Sprint

Samsung Exclaim is a new dual-slider messenger

The Samsung Rant was released not long ago (in October 2008, in fact), but it seems Samsung and Sprint are already working on a successor. The Samsung Exclaim (sometimes I think Samsung plays Mad Libs with its product names) is slated to be the successor to the Rant, and the big difference is that it has a dual-slider design; the number keypad slides down, while the QWERTY keyboard slides to the left. The design is similar to that of the Pantech Matrix and the Helio Ocean 2.

It has a 2.6 inch QVGA display, EV-DO Rev. 0, support for … Read more

Boost Mobile to expand retail outlets

With prepaid carriers enjoying good times in this recession, Sprint Nextel subsidiary Boost Mobile is preparing to reap the benefits. Matt Carter, Boost's president, told Reuters that his company will open 50 new retail stores by the end of the year.

The new outlets, which will open around the country in cities like Atlanta, New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia, will only sell Boost phones and services. Currently, Boost operates just three stores in Miami, Los Angeles, and Houston. Boost products are available at some Sprint retail locations, but they're typically regulated to a corner of the store.

Boost … Read more

More Palm Pre launch rumors

Ugh. Another day, another Palm Pre rumor.

The latest one comes from the Boy Genius Report and adds more fuel to the fire that the Pre will launch on or around June 7. An "anonymous tipster" sent BGR an internal Palm memo that outlines a schedule of events around the Pre for employees starting on June 3 and ending with a "LAUNCH LUNCH!" on June 5 at noon.

As Engadget Mobile points out, there could be several scenarios to come out of this: 1) It could all be prep for a June 7 release, which would … Read more

Could the Kindle DX save Sprint Nextel?

If Amazon's new bigger-screen e-reader, the Kindle DX, lives up to the hype, it could be good news for Sprint Nextel.

Amazon's CEO Jeff Bezos on Monday unveiled the much-anticipated large-screen Kindle e-reader in New York City. The new Kindle DX is geared toward readers of personal and professional documents, newspapers, magazines--and textbooks, a potentially huge target market.

Analysts are expecting this new Kindle to be a big hit. The larger screen and PDF reader will help open up the device to a whole new market.

While huge sales of the new device will obviously benefit Amazon, it'… Read more

Behind-the-scenes Palm Pre advert leaked...and stars Facebook?

We've already seen Palm and Apple clash when it comes to print advertisements, but now details of what could be the first Pre TV advertisement have leaked. Photographer and film maker Jaime Gonzalez had been tweeting (of which has mysteriously disappeared) about his part in filming the commercial in Los Angeles, and even uploaded a photo of the massive Facebook set involved.

The tweet came from Mr. Gonzalez yesterday evening while at the Warner Bros. film studio, saying the following:

Back at Warner Bros! Palm Pre in the house...It's the iPhone for chicks! LOL Okay, being a &… Read more

Buzz Out Loud 966: We're gonna need a bigger e-book reader case

On today's show: thoughts on a bigger Kindle made for reading newspapers (fail), Sprint's earnings report (fail), whether Microsoft will allow downgrades from Windows 7 to Vista (fail) and "silver ooze" (winner!).

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 966

NYT says giant Kindle is on the way this week (as Times Co. threatens to shut Boston Globe in as little as 60 days.) (Press event scheduled for 10:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday.) http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/technology/companies/04reader.html?_r=4&ref=business http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124143635883282991.html?mod=googlenews_wsj … Read more

Sprint blames economy for Q1 customer losses

Update 7:22 a.m. PDT: This story was updated with comments and information from the company's conference call.

Sprint Nextel is blaming the economy for a steep decline in subscribers, though its prepaid and wholesale businesses are seen as important growth areas as the company faces stiff competition.

Meanwhile, financial losses mounted in Sprint's first-quarter earnings released Monday.

"We are happy about the success of Boost Unlimited (prepaid, no-contract service) and our wholesale business," Dan Hesse, Sprint's CEO said during a conference call with analysts and investors on Monday. "But the economy has … Read more

FAQ: Why you're still paying early-termination fees

It's been almost a year since a judge in Alameda County, Calif., ruled that Sprint Nextel's early-termination fees are illegal, and yet Sprint and every other major U.S. wireless operator still charges customers a fee for canceling their services before a contract expires.

So what gives? Why are these pesky early-termination fees still around if they are against the law?

That's a good question and one that many readers have asked me over the past year. Because I get so many questions about these fees, I decided to put together this FAQ to help people understand … Read more

Sprint Nextel to outsource network management?

In an effort to cut costs, Sprint Nextel may outsource management of its cellular network to equipment vendor Ericsson and transfer 5,000 to 7,000 U.S. employees to that company as part of the deal.

That's according to The Wall Street Journal, which quotes sources familiar with the matter as saying the beleaguered cell phone operator could end up paying Ericsson as much as $2 billion over several years to maintain the thousands of cell sites that carry Sprint's wireless voice and data traffic. The WSJ quotes those sources as saying the deal could slash Sprint'… Read more