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Kyocera Duramax ready to kickoff Sprint's Direct Connect service on October 2nd for $70
All of the hullabaloo about Sprint's new CDMA-based Direct Connect service was not for naught, as the Now Network has finally confirmed that it will indeed be launching in a limited number of markets this upcoming Sunday, with broader expansion coming in early 2012. To get things started, however, the network ought to have a phone or two that have the tech built in, right? The Kyocera Duramax will receive the honor of being the very first phone to work with the new plans and will be a certified 810G military-standard clamshell handset with a 3.2MP camera, stereo Bluetooth, a 2.5mm headphone jack (not a typo) and a Dura-Grip rubber casing. What about the Kyocera Duracore and the Motorola Admiral? They're still forthcoming, but Sprint only mentions that both devices are coming out before the end of the year. The sooner the better here, because the lack of options can't possibly be a selling point for the brand new service. The nitty-gritty details are in the presser after the break.
HTC Hero S coming to US Cellular next month alongside Wildfire S and Flyer
Guess what's officially on its way to US Cellular in October? The headline probably gave you a pretty good clue -- it's the HTC Hero S. And it's not coming alone: apparently the new device is big enough to warrant its very own entourage. Its brethren, the Wildfire S and Flyer, will both waltz into stores at roughly the same time. The Gingerbread-running Hero S will offer a 1.2GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 CPU, 4-inch qHD (960 x 540) display, a 1,520mAh battery and a 5MP CMOS rear camera accompanied by a 1.3MP front-facing cam. Add it to the lineup next to the Motorola Electrify, and we'd say the carrier's got some good options for the getting. The Hero S will be available sometime next month for $200 after $100 mail-in rebate, while the Wildfire S (which will come in grey and purple) will go for $80 after rebate and the Flyer can be yours for $400 -- once again, after rebate. Head below to find the full press release.
Kyocera Duramax is in the batter's box, launching with Sprint Direct Connect October 2nd
Is there still any lingering doubt that something big's getting cooked up in Overland Park in time for October 2nd? We've already seen leaked screenshots showing that Sprint's aiming to launch its CDMA-based Direct Connect service that day, as well as a Sprint-backed vid of the Motorola Admiral, the first smartphone to sport the new feature. Courtesy of SprintFeed, another gem has been unearthed: the Direct Connect-compatible Kyocera Duramax. Said to start at $100 with a two-year agreement, the rugged clamshell bears a great deal of resemblance to a large number of legacy iDEN handsets. It's nothing to write home about, but it still sports the proper military specs to keep it protected, as well as a 3 megapixel camera and a non-slip surface. Anyone who isn't looking for a smartphone but is in need of a Direct Connect device will want to keep a close eye on this one as we get closer to the day of destiny. Oh, and Sprint? The cat's out of the bag -- perhaps it's time to make it real.
Cellular South renamed C Spire Wireless, becomes Puff Daddy of regional carriers
We were expecting something big to come out of Cellular South this coming Monday, but we definitely didn't anticipate the company going all Diddy Dirty Money on us. Letting the cat out of the bag a few days early, the regional carrier is re-branding itself as C Spire. The name is apparently inspired by the company's dedication to customized wireless services, and will become official Monday with a new website: cspire.com. The new service includes an app recommendation program, known as Scout, a rewards program called Percs, "social media integration," and customer service initiatives known as Pulse and Circle. This new name also ushers "personalized plans" with "infinite data," which C Spire's CEO, Hu Meena, points out is actually unlimited, with no nights-and-weekends-style restrictions -- except when it comes to streaming data (which will carry its own unique charges). He went on to say that the new services will come at no charge to existing Cellular South C Spire customers. And the whole shebang looks like it's going to be an opt-in affair.
