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iWOW's i976 to make a non-Motorola splash with iDEN and GSM
Quick: how many non-Motorola iDEN devices can you name? Besides the odd BlackBerry here and there, the list is indeed very short -- and that's where iWOW comes into play. It seems the Singaporean firm is responding to the IiOF's request (that's the International iDEN Operator's Forum, by the bye) for a dual-mode iDEN / GSM handset, and early versions of the fruit of their labor -- the i976 candybar -- are starting to circulate. The device will feature a 2 megapixel cam, Bluetooth, and a hard switch for manually cycling between GSM and iDEN networks. If you were somehow thinking you might nab this on Sprint Nextel in the US on account of that logo up top, though, think again -- as of now, only Nextel's international operations have an eye on it. Just a little better looking than that dual-mode i930 Moto was selling a while back, eh?
Sprint puts the Motorola Stature i9 on sale, too
Following its earlier launch on subsidiary Boost, Sprint Nextel proper has now seen fit -- as expected -- to launch the hottest iDEN phone ever created, Motorola's Stature i9. $199.99 on contract after rebate will buy you a 3.1 megapixel cam, GPS, Bluetooth, microSD expansion, and all the iDEN-powered Direct Connect action you can handle; why these guys opted to push this thing down to Boost first is totally unclear to us, but hey, it's available to the traditional Nextel cats now too, so no hard feelings. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Motorola i9, others coming to Sprint this week?
We've seen a number of launch date leaks for Sprint courtesy of partner Brightpoint in the past; generally, they tend to be pretty accurate, so we're going to go ahead and put some weight to this latest one. Looks like we can expect Nextel to pick up the Motorola i9 on Wednesday -- Boost got it a little over a month ago, you might recall -- along with the ancient i580 in yellow. Brightpoint also reels in the Palm Treo Pro a few days earlier than Sprint's official date, while the LG Rumor 2 launches a few days later on the 15th or the 29th; Brightpoint's wording is a little odd here, so it's hard to tell exactly how it'll shake out. Finally, we have a camera-free version of the BlackBerry 8350i in the works, a logical product for RIM to be taking on considering the phone's all-business roots.[Via phoneArena]
Motorola's iDEN i465 passes muster with the FCC
Well Motorola's first iDEN QWERTY effort has sailed through the FCC's proving grounds and will apparently, or at least potentially, grace our push-to-talk pockets one day. We chattered about this wee red phone a bit on a recent podcast because from the looks of the pics we've seen, that keyboard will saw through fingers, and for a messaging handset, that's just not good planning. If Boost Mobile literature is to be believed, then we can potentially expect this around June 15th this year, though, don't hold us to that. Thanks FCC for testing and ensuring that this handset met 47 CFR 2.1093 (c) for RF exposure and found to be compliant with the limits specified in 47 CFR 2.1093(d)(2). Top job, love your graphs.
Sprint's BlackBerry 8350i firmware update fixes boatload of issues
Sprint has released a shiny new build of BlackBerry OS 4.6 for its 8350i on Nextel -- 4.6.1.128, to be exact -- and let's just put it this way: if you have this phone, you want this update. By all accounts, it appears to directly address a bunch of major issues that have been affecting early adopters, including blank screens, missing songs, and MMSes that end up getting delayed into oblivion. Good things to get fixed, yeah? Follow the break for the full changelog straight from Sprint.
Motorola's i365IS is intrinsically safe, intrinsically ugly
Oh, brother. If you're worried that Motorola's already brawny i365 just isn't robust enough to withstand the pressures of your daily life, there's the newfangled i365IS. If you're curious as to what the "IS" means, here goes: "intrinsically safe." Seriously. The handset, which would obviously play well in a recreated episode of Saved By The Bell, is a GPS-enabled push-to-talk device that is "safe to use in hazardous areas that may contain flammable gasses, vapors or dust." Obviously, the mobile will tap into the Nextel Direct Connect network in order to keep up with comrades, and its rugged chassis is certified for "military specification requirements including humidity, blowing rain, dust, shock and vibration." Further specs include a paltry 130 x 130 resolution display, Bluetooth and a talk time of around 300 minutes. There's no mention of a price or release date, but real men can wait, anyway.[Via Mobiledia]
Sprint has a year to sell Nextel spectrum in iPCS regions
Okay, so it's not just that Sprint can't offer service on iPCS' turf -- it's that they have to offload all that airspace, too. Cook County Circuit Court in Illinois has decided that Sprint needs to sell off its Nextel service areas that overlap with iPCS within 360 days, which marks another big win for the affiliate that's been all up in Sprint's business ever since the Sprint-Nextel merger several years ago. What's more, iPCS has more pending litigation claiming Sprint is withholding "advanced technologies" in favor of iPCS' competitors, so there's still all sorts of bad blood between these two. As for potential suitors for Nextel's obligatory spinoffs, Sprint's not talking -- yet -- but with iDEN's seeming second wind, snatching up that network might not be the worst decision a company could make.
