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A pair of LG Optimus smartphones with LTE connectivity appear to be heading to US carriers in the coming months. The Optimus G Pro is rumored to land on AT&T at some point in May, while the Optimus F7 will apparently become Boost Mobile's third LTE-capable device, and has already appeared in an image in its carrier-branded form.
The LG Optimus L7 will soon become available at prepaid carrier Boost Mobile, though it will be known as the Venice. The phones sport a 4.3-inch IPS touchscreen with a resolution of 480x800. On the processing side, there is a 1GHz, dual-core chip and 512MB of RAM.
Boost Mobile announced today that it would be adding three new handsets to its lineup: Samsung's Galaxy S II 4G, Galaxy Rush, and Array smartphones. The new devices will be available beginning in September. All will be compatible with Boost's Monthly Unlimited Plans, as well as the carrier's Shrinking Payments feature.
The Kyocera Hydro Android smartphone will arrive at carrier Boost Mobile on August 3, the companies announced on Tuesday. The no-contract carrier will sell the phone for $130. It is IPX5 rated for withstanding water spray and IPX7 means it can be submerged in up to three feet of water for up to 30 minutes without any ill effects.
Fuji Xerox spent the opening day of the Society for Information Display's Display Week 2012 showing off its new color e-paper technology. The new e-paper is said to achieve a brighter, more vivid display due to its lack of a color filter. The technology generates a white screen by drawing all color particles to the back of the display board.
Images and details of an LG "Snapshot" have emerged online, with some suggesting that Sprint or one of its partners will be offering the phone. The phone is believed to be a budget-level handset, so it may appear on a no-contract basis, though details remain sketchy. The source that leaked the photos tells BriefMobile that the handset is due to arrive in the fourth quarter of this year.
Boost Mobile will start carrying prepaid iPhones in early September, a TechnoBuffalo source claims. Both the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S are expected to be available, but it's unknown if the carrier will apply its $50 unlimited plan to the devices. This not only offers unlimited voice, texting, and data, but also the possibility of a reduction in the monthly bill in $5 increments, down to $35.
As promised late last month, Sprint's WiMAX 4G network will soon come to Virgin and Boost Mobile, with the two providers releasing more details on Tuesday. The initial 4G-capable devices were announced, with the ship dates and live date for them being May 31. Virgin will get data devices: the Broadband2Go-branded Sierra Wireless Overdrive Pro hotspot and the Franklin U600 USB modem.
Sprint confirmed during a call for its latest results that it was bringing 4G to Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile. CEO Dan Hesse expected both of the prepaid carriers to use the older WiMAX network before the end of 2012. More details would come as the launch got nearer, he said.
Just as Sprint is getting its first LTE phones, its sub-brands Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile may be getting their first forms of 4G, according to a rumor. The two contract-free carriers were purported by TechnoBuffalo's contact to be inheriting the WiMAX network as Sprint moves its main customer base to the newer LTE standard. Accordingly, the just phased-out Evo 3D and other phones would go to Virgin, possibly under different names.
The HTC One V may be coming to Virgin Mobile's US branch. Tips to PocketNow early this week had the aluminum unibody Android 4.0 phone coming to the carrier in late spring. It would cost under $200 off-contract on Virgin, making it not just Virgin's most advanced smartphone but also one of its more affordable models.
Sprint will soon launch an Android app that will bring all the features of its DirectConnect push-to-talk service to handsets without the need for specialized hardware. The information came from a leaked internal Sprint document shared by PhoneNews. Called Sprint DirectConnect Now, the app should also bring the long-awaited Push-to-X feature that never came out the hardware platform.
Samsung's seemingly abandoned Epic 2 for Sprint might still see the light of day after leaks saw it resurface. The Android QWERTY slider is now in Cellebrite's device tracking system, ACSyndicate found, usually a sign that it's getting close to release. The SPH prefix in front of its D705 model number suggests that it's intended for a Sprint-related carrier, which given Sprint's own absence could mean Boost Mobile or Virgin Mobile instead.
