Sprint keeping a watchful eye on G1, will offer Android when it's good and ready

Okay, so maybe Android isn't ready for prime time -- we're not here to judge, at least not at the moment -- but Sprint's still fully committed to launching a Google-powered set down the road, as evidenced by Miner's cameo at its developer conference tomorrow. That encouraging sign has been reinforced by new comments from Kevin Packingham, Sprint's veep of products and devices, who gloats that "We can, when the timing's right, pull the trigger." With the G1 out the door, why isn't the "timing" right this very second? According to Packingham, "We've just got to make sure our customers are saying, 'If you had a phone like this, man, I would really be more interested in Sprint because of it. You want to go out with a bang, because you believe that your investment is one that's going to generate a lot of return with customers -- new customers." Isn't "go out with a bang" a bad choice of words for a company that could realistically bite it?

[Via Phone Scoop]

[bob sakamano @ Dec 11th 2008 9:48PM]

do you ever the feeling the phone hardware companies are trying to sabotage sprint by not selling them their best phones first?

[Dave @ Dec 11th 2008 11:46PM]

I'm not sure what the problem is. I'm running Android on my HTC Touch on the Sprint network right now. I would however like to see Sprint jump on board however so I can get additional support and drivers.

[1234321 @ Dec 11th 2008 9:50PM]

what's with all the speculation, its a good OS, so just release a good phone and it will sell, certainly better than the average phone
or would they rather wait for T-Mobile to get the G2 perfect, so they'll have no potential customers left

[boe @ Dec 11th 2008 9:50PM]

All I want to know about Sprint -
Will I get to keep my same monthly plan when Verizon buys what is left of the smoldering ruin that is Sprint when Hess has wiped out a few more million subscribers?

[Big GIANT Balls @ Dec 11th 2008 9:52PM]

YEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ldrn @ Dec 11th 2008 9:53PM]

I like Sprint enough that I reluctantly decided to renew... I have had a very good experience with them so far (unlike most people, I get the impression.) I really, really wanted a G1, though.

If my experience had been a tiny bit less good or the Touch Pro a slightly less nice phone, I would have jumped ship.

[iKurt @ Dec 11th 2008 9:54PM]

Who needs the G1 when there's the Apple iPhone in AT&T~?

The best smartphone partnered with the best 3G provider in North America

[Steve @ Dec 11th 2008 9:59PM]

The best 3G provider is sprint for price&performance. AT&T is way too spotty. You are correct that HTC did release the Fuse on AT&T so you do have the best smartphone

[ace587 @ Dec 12th 2008 12:57AM]

iEye, now iKurt?

[Samboini @ Dec 12th 2008 4:22AM]

More like iHurt from all the buttsecks his idiotic comments get.

[bfromtheblock @ Dec 11th 2008 9:56PM]

Find G1, download skymap, get mind blown, rinse and repeat.

[Adam @ Dec 11th 2008 9:57PM]

I just don't get this type of attitude from a phone company. There job is to provide cell phone service. If someone wants a phone give them the phone they want. What does it matter if they think it is ready or not. The whole point of andriod is not to have one killer iPhone it is suppose to be an O/S for any phone. I don't see any competitive advantage to waiting when there is no limitations to where or when or how many phones can have andriod running.

[LordVesper007 @ Dec 11th 2008 10:17PM]

Despite the haters I think this is a good move on Sprint's part...

Anyways I was all set and ready to jump ship this summer when the new iPhone came out but then I saw just how lacking it was and I hated the changes they made to it. Also I heard about the Touch Pro and I decided to wait and see if it would be as good as I thought it would be.

Well fast forward a few months to now and I'm currently still with Sprint enjoying my new Touch Pro. And to boot I upgraded my plan to the Simply Everything 900 plan for 89.99 a month. Add in the fact that I get a nice discount from work on that plan I'm pretty much loving Sprint right now.

I truly hope Sprint can pull it together and get back to business. I think Hess is really good for the company and is making good decisions and providing a good vision. I see more Sprint commercials on the air than ever before. And they're GOOD commercials to boot. All I can say is that I would hate to go to AT&T and I'd rather go with T-Mobile or any of the other smaller groups than join evil Verizon (although I hear good things about FiOS TV).

Anyways rock on Sprint. Just get some killer sweet phones and market them well and you'll be back in the mix.

[Aydin @ Dec 12th 2008 11:16AM]

Are you kidding?!? or do you own Sprint stock?

I'm embarrassed to be a sprint customer every time I see another sprint instinct commercial. Hess is doing a good job? - have you even noticed the suicide mission the company's been ever since they bought up Nextel; something Hess has only contributed to. Have you even been reading the news/comments/opinions of business experts and bloggers all over the web... Sprint is crashing..... so I guess your right to tell them to "Rock On" .... they should... keep on rockin sprint... because the party's almost over.

