canada, and enter the ID 11720738 to listen in on the conference call. If you are not withing the United States or Canada, but still want to listen in (for some reason), you can dial 706-634-7849 and enter the same ID number. To make sure that you can listen in, you should call the number ten minutes before the earnings report starts. A webcast will also be available after the announcement at sprint.com/investors (Sprint)

Boost Mobile Launched Blackberry Curve 8530

Boost Mobile, the prepaid service running on the Sprint and Nextel networks, has now launched another smartphone on their service, the Blackberry Curve 8530. The Curve features a full QWERTY keyboard, a two-megapixel camera, and 3G data services. The addition of the 8530 improves the lineup of phones for Boost mobile, which is known for its cheap unlimited plans that also feature free push to talk on phones that support it. The phone will cost $249, with no contract agreements. (Sprint)

LG Optimus S Rounds Out Sprint's New 3G Android Lineup

The LG Optimus S was the third and final Android to be announced by Sprint today. Aimed at a lower market than both the Samsung Transform and the Sanyo Zio, the phone has a 3.2 megapixel back facing camera, Android 2.2 preloaded, and Mobile Hotspot capability. The phone looks smaller and cheaper than the other two Android phones announced from Sprint today, but at only $49 with a new two-year contract, there aren't a lot of complaints with the phone with the feature set. (Sprint)

Sprint Announces Sanyo Zio Android Phone

Going along with the Samsung Transform, Sprint has recently announced the Sanyo Zio Android phone. The phone has a 3.5" capacitive touch screen, a 3.2 megapixel back facing camera, and Android 2.1. The phone will also be getting a Froyo update, along with the Samsung Transform. The Zio also features a trackball for navigation without the touch screen, which is good for a phone that doesn't have a slide-out keyboard. The phone is more low-end than the Transform, coming in at $99 with a new two-year contract with Sprint.

Sprint Announces the Samsung Transform Android Phone

Sprint is on a roll with new Android phones today, and the first phone we have is the new Samsung Transform. The Transform comes with a slide-out QWERTY keyboard, front and back facing cameras, and will launch with 2.1, but will be upgraded by the end of the year to Froyo. The front facing camera is VGA quality and the back facing camera is 3.2 megapixels. The Transform will be available on October 10 for $149 from Sprint. If you didn't notice, the phone doesn't support Sprint 4G, which means there will be no $10/month charge for getting the phone. (Sprint)

Orlando Now Covered in WiMax

For all of you Floridians (or vacationers) out there waiting for some more Florida 4G coverage, Sprint and Clear now have Orlando, Florida covered in WiMax. With this announcement, it makes Orlando the third city in Florida to have the service, coming after Jacksonville and Daytona Beach. The Samsung Epic 4G, HTC Evo 4G, and Sierra Overdrive Mobile Hotspot will all work on the new 4G network in Orlando.

Sprint Launched 4G Coverage in Nashville, Tennessee

Sprint is rapidly expanding 4G coverage across the nation, with their latest addition being Nashville, Tennessee to their coverage area. With the launch in Tennessee, Sprint has coverage in 52 markets, covering cities in California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Washington. There is still no coverage for San Francisco or New York City, which are two huge markets for the service, hopefully they will be launched soon and the service will be even better because of the long wait.
-Sprint Blog

Blackberry Curve 3G Announced for Sprint

The Blackberry Curve 3G, yet another update to the popular Curve series, has been announced for Sprint. The phone will be coming on September 26 through Sprint's telesales and online sales, and then in brick and mortar stores on October 10. The phone will cost $49 after a $100 mail-in rebate and a new two-year contract. The Curve 3G is very similar to the Curve 8530, with the main differences being a slightly updated housing and double the RAM inside. A 2 GB microSD card will be included with the Curve 3G. The phone will be coming in Graphite Gray and Royal Purple, with a new textured battery cover on both. The main reason for the release of the new phone is that it will be compatible with Blackbery OS 6, when it comes out for phones other than the Blackberry Torch. The phone is a bigger upgrade for GSM users, however, because the Curve 8520 did not include 3G like the Sprint and Verizon versions. An Everything Data or Simply Everything plan is required to use the phone.
-Sprint Blog

Sprint Expands 4G Coverage Once Again

Sprint launched coverage in three more markets for September. Boston, Massachusetts, Daytona Beach, Florida, and Providence, Rhode Island are all cities that are now covered in WiMax. This means you can use your new Samsung Epic to access 4G speeds in even more places around the country. Hopefully Sprint will launch 4G in New York City within a few weeks, otherwise the Verizon Wireless LTE network might beat them to the punch.

