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Sprint debuts TeleNav Traffic with intelligent rerouting
Sure, you can get all fancy and download your traffic reports via MSN Direct straight to an appropriately equipped Garmin, but Sprint and TeleNav have a slightly older-school idea (if you can really call EV-DO old-school) in mind. TeleNav Traffic supplements the company's phone-based GPS navigation software with traffic data updated every five minutes; problematic situations on your route can be delivered both via voice and on-screen prompt. Best of all, it'll route around jams, fiery wrecks, and other disasters automatically at the user's whim. Right now, availability is limited to Sprint's RAZR, KRZR, and Katana -- that's the bad news -- but the good news is that it's free for folks who pick up the basic GPS Navigator between now and June 30. After that, $3.99 / month is the magic number.
Sprint's Samsung A720 in the wild
Samsung's Fusic-fightin' A720 clamshell has been floating around north of the border for a few weeks now courtesy of Telus, and thanks to a good, old fashioned outing from our friends at the FCC, we'd expected it on Sprint, too. Sadly, it's been a no-show so far down in these parts, but new shots on HowardForums are finally showing an A720 in the wild all gussied up in Sprint logos (cue "oohs" and "aahs" here). Could it be that the clamshell's US launch is imminent? Far be it from us to argue the inherent goodness in launching another A2DP-capable handset with external, touch sensitive music controls, so stay tuned for details as we get them.[Thanks, tuolumne]
Sprint to overhaul plans next month?
It looks like "Fair & Flexible" is about to be "Dead & Gone." Phone News reports that Sprint's mainstream plans are about to be replaced with new, so-called "Power Pack" plans, which will drop the significant overage advantage of their predecessors but retain the 7PM nighttime cutoff with the option of moving to 6PM for $5 per month. All told, Power Packs will allegedly range in price from $40 for 450 minutes and $0.45 per minute overage to $150 for 4000 minutes with $0.25 per minute beyond that. Current Fair & Flexible customers will be able to retain their plans, but the switchover happens on January 13, so get in while the gettin's good.
Sprint users can get their data served Verizon-style?
Every once in a while, you hear a story that warms your heart -- a story that proves that there's still love in this cold, cold world we all call home. Such is the case here, where it seems sworn rivals Sprint and Verizon have sheathed their weapons long enough to reach an accord allowing the former's customers to use the latter's data network. If true (we haven't tested it ourselves), it would mean that Sprint's EV-DO footprint has just gotten a lot bigger. The roaming apparently works with Sprint's latest preferred roaming list, so give it a shot (just a warning, it'll require a call to that fabulous customer service line) and hit us up with the results!
Sprint's Sanyo M1 gets reviewed
The Sanyo M1's unusually husky appearance might lead one to believe that it's the be-all, end-all solution to meet the world's high-function musicphone needs, but LAPTOP Magazine recently had an opportunity to put the clamshell through its paces -- and unfortunately, it turns out that carrying 1GB of internal storage in your phone isn't all fun and games. Though a solid gigabyte of space for music is all well and good, many folks consider that just a good start on their way to, say, 3 or 4GB in total. Problem is, the M1 lacks any sort of expansion slot, and we've got to agree with LAPTOP's conclusion that it's a nearly unforgivable oversight. Though the large external display, music controls, and A2DP are nice, they found that the phone's 2 megapixel shooter fell short with mediocre picture quality and an autofocus mechanism that took far too long to operate (and also far too long to disable). Add to that a cramped keyboard and internal display, a beefy 0.9 inches of girth, and the fact that the also-new Samsung m610 looks a good deal hotter for less dough, and... well, the M1's prognosis ain't great. So, owners (and secret admirers): what are your thoughts on Sanyo's latest effort?[Thanks, Jennifer]
Sprint's SCH-W531 from Samsung in the flesh
We've got some good news for globetrotters on Sprint: there's a new handset in the pipeline to replace that dirty, worn, scratched up A790 of yours. The new SCH-W531, which the scoop-rific folks over at the FCC sniffed out for us, looks like your run of the mill midrange clamshell at first glance, but a quick removal of the battery cover will reveal that all-important GSM slot -- just what CDMA subscribers desperately need when they hop the pond and expect their phone to go with them. Other features include a 1.3 megapixel cam, Bluetooth (after all, businesspeople just look silly without wireless headsets these days), and a grand total of 43MB of memory. Shouldn't be too long now before we see this one shipping.
Samsung's Robin, Flipper, and Spear?
