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The US branch of Best Buy is planning to launch a $50 discount on iPhones starting on Sunday, says AllThingsD. The sale should last for four weeks, and cover the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5. All phones must, however, be tied to a new two-year contract with AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint, ruling out carriers like T-Mobile.
The BlackBerry Q10 is making its way to the US on three different carriers in the summer, after launches in Canada and the UK. T-Mobile states it will sell the smartphone for $100 and 24 monthly installments of $20 or $580 outright, and expects to have it in June. Verizon also claims it will stock the phone in June, though does not reveal how much for, and Sprint confirms it will carry the handset, but it will launch on the network "in late summer" and for an undisclosed price.
SoftBank's CEO is continuing to talk-up his company's $20.1 billion offer to buy out Sprint, by claiming SoftBank's experience with 4G will help the US carrier. Network enhancements, such as SoftBank's single frequency network technology for reducing interference, will help Sprint in the long run alongside other benefits, according to CEO Masayoshi Son.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the proposal from SoftBank to buy out Sprint. While shareholders in the US carrier are expected to discuss and vote on the deal at a meeting next month, the chairman of Dish Network has made comments against the proposal, citing the need for Sprint's network to be upgraded by US teams.
The CEO of SoftBank believes there is no need to change the Japanese carrier's offer to Sprint, following a secondary offer from Dish Network. Masayoshi Son, also the founder of the company, told the audience of an earnings briefing "There is absolutely no need for that since we believe our offer is above theirs."
An unannounced HTC Windows Phone device has apparently shown up in the device logs of a Chinese developer, and it's believed that the handset is heading to Sprint. The device is thought to be an earlier-rumored phone codenamed the HTC Tiara, that was said to be coming to Sprint.
Due to some unexpected inventory difficulties Sprint has been forced to delay its full launch of the Samsung Galaxy S4. The company plans to make the Galaxy S4 available through its online store and telesales on Saturday April 27th as planned, while retail stores and other channels receiving devices will be supplied with inventory when it becomes available. Just today some early reviews started going live, with reviewers agreeing that the device is a nice advancement from the S3, but falls short in terms of build quality and features compared to its competition.
Mobile data provider FreedomPop has announced an expansion of its 3G coverage through support for Sprint. The change is effective immediately, and should enable nationwide access, solving some complaints about gaps in the carrier's service. The company sells cases and hotspots that enable otherwise Wi-Fi-only devices to get 3G/4G connections; each accessory comes with 500MB of free 4G data per month.
Sprint managed to sell 5 million smartphones in the first quarter of this year, making up 86-percent of its device sales, according to recently released financial results. While 1.5 million iPhones were sold in the period, 43-percent to new Sprint customers, this is a drop from the record 2.2 million iPhones sold during the fourth quarter last year.
HTC One fans interested in getting the smartphone in black may want to hold on a bit longer, as the black model has shown up on Sprint and AT&T's web stores. The black model doesn't have a date for release yet, but the two carriers' web stores say that it is "coming soon." The premium-build HTC handset launched in the U.S. on Friday, and it's now available on Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T.
The HTC One has gone on sale in the United States today, launching on Sprint, T-Mobile, and AT&T at the same time. The three carriers are offering the flagship smartphone through their online stores, though in some cases, brick and mortar retail outlets are left waiting until next week to start selling the device.
Sprint has expanded its 4G LTE network to cover another 21 markets, the same locations detailed in a leak last week. The carrier is also adding another 34 markets to its existing 170-market LTE-rollout roadmap, which means that its 88 currently-active LTE markets will be joined by another 204 areas by the end of this year.
Several carriers have announced release dates for Samsung's Galaxy S 4, which will land at T-Mobile on April 24 before arriving at Sprint on April 27. Sprint has chosen $250 as the standard subsidized price for the Android flagship, though a $100 instant credit is offered for new customers who switch from another carrier. Keeping to its new "un-carrier" branding, T-Mobile is advertising $150 as its up-front cost ahead of monthly device payments.
Japanese carrier SoftBank is expecting to complete its acquisition of Sprint by July, despite a sudden roadblock in the form of alternate offers to Sprint. A statement from Softbank providing a date for completion comes in the wake of Sprint receiving a second bid from Dish Network to merge, valued at $25.5 billion.