Epic 4G Coming August 31 for $249

For everybody waiting for Sprint's next 4G phone, the Epic 4g now has a release date and pricing. The phone will be released on August 31 for $249 with a mail-in rebate and new two year contract. The phone, a part of the Galaxy S series from Samsung, features a slide out QWERTY keyboard, Android 2.1, and a Super AMOLED display. The phone will also pick up your 4g signals whenever you are in a service area. The phone will also let you chat with your EVO owning friends with a front facing VGA camera in addition to the normal 5 megapixel camera. It also has a mobile hotspot function for five devices and a Samsung 1 GHz processor. Sprint says that the phone will get Froyo (Android 2.2) within the coming months. Engadget/

Sprint Subscribers Really Liked the World Cup

If you didn't hear about it, the World Cup was on earlier this summer, believe it or not. And if you were a mobile viewer of the World Cup, chances are that you were watching it on a Sprint phone. That's right, Sprint customers were the number one viewers of the World Cup from a mobile device. About 700,000 people watched the games from ESPN's channel on Sprint TV. The most watched games of the world cup were USA v Ghana, USA v Algeria, and the Netherlands v Spain final match. The Sprint article that the information is from also posts some interesting facts about other most watched shows, some of which are the 2008 Presidential Inauguration, the Michael Jackson Memorial, and a Dallas v New Orleans NFL game. (Sprint)

Sprint Reports Great Second Quarter Results

Sprint has recently released information on the second quarter of 2010, and things are definitely looking up for the company. Sprint gained a total of 111,000 subscribers during the quarter, marking a turn around from the customer loss of past quarters. Although there were large gains made in CDMA subscribers, the iDen network lost over 400,0000 customers. Sprint also reported their best ever churn rate for the company, at about 1.85 percent. Postpaid, or contract customers, increased by 136,000 customers while prepaid growth was still good but not as strong as before. It seems like Sprint is finally looking up in terms of subscribers, and hopefully they can continue to gain more subscribers to the network. (Sprint)

Sprint 4G Coverage Now In Delaware, Florida, and Michigan

For everybody out there waiting to use your Evo on a 4G network, you might just be covered. Sprint has launched WiMax in Wilmington, Delaware, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Jacksonville, Florida on August second. They have also extended their coverage in California to the cities of Modesto and Stockton. Although the new coverage areas are a great addition to the network, Sprint hasn't announced coverage in other major cities around the nation, including San Francisco and New York, although people have reported their 4G devices detecting and connecting to a 4G network in isolated areas of the city. Hopefully we will see coverage in a few more cities by the time the Epic 4G hits the market. (Sprint)

Sprint Finally Doing Refurbished?

If you have ever looked for a phone on an AT&T website, you will notice that most models also have a refurbished version of the phone. When you refurbish a cell phone, you replace the used/broken parts and replace them with new ones, which gives you a phone that is something between used and new. Whenever you buy a refurbished phone, you get big savings passed on to you. Although Sprint has only done refurbished and used phones for replacements, they now have a refurbished Palm Centro on their website. The deal is online only, and you can't buy the phone new anymore, but they are starting to make refurbished models out of the popular phone. Hopefully, we are going to start seeing some more refurbished phones on the site, especially ones that have a new model available too. (Sprint)

Samsung Intercept Coming to Sprint For Low-End Android

Another Android phone has hit Sprint, the Samsung Intercept. Aimed at entry level smartphone shoppers, the phone has a three-inch capacitive display, EVDO Rev. 0, , and a slide out keyboard. The phone is priced at an affordable $99 with a new two year contract and mail in rebate from Sprint.

Samsung "Epic" 4G Announced, No Release Or Pricing

The second 4G phone to run on Sprint has been announced. The Samsung Epic 4G will feature the physical keyboard, 1 GHz processor, and a Super AMOLED display. It will also have the front facing camera and WiMax support like the EVO. The phone is off the Galaxy S series, and it will be the only one that is going to have a physical keyboard. There will be other Galaxy S series phones on other U.S. carriers coming this year from Samsung. There is no release or pricing information yet. (Android Central)

Data Roaming Now On Online Account

Although Sprint has a good network with coverage in almost every major place, roaming is still a reality for traveling Sprint customers. A little known clause in the terms of service limits your data roaming (it also has a 5 GB cap on your regular data usage), but you never knew how much data you have used while roaming.

