While speaking at
Fortune's Brainstorm: Tech event in Pasadena on Friday, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse apparently got all kinds of verbal when it came to Android and his carrier. The honcho (and TV commercial star) remarked at the industry conference that he was "Glad we waited on Android," adding "The reviews say now it's ready for prime time. It wasn't when it first came out." While we knew Sprint had
interest in Android phones (and potentially some
forthcoming models), we hadn't heard a peep about timeframes, and the last thing Dan had to say was that he thought Googlephones
weren't quite ready for prime-time. That's all changed now with the appearance of Android 1.5, it seems, as Hesse stated that the carrier will ship at least one model with the OS onboard this year. We don't want to be zany conspiracy theorists, but the timing of this seems to dovetail nicely with the very public launch of HTC's heavily modified
Hero and Sense UI... a device which has been rumored to be making its way to Sprint sometime this year. The carrier obviously has a storied
history of partnering with HTC on phones, so it wouldn't come as a surprise to see it land on Sprint (we certainly haven't seen any other carriers pipe up). Regardless, it looks like Sprint won't be putting all of its eggs in the
Palm basket for long. It's going to be a
very interesting holiday season.
posted Jul 24th 2009 3:22PM
Maybe I shoulda waited to get a Pre...
They should have waited with the pre.....
I held off on the pre, I'm still running Winmo. I've been trying to decide between palmos and android. imo, it seems that andoid is the way to go.
I work at T-Mobile, but have the iPhone 3GS.
While i like a lot of the notifications/customization in Android, between insane keyboard lag, slower screen responsiveness, and slightly longer loading times i cant pull myself to go that direction.
We have the HTC Magics/myTouch 3G in store, and while it is an improvement over the G1, still feels sluggish.
Still a new OS, so we will see i guess.
@bill
my thoughts EXACTLY!
maybe you should shove that PRE up your butt where it belongs .. piece of crap needs to go back to where it came from
Nice if they do manage to bring out the HTC Hero that would yet be another good device on sprint's lineup, sprint has really turn around since Dan took over from phone selection to improving customer service.
I liked the hero before I saw engadgets review. I have no desire for an underpowered phone. Hopefully when they bring it to sprint its beefed up.
I like my Pre but man is that Hero sexy.
I agree. I'd hit it.
Hero on Sprint??
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
Yesssssssssssssssss,
But in all seriousness, I am actually considering getting it.
Decent Android smartphones on sprint's very cheap plans would be great for me.
It was my understanding the Hero that passed through the FCC had AT&T's 3G Bands and not Sprints/Verizons/T-Mobiles? Don't get me wrong, I would much rather have it arrive on Sprint than AT&T.
Yes, but AT&T and Canada's Rogers use the same 3G frequencies, and since HTC said that the hero is coming to north america, most likely it will be canada.
Sheesh I love palms too much to switch but its tempting
I am sure you love your palms...lol.
Meaning the series of their phones I've had. But nice try, being that I'm not a guy that joke has no relevance. I see what you did there.
lol
each tied 1 to 1
Fashion pros tend to be die-hard Palm fans @ Treo. Well, usually models; most execs and designers go with Blackberry. Never understood the Treo insanity.
Based on the reviews from both engadget and gizmodo, they both say Hero is nice, but it's laggy. Hardware does not meet up to the software. I guess it's like XP with a bunch of windowblinds customizations on top - this Sense UI.
As much as I want to love it, I may need to wait for something w/ snapdragon and Android. Any news on such a device planned for sprint?
It will be a Samsung landscape full qwerty slider with Android, model M900. Probably released around October/November.
Glad i decided not to reup my contract for the Pre just yet. Sprint can be my Hero and kiss away my Centro pain.
when is sprint going to get rid of this guy?
This guy is the greatest!
He single handedly is responsible to making Sprint turn around in Customer Service, they need to keep him.