Dish Network has announced it wishes to merge with Sprint, at a cost of $25.5 billion. The proposal from the satellite service provider could potentially derail the current attempt by Japanese carrier SoftBank to purchase Sprint, a deal worth around $20 billion that has been in progress since October last year.
Sprint is rolling out its 4G LTE network in a number of new markets later today, according to a leak. The network, which is said to offer speeds between 6 to 8Mbps and a peak of 25Mbps, may end up being turned on with little to no fanfare in a similar way to how areas of New York City, Washington D.C., and San Francisco quietly went live in February.
Google has added the United Kingdom to the list of countries able to contribute improvements to its mapping data. Enabled in North Korea earlier this year, Google Map Maker allows users to submit adjustments to the main Google Maps database, including new roads not picked up from Street View cars, changes in coastlines, and areas not usually covered by Google's normal cartography efforts. The changes are then periodically reviewed and rolled into Google Maps itself.
The HTC One has gone on sale in the United States as a pre-order through one carrier, while others are still preparing for their own sales. AT&T has started taking orders for the smartphone today as promised, while Sprint will be opening their pre-order queue tomorrow. Canadian carrier Telus has also announced it will open up sales for the HTC One in the near future, ahead of the phone launch.
Joining AT&T, Sprint has announced Friday, April 19 as the availability date for the new HTC One smartphone. The new handset is the latest international smartphone from the manufacturer, and will be available for preorder starting April 5 online. The HTC One has an all-aluminum chassis and high resolution 1080p 4.7-inch 468ppi LCD display. It is powered by the same quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor as the North American version of the Galaxy S4.
Sprint is enabling its 4G LTE network in areas, without officially announcing a market as "live." Areas including New York City, Washington D.C., and San Francisco are finding some locations are getting 4G LTE service, though not a blanket coverage of entire areas as usually associated with normal network rollouts.
Sprint has posted the results of its holiday quarter, during which it suffered a net loss of $1.3 billion. The company blames that partly on subsidies for the Apple iPhone, however, of which it sold a record 2.2 million, compared to the 1.5 million it activated in each of the three previous quarters. 38 percent of Q4 iPhones were sold to new customers. In all Sprint sold over 4 million LTE smartphones throughout the quarter, including the iPhone.
Sprint has expanded its LTE 4G coverage to 28 more towns in the US, according an announcement. The new locations are spread out across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Missouri, Mississippi, Minnesota, Washington, Pennsylvania, Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Louisiana, Texas, and Massachusetts. Most of them are relatively minor; some notable names include Branson, Missouri, and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
After initially deciding not to offer its "Total Equipment Protection" insurance option to iPhone users, Sprint has apparently changed the policy and will begin offering the option starting on January 25, according to a screenshot posted on Engadget. The TEP plan is similar in nature to Apple's own AppleCare+, which expanded AppleCare (at an additional cost) to also cover instances of user-inflicted damage or loss on an iPhone or iPad.
Sprint will be rolling out its prepaid service model in the coming weeks, bringing a Sprint-branded service option to customers that do not want to sign up for a contract. Sprint As You Go will reportedly be starting up on January 25, with one flip phone, one feature phone, and two smartphones eligible for no-contract service. The prepaid service will not, though, be open to customers using standard Sprint smartphones.
Confirming earlier reports of an acquisition in the offing, Sprint today announced that it would be taking full ownership of wireless broadband wholesaler Clearwire. The final price for the deal came in at $2.2 billion, just above earlier estimates that had Sprint paying $2.1 billion. That price represents a 128 percent premium to Clearwire's closing share price from October 10, the day before Sprint and Softbank's discussions were confirmed in the marketplace.
Sprint, the United States' third-largest wireless carrier, has offered to acquire Clearwire for $2.1 billion. Sprint already owns half of Clearwire, having acquired a controlling stake in the carrier in October of this year after buying $100 million worth of shares off of an investment firm. This new offer would give Sprint access a larger spectrum portfolio, an asset the carrier needs if it wants to realize its plan of taking on AT&T and Verizon for primacy in the American wireless market.