If you have used data while roaming, like me, you will have noticed that under the data section of your account it now shows your data roaming and how much they are going to charge you for it. I do not know how much you have to get charged for it, but I have only used about 163 kB this month. The site makes sure that you notice the data roaming by having a red exclamation point next to the data section of your account usage, and also puts your roaming usage and additional charges in red. They also have a link where you can "reduce additional charges" by changing your plan.

Update: I just spoke with an online Sprint Rep and he informed me that if you are in the United States you will not get overage charges for using data, even with data roaming. The data roaming section might also apply to using data in other countries, and additional charges would be added to that.

Samsung Restore Eco Phone Now Available

If you didn't like the design of the Samsung Reclaim but still wanted to be eco-conscious, you now have another option in the Samsung Restore. The phone is similar to the Samsung Rant in design, but with more curved edges. It will have the same interface as standard Sprint feature phones with One Click, and has the slide out QWERTY keyboard, a two megapixel camera, and a memory card slot. The phone is available for $49.99 with a new two year contract.

Samsung Seek Touch Screen Messaging Phone

For all of those users out there feeling feature phones, Samsung is now giving you a new one with the Samsung Seek. On the outside of the phone there is a nice large touch screen, slide out QWERTY keyboard, 1.3 megapixel camera, and MicroSD slot. When you look at the software of the phone, however, you will see that the interface is very similar to the Samsung Instinct software. The phone even has the three buttons below the screen that were on the Instinct to go with the large on screen buttons, for better or for worst. One of the best things about the phone is that it is free with a new two year contract, and is available in red, blue, or pink.

White Evo 4G Coming to Best Buy

Looking to get some other colors for your new 4G phone, and think black is too boring? You might just be taking a trip to Best Buy sometime soon, then. Best Buy announced that they are now taking pre orders for white Evo 4G's, and they should be available on July 11 only in Best Buy. This isn't the first time that they have done this for a phone, but it is arguably the most high profile phone that they are carrying an exclusive color for. If you haven't bought a phone from Best Buy before, you will be happy to hear that they have no mail-in rebates and some phones are cheaper than buying direct from the retailers. The phone looks like it should have the regular black front with only the back of the phone being white, unlike the new iPhone 4. (Wireless and Mobile News)

WiMax Might Be Coming Soon to Major Cities

Reports from Evo users last week have been that their phones have been detecting 4G networks that were available in their city, and some people were even able to use the network for a brief period of time.

The reports come from New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and some people are saying that the service is somewhat strong near Coney Island in New York. Although these networks definitely aren't up and running yet, it looks like Sprint/Clearwire 4G might be on it's way to some big cities sooner rather than later. (Engadget)

New Sprint 4G Phone Rumored to Be Out By End of Year

As if the HTC Evo 4G wasn't a mouthful, there will be another Android 4G phone that should hit the market by the end of 2010, the Samsung Galaxy S Pro. Although Samsung has already announced their Samsung Galaxy S, that device was for GSM networks (likely coming to T-Mobile), but now we have our own Samsung goodness.

Early hands on with the unannounced device have determined that there is a "Sprint 4G" logo on the back, meaning that it would with the WiMax network where it comes out. The phone should also be coming out with a VGA front facing camera (for making calls to all those Evo owners), a Samsung 1 GHz processor (somewhat similar to a Snapdragon), a Super AMOLED screen (thing BRIGHT, even in direct sunlight), and a five megapixel camera back facing camera that can record in 720p.

But those are all the normal features, the real draw to the phone is that it should have a slide out QWERTY keyboard! You heard right. So anybody that was holding off on the Evo because it didn't have a real keyboard to type out all those emails (if you couldn't just use the gigantic screen), well this might just be your dream 4G phone.

The phone should come with Android 2.1, which will hopefully change before or soon after with Froyo being released, along with Touch Wiz 3.0 layered on top. It should also come with all the typical Sprint software, like Sprint TV, for those that use the services.