Motorola i9 "Stature" gets real on Boost Mobile
We caught sight of the iDEN Motorola i9 Stature a week or so ago, but it was sitting comfortably in limbo until today. The Motorola i9 Stature will be arriving for your walking / talking pleasure at Boost Mobile by the end of February and sliding into Sprint shops shortly after that. Touted as the thinnest phone in the Direct Connect line (a tiny 15mm) it comes equipped with a 3.1 megapixel camera with flash and auto-focus, GPS, up to 8GB of memory, haptics, and Bluetooth. Pricing on Boost will be $299 and $199 on Sprint if a two-year carrier commitment is more your thing.[Via phonescoop]
Nextel's BlackBerry Curve 8350i gets reviewed
iDEN devices aren't typically the slimmest or the sexiest phones you can buy, but all things considered, the BlackBerry 8350i does a decent job of sucking in its gut and looking presentable. It's chubbier than its GSM and CDMA cousins -- and it trades the 3.5mm audio jack for a less-useful 2.5mm one -- but in exchange, phoneArena observes that you get the best keyboard and trackball ever found on a Curve. What's more, the load of BlackBerry OS 4.6 found here is said to be smooth as silk and crash-free -- a far cry from the experiences of some Bold and Storm owners dealing with builds of similar vintages. Ultimately, the review wraps up with a conclusion we'd expect: it's great for an iDEN phone and Nextel folks are guaranteed to be stoked, but should anyone without an incessant need for push-to-talk fly into a jealous rage? Probably not.
Sprint and Sierra Wireless give you the 598U data card
Data cards, while not as completely thrilling as new handsets -- or as pretty -- are quickly becoming true workhorses for the mobile-connected masses. Sierra's 598U on Sprint's is no exception -- or slouch -- with EV-DO connectivity, an SD Slot to add up to 32GB of storage, GPS, and even the ability to install the drivers for both Windows and Macintosh without having to carry a CD. Top shelf bit of kit and the pricing is as good starting at $free on a 2-year deal after "instant savings" of -$199.99 and a "web special" -$50 discount.[Via Slashphone]
Motorola i9 gets detailed in official shots
If this were anything but an iDEN phone, we'd be laying into it for looking like a circa-2007 RAZR 2 clone (which it essentially is), but for a Nextel Direct Connect piece, this is as good as it's ever gotten. Official pictures of the i9 are now available from Motorola, some of which clearly show Nextel branding -- not to say that we'd expect iDEN's single biggest customer to bypass Motorola's single awesomest iDEN phone, but it's a reassuring confirmation for potential buyers nonetheless. We don't have a release date handy yet, so let's hope we can get some hands-on time at CES, especially since it's been just about a year since we first saw this thing.[Via Unwired View]%Gallery-39420%
BlackBerry 8350i hitting Sprint on December 1?
We've had a hard time nailing down a date for RIM's latest (last?) iDEN-powered BlackBerry, the 8350i, outside a general belief that we'd see it before the year was out. For push-to-talkers sick and tired of staring at the truly prehistoric 7100i in Sprint's current lineup, we're sure that the new release couldn't come soon enough -- and while December 1 might not qualify as "soon enough" for some of y'all, it could be worse. The latest intel we're getting suggests that the Curve-alike will be ready to order as we enter the final month of 2008, so get your plastic ready (or, more realistically, let your company's purchasing department know what's up).[Thanks, Brian]
BlackBerry 8350i chirps its way through the FCC
FCC labs must just love testing iDEN devices, since you're basically guaranteeing yourself several days of super-annoying "beep beeps" emanating from phones placed in proximity to bizarre, gelatinous objects designed to simulate human flesh. Of course, RIM owns its own testing facility (no conflict of interest there or anything), so they've no one to blame but themselves for producing the 8350i -- a Curve-alike designed to keep the push-to-talkers of the world calm and happy. We still don't have an exact release date, but we've previously heard that it's on track for the current quarter; if FCC certification was the only thing they were holding on, we imagine could see it pretty shortly.
