MacinJosh

This definitely is a huge step in that direction. Only limitation would be logistical, hardware would no longer be an excuse.

You are right that it would only be logistics at this point. Carrier bloat would be downloadable as you take your phone from carrier to carrier.

Any word on CA uplink speeds? I assume 2x.  While most will focus on the fastest speeds, I like the turbo-charged snail speeds at the edge -- this covers far more geographic area. Ready to do battle:

how about upload CA?

No uplink CA on this device.

How do you know if this is working in your area?

If what is working in the area?

It looks to me as though Sprint and Verizon wil be using/selling the same model iPhone 6s (A1688). The A1688 also looks to be the best cross carrier compatible model available (if not only cross carrier model given its CDMA compatibillity). However when looking at the following spec page the A1633 seems to support, at least "officialy", the smaller carriers many of whom are potential Sprint Roaming Partners.

 

http://www.apple.com/iphone/LTE/

 

I have no interest in ATT, but do hope to test Sprint (including roaming partners), TMobile, and Verizon, which are listed as supported by the A1688. I am assuming if you get an unlocked A1688 you are good to go on everything except ATT's Band 30.

 

Any word on Apple SIM for iPhone 6s, and in particular that none of the carriers, like ATT, lock up. Regarding Sprint's IMEI requirement is that a one time deal where you get your device with an Apple SIM registered and you are fine from there on out?

 

http://appleinsider.com/articles/15/07/16/apple-samsung-carriers-working-together-on-e-sim-standard-for-mobile-data-plans

As for Apple SIM, we just won't know until people get them from Apple on the 25th.

As for models, the A1633 is a minor technicality, as you can use either model on Sprint since they include all necessary requisite bands. I'm just hoping that all iPhone's are white-listed for Sprint and Verizon so that activation will be a snap.

What would the promo consist of?

I don't know. That's why I said "I wonder"

I'm glad to hear they are finally ready to launch this program. I wonder if Sprint has a special promo in the works for this in the near future.

Way to go Sprint.  If they need any "ground truth" I can point them to a number of exurban and suburban holes in the West side of the Phoenix market. 

 

This is great and promising news.  Hopefully, I start to see permits run across my desk!

I'm already planning to compile a list of sites in the Las Vegas Market they can expand to, as well as the Lower Central Valley market.

Wow.  I had lost all hope for the critical Nextel sites since they took all the equipment down.  They had some of the best site locations in SW Michigan, and Sprint shut almost all of them down and left the existing CDMA middle-of-nowhere, makes-no-sense, signal-covers-a-few-trees-and-three-houses-before-becoming-unusable site locations.

 

Now...where do I put in a request for specific IDEN locations?

I know of a few sites I'd like to see be iDEN conversions.

I just received a message that Sprint is postponing until further notice. Stay tuned.

Something must have gone wrong in one of their tests.

Glad to see that the 6 is such a good performer on b41, considering how crucial b41 is. 

 

Edit: Are there any other devices that have comparable RF performance for b41. 

I have never seen any Band 41 Sprint device with that high of a dBm measurement. Of course, I haven't looked at the MotoX 2014 documents yet.

For the most part, these EiRP results are pretty good, with the B41 being very good.

 

Robert

Bands 25 & 26 are par with most devices (between 20 and 24 dBm), but Band 41 is out of this world. I wonder if that was stipulated between Apple & Sprint in early testing, because Sprint is setting Band 41 as their go to LTE band.

FYI, it does support 128 GB microSD cards.  I have the Sandisk one in mine, and it works well, other than the nonsense of not being able to write to it from most apps.

We went off the factory specs for the international version for microSD card support because the UA profiles are all wrong on Sprint for this device. The current profile doesn't show anything usable.

On Sprint Sight it says that the Galaxy S3 is Spark Compatible

I just checked and it says it's not. There is still a red 'x' over the Spark logo.

Hey, Josh, how do the B25 and 26 compare to other phones?

They range about 18.5-19.8 dBm for both bands. It's pretty much on par with many other current Spark phones.