Hopefully this turns out to be one heck of a phone for Sprint 4G, and for Sprint in general, because of its differences and similarities to the Evo. Now if we can just work on that battery life and coverage of our WiMax then we would be all set with our new WiMax phones. (Softpedia)

Cross Platform Smartphone Chat with Cnectd

If you have ever had a Blackberry, you will know that Blackberry Messenger (BBM) is one of the best features of the phone. From being able to talk to people around the world, to groups, and the delivered and read message notifications, the program is really only limited by the fact that you can only use it to and from other Blackberry smartphones. Other programs for instant messaging like AIM are nice, but they are very connected to the device and still don't deliver some of the features of Blackberry Messenger.

Well, now there is a solution for chatting across multiple platforms, Cnectd. The program is available for Symbian (many people overseas), Android, Blackberry, and even iPhone. The program lets you create a username for your account, and you can carry the account over to other smartphone platforms if you get a new device (no more PIN switching for Blackberry users). The program even offers the delivered and read notifications from BBM which are something taken for granted by most BlackBerry users.

Although I didn't get a chance to try out the program with many others users, I installed it on both my Sprint Blackberry and iPod touch, and the program worked great. It delivered the messages fast, using push notifications on the iPod too, and the delivered and read symbols changed fast. You can even send pictures and your current location to other users with the program.

If you have friends with different devices and want something to chat with (in case they don't have a data plan), or you switch between platforms and devices a lot, Cnectd is a great program for keeping in touch, especially with the robust feature set that hasn't been seen since Blackberry Messenger. (Cnectd)

Foneshow Delivers Podcasts By Phone Call

For all those Sprint customers out there without a data plan, or don't feel like using their precious data for downloading or streaming podcasts, there is a great service called Foneshow. I have been using Foneshow for about two weeks now, and feel that the service is great, especially for customers that don't have smartphones with data plans to get their podcasts.

After signing up for an account on foneshow.com, you can select any shows that they have on the site and subscribe to them. They have a variety of shows from many different sources, and I am currently subscribed to some from Cnet and Engadget. Once you do this, you should get a text message with the latest episode and a phone number that is wants you to call. Here is what one of my text messages from the service looked like:
Buzz Out Loud from CNet: Buzz Out Loud 1254: Google has an honesty prob 29:41 call ---------- to hear this Foneshow!
The number goes where I put the dashes. I just call the number there and it delivers the Foneshow through the phone on a voice call. It is very simple to use and whenever a new episode is released it is usually quick to alert you by text message and let you listen to it through the phone.

Some will be turned off by the fact that it uses your normal minutes on the phone call, which wasn't a big deal for me since I have tons of leftover minutes from Any Mobile Any Time. Just make sure you watch your minutes and how long your podcasts are, and if you are short on minutes you can listen when you get night or weekend minutes. If you are a Sprint/CDMA user (you most likely are if your reading this), you will also not be able to get data on your phone when using the service, unless you are connected to a Wifi (or WiMax) network when on the call.

The service is also very useful by resuming the podcast where you left off if you hang up or it gets dropped, which makes it better than streaming because you don't have to find the place the video was. The feature also has pause, fast forward, start from the beginning, and other functions right from the call.

If you like to listen to your favorite podcasts without having to remember when they come on, Foneshow is a great service that is helpful to keep up on your latest podcasts. It is also nice for users without good data reception at their house or work, without smartphones, or who need to watch their usage of data. Although some people can just get the podcasts right on their phone, I find Foneshow easier to use and it doesn't take up space on your memory card or internal memory. (Foneshow)

HTC Evo Breaks Sales Records

The HTC Evo, Sprint's new superphone, has broken sales records for the carrier. Although false numbers were first reported because of an error in calculations, it has now been determined that the phone has now sold twice the amount during launch days than the Palm Pre, and six times greater than the Samsung Instinct. Because there were so many activations on launch day, Sprint's activation servers crashed and made it a very long process to get the phones activated. Stores eventually resorted to calling into Sprint to activate the phones. Hopefully the activation issues were from subscribers coming from other carriers and needing new accounts, but we will have to see how many new subscribers Sprint gained from the Evo when results from the quarter have been released. (Sprint)(Engadget)

My Experience With PdaNet for Tethering

As most hardcore Sprint subscribers know by now, when you switch to one of the Everything Data plans that includes the unlimited mobile to mobile calling you cannot get the tethering feature for your phone. Now, all that this means is that you can't use Sprint Smartview to tether your smartphone to your computer like a data card. For the past few months I have been trying out an application called PdaNet, which is a lightweight and free to try application for Blackberry's and other smartphones.