[Virtuous @ Dec 11th 2008 10:36PM]

By the time Sprint introduces an Android smartphone Sprint will be on life support.

[Nal @ Dec 11th 2008 10:38PM]

Sprint screwed me over with the Instinct. I HOPE they crash and burn to the ground.

[krische @ Dec 12th 2008 12:02AM]

Have you downloaded the latest updates on it? It really isn't that bad anymore.

[Devlin @ Dec 12th 2008 5:17PM]

Did Sprint force you to buy the phone? Then who do you actually have to blame?

[Craig @ Dec 11th 2008 10:39PM]

That quote by Packingham is hilarious. When Spring wanted me to re-up my 2-yr contract last summer, I told them "no thanks." When asked why, I stated that I was waiting to see when/if Sprint would offer an Android device and wanted to make sure I could go to another carrier that did without Sprint contract restrictions. So, Mr. Packingham, YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE ALREADY TELLING YOU THIS...you dolt.

[Sherman Boyd @ Dec 11th 2008 10:48PM]

Fact is that Android still has some rough edges. I guess Sprint wants others to smooth out the platform before they jump onboard.

[loosely_coupled @ Dec 13th 2008 2:42AM]

Windows Mobile has been "rough around the edges" for a decade! My treo with up-to-date firmware and zero 3rd party applications still freezes up and has to be reset constantly... An early beta of Android would probably be more smooth than WinMo 6.1!

[OziD @ Dec 11th 2008 10:57PM]

i'm hoping palms big announcement includes a new phone + OS, and we hear something about a sprint android phone tomorrow. this coupled with the blackberry bold and new curve on sprint during q2-q3 next year will ensure that I reup on my contract next summer.

[cl0ugh @ Dec 11th 2008 10:59PM]

i think they are just stalling a bit to get a few more suckers (like myself) to get the samsung instinct before they release the sprint equivilant of the G1. That way they are not left with tons of stock of one of the worst phones ever.

[krische @ Dec 12th 2008 12:03AM]

What is really so bad about it?

[cesium @ Dec 12th 2008 2:20AM]

No, it's YOUR fault that you bought the instinct without doing proper research.

[cl0ugh @ Dec 12th 2008 2:22AM]

tons of errors and glitches. i would get more into it, but the instinct lacks even being worth ranting about (more then i have).

[cl0ugh @ Dec 12th 2008 2:33AM]

@cesium
how does one do the proper research? i used it in store, read reviews here, giz, and several other sites (including user reviews) and all said it was good not great and that the browser sucks. now having used it for 3 months i know that they were flat out wrong. the phone is workable, not good and the browser is ok.

[Joshua Walters @ Dec 11th 2008 10:59PM]

SOMEONE needs to get another Android phone out.

It needs to catch on so that VZW will feel the pressure to get one released, and I can finally get rid of my cracked first gen enV!

[Robot @ Dec 11th 2008 11:05PM]

Funny...I intend to leave Sprint to go with T-Mobile and get a G1. I'm typically not into early adoption, but this is one platform I would like to see succeed and look forward to aiding in its development.

[notsuh @ Dec 11th 2008 11:21PM]

"We've just got to make sure our customers are saying, 'If you had a phone like this, man, I would really be more interested in Sprint because of it. You want to go out with a bang, because you believe that your investment is one that's going to generate a lot of return with customers -- new customers."

-scratches head-

Wait...so...your customers AREN'T telling you they want a cool phone? but...if they were telling you that they wanted this cool phone, you'd only do it because your current customers are also telling you that this decision would generate new customers (IE: you're out of ideas to keep your business afloat, so you're finally listening to your customers as a last-ditch effort)? And you're apparently holding off on all of this so that you can (in the words of your example's [fictional?] current customer), "go out with a bang"?!

Where do they get these guys? And how do I apply for their job? Seriously...getting paid VP salary for however many months Sprint still has to live just so I could say incredibly stupid things would be an awesome job.

For example; "Our (current) customers tell us that unicorns will provide some much-needed value to our service. Not only will unicorns provide a valuable source of income to our customers, but they'll allow us to increase revenue by offering more unicorn-centric services."

[Eddie W @ Dec 11th 2008 11:26PM]

This is funny because I would actually sign up for Sprint if they were to offer an Android phone. It works well in my area (unlike T-mobile, apparently), so if they were to release an Android phone tomorrow I would sign up tomorrow.

I know I don't understand the ins and outs of the phone business, but I'm having a hard time understanding why releasing a phone with a platform that's currently got a lot of buzz and demand, that almost no one else has, would be a potentially bad business decision. They have to offer something different than Vz and At&t and people I've talked to haven't been happy enough with their level of coverage to really compete in that area. I think T-mobile's move is a good one. Not only did they suddenly make the list of companies I'd consider (as a fan of opensource) but friends of mine who could care less about Linux suddenly took notice (mostly because of Google).

