Holiday Deal: Cheap Sprint Android Phones At Best Buy

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If you're a Sprint customer with a hankering for an Android smartphone, you need to roll on down to your local Best Buy while the holiday season is still in full swing. We reported yesterday that the retailer was offering the HTC Hero for only $99. Now we've learned that this deal didn't extend only to the Hero. Best Buy is doing a special holiday discount for all Sprint Android phones.

To be fair, that only includes two devices right now. The HTC Hero and the Samsung Moment both cost just $99 now with a 2-year contract. Since this is Best Buy we're talking about, you don't even need to worry about rebates. $99 is all you pay out of pocket. Since both phones were priced at $179, this is one hell of a deal for Sprint customers.

Posted on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:45:20 CST | by Robert Evans

Sprint Launches Samsung Moment

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The Droid launch has been so big and heavily publicized that it's easy to forget there are other Android smartphones out there. Take the Samsung Moment (via Engadget Mobile), It launched yesterday on Sprint's network to very little fanfare. While the Moment may not be the powerhouse that the Droid is, it still has a few cool features you might be interested in.

For one thing, the Moment has a 3.2” AMOLED screen. I'm always in favor of more OLEDs and more Android smartphones, so both in one is just an extra slice of awesome. The Moment also has a solid 256 MB of RAM and an 800 MHz processor, along with a sliding QWERTY keyboard. It costs $179.99 after a $100 mail in rebate.

Posted on Mon, 2 Nov 2009 10:44:04 CST | by Robert Evans

Sprint Launches The Dell Mini 10 Netbook

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Alright, so the rumors were a day off. The Dell Mini 10 still launched today on Sprint's 3G network. Their press release makes this bog standard 10.1” Windows XP netbook sound much more exciting than it really is. The Mini 10 features an Atom Z520 processor, 160 GB HD, WiFi and 1.3 MP camera. That's about as 'run of the mill' as a netbook gets.

Posted on Mon, 2 Nov 2009 09:33:36 CST | by Robert Evans

Sprint: WiMAX, New Smartphones in 2010

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Sprint's numbers showed some improvement last quarter, but the carrier is still weathering some financial issues. They're losing customers (albeit at a slowed rate) and it's going to take more than some new marketing and the Palm Pre to reverse that trend. Today, in a live chat (via Boy Genius), Sprint executive David Owens talked about how his company intends to get back on the right track.

First off, Sprint will be giving its customers more of what they want. More Android smartphones (mostly from HTC) will be coming soon, and Owens stated that he expects a price decrease for Android smartphones once a significant volume have been sold. Sprint's current Android devices, the Samsung Moment and HTC Hero, are both due for an update soon. For the Hero, this likely means Android 2.0; the Sense UI doesn't work on 1.6, and HTC has confirmed that they are working out a 2.0 release for the Hero.

Posted on Fri, 30 Oct 2009 09:06:03 CDT | by Robert Evans

Sprint Offering Dell Mini 10, November 1st?

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Next month, Sprint will join the ranks of carriers that offer subsidized netbooks with a data plan subscription. TechVI.com reports (via Electronista) that the Dell mini 10 will be coming to the Sprint network on November 1st. The netbook will have a 3G modem, a 160 GB HD, 1 GB of RAM, and an Atom processor. The cost puts this mini 10 in line with a smartphone purchase; $199, after a $100 rebate.

You'll have to purchase the netbook with a subscription, of course. The plan for the mini 10 is set to cost $60/month for 5 GB of data. On the whole this deal sounds, well, perfectly inoffensive. The price is reasonable (though the rebate is annoying) and the mini 10 is a fine, if rather low-end, machine.

Posted on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:26:41 CDT | by Robert Evans

Sprint Announces Least Awful Quarter In Years

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Apparently, the Pre has helped Sprint's bottom line. The company posted its Q3 numbers today, and its losses were lower than they have been in years. They had a net revenue of $8 billion, with losses of "only" $478 million.

For most companies, posting half a billion dollars in losses isn't something to celebrate. Yes, things at Sprint really have been that bad. They lost another 135,000 subscribers this quarter, which at least represented a 20% reduction in subscriber losses over their last quarter. Things are getting better for the ailing carrier, but they're far from out of the woods yet. Sprint is still hemmoraging money and subscribers. The fact that they're doing it less now than they were at the start of the year is hard to get excited about.