Sprint to launch Direct Connect October 2nd, confirms mobile hotspot capping
The way Sprint's been going lately, we're wondering if there's going to be anything left to announce at its October 7th strategy update. Another screenshot has surfaced, detailing the Now Network's intentions to launch its CDMA-based (read: no more iDEN) Direct Connect service on October 2nd, with "increased coverage" coming early next year. We've been expecting to see it at some point this winter, which means the Nextel alternative is getting pushed out ahead of schedule. With this, we should be hearing news in the near future concerning compatible handsets like the Motorola Admiral or Kyocera DuraMax / DuraCore duo. Unfortunately, October 2nd will be filled with both happy news and bad, as it looks like the leaked memo detailing Sprint's plan to cap the mobile hotspot add-on was right on target. The carrier made its intentions official this morning, confirming that it indeed will be putting a 5GB-per-month leash on the tethering done from your phone, complete with overage charges of $.05 per additional MB used. Grandfathered add-ons aren't an option here, so every tetherer already shelling out $30 for the privilege will find themselves restricted as well. But look at the bright side: tablets need not apply to the data cap, and on-phone data plans and dedicated mobile broadband packages will remain unaffected... for now, at least.
Samsung SHV-E120L comes out of the development dark, is the Xtina to LG's Britney
Brothers from another mobile mother, or just a case of copycat syndrome? We'll let you be the judge, but from the looks of this latest leak, Samsung's SHV-E120L could be sharing some of the LG LU6200's special spec sauce. Outed over on Cetizen and iNews24, the full breakdown of the device's innards point to a dual-core 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 4.7-inch 1280 x 720 HD display, 2 megapixel front-facing / 8 megapixel rear camera, 1GB RAM, 16GB of onboard storage, WiFi, Bluetooth and NFC. We've seen conflicting reports as to the exact version of Gingerbread that'll ship on the phone, with Android 2.3.5 in the running. As for the handset's radios, its purported MDM9600 Gobi chipset indicates tri-mode LTE, HSPA and CDMA compatibility. Sammy's super-sized smartphone could hit South Korea later this month, or in early October -- if the passable English in that Google translation can be believed.
'Personalized Wireless' launching September 26th (update: it's Cellular South, and it'll be regional)
Does America need another wireless operator? Is the MVNO boneyard really due for another? Are you eager for a carrier that adapts to your needs, and magically delivers "stuff" that matters to you? Have you watched Napoleon Dynamite with your closest friends within the past week? We can't promise that "Personalized Wireless" (or whatever it ends up being called) is destined to answer all of those inquiries, but it'll at least strive to formulate a logical response to one of 'em. A newly-aired teaser clip promises a network of a different color here in the States, and the company's product page (captured above) leads to believe that all will be revealed come September 26th. We're surmising that this has something to do with either Comcast or Clearwire given the token "C" logo at the end, but we'd be happy hear other opinions of the origin down in comments below. Vid's after the break, vaquero. Update: We have it on good authority that the launch here relates to Cellular South's recent buyout of a number of southern cellular shops, with this being the merger of those. There aren't any details yet on what it'll mean for prospective customers in that region, but it seems -- at least for now -- that this won't be a national rollout.
Sprint begins iPhone briefings, exact model number remains questionable
Are you a Sprint subscriber? Super stoked about possibly getting your hands on an iPhone? It seems as though you're finally about to be in business. After a chat with a freshly-briefed, forthcoming sales associate, TUAW is reporting that the carrier will start offering an Apple device of some sort next month alongside existing data plans -- providing some confirmation for the recent Wall Street Journal report. Things get a bit cloudy after that in regards to exactly which handset the carrier will obtain, but the sales force is currently getting familiar with the iPhone 4. Regardless of which iPhone Sprint ends up procuring, it's getting fairly impossible to shake the (seemingly) obvious. We'll see in a month, eh?