Get rid of him? He is probably the only reason Sprint hasn't declared bankruptcy. He is the one responsible for improving their customer service and improving their phone lineup. I think he's been CEO for a little over 2 years now. Which makes sense that the phones are starting to come out now since it takes that long for manufacturers to design/test/build them.
This guy needs to rent Pleasantville
Despite the pre having linux history and andoid too, but I haven't used that yet. It sure is limited and locked down. N700,N800,N810 you can pretty much install anything you can think of on there, not as easy on the Pre.
my money is on the samsung dash revealed in the roadmap sometime ago, but seeing as it more likely would be an HTC phone, the Hero sounds nice, but what about the Jasper C render revealed earlier this year?
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=52811
possibility? after all, it does have a chin like the other android phones
Nice..
Next step in Sprint's plan? Put up that third cell phone tower.
Why?
It's free to roam on Verizon! =D
Spoken like someone who clearly hasn't used Sprint in the last couple of years. :P
If Sprint gets the Hero then it will have two phones (other is the Pre) I would be willing to ditch ATT's expensive phone plans and the iPhone for. Too bad for Sprint I won't. Why not? Simple, I need to have VOICE and DATA on my smart phone at the same time. Sprint's 3G network does not allow for this. ATT's does. Fix this Sprint or you will never have me on your network.
Hopefully it will be fixed as Sprint moves towards WiMax (or possibly LTE according to certian rumors.)
I really don't mean this to be inflammatory, but why? If you're talking on the phone, what else are you doing that can't wait until you're off? I've noticed that I may receive an email or text while on a call, but I won't interrupt my call to check it.
Well, technically you can use the phone network for Voice and Wifi for data simultaneously (at least you can on the Pre).
but will it work on SERO?
On one hand with flagship phones Sprint's always forced the Everything Plan (Samsung Insight, Palm Pre). On the other, HTC phones have always been free to use on the SERO (Mogul, Touch, Diamond, etc.).
I have been holding out for an HTC Android phone that I can use with my SERO plan as well . . .
lol
Call me when you get some Touchpro 2 news. -_- -zzzzzzzzzz.....
I tried the Android - wasn't really impresseed at all. The palm at least showed promise although I wouldn't recommend it to my friends. If the iPhone was on Verizon I'd probably recommend it. It is a pretty good PDA / toy but all my clients complain that as a phone it sucks - poor covereage/reception wherever they are.
I'm OK with Sprint - I get great pricing and free roaming to Verizon. I just hate HTC phones - bad BT quality, crappy battery life, frequent resets if you go to an area with no signal. Part of it may be MS's fault but I do know if Sprint actually moved forward and tried other phones like the TG01 I would gladly buy a new phone today.
You sir, win the award for the most (inaccurate) generalizations ever put forth in two paragraphs. Cheers.
OK Peneus, please explain how your experience differs.
Saying you tried Android (once perhaps) and weren't impressed -- then extending that statement to cover the Hero who's ENTIRE HALLMARK is its complete *remake* of the entire Android user interface/experience shows you have no familiarity whatsoever on the topic. You have missed the single largest point of this phone. Entirely.
My experience is different to yours in your other points with regard to network coverage and HTC issues across the board as well, but those are minor points.
Look for Horace Luke's YouTube videos on the Hero, if you're interested in hearing a freewheeling discussion from HTC's Chief of Innovation on the thought that went into making Hero's design different. It's not even recognizable to whatever Android flavor (1.0?) you may have seen in the past.
I'm rereading my post and am having a hard time connecting any dots from your statements. I said I tried the android - said I wasn't impressed. I stand by that statement. I never mentioned the Hero. I stand by my statement that my clients with the iPhone complain about dropped calls constantly - no matter what country they are in. My travel only includes Asia so I can't comment on European coverage but I can say I have had ATT as a carrier and it was wretched in CA, CT, NY, PA, TX, CO, NC and IL - perhaps I havent tested ATT coverage in all the states but I can say I had much better coverage with Verizon and Sprint in those states.