Posted on Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:04:33 CDT | by Robert Evans

Motorola Debut i856 PPT Phone Now Also On Sprint

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The first slider phone offering push-to-talk service, Motorola Debut i856, is now available from Sprint with the Nextel Direct Connect push-to-talk services. The Debut i856 is already available on Boost Mobile since early September.
The Motorola Debut i856 features a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired headphones and has Bluetooth supporting wireless stereo streaming. The device can be fitted with an optional 8GB microSD card for storage. It also has an integrated camera with video camera function with 1.3MP resolution.
Read more

Posted on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 10:02:07 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Sprint Hero Available For Early Telesales

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The HTC Hero doesn't launch on Sprint's network until October 11th. Fortunately for us, it appears that the Sprint telesales people didn't get that memo. According to Boy Genius, they're selling the Hero a couple of days ahead of schedule.

Posted on Fri, 9 Oct 2009 08:41:55 CDT | by Robert Evans

Sprint Confirms Samsung Moment

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Earlier today, information leaked out about the upcoming Samsung Moment. Now Sprint has issued a press release of their own that confirms the new AMOLED-packing Moment is heading for their network. The Moment marks Samsung's first released U.S. Android handset.

The Sprint press release confirms the presence of a 3.2" AMOLED screen, an 800 MHz processor, and a 3.2 MP camera. New Sprint customers who purchase a Moment will be eligible for the Any Mobile, Anytime feature. This gives unlimited calling to any wireless customer in the U.S. on any carrier as long as you buy into one of the Sprint Everything plans that offers unlimited data.

Posted on Wed, 7 Oct 2009 13:10:27 CDT | by Robert Evans

Samsung Moment Android OLED Slider Hitting Sprint

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Samsung really has a thing for AMOLED screens these days. That's a trend I wish the other handset manufacturers would pick up on. Earlier today, Sammy sent out a press release about their new line of AMOLED smartphones. As Engadget notes, they accidentally let news about their latest Android handset slip in that release.

The Samsung Moment, apparently bound for Sprint, packs a 3.2" AMOLED touchscreen, a sliding QWERTY keyboard, an 800 MHz processor, WiFi, GPS, a 3.2 MP camera/camcorder, and stereo Bluetooth. Pretty hot, if you ask me.

Posted on Wed, 7 Oct 2009 11:52:24 CDT | by Robert Evans

Samsung InstinctQ Hits Sprint Nov 27?

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The InstinctQ is set to be Samsung's first Android phone in the United States. So far, Sammy has done a fine job of keeping everything about their new smartphone under wraps. Today we have our first set of rumors regarding the InstinctQ. According to Android and Me, they come from a soldier stationed in El Paso, TX. The phone was demoed to his unit, and the soldiers were told to expect a Black Friday, November 27, release.

Obviously this information cannot be independently verified, but the soldier had some additional, rather specific information that adds credence to his claim. He stated that the InstinctQ will have 32GB on board, with space for a 32 GB SD card. It has a "very usable" keyboard, and an (estimated) thousand pixel wide screen. The price they were told was roughly $230, with a 2 year contract.

Posted on Fri, 2 Oct 2009 10:25:39 CDT | by Robert Evans

Sprint To Drop Touch Pro2 Pricing

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The HTC Touch Pro2 for Sprint and T-Mobile is currently the most overpriced smartphone on the market. Don't get me wrong; the Pro2 is a very nice smartphone, but it isn't worth $350, with a 2 year contract and data plan. The iPhone 3GS doesn't cost that much, and the Pro2 is (at best) equal with it. Thankfully it looks like Sprint's finally figured that out. According to anonymous tipsters (via Boy Genius) the "Now network" will drop the price of a Pro2 down to $199, effective Oct. 1st.

Verizon and Sprint are now both selling the Pro2 at a reasonable rate, and according to Boy Genius AT&T is likely to charge the same amount. That leaves T-Mo with the only $350 smartphone left. If they're smart, they'll drop their prices as well. It's the only sensible move for them to make.

Posted on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 08:49:19 CDT | by Robert Evans

Samsung Instinct HD Official On Sprint Launching Sunday

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The new Samsung Instinct HD is going on sale this coming Sunday September 27th in Best Buy stores according to this Sprint press-release. Starting October 11th the highly anticipated Instinct HD is also available in Sprint stores.
The Samsung Instinct HD is a solid mid-line smartphone. It has a 3.2" HVGA touchscreen, a 5 megapixel camera, WiFi, Opera Mobile 9.7 browser, Ambient Light Sensor, accelerometer, HD out, and visual voicemail. Read more

Posted on Thu, 24 Sep 2009 08:58:43 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Sprint Bringing WiMax Android Smartphone by 2010?