Motorola Admiral outed as mystery Sprint Direct Connect device, strikes a pose for the camera
That unnamed Motorola smartphone coming this fall to help usher in Sprint's new CDMA-based Direct Connect service? It appears to be the Admiral. If the name sounds familiar, its trademarked logo actually appeared simultaneously with the Samsung Epic 4G Touch. But it's so much more than a name now, thanks to a tipster who sent in an image of the device next to some well-detailed specs. The Admiral will likely be a portrait QWERTY Android 2.3 device powered by a 1.2GHz single-core Qualcomm MSM8655 CPU, and will feature a 3.1-inch VGA display, 5 megapixel camera with 720p HD video recording and a stellar 1,860mAh battery. Oh, and it's a rugged phone that's built according to 810G military specifications. If this truly is the mystery Motorola Direct Connect smartphone we've been waiting for, it's bound to turn a few hard-hat-donning heads. [Thanks, Anonymous]
Sprint begins briefing sales associates on iPhone 4 for October launch (Updated)
A Sprint Nextel sales associate told TUAW that the carrier has started briefing its employees on an imminent Sprint iPhone 4 launch. The briefing reportedly told the sales team that Sprint will begin offering the iPhone 4 in October 2011 (next month) with standard Sprint data plans; they will include a $10 data smartphone premium that is not specific to iPhone. The associate also suggested that Sprint will carry a 4G iPad, though launch dates and pricing were still unknown. Of course, Sprint already sells 4G access for the iPad via its external mobile 4G WiFi product; maybe that's what the briefing referenced. If the associate's information is accurate, Sprint will not get the iPhone 5 until 2012, most likely by early spring. The sales briefing report aligns with Bloomberg's story about the potential arrival date on Sprint of both the 4 and 5 models, and with but the WSJ reporting on the phone's rollout schedule explicitly called for an iPhone 5 in October along with VZW and AT&T availability. It's not clear why our source was convinced of the iPhone 5's 2012 release schedule on Sprint, but that's what we were told repeatedly. We have reached out to Sprint's press office for comment, but have not heard back (and we don't expect to). The response was a boilerplate "Thanks for your inquiry; we do not comment on rumors or speculation." Update: A commenter suggests one theory for the iPhone 4 vs. iPhone 5 detail: that Sprint's training materials may be featuring the iPhone 4 simply to avoid inadvertently leaking features of the iPhone 5, much as Verizon's initial iPhone training was based on the 3GS rather than the then-unreleased iPhone 4. That does not explain why our source was so solidly convinced that the iPhone 5 introduction for Sprint would be in 2012, however. Thanks, Nick A.
ZTE Sprint International Mobile Hotspot does CDMA in US, GSM abroad
We love mobile wireless hotspots, and we especially love when they work internationally -- which until today, has left Sprint's CDMA/WiMAX devices out of the mix. This latest variant gives some love to the world traveling crowd, however, with domestic support for EVDO Rev A, and international support for GSM/GRPS/EDGE as well as WCDMA/HSDPA/HSUPA. There's no word on what you'll expect to pay for your data abroad, but Sprint does include an "unlocked SIM" in the box, along with international power adapters. A built-in display indicates battery life and connectivity, so you know when the device is ready to beam the web to up to five WiFi devices on CDMA, or a single device while roaming on GSM. Available now, the hotspot will run you $50 after a $50 rebate and with a two-year contract, provides a range of up to 130 feet, and can pump out a wireless signal for up to four hours (sadly WiMAX is not supported). Jump past the break for the lowdown from Sprint.
Sprint rumored to retain unlimited data with iPhone 5 launch, prove unicorns are indeed legit
Here's the word straight from Bloomberg's unnamed sources: Sprint's not only getting the elusive iPhone 5 -- it's keeping an unlimited data plan around just to sway buyers who may otherwise spring for the AT&T / Verizon Wireless variants. Furthermore, these folks in-the-know have good reason to believe that it'll be launched "next month," which gives Apple a shockingly small amount of time to invite us over for a west coast reveal. As it stands, the only folks who'll get limitless data with an iPhone 5 on its existing US carriers are those with grandfathered plans; any new customers on Ma Bell or Big Red will be forced to select one of many tiered options. Not surprisingly, neither Sprint nor Apple are commenting on the story, but if it all proves true, Sprint can definitely hang its hat on having one serious competitive advantage. [Thanks, Prhime]
LG VS920 pushes through FCC with Verizon LTE, could be the LG Revolution 2?