Sprint's Motorola i9 and BlackBerry 8350i team up for photo shoot
It's hard to believe that iDEN's having a bit of a renaissance so late in its life, but if these two handsets aren't evidence of that, we really don't know what would be. The Motorola i9 and BlackBerry 8350i will represent the very best that Sprint's Direct Connect network has to offer when they're finally released; the i9 hasn't been officially announced in any capacity yet, but the 8350i is on track for a launch some time this quarter (and with the still-sold 7100i three frickin' years old now, that's a damn good thing). We've also heard that Moto's got an i465 in the works, too, but we don't know anything about it just yet. Check out a few shots below while you wait for Sprint to get its push-to-talk butt in gear.[Thanks, Manny P.]%Gallery-36363%
Sprint won't let Nextel iDEN network chirp its last chirp, plans rejuvenation effort
We've seen some pretty wild on-again / off-again relationships in the scandalous world of gadget affairs, but this one has been swinging from one extreme to the other at breakneck pace. Let's recap: after proclaiming that it was absolutely committed to iDEN in February of 2008, rumors then started flying that Sprint was looking to offload the whole thing and move on with life. A month later, the carrier's CEO practically confirmed that an iDEN network sale was still an option. Now, the seemingly bipolar company has issued a press release reaffirming its adoration for the chirping-est network this side of Oz, stating that "after careful review of the iDEN business, Sprint intends to retain and rejuvenate this important asset." Which could be PR speak for "nobody wanted this thing, so what other option did we really have?" Regardless of the truth, it seems the push-to-talk network that just won't die will live to see another day, but as history has shown, all that could change in a split second (or at Sprint Speed, whichever you prefer).[Via phonescoop]
Motorola's i9 in the wild, presumably chirping
Okay, we're going to say this only once, so pay attention because you're not likely to ever hear it again: this is a good-looking iDEN phone. There, we said it. We feel good about it, no regrets. When are you gonna hit up Sprint for us, i9?[Thanks, djSD]%Gallery-35418%
Sprint's steampunk Motorola i776 now in the mix for push-to-talkin' fun
Motorola's iDEN-powered i776 flip is now available through Sprint's website, capping off a round of high-visibility launches with a black sheep in every sense of the word. Well, every sense except one -- the i776 is actually a bizarre combo of brushed metal and brown, an acquired taste to say the least (not unlike the network on which the i776 runs). There's nothing but a VGA cam here, but it packs GPS, Bluetooth, speakerphone, and that retro-fabulous stub antenna that'll make all your friends wonder why they've been unceremoniously obsoleted on virtually every other phone sold today. Get it now -- if you dare -- for $79.99 on contract.
Sprint: iDEN network sale still an option
Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has all but confirmed in an investors' conference this week the longstanding rumor that his company is looking for someone to buy its iDEN network, the main asset brought on in its 2004 acquisition of Nextel. With its EV-DO Rev. A-based Direct Connect system rapidly coming online, iDEN seems to make less and less sense for Sprint in the long term -- but the real question is whether anyone's going to be willing to pay enough to make it worth Sprint's while to part with Nextel's legacy. Hesse basically says that they could go either way; if they see a deal they like, they'll take it, but if they don't, they're cool hanging onto it because it's "a valuable asset." Besides, where else are you going to find beauts like the i365?[Via Phone Scoop]
Sprint outs Motorola i365 and V950 with Samsung M220, M320 -- no Touch Diamond yet
Even though all signs are pointing to a release later this month, we'll admit -- we were still secretly hoping that the rumored September 2 date would somehow magically hold for Sprint's release of the Touch Diamond. Even so, the carrier is reeling in some decent -- if not totally expected -- booty today in the form of the Motorola i365 and Renegade V950 alongside Samsung's M220 and M320 flips. The i365 becomes the baddest-ass phone in Sprint's iDEN arsenal, sporting what they call a "monolith form factor" (badass speak for "candybar," we think), mil-spec everything, and GPS. As Direct Connect goes, the V950 is pretty much everything the i365 is not, eschewing iDEN for QChat and offering all the creature comforts of a modern featurephone -- music player, camera, external controls, and a pair of decent displays for starters -- and although Sprint calls this one "ultra-rugged" as well, we don't think we could heave it against a wall quite as many times as we could the i365. From Samsung, the M220 and M320 are simple 1xRTT flips with essentially the same specs as one another, though the M320 tacks on a VGA camera (so in other words, it really may as well not have a camera, either). All four handsets are available now.Read - Samsung M220, M320Read - Motorola i365Read - Motorola Renegade V950
Sprint pulling the plug on PCS Mail, all four users suffer nervous breakdown
PCS Mail -- a rarely used service which provided Sprint customers with an @sprintpcs.com email address -- is officially going away in 2009. The carrier has just posted up an informational site announcing that the service will be discontinued on December 31st, and there's even a few helpful links if you're struggling to understand how to move on with your life and train yourself to utilize another e-mail client. First Voice Command, now this -- anything else you're planning to shutter, Sprint?[Via RCRWireless]