I support about 2000 end users with just about every type of BB, WM, iphone, Android, palm pda phone etc available in the US as well as a few that aren't available through US carriers. I can say as a general rule, the HTC phones have crappy battery life, have crappy firmware available from the company (thank goodness for XDA developers) and other design flaws that they've had since their very first PDA phone available in the US several years ago. One would think they'd learn from their past mistakes but as that seems to elude them one must believe they don't care to fix these mistakes or because they ignore customer complaints they don't even know what issues their own phones have.
I also will stand by my statement that I would buy the TG01 - without even having any other experience with a Toshiba phone whatsoever as I doubt it could be worse than any of the crap HTC keeps producing. Could it be worse - perhaps - but I know HTC's track record and have very little faith that the Touch Pro 2 or the Firestone won't have the same issues as their predecessors.
I have no idea what generalizations you care to infer from my first or second paragraph but pehaps the issue lies not in our stars but in ourselves.
T-Mobile is happy that Sprint waited on Android too. Everybody I know that has a G1 has been very happy with it.
If your lucky enough to actually have T-Mobile 3G coverage.
Even without T-Mobile's 3G coverage, it's still faster at browsing than my old Instinct.
HELLLLLLLL YEAAAA
GET EM DAN!
Ive always been intrested in Android...but im still not shying away from my Windows Mobile Entirely. Usually Sprint Releases all of its Q4 phones by Thanksgiving. So im hopin to Go pick up a Hero by then. If its not a Hero then it BETTER have a Slide out keyboard, otherwise ill just Grab a Touch Pro 2...but who am i kidding...ill have both.
i work for sprint and am excited - i want a hero !! i had a touch pro and loved it just hate windows 6.1
The Pre was part of Sprints effort to rebrand itself. Kinda like how The New ATT needed the iPhone for it's rebranding as well. I hope it works for them. I don't plan to be leaving ATT any time soon, but the more competition the better for me.
now if only it will work with my SERO plan. i doubt it, but someday they will allow a data phone on the plan and many people will be happy.
I agree completely. I already have some resentment towards the Palm Pre being non SERO friendly. I couldnt stand my 700p anymore and got a Touch Pro off Ebay to keep me happy until the TP2 comes out.
If they get Android OS phones on Sprint, sweeeeet.
Sprint Executives... Dan... Whomever is listening,
Can anyone please provide some light or insight into when and if Sprint will be getting either the HTC Hero (AMAZING PHONE) or this mythical Samsung with 4G?
I have been a extremely loyal Sprint customer for the better part of forever... back when coverage was deplorable... but I hung in and bought into the vision. Here we are umpteen years later, and the writing is on the wall.... in block bold, neon letters. Android IS the future of wireless. It is the only thing that will take out the ipho...crap. I do product development for a fortune 50 company so I see many a product and idea. It does not take a rocket scientist to see that if you miss the Android boat, you mind as well pack your bags and go home.
I must appeal to your instinct for survival, grab the bull by the horns, don't let Verizon scoop you yet again! Get ANDRIOD devices running on your platform sooner than later.
Give us some tasty morsels keep the salivation going, wet our whistles... I can keep the analogies coming all day. Seriously though, we (a huge number of device geeks) want to keep up with the Joneses. T-Mobile.... for crying out loud that’s like giving a car to a blind man, pretty much useless. (not to offend any visually impaired folks reading this)
Let’s get a Powerful US based carrier, aligned with the power of Google and get some Android Phones out to the loyal customers..... SOON.
Respectfully,
Your loyal customer base (Or at least the voice of one)
This will be the Samsung InstinctQ model SPH-M900 which has passed Wifi and Bluetooth Approval.....now if we can just get it through the FCC
Yes, I can confirm this...this was outed at certain Sprint employee training sessions back in may/beginning of June by a Samsung representative, even before the WiFi certification news happened. As I said in my previous post in this thread, it will have a full qwerty sliding keyboard in landscape orientation.
