Sprint Network to offer WiMAX Version of the BlackBerry PlayBook
Research In Motion (RIM) has announced that its upcoming tablet device, the PlayBook will be offered on Sprint’s WiMAX network. The tablet computer is expected to be available from Sprint in the summer.
According to Mike Lazaridis, President and Co-CEO at Research In Motion, the company believes a significant portion of the tablet market will want a higher performing, multitasking, professional-grade tablet and that is why they chose to design the BlackBerry PlayBook for premium performance with a powerful dual-core processor and multitasking OS. Together with Sprint, they are now building on that performance advantage with 4G and providing an unparalleled mobile experience for users.
In addition to Wi-Fi support, the BlackBerry 4G PlayBook features a 1 GHz dual-core processor, 1 GB of RAM and the new BlackBerry Tablet OS. Additional details and pricing will be released closer to launch.
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BlackBerry PlayBook specifications
- 7″ 1024×600 WSVGA capacitive LCD touch screen
- Ultra-portable at less than a pound and less than one-half inch thick: 0.9 lbs (400g) and 5.1″ x 7.6″ x 0.4″ (130mm x 194mm x 10mm)
- 1 GHz dual-core processor
- BlackBerry® Tablet OS with support for symmetric multiprocessing
- MP3, AAC and WMA audio playback
- Support for 1080p HD video playback (H.264, MPEG4, WMV)
- HDMI out
- Dual HD cameras for video conferencing and video capture
- 1 GB RAM memory
- Up to 64 GB internal storage (16, 32 and 64 GB models)
- Wi-Fi® (802.11 a/b/g/n) connectivity
- Bluetooth® 2.1+EDR support
Sprint launches 4G in San Francisco (USA)
Sprint Nextel has launched its WiMAX network in the San Francisco Bay Area. The service will initially be available in San Francisco, San Jose, Palo Alto and Oakland. Nationwide the WiMAX network is available in 71 markets across the country, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York City.
According to Matt Carter, President-Sprint 4G, the Bay Area is responsible for creating so much new technology and today they are bringing the power of 4G to their customers in that region who are hungry for fast mobile broadband. The introduction of Sprint 4G will be a great asset for this area, and they encourage customers to try it by using one of their well-regarded 4G mobile devices.
Sprint first launched its 4G network in Baltimore in September 2008.
Sprint Wins Frost & Sullivan Award for Value Enhancement in Mobile Advertising
Sprint announced that it continues to receive accolades for the value and service it provides customers.
Now Frost & Sullivan has awarded Sprint the 2010 North American Customer Value Enhancement of the Year Award in On-deck Mobile Advertising.
Based on Frost & Sullivan’s independent analysis of the Mobile Advertising market, Sprint said the award recognizes the strategic advantages of Sprint’s mobile advertising service:
-Customer relevancy and privacy, including an opt-out service, in which customers are given choices around receiving targeted ads
-Open approach
-Strategic roadmap
“Sprint has been a pioneer in mobile advertising, delivering effective advertising options for brands while protecting our customers’ privacy,” said Mathew Oommen, vice president-Product and Technology Development for Sprint. “Our opt-out service for customers and our ad-mediation platform, which allows us to partner with additional ad networks, are two of our latest examples of that. We’re pleased to be recognized by Frost & Sullivan for the value our mobile advertising service provides.”
“Sprint has clearly demonstrated its ability to add value to the mobile advertising experience to help deliver the right ads to the right user at the right time,” said Vikrant Gandhi, senior industry analyst, Frost & Sullivan. “Sprint recently introduced an opt-out service for mobile advertising, which Frost & Sullivan feels is a highly differentiating approach that will continue to support Sprint’s industry-leading, on-deck mobile advertising performance. This award recognizes Sprint’s continued focus on both ends of the spectrum: maintaining customer privacy and relevancy and expanding its mobile advertising offerings to deliver tangible value to advertising customers, publisher partners and, ultimately, Sprint customers.”
According to a release, ad relevancy and customer privacy have been the core focus of Sprint’s mobile advertising service. As part of its ongoing efforts to work closely with its customer base and serve the most relevant ads, Sprint recently introduced an opt-out service for mobile advertising that enables customers access to provide their choice in delivering any sort of targeted ads. In addition, Sprint customers can specify their interests as well as convey their preference for “family friendly” ads.
Sprint has established several strategic relationships with mobile advertising solution providers. Sprint has implemented an ad-mediation platform, which enables a more open approach in partnering with additional ad networks and enhances the ability to provide relevant ad content. This allows the “best” ad to be served to Sprint’s customers in real-time. As a result, advertisers on Sprint’s mobile advertising network consistently achieve higher than average performance for their mobile advertising and mobile marketing campaigns.
Sprint noted that it has helped develop the on-deck mobile advertising ecosystem in the United States and continues to evolve its offerings. On-deck advertising refers to the mobile ads displayed at the top and bottom of Sprint-branded mobile Web pages. Sprint’s mobile advertising service enables marketers and advertisers to reach millions of wireless data subscribers through strategically targeted mobile Web-based advertising programs while protecting customer privacy. It offers several interactive ad mechanics, including click to call, click to promotion, and click to locate, that encourage effective user engagement and provide quantifiable results. Several high-performance mobile advertising campaigns have been completed with brands and mobile application partners across Sprint’s on-deck mobile advertising inventory.