Best Buy has rolled out its latest holiday promotion, slashing $50 off iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 pricing. New or upgrade-eligible subscribers can now pick up a 16GB iPhone 5 for $150 with a two-year contract, while the iPhone 4S currently starts at $50. The discounts include both white and black variants connected to Verizon, Sprint and AT&T.
Sprint, the United States' third-largest wireless carrier, has approached Dish Network about a partnership that would see Dish offering mobile service over Sprint's network. Sources familiar with Sprint's offer say that the deal would give Sprint access to Dish's mobile airwaves, with the two companies sharing revenue from customers signing up for wireless service from Dish. The satellite TV provider has been moving toward wireless service provision for some time, though regulatory obstacles have hindered its progress.
Sunday will see the beginning of RadioShack's buy-one-get-one-free deal on a number of Android phones from AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon. Customers purchasing the Galaxy SIII from Samsung or Motorola's Droid Razr 4G LTE will have the option to get one of four other smartphones for free. The BOGO deal is also compatible with RadioShack's existing $10 back in-store or online holiday purchase deal.
Sprint announced today the expansion of its 4G LTE network to customers in 11 new cities and counties. The network expansion will allow customers in Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Kansas, and Virginia to access Sprint's 4G LTE speeds on devices such as the Galaxy S III, Evo 4G LTE, and cellular-connected iPads. Sprint now offers 4G LTE service in 43 markets.
AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon have announced that they are now carrying the LTE iPad mini. Sprint is warning people that launch stocks may be limited; if a store is out of the device, though, the carrier is offering people reservations contingent on buying a $50 gift card that counts against the tablet's price. In terms of plans, Sprint is selling month-to-month options ranging from $15 for 300MB up to $80 for 12GB, or discounts for current smartphone subscribers valued at $10 for 100MB or $15 for 1GB. Activations fees are being waived for all of the carrier's tablets.
Windows Phone 8 will have a presence on all four of the nation's largest carriers by next year, as Sprint has confirmed that it will be carrying handsets running Microsoft's new mobile operating system in 2013. The nation's third-largest carrier did not give specifics on when a Windows Phone 8 handset would be appearing on its network, but it did confirm that it will carry a 4G LTE-capable handset some time next year. The announcement means that Windows Phone 8 will not make the holiday season on Sprint, even though Sprint executives said earlier in the year that they were "bullish" on the new operating system.
Owners of Sprint's Galaxy Note II will soon receive an over-the-air system update that will give the handset improved multitasking capabilities. The Multi Window feature was absent from the Note II when it was released, but today's update will bring the feature to Samsung's 'phablet,' allowing them to run two applications on the screen at the same time. It also brings slight changes to email and message notifications.
Sprint has announced plans to pay $480 million for customers and PCS spectrum from regional carrier US Cellular. Should the deal be approved by the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission, by sometime in 2013, Sprint will take over customers and spectrum in parts of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, and Ohio, including the major markets of Chicago and St. Louis. The carrier should add about 585,000 more subscribers.
TruConnect, which is an MVNO that piggybacks on Sprint's network, has introduced two new Internet on the Go plans on Thursday that rely on a mobile hotspot. The Go Big and Go Bigger plans will be available to purchase only through Walmart stores. Neither requires a contract but they differ mainly in when the data allotment expires.
An April initiative spurred by the Federal Communications Commission and police chiefs from major cities has borne fruit. Online today, a set of databases hosted by AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint are keeping track of cellphones reported stolen. The new database prevents stolen phones from being used on their network by filtering by IMEI, rather than any previous functionality targeting the SIM card.
Sprint will soon introduce new rate plans for 4G tablets, undercutting other carriers on pricing for 4G tablets. The carrier announced today that it will be offering customers up to 20 percent more data than AT&T and Verizon for the same price. Sprint is also going to temporarily waive the activation fee on all 3G and 4G LTE tablets.
The latest quarterly results from Sprint shows the carrier receiving a net loss of $767 million, an improvement from the $1.4 billion endured in Q2. The operating loss of $231 million for the period is less than half the $629 million from the second quarter, and almost reaches the same $208 million loss felt in Q3 last year.
With the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note II in its stores and online on Wednesday, T-Mobile has become the first carrier to offer it. This will come at a price however, as the handset will cost $370 on a qualifying voice and data plan, while other carriers are pricing it at $300 on similar plans. The minimum required plan costs at $70 per month and includes 500 minutes of talk, unlimited texting and unlimited data on T-Mobile social networking and navigating and 2GB of data per month for everything else.