I'm sort of holding my breath for the slim chance Sprint will get the SE Rachael by Christmas. Spring and SE have a bit of a relationship, right? Let's go dan@sprint! Let's get to it!
Oops! I keep typing Spring instead of Sprint!
1.5 is a pretty big improvement, but come on, Android 1.0 was leagues better than anything Sprint was offering at the time.
Wow, another blow for Palm. While they're bickering with Apple, Palm should've paid more attention to Android.
Glad to see this moving to sprint. It's a good fit.
Sprint is the low-cost no-nonsense carrier... unlike AT&T which is the high-priced premium label w spotty coverage but high-profile phones and Verizon with good coverage but high prices and crippled phones.
No-nonsense seems to fit nicely w the open-source modus operandi.
Unless these phones will be able to be used the old SERO plan..I cant use em :(
Sorry, but for $30 a month I would not count on it lol
Maybe Sprint could convince HTC to put in a faster processor in the Hero. All reviews said CPU/RAM were it's only downfall.
FINALLY! I just hope they bring it along with a good phone!
Maybe it'll end up being like the Touch, where the CDMA version for Sprint got a processor and RAM upgrade. I'm due for an upgrade later this year, so this would make me very happy.
Sprint is coming back.
Welcome to The Now Network.
Starting to think that Dan Hesse's been listening to the wrong whispers into his ear...my G1 kicks his Pre to the roadside and back.
First of all, Sprint does NOT allow for unlimited free roaming. They have a limit of 300 roaming minutes per month, or 300MB of data/month. If you go over that limit in 2 out of any 3 consecutive months, Sprint reserves the right to terminate your service.
Second, HTC's quality is questionable at best. Remember, HTC makes the Pre for Palm. And HTC has a history of quality defect problems with nearly all of their phones.
Third, Android caused T-Mobile to sell over 1M G1 phones. And that company barely has ANY 3G coverage. So, it seems that Dan Hesse is a complete and utter moron. Only after T-Mobile launches Android 1.5 (and the aforementioned 1M+ G1s sold to date) does Dan Hesse finally "consider" allowing Google to have its OS on SprintNextel phones. Here's an interesting kicker though...the first actual Android phone won't be a Sprint CDMA one....it'll be a Nextel iDEN one. So, don't expect the HTC Hero to be on Sprint as an Android-based phone...at least not yet. Motorola has already launched an AndroidOS-iDEN phone for their Israeli iDEN service provider, and I suspect that its success is what Sprint has been looking at...and that phone will come to Nextel folks probably within the next 3 to 6 months. Mark it.
Boo on this comment- check your facts before posting garbage.
Unlike the G1, SE Xperia X1, and some older WM-based Palm phones, HTC did *NOT* have anything to do with building the Pre.
The Pre is manufactured by CMCS, an OEM famous for building Motorola phones.
Also, there are no set limits to roaming on Verizon, those numbers seem to be made out of thin air- A friend of mine set his phone to "roam only" to get a better signal in upstate NY, and forgot to change it back for almost 6 months... VZ roaming is not 3G, however, so his data was always in 1x, and he couldn't figure out why (until I pointed out that he was still roaming for the last half a year).
Yes, Sprint started cracking down on folks who were abusing their service, and canceling your service if you call CS too much or roam more than 50% of the time... but those days are over. The company is really coming around and anyone who fails to recognize that is most likely trying to justify their own decision to go with an alternative carrier.
No, Sprint is NOT the perfect carrier... but I've had it up to here with some of the unfounded moronic allegations on this site!
Too little, too late. After the huge mistake that was the Instinct, I ate a pair of ETFs and switched to T-Mobile. Best decision I've made all year.
Love my Pre but the software catalog is still weaker than Androids... They better make up some ground in the next 90 days or I'll be switching
bout time there hess.