There are other applications that you can buy, such as Tether (previously Tetherberry), but those have a thirty day trial and then you have to pay up to fifty dollars for the program on your phone. Before going on a trip, I decided to install PdaNet to see if I could get it to work and how fast it was.

Setup was a breeze, you just had to install the lightweight app on your computer and desktop machine (I have a Windows 7 laptop but there is also a version for Mac), plug in your app, and go to the app and click use USB connection. You will either get a prompt on your computer to connect, or you have to click on the task bar and click connect on the pop up menu. After that, you can start surfing the web! The speed of the connection isn't bad, although I live with good Sprint 3G coverage and it depends on how fast your phone connection is.

After about a month of using the software, I now get a popup every once in a while to purchase the program because my "trial is expiring." You are allowed to just click exit to the make the popup go away. I think that the more data that you use when tethering your phone to the computer the more the popup will come, from what I have noticed.

If you are looking for a tethering application for your smartphone, go ahead and see if PdaNet will work for you. I am writing this article using the program to get online, since the hotel I am at doesn't have very good Wifi. Just make sure to watch your usage, because it can be easy to eat up your 5 GB of data every month tethering your smartphone to your computer. (June Fabrics Technology)

Blackberry Bold 9650 Now Available

Beating Verizon to the punch by almost two weeks now, the new Blackberry Bold 9650 is finally here. In case you haven't been paying attention to the news about the follow up to the Tour, it was delayed since February to upgrade the memory to 512 MB and rebrand it from Tour 2 to Bold. The phone also includes a trackpad in place of the trackball and Wifi. Although there hasn't been any release of the phone on Verizon, it is available from Sprint for $199 after rebates.

HTC Evo Now Released!

One of the most anticipated phones of the year, the HTC Evo is now released. If you haven't heard about it, the Evo is Sprint's superphone running Android 2.1, an eight megapixel main camera, 1.3 megapixel front facing camera, 1 GHz "Snapdragon" processor, and maybe the most important feature of all, it is the first phone to run on Sprint's 4g network. If you didn't get to the store early, or make sure and preorder your phone for the first shipment, you might be waiting a while to pick up your new phone. If you already have one, you are probably enjoying the large screen and speed of the device.

For everyone that has their phone already, feel free to send an email to sprintblog@aol.com and let us know how you like your new 4g phone!

Sprint Passes On Nexus One After All

Following in Verizon's lead, Sprint recently announced that they weren't going to be carrying the Nexus One phone. Similar to Verizon's reason, they are saying that another Android phone will be available for customers who want one. For Verizon, this means the Droid Incredible that is now available, and for Sprint it is the coming Evo 4G, and maybe even the rumored Hero 2. Although some people will be sad for the phone to be canceled by another carrier, the Evo 4G is looking to be such a good phone that you might just forget all about that Nexus One. (Huffington Post)

Sprint Posts Less Customer Losses and Increased Revenue

The future is looking bright(er) for Sprint lately, with improved customer losses and increased revenue compared with their last earnings report. Sprint saw an increase in revenue to eight billion dollars, and also saw less customer losses overall with 75,000 customers leaving. Less customers were lost because of the aggressive advertising of their prepaid customers, which boosted the total number of customers with Sprint service. Overall, not a bad first quarter for Sprint, especially with the HTC Evo coming this summer, along with a new Blackberry Bold. (Sprint)

New Sprint Website

Recently the Sprint website has gotten a new, updated look. When you first visit the website, you're greeted by a screen that asks you if you are already a Sprint customer or if you aren't one yet. After making a selection, the overall look of the other page is similar to the old Sprint website, but with a cleaner look and less links to make it an easier and faster process. If you haven't visited the new Sprint website yet, you can head to Sprint.com and try it out. (Sprint)

Palm Pixi Free on Sprint

The Palm Pixi, a 3G smartphone made for multitasking, is now free from Sprint. Although the most likely reason that it is free now is because of weak sales, this makes it an even better choice for a new Sprint smartphone. It offers a two megapixel camera, 3G speeds, great multitasking with WebOS, and a full keyboard. (Sprint)

Blackberry Bold 9650 Coming May 23

To follow up the popular Blackberry Tour smartphone, the Blackberry Bold 9650, or "Tour 2," will be available to Sprint customers on May 23. The phone is very similar to the Tour, having a 3.2 megapixel camera, international roaming with SIM cards, and similar styling and keyboard. The phone has been updated to include a trackpad for navigation, Wifi, and now double the memory of any other Blackberry smartphone currently on the market. The phone will be available for $199.99 after rebates and discounts (and with a new two year contract) through every Sprint sales channel, unlike the Curve 8530 at launch. (Sprint)