We're always up for getting to the bottom of corporate conspiracies to shield our eyes from upcoming products. This time the culprit is Samsung (along with its partners in crime, Verizon, Cingular, and Sprint), which sent out a rough copy of a press release introducing new products to be showcased at CES; in it, they made mention of three phones that are now mysteriously missing from the final release on Samsung's site. Our good friend Sascha Segan over at Gearlog keenly picked them out: the i760 "Robin" for Verizon, the "Spear" for Cingular, and the "Flipper" for Sprint. Now, we've previously heard of a 3G (albeit HSDPA, not EV-DO) Pocket PC going by the i760 monker, but the Spear and Flipper are both totally fresh to us. Sascha has since picked up on some intel that the Flipper might be the F300, but it's all speculation at this point. Care to elaborate, Samsung, or are ya going to make us wait for CES?
Nextel launches ic402, second iDEN / CDMA hybrid
If you're in the market for a iDEM / CDMA hybrid but the fancy ic502 (with its newfangled external display and military-grade toughness) is too rich for your blood, the freshly-released ic402 shaves a full $20 off the on-contract price. Of course, in saving yourself those $20, you'll lose the aforementioned display and 810F spec adherance -- though the silver shell is arguably a tad fancier looking than the ic502's basic black. Customers can get their CDMA on now from Nextel's website for a reasonable $40 after rebates and instant savings.[Via phoneArena]
Got cash in the new phone budget? Do some good
'Tis the season for giving, which leaves the rabid phone fans among us in a tight spot: how do we get in on a little new mobile tech for ourselves and help those less fortunate at the same time? Our friends over at Phone Scoop are hoping to fill the bill by auctioning off a handful of hot, current handsets graciously provided by carriers and manufacturers with all proceeds going to benefit The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria -- the same fund (RED) benefits. Loot includes a T-Mobile Dash, LRG Sidekick 3, Motorola MOTOKRZR K1, unlocked Samsung i320, M500 for Sprint, and BlackJack, and a Helio Drift (see, we told you the goods were hot). Bidding will take place via Phone Scoops' forums, with all auctions ending this Friday. Bid generously, and bid to win!
Pictures emerge of Sprint's Motorola Q
What, exactly, would a Motorola Q look like all dressed up in Sprint livery? If you guessed "like any other Q but with Sprint logos strategically placed about its exterior," you'd only be partially correct. From these press shots, it looks like Sprint will be launching out of the gate with the new (arguably hotter-looking) black variant, a color that we've already heard CDMA rival Verizon would be picking up itself in the near future. Otherwise, we get a revised Sprint-specific theme slapped onto the handset's Windows Mobile UI, the aforementioned Sprint logos front and rear, and that's about it. We still don't have an exact drop date, but current rumors have customers being able to get their QWERTY on some time between mid-December and early January. Click on for more eye candy!
Palm issues patch for 700wx SMS woes on Sprint
Much to our delight -- and probably to the delight of a 700wx user or three, we're guessing -- it looks like Palm has now rolled out a patch fixing the problems its 700wx handsets were having on Sprint's network. According to Palm's site, the patch simply "improves the performance and reliability" of the device's SMS application, but let's be honest: a complete inability to send texts to T-Mobile and Verzion requires more than a generic improvement in performance and reliability. Anyhoo, go get your patch on, folks, and let us know how it goes, y'hear?[Via Gadgets on the Go]
Sprint's Treo 700wx can't text Verizon, T-Mobile
Is there trouble in paradise? In a story that's been developing for a few weeks now, it seems that at least some of Sprint's Treo 700wx user base has been stripped of its ability to send SMS messages to Verizon and T-Mobile customers. Now, we would never take the conspiracy theorist route (that's not true, by the way) and accuse Sprint of purposefully hosing outbound text messages to its bigger CDMA rival Verizon, but it does seem like a huge, inexplicable, and unacceptable screwup of epic proportions. For its part, Sprint is promising a fix by the end of November (feel free to take your time, fellas) but in the meantime, rumor has it that affected customers can call up Sprint and get some sort of compensation for their troubles.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]Read - mytreo.netRead - TreoCentral
Nextel launches i880 on the high end
Nextel users looking for just a little more luxury then your average... say, i615 provides, your phone has arrived. The long-foretold i880 has finally graced Sprint-Nextel's pages, looking every bit as nifty as the blurry, covert spy shots that preceded its official introduction had us believing. Notable features include a 2 megapixel camera (particularly notable for Nextel, of all carriers), an MP3 player with stereo speakers, dual color displays, and external music controls. Sadly though, the i880 doesn't adhere to military specifications, so don't even think about taking this burgundy-colored beauty into a war zone.[Thanks, Nino]
Sprint's BlackBerry 8703e with a stub antenna?