[gerrrg @ Dec 11th 2008 11:31PM]

@Sherman Boyd

How do you know that Android has rough edges? I hear a lot of criticism, but do you people own a G1 phone?

I do, and I'm able to do things almost all those other smart phones can't do...compare prices in real time at the store, mark the spot where I parked my car with GPS, chat on the fly with Yahoo, AIM, MS and Google Chat in two touches, listen to internet radio stations in real time in one two touches, listen to my MP3s on 8 GB microSD card (that only cost me $17), read my google mail seamlessly, search google with one touch, one touch to reach stock quotes, two touches to listen to any NPR podcast, one touch to access my local weather, two to see current radar.

Does your smart phone do that?

[krische @ Dec 12th 2008 12:06AM]

Can you read exchange email/calendar?

[dantheman99 @ Dec 12th 2008 1:08AM]

I can do every single thing in your list (although I'm not quite sure what you mean by realtime price comparison) on my winmo Q9h and have been able to for years. I'm also positive you can do all those things on Symbian, BBOS, and the iphone, and all in one to two touches, or in my case, clicks (q is not a touchscreen). So to answer your question, gerrrg, yes, my smartphone, and the smartphones of the majority of the people on this site, can do that. You are not unique.

[S4Rs @ Dec 12th 2008 8:42AM]

I hate my Q. Do you know the Q9 is the same hardware as the Q in a bulkier shell! WTF was that!! Every app on WM costs money (and we are talking like 30 bucks each here), and you cant upgrade the OS when new updates come out. If you HAVE to access exchange on the go, the Blackberries are the only way. But chances are your company is paying for that phone, so the Iphone and a WM device are out of the question. Blackberries also cost a premium data package on most carriers (ussually around an extra 40 bucks a month.

Shame for saying you can do all those things in 2 clicks as well, because you also have to go to the task manager and kill all those apps when your done with them.

Real time price checker, is the barcode scanning app you can download that will show you the cheapest price on the web or in a store. You can even just take pictures of the front of the box of some items now.

[norskviking @ Dec 12th 2008 9:04AM]

Hmmm. Yep - My HTC Touch Pro appears to do all of those things.

[neodorian @ Dec 12th 2008 9:31AM]

Actually, yes. I've been doing those things on my WinMo phone for about a year and a half now. I really wanted to like the G1. I tested it for a few days and the GPS was very poor. Nowhere near the kind of performance I get with Google Maps, TomTom, Live, etc. I can stream any shoutcast (NPR or otherwise), and I have much better service on Sprint.

G1 has some excellent features but it is missing Exchange support and a decent GPS so I have to wait before I can get an Android device. Excellent OS. Not yet for me.

[dantheman99 @ Dec 12th 2008 10:36AM]

@ S4Rs

Let me guess...you're still on winmo 5. Yea, I'd hate my Q too. As for the Q being the same hardware as the Q9, where are your getting your data? Let's compare - 312mhz intel xscale vs 330mhz ti omap, 64mb ram vs 96mb ram, 128mb rom vs 256mb rom, agps vs real gps, should I continue? And no, my company is not paying for my phone, it's not even used for business - I chose wm on my own free will (I know, crazy, right?). On the matter of upgrades, if you stick to the normal channels you may not receive an update for your phone (we q9h users got 6.1, some of us a little early, too). However, a cooked rom can be found for a plethora of wm phones in order to keep them up to date.

I have only had to pay for one app, $10 for Smartgear, everything on that list can be done free of charge and a lot of the best apps out there are as well. Also, not sure if you if you figured this out but nearly every single app outside of the ones supplied with wm (pie and wmp, etc, but lets be honest, who in their right mind uses pie?) allow you to press Menu>Exit, or something similar, which completely closes the app.

I've never seen a bar code scanning app for wm, so I guess that would be the one thing we don't have. But if all it does is take a picture of the barcode and then compare prices, then that app could be implemented on every smartphone os out there if a developer so desired So, no, S4Rs, shame on you for being a moron. I'm really sorry that you hate your phone.

[Omphalos @ Dec 12th 2008 12:16AM]

I waited a month after the G1 came out to see if Sprint followed through on their promise to release an Android phone, and thought that once the G1 arrived that they would be compelled to at least *mention* that they had something in the pipeline -- but no. I'd been with Sprint for over 5 years, out of my contract, and thought the service was cheap and great, but was waiting for an exciting phone to keep me with them.

Now I'm on T-mobile with a G1 and am very glad I didn't wait until late 2009 or whenever Sprint finally gets their act together and releases a competitor. T-mobile has been totally solid, the G1 is amazing, and Sprint has lost yet another customer. Sad, really. Maybe I'll come back in two years if they wake up, but I don't see any reason to ditch T-mobile so far.