Free 3G/4G Modem

Do you have 4G in your city? Even if you are just a 3G subscriber on Sprint, you can get a 3G/4G laptop modem for free with a two year contract. The pricing is the same for using 4G, but you get unlimited data usage when you are in a 4G coverage area. If you have a laptop card or are thinking about getting one from Sprint, this would be a great choice in case you ever travel to a city with 4G coverage, which are really starting to add up. (Sprint)

How T-Mobile Could Save Sprint

It is no doubt that Sprint is trying to make a comeback from their heavy customer losses and customer service issues the company has had in the past. And now that they have become the first U.S. carrier to offer a 4G phone, and the first with a 4G network, it is clear that they are going to try to use WiMax to win back customers and to increase their revenue. But recently, the other carriers, both in the United States and around the globe, have been choosing the competing 4G technology- LTE- over WiMax. What does this mean? Well, if wiMax doesn't have as many subscribers or carriers using it, it means that most phone manufacturers will produce more phones for LTE networks, much like we have already seen with the GSM/CDMA conflict in 3G already. It also means that LTE equipment would be more readily available than WiMax gear, making everything from phones to the tower equipment cheaper than WiMax. So, you ask, what does T-Mobile have to do with this? Well, the company is currently focusing on ramping up it's 3G network before making the jump to 4G, and hasn't selected a technology that they would use for their next network. Their parent company has already picked LTE, but there have been reports lately that T-Mobile is in talks with Sprint/Clear about using their WiMax network for their customers 4G gear. If this is true, and a deal comes around that T-Mobile jumps on the Clear WiMax network (or just plain chooses WiMax over LTE), this could change the game in 4G and for Sprint. Getting another carrier in the United States market to use WiMax would mean more manufacturers would want to make a WiMax phone instead of or in addition to a LTE phone, and mean that another company would be in the mix to help contribute money to network expansion, if they join forces with Sprint and Clear. Many people already consider WiMax to be an outdated technology, or one that will disappear in the next few years, which might be true if T-Mobile decides to go with LTE instead. This could mean that manufacturers wouldn't bother making a WiMax version of phones, or would just make phones for LTE networks. This could lead to many customers migrating away from Sprint and Clear, just to get better and newer phones on other networks. An increase in the pricing of 4G might also become a reality, as Sprint and Clear pay more for their network equipment than LTE carriers, and as customers migrate away to other carriers to get better phones or cheaper prices.

There is nothing decided yet in the 4G wars, and everything is just heating up in the 4G market. Sprint and Clear have established the lead for now, but if other networks can offer 4G with cheaper plans and better devices, then Sprint will be in one big pinch if they don't have a network to back up the pricing and phones.

Sprint Announces First 4G Phone

The rumors have turned out to be true, Sprint has announced their first 4G phone (the first 4G phone in the United States, too) at CTIA just yesterday. Codenamed the Supersonic, the phone is a powerhouse that is running Android 2.1, uses both the 3G and 4G networks of Sprint, has a 1 GHz "Snapdragon" processor, and a huge 4.3" screen. The more advanced features of the phone include the ability to use it as a hotspot for up to eight Wifi devices (much like the Pre and Pixi), HDMI output, an eight megapixel forward facing camera and a 1.3 megapixel camera facing the user of the phone (most likely for video calls). During the presentation at CTIA, multiple Sprint and HTC executives demoed the various features of the device, ranging from streaming HD video from the phone to a TV, using the hotspot feature, playing high definition Youtube videos, and comparing the screen to that of the Droid. If this phone performs even a fraction of what they have been showing at CTIA, it looks like it will be a great competitor to every other smartphone and Android phone currently on the market. One of the major draws of the phone is the speed, not only in the phone itself but of the data. Considering other networks are just going to be getting their 4G going this year, it is a major thing for Sprint to already have a phone supporting the fast service on their network. The Sprint/Clear WiMax network already covers over thirty cities in the United States, with more cities to be getting the service this year. The 4G speeds on the device seem to be as fast as ever, and Sprint has said the battery life will be "comparable". No release date or pricing have been announced for this phone yet, but hopefully we will see this phone sooner rather than later, as it just might be Sprint's phone to get them back in the wireless game. (Sprint)(Engadget)(Sprint)

HTC Supersonic 4G Phone Coming at CTIA?