The LTE-toting LG Revolution is still the most recent phone to debut on Verizon's 4G lineup -- at least for another week or so, that is -- but we're already seeing clues to the phone's sequel popping up. We saw the Revolution 2 show up on a leaked roadmap so the mysterious follow-up has been on our radar, but we weren't expecting to see it quite this early. Yet here it is: the LG VS920, complete with Verizon's LTE Band 13, global GSM / EDGE and 900 /1900 / 2100 WCDMA and HSPA, has received the FCC's blessing. Now, it doesn't specifically come out saying it's the successor, nor does it signify its relation to the previous device; since the original Revolution is designated the LG VS910, however, we're taking the liberty to put two and two together here. Check out the gallery below for more measurements and diagrams. %Gallery-131945%
WSJ: Sprint will sell the iPhone 5 in mid-October
At TUAW we typically look the other way when it comes to iPhone rumors, but once something hits the Wall Street Journal, we pretty much consider it a done deal. The WSJ now reports that Sprint will offer the iPhone 5 in mid-October, bringing the handset to the third-largest US carrier. The iPhone 5 will hit AT&T and Verizon at the same mid-October date. This is according to the Journal's sources, "people familiar with the matter," who have usually turned out reliable information in the past. The Journal notes that the mid-October launch points to a later-than-expected launch for the iPhone 5, which was expected to debut in September. If the WSJ's sources are correct, and if Apple follows its prior pattern, it's likely the iPhone 5 will be announced sometime in September with the hardware hitting the market around 30 days later. Sprint is the second-largest CDMA carrier in the US, and rumors about the iPhone coming to that network have abounded since even before the CDMA-model iPhone 4 hit Verizon. If the iPhone 5 does indeed make it to Sprint, T-Mobile will be the last major wireless carrier to not offer Apple's handsets.
App logs reportedly confirm dual mode CDMA / GSM iPhone 5 in testing
While the world waits to find out what the fifth-generation iPhone looks like, TechCrunch reports an anonymous app developer has pulled information from their registration logs confirming the existence of a new device that's rocking both CDMA and GSM radios. That conclusion is based on registrations that came from the same device that show mobile network codes and mobile country codes from both AT&T and Verizon. This is hardly shocking however, since the Verizon iPhone 4 already has a dual mode chipset from Qualcomm with the GSM side turned off, and we'd heard back in January that Apple was planning to go the one-size-fits-all route this time around. Who this does matter for however, could be world travelers that will find keeping their device connected between countries and networks much easier with a world iPhone, whenever the new phone is revealed later this year. The bad news is still the same however, as this probably also means there's no plans for speedy LTE access -- pencil in a pithy explanation from Steve about why it's not necessary here.
Sprint in alleged talks to acquire Clearwire, cablers huddle 'round for some LTE pie
'Tis the season for patent disputes and wireless industry takeovers, or so a recent glut of moves would indicate. Shedding a little light on Clearwire's recently announced allegiance to LTE, Bloomberg is reporting that the company's currently in talks to sell its business to Sprint, and perhaps secure the funding it so desperately needs for a network build out. According to several insider sources, the third place wireless carrier's considering a joint investment (amongst other options) with Comcast, Cablevision and Cox, that would give the cablers a bundled high-speed, wireless broadband competitive advantage, and Sprint an LTE boost in its battle against AT&T and Verizon's rival 4G networks. None of the players in this rumored takeover have yet to comment on the purported transaction, although the business gossip has had quite an uplifting effect on Clearwire's shares. While we can't speculate as to the veracity of the claim, we know one thing for sure -- that LTE network's not gonna build itself.