Boost Mobile, the non-contract service of wireless provider Sprint, will soon offer its version of the LG Marquee. The no-frills Android 2.3 smartphone incorporates a single-core 1GHz processor and a four-inch, 700-nit brightness Nova touchscreen. Sprint began offering the phone under its own brand with a two-year contract back in October.
Sprint made a minor contribution to the CES run-up with two special phone variants. The provider confirmed a white Epic 4G Touch and plans to have the special version in stores on January 8 for $200 on a contract. It keeps the 4.5-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, dual-core 1.2GHz Exynos processor, WiMAX 4G, and Android 2.3 as its black cousin.
Best known for its file hosting, Tucows is planning a new virtual carrier based off of sprint that could lower the practical cost of a smartphone bill. Ting will drop overage fees in favor of automatic tier changes. Similar to an older Rogers plan in Canada, customers are bumped up to a new tier if they use more voice, messages, or data than included the plan, potentially saving hundreds of dollars over the course of service.
Sprint will offer two new handsets in time for the holidays, with the launch dates and prices revealed by leaks sent in to SprintFeed. The first is the Android-powered Samsung Transform Ultra, which is also available at Sprint label Boost Mobile, where it costs $230 on a pre-paid, no-contract basis. It will arrive on November 13 and cost $80 after all rebates and discounts and with a two-year contract.
The Samsung Transforum Ultra has now been confirmed for Sprint. Originally only available at Boost Mobile, the smartphone gets a 3.5-inch touchscreen along with a slide-out hardware QWERTY keyboard. It is powered by a 1GHz processor and has 512MB of RAM, while Android 2.3 comes stock.
Sprint's prepaid offshoot, Boost Mobile, will soon offer its first Android-powered smartphone from ZTE in the Warp. It's also the carrier's first 4.3-inch touchscreen phone of any kind, which is paired with a five-megapixel camera. Android 2.3 is onboard, while a 1GHz processor handles computing duties.
C Spire, once known as Cellular South, confirmed Wednesday that it would be getting the iPhone 4S. The American CDMA carrier plans to carry at least the flagship of Apple's line sometime in the "coming weeks." Prices are presumed to be the same $199 to $399 on contract for 16GB to 64GB.
Boost Mobile recently launched Samsung's Transform Ultra handset, which was on hand at CTIA for Electronista to check out. The device serves as Boost's new Android flagship, a QWERTY slider that is now sold alongside Samsung's touchscreen-only Galaxy Prevail. Despite its flagship status at Boost, the Transform Ultra provides a midrange set of features when compared to subsidized devices.
The new Samsung Transform Ultra has arrived at Boost Mobile. The slider handset had been previously announced by the prepaid carrier last month. The phone will serve as the flagship for Boost's Android phone lineup.
Largely unknown patent holder LVL Patent Group late last week quietly sued much of the US cellphone business and beyond for alleged patent violations (below). It claims that the iPhone, many Android devices, Symbian, and basic feature phones as well as their carriers violate one or more of a group of four generic patents, including data transaction servers and devices for entering transactions. Most of the patents were issued in or before 2000, but one of the device patents was only live on September 13, two days before the lawsuit was filed.
Boost Mobile has announced that it is set to expand its Android-based offerings with Samsung's Transform Ultra. The device is built with a design similar to Samsung's original Transform, but with hardware buttons below the touchscreen rather than soft keys. Both devices appear to share the same QWERTY slider keyboard.
Verizon on Tuesday confirmed intentions to take its $50 unlimited prepaid plan national this week. As of Thursday, prepaid customers will get unlimited voice, text, and data. New phone picks will be limited to basic phones like the LG Cosmos, Pantech Caper, and those from Samsung.
Walmart will be adding the Samsung Galaxy Precedent to its cellphone line up. Straight Talk, the retailer's prepaid wireless service, has begun pre-marketing the smartphone as a web exclusive on a special website. The company offers no details on the phone itself, but encourages viewers to sign up to receive emails with more information in the future.
Samsung's M930 slider handset will arrive at prepaid provider Boost Mobile, PocketNow reported on Friday. The Android 2.3-powered smartphone will get a 1GHz Qualcomm chip, a 480x320 touchscreen display and a camera that could have a lowly, two-megapixel sensor. The handset has passed Bluetooth and Wi-Fi certifications, but has not yet been seen at the FCC.