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We've been hearing rumors for a while about a WiMAX-enabled smartphone coming to Sprint sometime in the near future. Now, thanks to Mark Sullivan of PC World those rumors just got a boost of support. He spoke to a series of wireless carriers, handset manufacturers, and market analysts and now believes that a 4G smartphone on the Sprint network is coming.

WiMax is basically mobile broadband, and it allows a connection three to five times as fast as traditional 3G. Since Sprint owns 51% of Clearwire, the WiMax carrier, they have a vested interest in setting off a consumer craze for the service. Sullivan thinks an Android smartphone would be the perfect choice for Sprint's flagship 4G phone.

Posted on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 12:46:57 CDT | by Robert Evans

Instinct HD Hits Sprint Sept 27th?

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Sprint customers take note; the Samsung Instinct HD is coming to your carrier on September 27th, according to a leaked internal memo. The lads from Boy Genius got their hands on the communique, which states that the handset will launch on the 26th and be available on the 27th. That gels very closely with the previous Instinct HD rumors.

Posted on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:45:34 CDT | by Robert Evans

T-Mobile To Buy Sprint?

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We earlier reported that T-Mobile is getting ready to make an offer to Sprint. Deutsche Telecom, parent to T-Mo US and UK, is once again considering making Sprint an offer. They're in talks right now with Deutsche Bank to put together an offering.

This isn't the first rumor of this kind that we've heard, but it does have an air of believability around it. The economy is bad enough, and Sprint's economic woes are extensive enough, that this purchase could actually go through.

Posted on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 10:54:20 CDT | by Robert Evans

Deutsche Telekom Rumored To Buy Sprint Nextel

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The German Telekom is rumored to be considering buying Sprint Nextel according to a report on the UK's Telegraph.
German Telekom just made a cool move in the UK to partner with France Telekom to create the largest carrier. A merger of Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile US could stir up things quite a bit and put more pressure on Verizon and AT&T. Read more

Posted on Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:38:18 CDT | by Luigi Lugmayr

Samsung Instinct HD Confirmed By Sprint

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Sprint customers will soon have yet another smartphone to choose from. Boy Genius reports that the carrier recently sent out a newsletter to premier customers. Inside was an article confirming the existence of the Samsung Instinct HD.

Posted on Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:14:35 CDT | by Robert Evans

Sprint Offers

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If you roll with Sprint, they've just started offering a deal that you might want to look into. According to Boy Genius the "Any Mobile, Anytime" plan will offer unlimited minutes to any US mobile for just $69.99/month. That comes in addition to unlimited data, SMS, MMS, Sprint TV, and GPS Navigation.

Posted on Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:50:38 CDT | by Robert Evans

Samsung Intrepid and Moment hitting Sprint

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Things are definitely looking up for Sprint, and their customers. The carrier has gone through some hard times, but lately they've been snatching up every hot smartphone that hits the market. Boy Genius has a Sprint rebate sheet that shows two brand new Samsung smartphones due for release in the next couple of months, and at least one of them sounds pretty solid.

The Samsung Intrepid (or Ace 2), is a Windows Mobile 6.5 phone, and will be part of the huge WinMo roll-out in October. It is rumored to have a 528 MHz processor, a QWERTY keypad, 3 MP camera, aGPS, microSDHC support, 256 MB of RAM and 512 MB of ROM. It's also got GSM/GPRS/EDGE connectivity, CDMA/EV-DO Rev. A, and WiFi. Altogether, it's a pretty rockin' smartphone.

Posted on Fri, 4 Sep 2009 11:00:00 CDT | by Robert Evans

HTC Hero: $179.99 on Sprint, Oct. 11th

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After weeks of hints, rumors, and rough guesses we finally have official confirmation. The HTC Hero will come to the Sprint network on October 11th of this year. Customers will be able to purchase the new Android smartphone via the Internet, phone sales, or at their local Best Buy.

The Hero will cost $179.99 with a 2 year plan, and after $50 of "instant savings" and a $100 mail-in rebate. According to Boy Genius the HTC Hero for Sprint is actually a slightly altered version of the smartphone. It has more rounded edges and gentler contours. All in all, I think it looks pretty sweet.

Posted on Thu, 3 Sep 2009 09:40:00 CDT | by Robert Evans