Shortly after the unveiling of the iPad mini and a refreshed iPad, Sprint announced that it would indeed be carrying both devices on its 4G LTE network. Sprint's announcement states that it will be carrying the devices in the coming weeks and that both would be supported across the data plans the carrier offers. The carrier provided no more information on when the devices would be appearing on its network, instead referring interested customers to the product page for Apple's iPad.
AT&T revealed it will begin offering the Galaxy Note II smartphone on November 9 both online and in stores, priced at $300 on a two-year voice and data contract. A pre-order page will go live on Thursday, October 25, letting buyers reserve their 5.5-inch smartphone. The LTE-capable phone is slightly larger than the original, 5.3-inch Galaxy Note.
A regulatory filing revealed today that US carrier Sprint will buy shares in Clearwire Corp. sufficient to take a controlling stake in the wireless carrier. Sprint will pay $100 million to Eagle Rivers Holding, an investment firm owned by Clearwire founder Craig McCaw, in order to acquire a further 30.9 million of Clearwire's Class A shares and 2.73 million Class B shares, bringing Sprint's stake in the carrier from 48 percent to 52.5 percent. The deal will give Sprint control of the spectrum Clearwire controls, likely increasing Sprint's value even as Japanese carrier Softbank moves to buy 70 percent of Sprint.
Sprint on Tuesday revealed the shipping date and pricing scheme for the LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Note II. The 5.5-inch Android smartphone will ship earlier than previously expected, arriving on October 25 at the carrier. The phone will cost $300 on a two-year contract to new customers and existing ones who are eligible for an upgrade.
Sprint on Tuesday revealed the shipping date and pricing scheme for the LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Note II. The 5.5-inch Android smartphone will ship earlier than previously expected, arriving on October 25 at the carrier. The phone will cost $300 on a two-year contract to new customers and existing ones who are eligible for an upgrade.
(Updated) Japanese carrier Softbank has confirmed it is buying a 70 percent stake of US carrier Sprint for $20 billion. A joint press conference between the two carriers saw Sprint CEO Dan Hesse and Softbank's Masayoshi Son confirm the purchase. Observers expect Softbank to attempt to turn its successes in the Japanese 4G LTE market into matching successes on US shores.
Major Japanese carrier Softbank is in negotiations to buy Sprint Nextel, Bloomberg reports. The publication cites two sources said to be familiar with the talks. According to Japan's Nikkei newspaper, Softbank may be prepared to spend over 1.5 trillion yen -- more than $19 billion US -- on the deal, though where the paper's information comes from isn't mentioned.
A 4G-capable version of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 will be coming to Sprint's network some time in the near future, the two companies announced today. Packing a 1.5GHz Qualcomm MSM8960 chipset, the Tab 2 10.1 will be able to leverage its data connection into mobile hotspot capability, supporting up to 10 Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously. The Samsung tablet will run Android 4.0 at its release, though Samsung has promised that it will receive an upgrade to version 4.1 in the near future.
Sprint has started a service that allows its customers to have a second number using their name. A collaboration between the carrier and Zoove, the StarStar Me system can let people phoning from any major US carrier call customers subscribed to the Sprint service by dialing two stars followed by their name.
T-Mobile USA's parent company has confirmed that it is in talks to buy MetroPCS Communications, and spokespersons from MetroPCS have confirmed that the talks are ongoing. The Boston Herald reported earlier today that the two carriers, might be looking to merge, though such an act would still leave T-Mobile trailing Sprint, the third-largest carrier in the nation. The talks are said to be ongoing, though Deutsche Telekom AG, the German company that owns T-Mobile USA, says that there are still "significant issues" to be finalized and a decision on the deal has not yet been made.
Verizon subscribers aren't the only ones who have been experiencing data leaks with the iPhone 5, notes the New York Times and 9to5Mac. The Times writes that the issue may be affecting AT&T and Sprint customers as well. 9to5 goes into detail about the AT&T side; one person complains that he's already accrued over $100 in overage fees, while another says that they managed to consume 2GB of cellular data in three days.