Boost Mobile has announced the latest additions to its line up of phones for its prepaid phone service. Manufactured by Motorola, the Clutch i475, i412, and Theory will be available with the Boost Mobile’s $50 Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage plan. They are priced at $100, $70 and $80 respectively. The Clutch i475 is available now. The other phones will be generally available by the end of June. Both the i412 and Clutch i475 offer push-to-talk (PTT) walkie-talkie service operating on Sprint’s iDEN network.
Confirming several leaks, Boost Mobile has formally unveiled its latest smartphone, Samsung's Prevail handset, at a special event in New York City. The device represents the carrier's flagship smartphone, which will be sold alongside several BlackBerry offerings and the aging Motorola i1. Electronista attended the introduction to take a closer look at the new device, which may prove to be one of the most attractive smartphones paired with contract-free data plans.
Boost Mobile chose not to wait for its special event tonight to provide details of the Samsung Galaxy Prevail . Its entry-level smartphone has a 3.2-inch display and a basic two-megapixel camera on the back but is focusing on price over features. As suspected, it's unique in Samsung's line for dropping TouchWiz in favor of a cleaner stock Android 2.2.
A special event Boost Mobile is holding in New York City on April 5 has had its plans uncovered through a pair of leaks. The device has been identified as the Samsung Galaxy Prevail and would be one of the few smartphones outside of the Motorola i1. An Android Central forum goer confirming the name said it would be a straightforward device with an Android 2.2 and a 3.2-megapixel camera.
Sprint has been reaping the rewards of the iPad even without an official deal, carrier chief Dan Hesse said in an interview that also raised eyebrows over iPhone discussions. The CEO noted that most iPads were Wi-Fi versions and that he had seen a boost to sales of the Sierra Wireless Overdrive. The pocket router is good for getting the iPad online away from home, he told GigaOM. It can connect to either 3G or 4G and share its connection with four other devices, none of which are options with the iPad's built-in 3G.
Pre-paid monthly provider Boost Mobile on Thursday announced it will offer a unique Monthly Unlimited with Shrinkage plan. Customers who make their payments on time on a regular basis will get their monthly bills reduced from $50 (basic phones) or $60 (smartphones) down to as little as $35 or $45. Each six-month period of on-time payments will result in a $5 reduction.
Until recently, most prepaid carriers have lacked smartphone options and appropriate plans for heavy data usage. Boost Mobile is one of the first companies to accommodate prepaid customers who want to upgrade their hardware and take advantage of the same level of service typically tied to yearly contracts. Electronista has taken a closer look at Boost Mobile’s latest smartphones, including the Blackberry Curve and Motorola i1. We were surprised to learn that both devices can be linked to formidable smartphone plans, with lower monthly fees than most of the leading carriers charge for similar monthly service on a two-year contract.
The first Android-powered handset offered under a prepaid pricing scheme has shipped thanks to the the Motorola i1 from Boost Mobile. The push-to-talk handset will be offered with Boost Mobile's Monthly Unlimited service, which talk, text and data for $50 per month. The i1 gets a 5-megapixel camera and a 3.1-inch display, with the new Opera Mini 5 web browser preloaded.
Boost Mobile has launched the QWERTY-based clamshell/flip hybrid phone from SANYO on its prepaid network: the Incognito. Introduced last fall and first available at Best Buy in late January, Boost Mobile expects to expand the distribution of Kyocera's low-cost phone to RadioShack as well as Target and Walmart soon. The handset, which utilizes Boost's outsourced 3G/EVDO network (by Sprint), has a glowing touch-sensitive keypad and OLED display along with flip-open QWERTY keyboard and a larger 2.6-inch, 320x240 screen along with a 2MP camera with VGA camcorder.
The Federal Trade Commission has given antitrust permission to the proposed merger between Sprint Nextel and Virgin Mobile USA, according to Reuters. Sprint in July initially announced its plans to take over the smaller carrier for $483 million, building upon its current 13.1 percent stake. The deal will merge Virgin's prepaid service with Boost Mobile.