Sprint Nextel offers a range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users.
LTE Services in the US Will Generate More than $940 Million in 2015, Says ABI Research Forecast
When it comes to mobile network infrastructure discussions, LTE is the name on everyone’s lips. Yet the very meaning of the acronym Long-Term Evolution†is a hint that it isn’t going to happen overnight. LTE’s deployment as the mainstay 4G technology will take place gradually, and won’t even begin to gather real steam until 2013. Nonetheless, LTE is forecast by ABI Research to generate $942 million in service revenue in the United States in 2015, with nearly a further $650 million to come from Western Europe.
The LTE service revenue growth curve for Western Europe is practically a straight line,†notes ABI Research director Philip Solis. That contrasts sharply with constantly accelerating revenue growth in the US, and is largely due to the sometimes exorbitant amounts European network operators paid for their 3G spectrum: many of those operators want to squeeze every drop of value from their 3G investments before migrating to 4G.â€
In the US, though, carriers such as Sprint deployed WiMAX, and began publically advertising 4G as each city rolled out starting in late 2008. Other carriers, not wanting to be left out in the cold, started jumping on the 4G bandwagon, with Verizon Wireless already launching LTE, and AT&T Wireless bringing its announced launch date forward in 2011.
Although carriers will appreciate LTE’s bandwidth efficiency and users its higher data speeds and lower latency, voice will only start to enter the LTE picture in a meaningful way in 2013 or 2014,†adds research analyst Xavier Ortiz. Existing networks still provide voice services with great coverage and reliability. Using LTE for voice will mean completely abandoning the tried-and-true legacy TDM backhaul and replacing it with IP backhaul at considerable cost. Carriers will only make that leap when 4G can truly replace 2G and 3G for voice, although ABI Research recommends doing it sooner rather than later.â€
ABI Research’s LTE and LTE-Advanced†study (http://www.abiresearch.com/research/1003359) gives an LTE and LTE-Advanced standards overview and update, considering trends, network architecture, and the elements that make up that architecture, as well as approaches and strategies. Forecasts include device and equipment shipments broken down by region, as well as subscribers, service revenue and ARPU.
It is part of the 4G Research Service (http://www.abiresearch.com/products/service/4G_Research_Service).
ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 30+ research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.
T-Mobile drops Galaxy Tab price (USA)
T-Mobile has lowered the retail price of the Samsung Galaxy Tab. When the device went on sale in November, T-Mobile offered it with an instant discount of $200, dropping the full retail price of $599 to $399.
T-Mobile recently added a web-only discount of $50, lowering the price further to $349. To avail this discount one needs to subscribe to a new two-year data plan contract.
To stay in the market the companies are playing hard. Sprint is charging $399 for the Tab with a two-year contract or $599 with no contract. Verizon Wireless is charging $599 with no contract, and AT&T is charging $649 with no contract.
In addition to the Tab’s price drop, T-Mobile has also cut $50 from the price of the Samsung Galaxy S smartphone, the Vibrant. It now sells for $149 at retail with a new contract, down from $199.
Sprint inks WiMAX roaming deal with Jamaica and Taiwan (USA)
Sprint has signed WiMAX roaming deals with Digicel in Jamaica and Global Mobile in Taiwan. Selected Sprint devices that operate with the Sprint SmartView Connection Manager will automatically detect the Digicel and Global Mobile networks, giving customers the option to connect and roam with an unlimited 24 hour Daypass.
According to Matt Carter, President-Sprint 4G, with these agreements, Sprint is kicking down the door to 4G international roaming and taking a first step towards allowing people to enjoy 4G service wherever they are around the globe. The company has taken the 4G leadership position in the U.S. and is now proud to partner with visionaries Digicel and Global Mobile to solidify their international leadership role.
Sprint’s WiMAX can be found in 68 markets across the United States, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York City and Washington, D.C. Sprint plans to light up several new major markets, including San Francisco and Denver, by the end of this month. Pricing and launch details of the agreements are still to be determined.
Sprint declares $5 billion vendor deal
US cellco Sprint has revealed Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and Samsung as its suppliers. The company has announced a network overhaul that includes phasing out its loss-making Nextel iDEN network by 2015. It will spend $4 billion to $5 billion to consolidate its current 2G and 3G wireless networks and add 4G capability.
After rejecting lower-priced bids from Huawei, Sprint issued the contracts and ZTE under pressure from the US government on security grounds.
As per Sprint’s statement, the three vendors were best in class in terms of hardware, software and services.
According to Dan Hesse, each company realized the network proposal process was highly competitive, and each responded with innovative, cost-effective, solutions.
The vendors will begin to consolidate Sprint’s current 800MHz, 1.9GHz and 2.5GHz networks into single multimode base stations from early 2011, with the job scheduled to take between three and five years to complete.
