sprint

Sprint's Samsung Galaxy Nexus gets Android 4.2 update

The Sprint version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus has begun receiving the Android 4.2 software update, according to various reports surfacing this week.

The 98MB file can be manually downloaded and installed, but the carrier has yet to make any formal announcements.

CNET has contacted Sprint for comment and will update the article with any response.

Sprint may have been months behind Verizon releasing the Galaxy Nexus, but the smaller carrier has been much more active in offering updates. The Verizon model, for its part, is still running Jelly Bean 4.1.1.

While this isn't the worst … Read more

Sprint to expand 4G LTE to 28 more cities in coming months

Sprint Nextel announced plans to expand its 4G LTE network to 28 new cities in the coming months, continuing its push to blanket its entire network with the high-speed wireless access.

The Overland Park, Kan., company listed Paris, Texas; Branson, Mo.; Oxford, Miss.; and other smaller cities in its latest update. It didn't specify what "coming months" means, but as CNET has reported, that could be as much as six months.

Sprint has been playing catch-up in terms of 4G LTE, lagging far behind rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T. It earlier made a bet on … Read more

Dish Network to FCC: Pause the Sprint-Softbank merger review

Dish Network has asked the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to pause its review of Softbank's proposed $20.1 billion acquisition of Sprint.

When Japanese carrier Softbank acquired a 70 percent stake in Sprint in October, it provided Sprint with the cash to acquire the Clearwire shares it didn't already own. Sprint has been floundering in the cellular market for some time, and made the Clearwire bid to acquire greater spectrum and more customers.

Sprint offered to buy remaining Clearwire shares for $2.90 apiece. Softbank then capped the bid at $2.97 per share and wouldn't … Read more

AT&T eyes international expansion for growth

AT&T is interested in buying a European carrier for growth, according to the Wall Street Journal.

With the U.S. market about to get more competitive, AT&T is looking at markets in Europe where it can upgrade technology and roll out new services and pricing strategies, the Wall Street Journal said, citing unnamed sources. It reported that AT&T is studying potential acquisitions, and could strike a deal by the end of the year. In particular, AT&T is looking at the U.K., Germany, and the Netherlands.

While the U.S. carriers have … Read more

Sprint's Sonim XP Strike unfortunately strikes out

Though it isn't the sleekest device, the Sonim XP Strike from Sprint isn't anything to mess with. Fulfilling military-grade specifications for ruggedness, the handset can survive the toughest of environments. It's shock-resistant, waterproof, and dustproof, and can withstand up to 1 ton of pressure (so don't feel too bad if you accidentally run it over in your driveway with your SUV).

The carrier's first Sonim phone, it not only expands Sprint's rugged lineup, but it also features Sprint Direct Connect, which enables callers to quickly communicate with one another at a push of a … Read more

Ordinary man gets blamed when Sprint customers lose phones

If I were Wayne Dobson, I'd move house. I'd move a few blocks away from his Las Vegas home. Or I'd leave Las Vegas altogether.

Dobson, you see, suffers constantly by virtue exclusively of where he lives.

Angry Sprint customers turn up at his door and demand he gives them their cell phones back.

He doesn't have their cell phone. He doesn't have anyone's cell phone. He doesn't even own a cell phone.

As the Las Vegas Review-Journal painfully portrays it, 59-year-old Dobson is at his wit's end.

However, he's also … Read more

4K TV, tablets, and timepieces at CES 2013 (week in review)

Forget about 3D TV -- this year's Consumer Electronics Show was all about 4K.

Sony got the ball rolling with the unveiling of new 55-inch and 65-inch 4K TVs, as well as the world's first 4K video distribution service, which offers native 4K movies from Sony Pictures and other 4K content creators. Additionally, the company also said it would be selling "4K mastered" Blu-ray discs this summer; they'll be standard 1080p resolution (not 4K), but supposedly look better than traditional Blu-rays.

The electronics giant unveiled a prototype 4K OLED TV at 56 inches, although little … Read more

FCC, stakeholders align on communications policy -- for now

LAS VEGAS--Peace appears to be breaking out between mobile Internet users and regulators.

During the three-day Innovation Policy Summit here at CES, members of Congress, FCC commissioners, industry representatives, and consumer groups found little to disagree on, whether the topic was incentive auctions for more broadband spectrum, retiring legacy copper networks in favor of native IP, sharing government spectrum in the 5 GHz band for high-speed Wi-Fi, or the continuing threat of international efforts to turn Internet governance over to repressive national governments so they can destroy it.

Some minor skirmishes broke out, of course, but the conversation this week … Read more

T-Mobile rips up contract on unlimited data plan

LAS VEGAS--Take that, Sprint.

With T-Mobile USA and Sprint Nextel jockeying for customers with their respective unlimited data plans, T-Mobile today upped the ante by offering its plan without a contract.

For $70 a month, T-Mobile customers can get unlimited data, text messages, and phone calls.

The no-contract option represents T-Mobile's desire to further expand into the prepaid business -- a move that will be accelerated by its pending merger with regional prepaid carrier MetroPCS. The company has been aggressive as it works to re-spark customer growth.

In August, T-Mobile opted to follow Sprint's lead and offer an unlimited data plan without any strings. … Read more