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)