As per reports, Sprint runs 2G and 3G CDMA networks, and has been building out a mobile Wimax network. The network will be designed to support both LTE and Wimax. The company will begin to migrate its Nextel customers from its current iDEN network onto CDMA from next year, as part of a plan to phase out Nextel from 2013-2015.
Samsung grabs top spot in USA’s Android smartphone market
Samsung has taken the top spot as the number one Android smartphone provider in the US in Q3 of 2010. According to Gartner, Samsung Mobile captured 32.1% of the U.S. Android smartphone market in Q3 2010 based on retail sales, an increase from 9.2% of the Android smartphone market in Q4 2009.
Samsung Mobile attributes much of the success to its Galaxy S portfolio of premium smartphones, which recently passed the three million shipment milestone in the U.S. Galaxy S smartphones are available with AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless, along with U.S. Cellular and Cellular South.
According to Dale Sohn, President, Samsung Mobile, he wants to personally thank everyone who selected a Galaxy S smartphone as their mobile handset of choice. Neither of these wonderful accomplishments would have been possible without the loyalty and support of their customers. The Galaxy S portfolio has played a significant role in Samsung’s success in 2010 and they are extremely excited to show you what products, services and innovations they have in store for the U.S. market in 2011.
Sprint 4G Rolls Out in Los Angeles, Miami, Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio
San Francisco Market expected to launch 4G Service on Dec. 28
Sprint today officially unleashed the power of 4G — enabling fast mobile downloads, wireless video chat and turbo-charged mobile Web browsing up to 10 times faster than 3G service(1) — in Los Angeles, Miami, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio. Customers in these metropolitan areas can now take full advantage of the Sprint 4G network using a wide range of 4G-capable devices. With the addition of these six markets, Sprint 4G is now available in 68 markets(2) across the country, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston and New York City. Additionally, the wireless carrier announced that it expects to launch the San Francisco market — home to Silicon Valley and thousands of tech enthusiasts — on Dec. 28.
How will 4G benefit Sprint customers in these areas? With the Overdrive(TM) 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot by Sierra Wireless, a visitor to Washington, D.C., (including Northern Virginia and parts of Maryland) can connect to the Internet with a laptop or any Wi-Fi enabled device to check the news at speeds that are up to 10 times faster than 3G. A hungry tourist in Miami, Fort Lauderdale or Palm Beach can search for the best food truck in their vicinity using one of the food-truck applications in the Android(TM) Market on Samsung Epic(TM) 4G. If sports fans in Cleveland, Cincinnati or Columbus are looking for up-to-date scores, no problem — it’s easy and quick to find on HTC EVO(TM) 4G. And, surfers in Los Angeles can forgo the waves and surf the Internet on-the-go using the first 3G/4G-embedded netbook and notebook from Sprint — the Dell(TM) Inspiron(TM) Mini 10 (1012) netbook and Dell(TM) Inspiron(TM) 11z notebook.
“We have witnessed a great demand from our customers for 4G speeds, power and capabilities in these cities already and today they officially have it,” said Matt Carter, president-Sprint 4G. “We are proud to deliver on our commitment to serve our customers and deliver 4G to more major metropolitan areas in 2010.”
Sprint first launched 4G in Baltimore in September 2008 and since then has delivered a comprehensive consumer, business and public sector strategy and a robust portfolio of devices, consisting of phones, USB aircards, notebook/netbook products, mobile hotspots and routers, that are being used by satisfied consumers and businesses.
To get an insider’s view about how Sprint is making sure that 4G is ready for its customers, visit the YouTube Web video series “Wiring Up 4G.” Videos are available for Los Angeles and New York City.
Sprint is delivering the power of 4G as the majority shareholder of Clearwire, the independent company that is building the WiMAX network. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/4G.
About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 48.8 million customers at the end of the third quarter of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, Common Cents Mobile and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
(1) “Up to 10x faster” based on download speed comparison of 3G’s 600 kbps vs. 4G’s 6 Mbps. Industry published 3G avg. speeds (600 kbps-1.7 Mbps); 4G avg. speeds (3-6 Mbps). Actual speeds may vary by plan or based on other factors.
(2) Sprint 4G is now available in 68 markets: California — Los Angeles, Merced, Modesto, Sacramento, Stockton, Visalia; Connecticut — Hartford, New Haven; Delaware — Wilmington; District of Columbia — Washington D.C.; Florida — Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa; Georgia — Atlanta, Milledgeville; Hawaii — Honolulu, Maui; Idaho — Boise; Illinois — Chicago; Maryland — Baltimore; Massachusetts — Boston; Michigan — Grand Rapids; Minnesota — Minneapolis-St. Paul: Missouri — Kansas City, St. Louis; New Jersey — New Brunswick, Trenton; New York — New York, Rochester, Syracuse; Nevada — Las Vegas; North Carolina — Charlotte, Greensboro (includes High Point and Winston-Salem), Raleigh (includes Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham); Ohio — Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus; Oregon — Eugene, Portland, Salem; Pennsylvania — Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, York; Rhode Island — Providence; Tennessee — Nashville; Texas — Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Waco, Wichita Falls; Utah — Salt Lake City; Virginia — Richmond; and Washington — Bellingham, Seattle, Tri-Cities, Yakima.