Last time we checked, RIM's 8700 series BlackBerrys were sleek little devices without an external antenna anywhere to be found. We're at a loss, then, to explain this little gem unearthed by a reader on a page detailing Sprint's BlackBerry 8703e and 7130e which clearly shows the former bearing a big, obtrusive, unappealing stub jutting from the top left. We smell a conspiracy -- what's the deal here? Are there two versions of the Sprint 8703e floating around? If so, is the antenna for GPS reception? If not, what prompted some graphics dude / dudette to graft the stub onto the press imagery? We have a sneaking suspicion some clowns at Sprint are snickering at us right now, watching us get all worked up over this. Can't breathe, hyperventilating... excuse us while we go grab a paper bag.[Thanks, Jeremy]
Sprint announces Motorola SLVR L7c
As expected, Sprint has come forth today with their very own SLVR from Motorola, the L7c -- the latest in a barrage of popular Moto products conspicuously missing from Sprint's lineup until just very recently. The announcement is particularly notable for two reasons; first and foremost, Sprint's press release marks the first carrier introduction of the CDMA SLVR anywhere. The more interesting secondary story here, though, is that Sprint has finally beaten Verizon to the punch in announcing an anticipated handset -- music to the ears of Sprint customers that have watched their carrier sit idly by as their rival scoops hotness after hotness. Sprint hasn't yet announced pricing or availability for the L7c, but now that they've laid their... uh, SLVRs out on the table, we're thinking it won't be long now.
Motorola KRZR K1m goes live on Sprint
Sprint still hasn't quite learned the fine art of not getting shown up by CDMA rival Verizon for prompt releases of the hottest phones, partially on account of Verizon's tendency to lock up lucrative exclusivity agreements that last anywhere from a few months to life of the model (as is the case with the CDMA Chocolate). Fortunately, as foretold by our friends at Phone Scoop, Sprint's K1m comes relatively hot on the heels of Verizon's. Thanks to a different UI and color scheme, the Sprint variant barely resembles its stablemates and it'll be interesting to see whether customers ultimately do a better job warming up to it. The Sprint K1m can belong to anyone willing to part with $200 and sign on the dotted line -- or, as Sprint likes to say, $399.99 minus $200 in "instant savings."[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Sanyo M1 in the wild, eBay style
Though it's not the least bit unusual for unreleased phones to beg, borrow, or steal their way onto eBay, it's not every day that we're able to scoop the first big, clean shots of a device by way of auction. Enter the Sanyo M1 (no, not that M1), a phone that could ultimately end up serving as Sprint's crown jewel in the world of musicphones, and -- until now, anyway -- a phone that we've been unable to really get a great look at. The seller's shots clearly confirm the general shape and concept of the phone, but far more importantly, they confirm the in-built 1GB of user storage and 2-megapixel cam. Now just make sure you drop in some A2DP as we've heard you would, Sanyo, and will take two to go, please. Check after the break for a little more high-end Sanyo love.
Novatel's U720 Rev A USB modem gets official for Sprint
It's all good that Sprint's Rev A network is starting to light up, but what good are hundreds of glorious downstream kilobits per second without the requisite hardware to match? Don't get us wrong -- PC Cards are all good, but we all know that a certain segment of the populace requires something a little... shall we say, different. Mercifully, Sprint has also officially announced the U720 USB modem from Novatel Wireless today that we saw breeze through the FCC not long ago. The device offers the same hot Rev A speeds as its larger, flatter stablemates, but plugs into any ol' USB port if you're willing to part with $250 (or $50 on a two year contract after rebates) starting in early November.
Sprint launches first EV-DO Rev. A network
Sticking to its word, Sprint has lit up its first EV-DO Revision A mobile broadband network today, covering San Diego to start with 20 additional markets set to launch before year's end. The upgraded Sprint Power Vision network boosts real-life upload speeds to the 300-400 kbps level, kicking the current 50-70 kbps transfer rates back to 1995 where they belong. Observed download speeds also get a shot in the arm, albeit a more modest jump to 450–800 kbps, up from 400-700 kbps. While San Diegans get all the bragging rights for the time being, folks in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and seventeen other markets can rest easy knowing that they'll be able to bask in some Rev. A goodness by the end of the year -- check the link below for the complete list. And if you're not on that list, Sprint says it should have its network completely upgraded by the third quarter of 2007.
Sprint-Nextel to launch first hybrid on November 5?
The concept of CDMA / iDEN hybrid phones has been kicking around pretty much since day one of the Sprint-Nextel merger, and we caught wind of a hybrid handset, the ic502, months ago; the only thing left to do, it seems, is actually launch the darned thing. The wait might be nearly over: a web page over yonder at sprintpcs.com makes mention of a November 5 hybrid launch in "select markets," though said page does not make mention of what those markets are or what phone(s) will be launched. As a refresher, the CDMA / iDEN dual-mode setup will make use of iDEN for PTT and CDMA for traditional calling (though we suspect there will be allowances for falling back from one to the other should only one service be available), taking some of the pressure off the overstressed iDEN network.[Thanks, Seth Z.]
