Call it a sort of a bear hug: Sprint, the also-ranniest of the also-rans in the carrier world, lost money selling phones that, on the aggregate gained them subscribers. It’s also Catch-22, a blindside, and a mess.
According to Sprint, the company reported a net loss last quarter while still selling 1.8 million iPhones and increasing their subscriber base by 1.6 million. How? The costs associated with provisioning and supporting these new phones drove operating losses to $438 million, up from $139 million in Q4 last year. → Read More
Sprint Nextel this morning released its earnings for the fourth quarter of 2011 as well as the full-year results.
The company reported a net loss of $1.3 billion for the quarter, and $2.9 billion for the whole of 2011. → Read More
Sprint has been spending the past few weeks quietly pumping out software updates that remove Carrier IQ from affected devices, and now it looks like Sprint’s flagship Android device (for now) will be able to run wild and free.
Thanks to an update that started making the rounds yesterday, Samsung’s Epic 4G Touch joins a handful of Sprint devices to get the Carrier IQ cleanup treatment. → Read More
For the second time over the course of a year, it would seem as though Sprint’s ready to kill the BlackBerry PlayBook. A new version of the PlayBook OS is set to debut in February, but according to an EOL (End of Life) report out of SprintFeed, Sprint isn’t prepared for the wait. Not even for a week.
Of course, the WiFi-only PlayBook will still be available at various office stores like Best Buy and from RIM directly, but Sprint’s execution of the PlayBook marks the end of the product’s life on a carrier shelf. → Read More
Most of the furor surrounding the Carrier IQ diagnostic software has wound down by now, but that doesn’t mean that the companies involved have already forgotten. HTC has confirmed to The Verge that they were working with Sprint to push out maintenance updates that would remove the Carrier IQ software from affected devices. → Read More
Sprint’s LTE network is only slated to go live in a handful of markets right now, but the country’s third largest wireless carrier is wasting no time in introducing some hew hardware to take advantage of the nascent network. → Read More
Well that was… timely. It was just a little while ago that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse dropped some details about his company’s forthcoming network, and now a Sprint Galaxy Nexus ad has just appeared on CNET’s website.
If this ad proves to be legitimate (and I’ve got all my fingers crossed), Sprint customers may truly be rewarded for their patience. Hovering over the bottom right touchpoint reveals a very tantalizing tidbit: Sprint’s variant will apparently have a 1.5GHz processor instead of the 1.2GHz proc as seen in the international and Verizon models. Wow. → Read More
Not wanting to be outdone by their larger rivals, Sprint also has a big LTE-related announcement today. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse just confirmed to everyone at Citigroup’s 22nd Global Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference that Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio will be the company’s first LTE markets.
Those cities are just the tip of the iceberg though, as Sprint ultimately wants their LTE network lit up in ten markets before the first half of 2012 rolls around. Here’s hoping that the coasts get a little LTE love too, as the three of the announced markets are in a single (admittedly large) state, and the other isn’t that far away from them. → Read More
Long-time readers may know that I’m a sucker for white phones, so today is something like Christmas Part Two for me. New details have surfaced about two new pearlescent phones: the white Epic 4G Touch and the white Galaxy Nexus.
Sprint’s (unfortunately named) Galaxy S II Epic Touch variant is the more imminent release, as the white model will be hitting all of the company’s sales channels on January 8 with a $199 price tag. → Read More
With the AT&T-T-Mobile merger officially dead, Sprint is taking a moment to reflect on their own wisdom in opposing it from the beginning.
A press release lauds the retraction of the bid as “the right decision,” says that success would have meant “an undeniable duopoly,” and commends the DoJ and FCC for a job well done. Very effusive, as they have every reason to be. → Read More
Just a day after Minnesota Senator Al Franken published reports on how carriers and device vendors use Carrier IQ, Sprint seems to be taking steps to distance themselves the mobile monitoring company. According to MobileBurn, Sprint has confirmed that they will be disabling their use of Carrier IQ software on affected devices. → Read More
Senator Al Franken pressed certain members of the wireless industry over two weeks ago for answers about their use of Carrier IQ, the controversial monitoring software that sparked fears that our personal data was being tracked without consent. Now that the deadline has come and gone, Senator Franken had a chance to review their statements and publish them in full on his website.
After reviewing each company’s official responses to his questions, Senator Franken noted that he’s still “very troubled” by the situation at hand. → Read More
Clearwire’s WiMax network. Without it, Clearwire would have had to choose between paying up on a $237 million interest payment or continuing to build out its LTE network — a necessity in terms of competition for both Clearwire and Sprint.
The deal consists of Sprint paying $926 million for unlimited 4G WiMax services between 2012 and 2013. In the meantime, Sprint is also pledging an advance of $350 million paid over a two-year period for Access to Clearwire’s forthcoming LTE capacity. This will allow Clearwire to pay off its debt without derailing plans for its LTE network. That said, Sprint needs LTE just as desperately, so it only makes sense that Sprint would cover for its struggling partner. → Read More
Sprint, always looking for a way to undercut their competitors, has just announced two new mobile broadband data plans that give you more bang for your buck. Mobile broadband customers can now play with 6GB of data per month for $49.99, while the truly adventurous can have 12GB of data per month for $79.99.
Hotspot and tablet-specific data plans have been reconfigured as well: tablet customers can score 1GB of data for $19.99 per month, while 3GB will cost users $34.99. → Read More
Sprint is no stranger to forging big-name partnerships — the NASCAR Sprint Cup comes to mind — but this time the folks in Overland Park have struck a deal with a rather unexpected party. Sprint has just announced that after nine months of competition, they have been named the official wireless provider of San Diego, California. → Read More
No one is more excited about the iPhone’s availability at Sprint than CEO Dan Hesse. And it’s no surprise either, seeing that the carrier is investing at least $15.5 billion over the next four years just to offer the device to customers.
That said, Hesse has been tooting the iPhone horn as much as possible, taking special note of its efficient use of data. He even went so far as to say that the iPhone’s data handling may quite possibly keep Sprint’s unlimited data plans alive longer than expected. → Read More
Sprint Nextel, the no. 3 carrier in the United States, reported its quarterly earnings today, and they’re quite solid. In Q3 2011, the company generated consolidated net operating revenues of $8.3 billion, up from $8.15 billion in the same period last year and relatively flat compared to Q2 2011.
The company booked a quarterly loss of $301 million (or 10 cents per share), roughly a third the loss it reported in the same quarter a year ago ($911 million). → Read More
Move over, Kyocera DuraMax — Sprint has just officially announced the Motorola Admiral, the first Android smartphone in their growing Direct Connect lineup.
The Admiral takes a 1.2GHz processor, 4GB of internal storage, and 3G hotspot support and wraps it all in a mil-spec 810G compliant body. The 3.1-inch VGA display swathed in Gorilla Glass sits above a 4 row QWERTY keyboard, and a 5MP camera occupies the device’s rear. → Read More
HTC has just added another phone to its line of EVO handsets, the HTC EVO Design 4G.
While it can’t necessarily match the specs of its EVO 3D cousin, the EVO Design 4G does have a trick up it’s sleeve — compatibility with CDMA, HSPA and GSM networks, making it the first global phone in the EVO family. → Read More
Alright, there’s been a lot of conflicting information floating around regarding Sprint’s iPhone 4S and its locked/unlocked status, but a Sprint spokesperson has just offered Macworld her official word. The iPhone will indeed be unlocked at first, but a SIM lock will be “pushed to the devices shortly after launch.”
Seriously?
→ Read More