Pantech Apache hits the FCC with Verizon LTE
Long-Term Evolution is a party and everyone is invited, but we weren't expecting Pantech to show up so early. Yet the Pantech ADR8995, bearing the name "Apache" as its FCC ID, just made its way through the halls of the Federal Communications Commission -- with LTE band 13 and CDMA in tow. This particular combination of bands, of course, is currently in use by Verizon, which gives us free reign to put two and two together here. The Apache's already received WiFi and Bluetooth certification, the latter identifying it as an Android with North American availability. We can't say with a surety that it will actually be the next 4G device to show up on Big Red (after the Droid Bionic, of course), nor that it will even earn a spot in the hallowed lineup, but things are positively looking up. Whether it shows up or not, it's about time more guests come around and suck down a few cocktails. %Gallery-130538%
HTC Bliss stops by the FCC dressed in Verizon red (update)
Looking for a little FCC Friday rapture? HTC's rumored "women only" smartphone, the Bliss, just passed through the Commission's gates for a bit of strut and tell. Sporting the model number PI46110, the handset seems destined for a Big Red debut with CDMA 850MHz / 1900MHz bands, WiFi and Bluetooth on-board. The carrier looks to be continuing its recent trend of global-capable phones, as the device also packs a GSM 900MHz radio. While we weren't able to dig out any concrete dimensions for the phone, we'd err on the side of a 4-inch or below display, considering VZW's past dalliances with gender-specific marketing -- no, we haven't forgotten those Pre Plus ads. If that leaked roadmap is any indication, you ladies can expect to see this stylish (we assume) Android 2.3 accessory hit on September 29th. Update: A Verizon mailer has popped up over at xda-developers, and while the camera placement certainly seems to conflict, some folks are suggesting that what's shown there (and after the break) might just be the first legitimate shot of the Bliss. Here's hoping, right? Thanks, Liam!
Kyocera Oblique slides through FCC, Mr. Blurrycam finds one elsewhere
Here we have it, folks. The Kyocera Oblique has cleared the FCC, and even better, we've stumbled across leaked snapshots of the device -- in both the black and pink varieties. We'll forgive you if you haven't kept track, but this is the handset that's rumored to replace the Samsung Intercept on Sprint come September 11th. Like its forebear, it features only EV-DO Rev. 0 (as opposed to Rev. A), which means it'll limp along the Now Network when you're not within range of a WiFi hotspot -- thankfully, it supports 802.11n and Bluetooth. The QWERTY slider is rumored to have a 3.2 megapixel camera, a low-res QVGA screen and to ship with Android 2.3. Follow the break for a glimpse of the black version, and check the source for the high-res stills of Mr. Blurrycam's work.
Elektrobit's Specialized Device Platform tailors Android devices for security-minded markets, won't hem pants
The defense industry may already have its share of deadly high-tech toys, but when it comes to the latest in mobile, it's often left to watch from the highly-secured sidelines. Enter Elektrobit Corporation with a just announced Specialized Device Platform that crafts made-to-order, Android-based devices for the public safety, security and aforementioned defense markets. Citing its lower cost, faster development approach, EB's service marries the "best of the traditional mobile world... with product-and industry-specific features" so clients won't have to deal with last year's Android OS. Oh wait, actually they will. The currently on offer Froyo-flavored, 1GHz single-core OMAP3 model packs a WVGA capacitive touchscreen (either 4-, or 4.3-inch), 5 megapixel camera, VGA front-facing camera, WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS with quad-band GSM, tri-band UMTS / HSDPA and CDMA2K / EVDO support. Clients interested in a 700MHz LTE, Gingerbread option -- that's right, no Ice Cream Sandwich -- will have to hold off until the first half of 2012, when the company's 1.5GHz dual-core OMAP4 models will be available for production. Alright, so these specs aren't exactly bleeding edge tech, but hey -- who needs a quad-core phone when you've got this.