[joe @ Dec 12th 2008 12:20AM]

i am probably not the first person to think this.......

Sprint! Android+HTC HD "like" phone=customer$$$

We really don't care how rough around the collar it is, android on the htc touch is very rough but the best phone they have so far.

[Niggity Nate @ Dec 12th 2008 12:20AM]

"We've just got to make sure our customers are saying, 'If you had a phone like this, man, I would really be more interested in Sprint because of it.

Ummm Sprint, this is the very reason I just left sprint on monday, because your CEO said Android isnt good enough. That comment assured me that the day my contract ended, I would be leaving. If he had said we will eventually get android or we are working on something then I would have stayed with my BB Curve and my great plan and waited but, T-mo has the phone therefore i went to them.

Adios sprint and in the future maybe your CEO should pull back on the harsh remarks, after all you way down on the totem poll when it comes to cell providers.

[pek7683 @ Dec 12th 2008 12:33AM]

Ha, I said this before and I will say it again...it isn't "ready" for Sprint because Google knows that they're going to "Sprint-ify" it all up, put their ugly logo all over the dang thing and totally miss the point of an open OS that is user driven. When I was still on Sprint a few years ago, I installed the Gmail app and Oprea Mini on my phone. I was due for a software update, only to be told that I had to "remove the illegal apps" off my phone or risk forfeiting my warranty and service contract. Say what!?! See it is clear Sprint has not changed and I can't imagine what they would do to the Android Market. It might even be worse than fruit co. is doing on the fruit phone. Heck Sprint would probably ask that their logo appear on every single app. Honestly, I'll believe an Android device on Sprint when I see it and even then it probably won't be Android because they'll "Sprint it up". I'll just sit back, laugh, and enjoy my G1 on T-Mobile, where they understand the purpose of Android and let their customers make the phone what they want.

[krische @ Dec 12th 2008 12:37AM]

exaggerate much?

[neodorian @ Dec 12th 2008 11:43AM]

Are you sure you aren't talking about Verizon? I have one small Sprint logo on top of my phone (similar to all providers). I don't even run the stock Sprint ROM anymore and I've never had any of these issues so lay off the FUD.

Sprint does shitty marketing and they have been content to offer cheap service rather than bombard us with "Can you hear me now?!" ads. I think part of the problem lies with the fact that the vast majority of people don't follow this the way we do and they make their decisions based on advertising claims. Sprint's ads are boring and they seem to insist on advertising wimpy phones. I shudder to think I might be doubling my phone bill in half a year if these guys go under. I can't stomach the idea of going from $15/month for unlimited 3g to something like $30-60. Not all of us are made of money.

[scott @ Dec 12th 2008 12:38AM]

Sprint is out of their minds stupid!!! The ONLY real differentiating factors between mobile providers are basic call quality, customer care, price, and handsets. Everyone has decent quality, care, and price. So really we're talking handsets. I LEFT Sprint because they lacked decent handsets and I've been dying to get something cool like the G1 or IPhone. Now I'm posting this via t-mobile & G1.
Way to innovate yourselves outta the industry!!

[ace587 @ Dec 12th 2008 12:56AM]

i hope it will be compatible with my SERO :D

[Soup @ Dec 12th 2008 1:09AM]

SPRINT GET ANDROID PLEASE!!! I'VE HAD AN A900 FOR 3 YEARS NOW AND I'M DYING TO GET A NEW PHONE BUT NOTHING YOU HAVE INTERESTS ME. ANDROID! ANDROID! ANDROID! If it doesn't come around now I'm jumping ship :|.

[Dennis @ Dec 12th 2008 7:56AM]

sony xperia x1 with android on sprint (do it do it do it)

[Nathan @ Dec 12th 2008 9:01AM]

For those that want to jump ship from Sprint you can get out of your contract starting Jan 1st. Wife and I did this just this week, I picked up the G1 and she, the Curve with T-Mobile.

Sprint is adding a $.99 / line fee beginning Jan 1st. Call (or chat) with sprint to get your contracted eliminated w/o an ETF.

[Neeko @ Dec 12th 2008 9:24AM]

Iv been running Android on my Mogul (ppc6800) for the past couple days. AND I FREAKN LOVE IT. I prob will not go back to WM EVER!

For my needs Android is quick and painless. I can easily check my emails and send text (MMS), webpages load faster and the interface is very clean. Granted this is all happening on a device thats NOT ment to be running Android and its installed on my SD card. I dont even have access to change certain things like backlight. I can only imagine what Android experience would be like when im running it on legit hardware.

PLEASE Sprint get Android and put it on a device that has a NICE large screen.

If i can install Android on my SD card and love it then you can get it working on legit hardware easy. I would gladly spread the word about it.