Sprint - 26/58 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Nov

Sprint Updates Pricing And Bandwidth For Non-Smartphone Data Plans

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Sprint

In order to remain competitive, Sprint is constantly tweaking its data plans for non-smartphone devices like tablets, mobile hotspots, and laptops. The most recent update to the plans came today, which offers an increase in bandwidth, as well as a drop in price -- always a good combination.

These changes apply to non-smartphone devices only. Smartphones still have unlimited data.

Beginning immediately, The Now Network will be offering 6GB of data for $49.99 and 12GB for $79.99; if that's too much bandwidth for you, though, there is a 1GB option (tablets only) for $19.99, as well as a 3GB plan (tablets and mobile hotspots only) for $34.99.

Nov

[Update: Manual Update Instructions] Better Late Than Never: Samsung Epic 4G Gingerbread Update Rolling Out Now

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Epic 4G, News, Sprint

I guess Sprint and Samsung decided it was finally time to cater to the needs of all the Epic owners out there, as the official Gingerbread OTA update is officially rolling out. Aside from Gingerbread, the update offers up the usual: bug fixes, enhanced features, etc. Sprint kept the changelog short and sweet on this one, have a look:

Upgrade of the Google OS from Froyo to Gingerbread (Android 2.3)
Audible Sprint AIRAVE™ notifications when answering call
SMS messages sent without area code
PRL and Profile update
EAS (Exchange Activesync) email displaying HTML
Bluetooth headset sound improvements
Fully visible date on device lock screen

And there you have it.

Nov

Did Sprint's October 31st Network Updates Turn Out To Be Real? We're Seeing Massive Improvements In 3G Speeds In Some Areas - How About You?

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in EVO 3D (Shooter), News, Sprint

Over the past week, I've been in contact with Sprint about the demise of their network's data speeds, especially in the 3G department. As many of you were also in the same boat, we saw quite a bit of interest and started collecting information on the situation, which resulted in this knowledge dump on Sunday - read it if you haven't yet done so.

Among the tidbits of info Sprint techs let out, one was especially interesting - a round of tower upgrades that were supposed to be completed on October 31st. We were skeptical. Many of you were as well.

Oct

What I Learned About Sprint's Past And Current Data Problems As Well As Future Upgrade Plans After Reaching Out To CEO Dan Hesse

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in 4G, News, Sprint

Last Updated: January 13th, 2012

Sprint has network problems. Major problems. And they've gotten a lot worse lately. Really, really bad. Not all areas are affected - and in fact some have improved already, but more and more areas are getting so bad that Sprint's 3G data is completely unusable there, especially since the introduction of the iPhone. Troubleshooting and update my phone's "profile" and PRL didn't help, as evident from the screenshot #2 you see below.

Earlier this week I contacted Sprint's customer service, followed by an email to an executive and CEO Dan Hesse himself (or whoever fields his emails). The former told me there was a tower outage in my area, and a fix was incoming the next day (as you've guessed nothing is fixed as of today, 5 days later).

Oct

The Carrier Crackdown Continues: Sprint Now Blocking Tethering Apps In The Android Market

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Sprint

A few months ago AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon all started blocking wireless tethering apps in the Android Market, making them unavailable for download on their respective devices. At that time, Sprint was the only carrier still allowing tethering apps to be installed without limitation -- but that time has come to an end. That's right, the Now Network has begun blocking the installation of wireless tethering apps from the Market on any device attached to its network.

While this is disheartening indeed, there is always a workaround. Sprint may be able to block specific apps in the Android Market, but it can't stop you from pulling an app directly from the web and sideloading it onto your device.

Oct

Dan Hesse: The Sprint iPhone Is Actually Helping Keep Unlimited Data Around Longer For Smartphones

Posted by David Ruddock in News, Sprint

When Sprint confirmed that the iPhone 4S was headed to the US's Alamo of unlimited data, current Sprint subscribers feared that a tidal wave of iDevices could finally force the company to surrender to tiered data pricing.

Speaking to Forbes, CEO Dan Hesse said the iPhone was actually having the opposite effect, and that Apple's smartphone would actually reduce the rate of growth of smartphone data consumption because it uses Sprint's network more efficiently. Hesse claims the iPhone uses significantly less mobile data, and hits the network less often, than Android devices. Apple's strict guidelines about app network efficiency mean the iPhone, on average, is less data-hungry than its competitors.

Oct

Sprint Posts Q3 2011 Earnings Report - Biggest Jump In Wireless Subscribers In Five Years, Still Reported A Net Loss Of $301 Million

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Sprint

Sprint just released its Q3 earnings report, and while it's nothing to boast about, it does offer some encouraging numbers for the Now Network. Its operating revenue is up to $8.3 billion -- a slight jump up from this time last year. It also saw a major jump in wireless subscribers, adding 1.3 million new customers -- a five year high for the company. Out of the 1.3 million, 304,000 were post-paid, 485,000 were pre-paid, and 835,000 were wholesale. Sprint lost about 44,000 post-paid customers in Q3, which is a major improvement over last quarter when it lost a whopping 100,000 subscribers (ouch).

Oct

Sprint Plans To Deploy LTE-Advanced In The First Half of 2013, Has Plans For Voice Over LTE, Says Iyad Tarazi

Posted by Liam Spradlin in 4G, News, Sprint

There's been a lot of buzz over Sprint's LTE plans lately, but the company's vice president of network development and engineering, Iyad Tarazi has just added more fuel to the fire, indicating that Sprint plans to deploy LTE-Advanced in a 10x10 configuration by the first half of 2013, using its 800MHz spectrum, offering download speeds of around 12-15 MB/s.

Meanwhile, Sprint's deployment of LTE on their 1900MHz spectrum is still on track for commercial launch by mid-2012. By the end of 2013, the company plans on having LTE coverage more expansive than their current CDMA network, covering 250-277 million POPs.

Tarazi also indicated plans to move voice service from CDMA 1x to LTE, launching the first VoLTE devices in the first quarter of 2013.

Oct

[Update: $30 At Amazon Wireless] Deal Alert: HTC EVO Design 4G $50 With New Agreement At Wirefly

Posted by Cameron Summerson in Deals, EVO Design 4G, News, Sprint

So, you want to jump over to Sprint, but don't need the fastest device on the planet? ~~Both Amazon Wireless and Wirefly have a good deal going on the~~ ~~just released EVO Design 4G~~ ~~by HTC: $50~~. Update: It's still $50 at Wirefly, but Amazon Wireless just dropped the price to $30. Of course, this requires a new two-year contract, so all current Sprintsters will be stuck paying $80, which still saves about $20 over the in-store price.

Specs:

4-inch qHD display
1.2GHz single-core Snapdragon processor
5MP rear shooter with HD video capture (720p), 1.3MP front cam
Android 2.3.5 with Sense
WiMax

Speed demon?

Oct

Samsung Transform Ultra Drops Boost Mobile Exclusivity, Coming To Sprint

Posted by Cameron Summerson in News, Sprint, Transform Ultra

The mid-range Samsung Transform Ultra was recently announced for Boost Mobile, a pre-paid subsidiary of Sprint. It looks like the Now Network loved this little guy so much, though, that it just had to snag its own version, too -- but don't expect many (or any, really) changes over the Boost Version.

The Transform Ultra is sporting a 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 512MB RAM, a 3MP rear camera and VGA front-facing, with a 3.5-inch display, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and Android 2.3. Neither pricing nor availability were included in the announcement.