sprint

Unlike last week's slip up, Sprint managed to keep this bit of news under wraps and announced on the opening day of CTIA Fall 2008 that it will offer the HTC Touch Pro starting October 19. The ultimate replacement for the Sprint HTC Mogul, the Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone will go for $299.99 with a two-year contract and after rebates.

The Touch Pro is similar to the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint but has three major differences: 1) the smartphone features a slide-out full QWERTY keyboard; 2) it has expandable memory; and 3) the 3.2-megapixel camera … Read more

Along with several new phone announcements today, Sprint has also launched One Click, a new user interface designed to be highly customizable and easy to use. The One Click interface consists of eight shortcut tiles lined up along the bottom of the screen, which then lead to any of 14 available applications. They include the texting interface, Web access, e-mail, Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV Sprint Music, and other features. As you flip through the different shortcut tiles, you get a short little pop-up of that application's submenu, or a brief preview of the application itself. You can also customize … Read more

Is it just us, or is this deja vu? If we didn't know any better, we've seen one of Sprint's newest cell phones before. The Samsung Rant, which Sprint introduced Wednesday as CTIA Fall 2008 began, looks a lot like the year-old LG Rumor. It has same basic candy-bar shape with similar dimensions (4.5 inches by 2.1 inches by 0.7 inch) and it sports a full QWERTY keyboard hidden that's hidden behind the sliding face. And like the Rumor, the Rant is aimed directly at messaging addicts.

So what gives? Has Sprint run … Read more

Sprint and LG have just announced the LG Lotus, a messaging phone with a foldout QWERTY keyboard. The Lotus is the official moniker for the rumored LG LX600, which we mentioned on Crave a few weeks ago. It's one of the first Sprint devices to offer One Click, a customizable user interface that lets you organize up to eight shortcut tiles right on the landing screen.

The LG Lotus will have EV-DO support, which means it has access to Sprint's broadband and entertainment services such as Sprint TV, the Sprint Music Store, and a host of other streaming … Read more

The price of text messaging has doubled industry-wide in the last three years, and Congress wants to know why.

Sen Herb Kohl, chair of the Antitrust Subcommittee in the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter Tuesday to the four major wireless carriers--AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint, and T-Mobile--asking them to explain the dramatic price increases for text messaging services.

"Some industry experts contend that these increased rates do not appear to be justified by any increases in the costs associated with text messaging services, but may instead be a reflection of a decrease in competition, and an increase … Read more

Sprint just launched Ready Now, a new program in all its retail stores to better assist customers with their phones. The idea is that all customers leaving Sprint retail stores should have their phone "completely set up and personalized." These services include pairing and connecting Bluetooth headsets, setting up e-mail accounts, transferring contacts, as well as training customers in just what their phones can do. If you don't have time for that right as you purchase the phone, you can schedule a future appointment, and these consultations are also available for existing Sprint customers.

According to Sprint, … Read more

While the official announcement wasn't supposed to cross the wires till next week, The Wall Street Journal went early with its story (please don't get me started on this) and published a review of the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint.

Yes, that's right. The Windows Mobile 6.1 smartphone is officially part of the Sprint family; not that it was a complete surprise. The HTC Touch Diamond, as well as the HTC Touch Pro (no announcement on this model yet), were long rumored for a CDMA carrier months before Wednesday's early coming-out party. So now that the floodgates are open, here is what we know.

There are a number of differences between the Sprint HTC Touch Diamond and the unlocked version we reviewed in late June. First, it sports a purple/burgundy backplate to add more flash to an already sexy phone. The smartphone is also a smidge thicker and heavier at 4 inches tall by 2 inches wide by 0.6 inch deep and 4.1 ounces, but keeps the same 2.8-inch, 262,000-color TFT touch screen.

Of course, one of the highlights of the HTC Touch Diamond is the TouchFLO 3D interface, which provides a toolbar along the bottom of the screen where you can move left to right with the swipe of your finger to launch applications. Sprint's version is optimized so that you can access things like live TV, weather, e-mail, photos, contacts, and more.

In addition to the toolbar, there are several programs, such as e-mail, the camera, and music, where you can go flip through your files and messages by swiping your thumb/finger up or down the screen with a cool animated 3D effect.

Moving on to the features, the HTC Touch Diamond for Sprint runs Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional Edition, but rather than being content with the standard Microsoft Office Mobile Suite, the smartphone also ships with Dataviz's Documents to Go Suite and the Opera Web browser. We're sure many will be pleased with inclusion of these applications, which are arguably more robust than the former. Wireless options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth (with A2DP support), EV-DO Rev. A, and GPS with support for Sprint Navigation. … Read more

Update on September 4 at 10:00 a.m. with correction about Aicent. See also statement clarifying Aicent's business strategy at bottom.

Intel's investment arm has put another chunk of change into WiMax, a wireless technology that has not lived up to its billing as the successor to Wi-Fi.

This time Intel Capital has sunk $3 million into Aicent with the hope of accelerating the wireless technology's adoption.

Aicent provides data network, messaging, and roaming solutions for GSM and CDMA mobile operators and operates one of the world's first and largest multimedia messaging exchanges, according to … Read more

New details about Sprint Nextel's soon-to-be-launched WiMax service are coming to light as the company prepares to launch its first city this month.

The service called Xohm is set to launch this month in Baltimore. More cities are expected to go online in the fourth quarter.

Last week, the company started providing more details about what the service will be able to do and where it will be offered next.

Sprint announced last week that it has signed deals with several partners to provide location services to make it easier for subscribers to find nearby restaurants, movie theaters, and … Read more