legion125

Sprint will have to write a check to LightSquared if the FCC nixes LS's plan for its network. Although not official, its almost a foregone conclusion. http://www.theverge.com/2012/2/15/2800650/sprint-lightsquared-65-million-payback Sprint will owe Lightsquared $65m if deal not approved by mid-March Lightsquared's plans to build out an LTE network appear to be in danger, but the company stands to regain some cash if the plans fall through. If the FCC doesn't approve the deal by mid-March, Sprint will have to return $65 million that Lightsquared paid to the carrier last year as part of the proposed 15-year agreement to share buildout expenses and wireless spectrum. And with yesterday's news that the FCC will reject the proposal due to longstanding concerns that the network would interfere with GPS, it's looking very likely that Sprint will have to cut Lightsquared a check soon. Lightsquared claims that testing by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration is flawed, but it's hard to say what the company will be able to do in the next month to change the FCC's mind.

Smelly socks

You heard it here first folks, Clear will turn on its TD-LTE network next June which is a short 16 months away. Although it looked like Clearwire just put the money Sprint gave them in the bank to draw intrest, it looks like it was actually being used to deploy a network. Look for 5000 sites for the initial deployment and it will supplement Sprints Network with a complete overlay of its WiMAX network. Good news? I think so. Now if Sprint will just put 800/1900 & 2.5 ghz on its 1st gen LTE phones. http://www.fiercewir...2013/2012-02-15

This commentary caught my eye because it has been speculated in other threads. With the pent up desire for Nokia products in the states, and MS backing up the Brinks truck to fund advertising. WP and Nokia are gaining a foothold. With BB content to wait until August to do anything, this may be the time frame MS needs to take the #3 spot and not look back. http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/nicoll-thanks-microsoft-nokia-will-succeed-north-america/2012-02-14

The title says it all. In another thread I mentioned that the Federal Govt was the bread & butter for RIM in the U.S. Now with more federal agencies looking and getting Apple & Android products, How long can BB hang on? August is looking far away in respects to the new BB phone launch w/ BB10 on board. Even Halliburton (Big govt contractor) is getting in on Apple love. http://www.bloomberg...lackberrys.html

Regarding bloatware, at least with Sprint rolling out Spring ID on phones, you can at least pick & choose what you want to add and forego the rest. That way if you like NFL and Telenav but hate NASCAR you can control what is placed. This is a lot better way to do it than AT&T and Verizon baking it in the OS.

Turn around is fair play. Now Apple gets to see what its like. Although implausable, can you imagine what would happen if Apple lost the iPad for the China market?

Oil well

Sprint changed ETF policies to a pro-rated form a short time after he took over. it was one of those customer service ideas he had to show Sprint was innovative and to break out of the mold from the other three. I think he also made the policy of being able to make changes to your contract w/o having another two years tacked on. I know that drove me crazy when I was with AT&T.

Water board

Don't know what the reception or range capabilities are, but in congested areas it would be a life saver for dropped calls or spotty data.

I don't know, If I won an iPhone I might just flip it for the cash of maybe keep it for a bit to see what the mystique is all about or maybe hope some magic fairy dust falls on me and I become a convert. But seriously, what the iPhone does it does well. Its just I would see myself getting board with it too quickly. The iPhone was designed with simplicity in mind, at least the way Steve Jobs thought simplicity should be,and that doesn't challenge or satisfy me.

Heres an article about the love/hate relationship with Sense. I really use to like Sense, but by the time HTC got to v3, it just became too busy and too much of a memory hog for my sensibilities. I like how ICS has begun to catch up with the UI's such as Sense, TouchWiz and Moto (whatever its called now). I beleive these overlays were created because early Android was lacking in so many areas, especially looks. Although it still has a way to go, I think eventually, Android will replace the basic need for UI's unless you just need a specific widget for something. http://www.phonedog.com/2012/02/13/should-htc-tone-sense-ui-down-a-little/

Well, it looks like the inevitable is here for most of the celluar population in the U.S. With the Big Two readying shared data plans should Sprint stuck with unlimited data or will it join the herd? What do you think Sprint should do to counter this? Dan Hesse is always tqalking about a "nuke" to shake up the industry. Does he detonate on now? http://www.phonedog.com/2012/02/12/at-t-readying-its-internal-systems-for-the-arrival-of-shared-data-plans/ AT&T readying its internal systems for the arrival of shared data plans AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega has made it well-known that his carrier intends to launch shared data plans, but so far that's all that we've really heard on the matter. That changes today, as a pair of images sent to Engadget show that AT&T has made some changes to Telegence, its internal customer account management system, to prepare for the arrival of shared data offerings. The shot up above notes that a data note has been added to the voice node in Telegence's group level services window. Unfortunately for us, there's no real information about AT&T's shared data plans to be found in the leaked images. Considering how long Ralph de la Vega has been talking up AT&T's plans to offer shared data, it's good to see that the carrier is one step closer to actually making those plans available to customers. Of course, when that'll happen is still a mystery, as the above image points out that the launch date for shared data is still to be determined. Here's to hoping that we actually are getting close to seeing AT&T introduce its shared data plans to the public. How many of you would be interested in signing up for a shared data plan? What kinds of data allotments and pricing would you like to see in shared data offerings?

Good for Chicago. However, I'm in the Denver metro area and I don't want Samsung spending to much time & resources up their when my market needs some love too

Party on!

Yes, thats the sad thing about CDMA, always looking for the stronger signal when in a weak area.

House sitter

I would bet this gets extended for a month or so. Sprint still needs to capture those EVO customers who will be coming off contract soon. And I agree w/ you Macinjosh. We'll see LTE phones before summer.

At least this is a milestone for Nokia, which never did make a CDMA phone well. Before they pulled out of the U.S. market years ago, they had another OEM make their phones and put the Nokia branding on it. It looks like Nokia is putting its foot in the water and trying it in a different market to get the bugs work out first before heading over here which is a smart move since its brand took a hit over here. You won't see a Nokia branded phone on Sprint until the 2nd half of the year, Verizon will get theirs first. Expect it to be a high end model with LTE.

My son who is in the UK has the GN. When he came home over the holidays he showed his mother how she could multi-task with ICS. Since she still has her Palm Pre she wanted, no, demanded similar capabilities for her new phone. Thus, we are waiting for ICS to come out so she can choose a phone she likes. So far she likes the EpicTouch but she doesn't want a rooted phone (go figure?) so we will wait until the stock ROM comes out if Samsung ever gets around to it. However, if the SGSll+ or GSlll comes out soon, who knows?

Thats right! I always seem to get my info from the different sites before Sprints releases it. If your on the inside already and have to depend on this method, what does that say?

This is a companion piece to some other topics on this site related to the Galaxy Nexus and other battles between the OEM's and carriers. The patent system is broken and needs to be fixed. I see an anger building among consumers who are tired of the OEM's (especially Apple) spending what ends up being our money in court litigating patent portfolios instead of making an environment and deal that would benefit the industry and market. Will it change? Maybe not, but it should. http://www.phonedog....angry-about-it/

Here's a nice analysis of how Sprint has contracted with Orange (a big European carrier) on building its already robust M2M business in the U.S. on a global scale. This will provide additional revenue streams and in this case GSM & CDMA will complement one another and compete with AT&T and other European providers. This segment is still in its growth phase and will be a great opportunity for Sprint. http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/analysys-mason-sprints-m2m-partnership-orange-positions-it-international-gr/2012-02-10

I would expect the Verizon GN is the test bed for wringing out all the issues. By the time it debuts on Sprint any hardware/software issues should be fixed.