Sprint

How a WiMax iPod Touch could be a non-AT&T iPhone alternative

If you want an iPhone in the U.S., you've got two choices: use AT&T's wireless service, or risk unlocking your phone to use T-Mobile (the only other American provider that's compatible with the iPhone's SIM-based GSM design). And with AT&T's exclusivity contract in effect until 2012, we'll be well into the next presidential election cycle before that changes. But maybe there's a loophole in the form of the iPod Touch--and its eventual successor. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 678: Buzzkill Tuesday

EPISODE 678

It's Official: Hulu Opens Up on Wednesday http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/03/10/ its-official-hulu-opens-up-on-wednesday/

Ars: Buzzkill http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080311-restrictions-distribution-rifts-may-hamstring-hulus-launch.html

Kentucky lawmaker wants to make anonymous Internet posting illegal (thanks, Jim!) http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080310-lawmakers-attempt-to-criminalize-anonymous-posting-doomed.html http://www.wtvq.com/content/midatlantic/tvq/ video.apx.-content-articles-TVQ-2008-03-05-0011.html

Michael Jackson’s company denies Beatles coming to iTunes http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9890124-7.html

Lionsgate adding iTunes digital copy to some DVDs http://arstechnica.com/journals/apple.ars/2008/03/11/ lionsgate-adding-itunes-digital-copy-to-some-dvds

EU clears Google-DoubleClick’s $3.1 billion merger http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080311-eu-clears-googledoubleclicks-3-1-merger.htmlRead more

Where we care more about the camera than coming up with titles

EPISODE 53

Gov. Spitzer.... [insert joke here]. Jeff's Mogul nabs an upgrade, and we reveal the winner of Super Smash Bros. Brawl! Plus, do we really need to be going into space? And If you want to win something, e-mail your best faux Steven Segal movie titles to us (the404 [at] cnet [dot] com). Don't worry about that bumper before the show, it's still us.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Sprint releases EV-DO Rev. A upgrade for HTC Mogul

The HTC Mogul is about to get fast...real fast. Today, Sprint released a software upgrade that brings an EV-DO Rev. A upgrade to the Windows Mobile smartphone, making it the first such handset in the United States. EV-DO Rev. A is an evolution of EV-DO which boosts download speeds from the 400Kbps-to-700Kbps range to 600Kbps-to-1.4Mbps range, while upload speeds will average about 350Kpbs to 500Kpbs (compared with EV-DO's 50Kpbs to 70Kbps). In short, you're going to get faster Web browsing, e-mail, and downloads--that is, if you're lucky enough to live in a coverage area.

According … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 676: Don't lecture me

EPISODE 676

Apple’s iPhone SDK Strategy Both Promotes and Stifles Innovation http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/07/AR2008030700060.html

iPhone SDK, Apple’s Touch Platform, and The Next Two Decades http://www.37signals.com/svn/posts/ 900-iphone-sdk-apples-touch-platform-and-the-next-two-decades

FAQ: What does the iPhone SDK mean? http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9888281-7.html

Rumor: Sprint will spin off Nextel http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9888321-7.html

Air Force Cyber Command Wants Intarwebs Supremacy (Thanks Jacob!) http://gizmodo.com/365042/ air-force-cyber-command-wants-intarwebs-supremacy

Analysts say T-Mobile may acquire Sprint http://www.kansascity.com/382/story/519407.html

Report: Google, Microsoft, and two … Read more

Rumor: Sprint to spin off Nextel

Rumors are swirling today over the future of Sprint. First off, Seeking Alpha is reporting that Sprint has hired Morgan Stanley for a possible spin-off of its Nextel brand. Sprint's ongoing troubles have been widely reported over the last few months and many analysts have named the 2006 merger between Sprint and Nextel as a key cause of the carrier's ongoing troubles. With that in mind, a spin-off of Nextel may be surprising, but it wouldn't be so shocking.

But that's not the only Sprint dish going around today. The Kansas City Star said that Merrill … Read more

Sprint adds Web component to its voice-to-text service

Sprint Nextel today announced an interesting new service that's designed for people with hearing impairments. Sprint WebCapTel is a Web-based program that shows a person what his or her caller is saying through real-time captions. But unlike the carrier's existing CapTel service, WebCapTel doesn't need any special equipment. Instead, users only need to log onto a Web site where they'll see the captions displayed. And in instances where the user has some residual hearing, callers will be audible through the phone as normal.

WebCapTel is free and you can use it with any phone, both wireless … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 670: Null error

EPISODE 670

Google Sites: What’s all the fuss? http://www.news.com/8301-13953_3-9881642-80.html

Under the bonnet of Android http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/technology/2008/02/under_the_bonnet_of_android_1.html

Apple: All signs point to a more business friendly iPhone http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=8104

Sprint raises stakes in the $99.99 unlimited battle http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9881662-7.html

EU may begin treating ‘Net censorship as a trade barrier http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/ 20080227-eu-may-begin-treating-net-censorship-as-a-trade-barrier.html

Former FBI Agent Calls for a Second Internet http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/02/27/2310247

MLB … Read more

The Sprint nightmare is far from over

The news for Sprint Nextel just keeps getting worse as the company struggles to rebuild its business and its reputation.

On Thursday the third-largest wireless phone company in the U.S. announced a $29.5 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2007 and warned that the company would continue to lose customers at an alarming rate in the coming year.

The company eliminated its dividend and wrote down the full value of its $35 billion merger with Nextel Communications. The companies merged in 2005, and it's been a bumpy ride ever since with many of Nextel's customers … Read more

Sprint raises stakes in the $99.99 unlimited battle

Sprint Nextel upped the ante in the $99.99 all-you-can-eat rate plan battle Thursday by introducing a service that includes unlimited voice as well as unlimited data and slew of premium services.

Called "Simply Everything," the plan will give customers unlimited voice as well as unlimited data, text, e-mail, Web-surfing, Sprint TV, Sprint Music, GPS Navigation, and push-to-talk service for $99.99 a month. The company made the announcement during its fourth-quarter earnings call, in which the company also announced heavy financial and customer losses.

The new pricing plan is available to existing and new customers on both … Read more