Sprint on Wednesday revealed spring quarter results that show the Palm Pre having relatively little impact on its health. The company's losses widened to $384 million compared to $341 million a year ago and it reported losing about 257,000 total customers, shrinking to 48.8 million users. While it gained 938,000 prepaid customers on Boost Mobile, this and other gains were offset by losses across the board, including 393,000 of its core CDMA phone network users.
Wireless provider Sprint on Monday announced it will offer the Motorola Clutch i465 later this summer. First offered by Sprint subsidiary Boost Mobile, the Clutch is a rugged device that meets the US military's 810F specifcations and is rated to withstand temperature and altitude extremes, as well as exposure to dust, shock, vibration and solar radiation. The device is also the first device with a full QWERTY keyboard to run on Sprint's iDEN push-to-talk network.
Boost Mobile is now offering the Motorola Clutch i465 handset, which is the hardware maker's first device on the push-to-talk iDEN network with a QWERTY keyboard. It is rated for military-grade specifications for resistance to dust, shock, vibration, dust and solar radiation, while more pedestrian features include its 1.8-inch screen with a 128x160 resolution, a GPS sensor and a VGA camera that can record videos.
Sprint today reported a first quarter that showed the company's losses at once expanding and stabilizing. The company's net losses grew from $505 million a year ago to $594 million in early 2009, a steep 18 percent drop. It also reported continued, but softened, subscriber losses from quarter to quarter as it dropped 182,000 total users, falling to 49.1 million customers. The number was helped by a large influx of customers drawn to Sprint's $50 unlimited plan on Boost Mobile but masks a sharp drop in users in its core business, where 531,000 CDMA users and 719,000 iDEN push-to-talk users left the service.
Motorola has recently revealed specs of its first push-to-talk handset that has a full QWERTY keyboard, the Clutch i465. Originally spotted at the end of February and expected to reach Sprint or its subsidiary Boost Mobile, the phone is said to meet military-grade specifications for resistance to shock, vibration, dust and solar radiation.
The latest handset for Motorola's iDEN network, the i856 slider equipped with the signature push-to-talk feature, has been spotted on Wednesday thanks to Engadget. The first slider device compatible to feature push-to-talk functionality from Motorola, the handset's 2.2-inch display is average, as is the rest of the handset's feature-set. It sports a 1.3-megapixel camera, Bluetooth 2.0 and a microSD expansion card slot, all features common or slightly above that of the handset maker's first QWERTY iDEN handset, the i465.
A leaked image that seems to have a list of future handsets coming to Brightpoint and Sprint has been leaked on Thursday. The validity of the image is helped by its listing the same ship date of the Palm Treo Pro as the recent official announcement, although Brightpoint itself will get the handset a few days earlier, on March 11th. The image also reveals a $550 unsubsidized price providers. It also shows a variant of the BlackBerry Curve 8350i without a camera that will come to Sprint's iDEN network at an unspecified date, but will cost $480 without a contract.
Competitive pressure from rival carriers may force AT&T to create more affordable iPhone plans, suggests Kaufman analyst Shaw Wu. While an iPhone plan typically costs a minimum of $70 a month, Wu notes that it can cost as much as $130 to gain both unlimited voice and data. These plans are now woefully out of date next to options from Sprint and T-Mobile, says Wu, and may be the cause of slowing iPhone sales, given a terrible economy.
Motorola has made an early start to its Mobile World Congress unveilings by launching the Stature i9 for both Sprint and its sub-brand Boost Mobile. The clamshell is said the thinnest to use iDEN push-to-talk networks at 0.59 inches thick and is also the most advanced media phone of the kind. A 3.1-megaxpixel camera is the sharpest available on Sprint's PTT network, while a ring of touch-sensitive buttons around the external display provide access both to music but also to GPS, video capture and other functions that normally need an open phone; they dynamically illuminate to indicate contextual choices.
The Sprint sub-brand, Boost Mobile, announced on Thursday a $50 Monthly Unlimited plan for its iDEN-based offerings that includes unlimited monthly calling minutes, text messaging, wireless Web access and push-to-talk services. The pre-paid plan will offered starting on January 22nd, and Boost is expecting it will attract many customers currently on subscription plans, with the majority expected to switch over from T-Mobile's own subscription services.
