nextel

Sprint changes Direct Connect plans

Sprint Nextel's Direct Connect service may not be sexy, but the push-to-talk network has a staunchly loyal following. And if Sprint knows what it's doing, it will leave the basics of Direct Connect alone.

Yet, the carrier did announce Thursday that it was tweaking the Direct Connect plans for its customers. The basic plan, which goes by the mouthful name of Unlimited Workgroup Communications, offers unlimited Direct Connect and Group Connect calls, plus unlimited text messaging, for $29.99 per month per line. For regular voice calls, you'll also get unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes and free nights and … Read more

The last cell phone of 2008

With great fanfare, we present CNET's last cell phone review of 2008. As Christmas is only a week away, the flood of new models has definitely dried up. Though it was very busy fall season with a ton of notable handsets, we close the year with something practical.

The Motorola i576 is neither the flashiest nor the most exciting phone we've seen all year, but it would certainty count among the most reliable. Similar to many of its predecessors, the i576 offers a rugged design with rubber sidings, an extendable antenna and a tiny external display. Features are … Read more

Sprint offers 3G/4G wireless modem for laptops

Sprint Nextel announced Wednesday that it will start selling dual-mode 3G/4G wireless broadband modems for laptops starting Sunday.

The new device allows users to access both Sprint's 3G cellular data network and the new 4G WiMax wireless network the company is building as part of the new Clearwire venture.

The modem known as the Sprint 3G/4G USB Modem U300 will use the new 4G Clearwire network with download speeds between 2 Mbps and 4Mbps where that network is available. And when users are out of range of the 4G wireless network, they will automatically be able to access Sprint's 3G network, which offers average downloads of between 600 Kbps and 1.4 Mbps, according to Sprint.

Sprint launched the 4G WiMax network called Xohm in Baltimore in October, just months before it officially merged its WiMax network with Clearwire's network. The service will be launched in other markets across the country throughout 2009.

At the Baltimore launch, Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse promised a wireless data device that would allow users to access both networks for better coverage.

"It will take a while for the new (4G) network to be built ubiquitously," Hesse said during the Baltimore press event. "And we will have new multimode devices that will use 4G where it's available, and when it's not, it will downshift to 3G to provide that ubiquitous data coverage."

The new wireless modem connects via a standard USB port and costs $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and with a two-year subscription to the wireless data service. The wireless modem will be available through Sprint's direct business sales force and at most Baltimore-area Sprint stores and select Baltimore-area retailers, the company said. Starting in January, the device will also be available in Baltimore-area Best Buy stores.

The new wireless modem from Sprint will likely be a better deal for most consumers because the service, which costs $79.99 per month, offers the best coverage at the best price.… Read more

Clearwire-Sprint Nextel unveils new brand

Clearwire and Sprint-Nextel announced Monday they have completed their joint-venture transaction and will offer mobile WiMax service under the "Clear" brand.

The transaction, announced in May, creates a new company valued at $14.5 billion, formed with the WiMax assets of both Sprint-Nextel and Clearwire. The new company aims to create a nationwide broadband wireless network to rival AT&T.

As part of that plan, the new company will retain the Clearwire name and offer mobile WiMax under the Clear brand. Over the coming months, Sprint Nextel's XOHM service will undergo a name change.

The newly … Read more

Sprint's Nextel nightmare lingers

Sprint continues to be haunted by its $35 billion acquisition of Nextel Communications in 2005 as the company is forced to divest some of its Nextel network and is still struggling to get its finances back on track.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Illinois upheld a lower court's ruling that Sprint must stop owning, operating, and managing its Nextel iDEN network in Sprint affiliate iPCS's territory. But the court also extended the time line Sprint has for divesting itself from this market from 180 days to 360 days.

Basically, the two courts agreed with iPCS that Sprint … Read more

Sprint to keep Nextel

After failing to find a buyer for its Nextel network, Sprint Nextel said Thursday it will keep the Nextel iDEN network.

Sprint has steadily been losing customers on the old Nextel Network since the acquisition in 2005. And earlier this year the wireless operator said it was looking to sell the network.

The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed sources who said that several parties had been interested in buying the network, including a few private equity firms . But the current credit crisis made it difficult for them to get the funds to close the transaction. Sprint was supposedly hoping to … Read more

Meet Motorola i776, Nextel's newest phone

Last month at the fall CTIA show, Sprint assured us that it was not forgetting its Nextel fans. The carrier promised that by the end of the year it would release four iDEN-only phones for the push-to-talk-loving masses. We've already reviewed the Motorola i365, we're still waiting for the already announced Motorola i576, and we know that an iDEN BlackBerry is on the way. That leaves the new Motorola i775 has the final model in the quarter.

Announced Monday by Motorola and Nextel, the i776 has a flip-phone design in silver with touches of dark red. As expected, … Read more

With WiMax, Sprint cuts the cord in Baltimore

BALTIMORE--Executives from Sprint Nextel and its ecosystem of partners ceremonially cut the broadband cord here on Wednesday with the launch of the first mobile WiMax network in the U.S.

Executives also showed off several new laptops that will have embedded WiMax chips, and they announced that Sprint will be offering dual-mode 3G/4G products by the end of the year. The introduction of new devices and integration with Sprint's existing cellular network could help lay to rest worries about the company's initial strategy. But it's still very early days for Xohm and for WiMax in general. … Read more

What's the big deal about WiMax?

Sprint Nextel has made headlines all week as it's started lighting up its first 4G wireless network using a technology called WiMax. But what exactly is WiMax? And how does it fit into the future of wireless? Here's a primer to help you sort it out.

Sprint was the first major carrier in the world to announce massive deployment of mobile WiMax in 2006. The company said it would use the technology to build a fourth-generation, or 4G, wireless network that would provide true wireless broadband.

But the hyped technology hasn't been without controversy. Fast forward to … Read more