We have already heard rumors about the HTC Supersonic Android phone coming to Sprint, but now we have more rumors coming along, saying the phone will be announced at this year's CTIA. Sprint has previously said that the first Android phone will be coming this summer, so is this just a rumor or a release date, or are they giving us a 4G phone early? The Supersonic will be a dual mode phone that will run on both the new WiMax 4G network and Sprint's old 3G network, making it the first phone in the United States to run on a 4G network. Considering that Sprint's competitors don't have 4G networks up and running yet, having a 4g phone before them would be great for drawing in new subscribers. We will have to wait until CTIA to know if it is going to be announced, but this phone is definitely something to keep your eyes on. (Engadget)

Nexus One Coming To Sprint

Google's own cell phone, the Nexus One, is going to be coming to Sprint! Already available on T-Mobile and in AT&T 3G bands, the phone will be coming to Sprint sometime this year. Now release date and pricing are still to be announced, but the phone is now going to be available on the four largest U.S. networks. The Nexus One has a five megapixel camera with flash, a 1 GHz "Snapdragon" processor, a 3.7 inch AMOLED display, and Wifi. The phone is also running Android 2.1 (Eclair), which is the newest version of Android. It looks like a great Android phone to be coming to the Sprint network, along with our new 4G Supersonic. (Sprint)

More Cities Confirmed for Sprint 4G in 2010

Multiple cities are going to be receiving the gift of 4G this year. Here is the list:
-Boston
-Denver
-Kansas City
-New York City
-San Francisco
-Houston
-Minneapolis
-Washington D.C.
With some of these major cities, Sprint should hopefully see a rise in it's 4G customers, especially with the many people that live in San Francisco and New York. (Engadget)

Open Enrollment for Sprint Insurance Program in March

This month, you will be able to enroll in Sprint's Insurance plan for phones, no matter how long ago you purchased your phone. So in case you forgot to enroll within the first month of purchasing your device, or you realize that you want to enroll now, you can sign up now. They are also extending customer service hours and letting you track your phone online, which are great features for people anxious to get a broken phone back and working again. (Sprint)

Sprint Expands Buyback Program to Non-Sprint Phones, Too

Looking to switch to Sprint, but wondering what you are going to do with your old phone? It looks like anyone that has an old phone, even from other carriers, can now get credit for them when they give them to Sprint. Up to three phones can be returned to Sprint for a credit, and any phones after that won't be credited. If your family has been with another carrier before now, each person buying a new Sprint phone could give three phones for a credit, which adds up to a nice fat credit, depending on the phones. You can use the credit to pay for your bill or new phone, too. Previously, Sprint only accepted Sprint branded phones for a credit, but now they will take any phone and give you credit back for them. A great way to get customers, especially those that don't want to deal with services like eBay and Craigslist. (Sprint)

Treo Pro No Longer on Palm, Sprint Death Sometime Soon?

Palm's last Windows Mobile device, the Treo Pro, has officially left Palm's website. The phone was a popular Windows Mobile device that has a similar design to the Palm Centro. If you still want a piece of Palm's Windows Mobile device, it is still available directly from Sprint, but once it is gone from the phone manufacturer's website, it's probably going to be gone soon. Hopefully with the Treo Pro gone, Palm will make new devices on the modern WebOS platform to take it's place, and fast. (Palm)

Sprint Most Reliable 3G Network (In a Tie)

PC World has conducted another test of the Big Four national carriers, and Sprint is the most reliable again (in a tie with AT&T that is). They got perfect reliability in three of the cities that PC World tested in, and they only dropped below 80% in a few cities. In addition to being the most reliable in some of the cities, they also have 4G up and running in some of those cities, which is a bonus if you live in a Sprint 4G city. Although they didn't have the highest speeds out of all the carriers, they have improved their reliability from last year (about 90%) four percent (to about 94%). Overall, all the carriers saw improvements in their networks. Sprint increased their speed in some cities, but were starting to drop in speed in a few that they haven't upgraded their 3G network in. AT&T got the best 3G speeds in almost every city that PC World tested, increasing by more than 100% in some cities. But if you are looking for coverage and reliability in your network, look to Sprint, which has already started on their 4G network and have almost twice the 3G footprint of AT&T and more than eight times more than T-Mobile. (PC World)