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Mobile Miscellany: week of May 7th, 2012
Not all mobile news is destined for the front page, but if you're like us and really want to know what's going on, then you've come to the right place. This past week, Sprint reassured us with optimism for Windows Phone 8, and T-Mobile's CEO found a new partner to continue the fight against Verizon's AWS acquisition. These stories and more await after the break. So buy the ticket and take the ride as we explore the "best of the rest" for this week of May 7th, 2012.
The Engadget interview: Sprint product execs John Tudhope and David Owens at CTIA 2012 (video)
We managed to catch not one, but two of Sprint's execs yesterday at CTIA Wireless 2012: Director of Product Marketing John Tudhope and VP of Product David Owens. While our discussion was centered primarily around the company's announcements at the show -- Sprint Guardian, HTC's EVO V 4G for Virgin Mobile and HTC's EVO Design 4G for Boost Mobile -- we were able to ask a few questions about the state of Sprint's LTE deployment and the associated value proposition. Want to find out more? Take a look at our video interview. Joseph Volpe contributed to this report
Sprint remains tepid on Windows Phone at CES, confirms no new WiMAX phones are planned
This may have been a fairly big CES for Windows Phone, but it looks like Microsoft still has a fair bit of convincing to do in order to bring all the carriers fully on board. That includes Sprint, which does currently have a Windows Phone in its lineup (and is apparently considering more in the "August-September time period"), but remains decidedly unenthusiastic about the platform as a whole. As PCMag reports, Sprint's David Owens said that the carrier is willing to train its reps on Windows Phone, but that Microsoft has to "build the enthusiasm for the product," adding that the "number-one reason the product was returned was the user experience." Sprint's director of product development, Lois Fagan, further added that the carrier remains "cautiously optimistic," but that Windows Phone "just hasn't taken off." In other news, Owens also confirmed that Sprint would expectedly now be focusing all of its intention on its new LTE network, and not produce any more WiMAX-based phones -- although, as it's noted previously Sprint will continue to support the network itself through 2015.
Sprint's Galaxy Nexus shown on Engadget's CES stage by David Owens!
Sprint's VP of Product David Owens helped kick off our first CES with our own stage inside the Las Vegas Convention Center, and honestly, we couldn't have asked for a better way to start. After all, the Sprint edition of the Galaxy Nexus didn't even exist in the minds of the public just two weeks back, and now it's being showcased right here in front of our very eyes. We'll be filming a more in-depth hands-on with the device in the hours ahead, so keep it locked for our impressions and comparisons with the unlocked HSPA+ and Verizon Wireless variants of the handset. Keep tabs on our next interview right here!
Live from the Engadget CES Stage: an interview with Sprint's David Owens
Sprint's VP of product, David Owens swings by the Engadget Stage to talk about the state of the carrier. Join us live at 2:00pm ET.
Sprint marketing exec talks Android, WiMAX, WinMo 7, and more
Sprint's vice president of consumer marketing David Owens sat down with the community at large last week to answer a few burning questions about Sprint's current and future lineup, and there were a few juicy tidbits, reaffirmations, and rumor confirmations that came out of it worth mentioning: There will be a WiFi-enabled Tour (the phone we know as the Essex) along with other WiFi BlackBerrys in the future. Sprint's 2010 HTC lineup is said to be "robust" with a number of additional Android-powered models in the pipe. WiMAX phones are apparently on track for 2010, which would put them head-to-head with MetroPCS' goal of a Samsung handset for its new LTE network next year. Windows Mobile 7 phones are "planned for 2010" but the ball is in Microsoft's court to deliver on the software. He mentions that upgrades to Android 1.6 and 2.0 (presumably for the Hero and Moment, both of which are currently running 1.5) would likely not be over-the-air due to their size -- this sounds bogus considering that T-Mobile has had no problem going from 1.0 all the way up to 1.6 on the G1, but we'll need to see how this shakes out. So here's what we want based on what we're hearing in the conversation: an HTC-sourced WiMAX Android phone with the Moment's AMOLED display. Doable? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