When did the first Sprint handset with BC10 clear the FCC? The lead time between then and the first activation of a 1x800 site may give us a rough estimate for when we'll begin to see at least a small-scale VoLTE deployment, if this handset does indeed support it. I'm disappointed that Sprint is not yet mandating inclusion of LTE bands 4 and 12. Even if the TMUS merger falls through, devices with those bands will offer superior coverage once the Roaming Hub agreements kick in.

First, I believe the lead time was around 1.5 to 2 years. 2nd, Roaming Hub compatible phones are supposed to be released later this year. I expect the Galaxy Note 4 could be one of the first for that.

It's hilarious that a 1280 x 720 HD resolution 4.7” screen is now considered "mini".

I agree. It is hilarious! So I take it that the iPhone is now a midget in LG's eyes.

This phone will be released in July and yes it will be released on Boost and Virgin. As far as Sprint, IDK.

You have inside information? Because I'm kind of expecting a late May release, if not sooner.

I will say that Samsung is the only company that seems to be refreshing their phones for sprint and their new network, I wonder if any of the other manufacturers will follow suit?

I'm going to say no for now, but I sure hope that HTC considers it because it seems to open a good range for customers who want to jump into a smartphone, but don't want to buy the latest flagship.

Josh, the Sprint Galaxy S3 (SPH-L710) already comes loaded with 2GB of RAM.  Only thing that looks to be different besides the tri-band goodies is that the SPH-L710T will be coming pre-loaded with Android 4.4.2, even though there is a 4.4.2 update coming down the pipeline in May for the single-band LTE S3 (SPH-L-710).

You are right, I'll fix that in a moment. It did come with 2GB RAM. I only thought it was 1GB.

Wow... That's... impressive. Samsung is actually supporting a 2 year old device, whether it's meant for VM/BST or not. As a previous GS3 owner, I can say that the GS3 was an awesome device aside from the lagginess introduced by Touchwiz. I may have actually kept mine to this day if it was triband capable.

I assume since this model has 4.4.2, it should have the updated Touchwiz.

Nice find Josh.  This would be a nice economic switch for wimax users.  Though it may be intended for Boost or Virgin in a prepay format, it would be a nice addition with the Framily plan in the Sprint Corporate lineup. This could be a big win for Sprint.

 

Did you happen to see a possible release date? 

I wish the FCC or the UA profile had release dates available. I'm guessing May or June, but it could be later in the summer. However, if Sprint is trying to eliminate single band devices quickly, I look for it in May or June.

Josh, let us be clear.  This is not "recertification."  That would be a Class II Permissive Change filing for the original Galaxy S III.  This is a completely different handset.

 

AJ

You are right, I was using the wrong word there. I should have said a minor re-design since it got a RAM upgrade to 2GB in the process of gaining tri-band LTE.

At the moment, there is zero reason for me to upgrade to a tri-band LTE phone. I'd loose LTE (B25) service right now due to eCSFB issues, and there is no B41 or B26 nearby for me to take advantage of. Oh, and I loose SVLTE, which is a very nice thing to have while laying down some purple!

 

I'm sure I'm not the only one in this boat at the time, and when I do upgrade, I most likely want the latest-and-greatest, not a re-polished phone from 2011......

True, it's better to get the latest and greatest, but this phone is being specifically catered to beginning buyers and very possibly the WiMax replacement program. I really feel that's the primary reason for re-certification.

How about the Note 3...?

We have no idea at this time. This was a surprise to even me when I found it on Friday. If the Note 3 does get a tri-band upgrade, I will let you know.

This is very interesting. Would be good for a cheap tri-band phone for anyone who can't afford the latest and greatest. Would be a good incentive for people to upgrade their old phone for something that isn't as expensive.

That's one thing I was thinking about. It could even be used to get the rest of the Sprint WiMax phone users over to LTE like they've been talking about for the last 6 months or so.

I wonder what the off contract price is.....

Possibly the same price as the GS3 or maybe $50 cheaper.

April fools was 25 days ago....You can't be serious? lol

Yes, I'm serious. However, this may be for Virgin and Boost, and could be replacing the Single Band GS3, just like the S4T did the S4. Sprint could move their entire device lineup to Tri-band LTE this year, and dump all the single band smartphones in favor of cheap entry level phones like the twin Kyocera's I posted here.