Posted 11/12/09 at 07:06:21 AM by Paul Lilly

Standard & Poor (S&P) on Wednesday warned it may end up cutting Sprint's credit rating because of "weak" performance this year, news of which made some investors skittish enough to dump the wireless provider's stock. Shares fell 9 cents, or 2.8 percent, in midday trading, Businessweek reports.

"We remain concerned that the company may have difficulty in improving operating trends as industry conditions mature and competition intensifies," S&P analyst Allyn Arden said in a statement.

Sprint, which ranks as the the third-largest wireless carrier in the U.S., has been losing customers and piling up debt as of late. Arden said even if post-paid subscriber losses level out and Sprint continues to adjust its cost structure, earnings may still not grow enough to materially improve credit measures, at least not any time soon.

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Posted 11/10/09 at 07:27:03 AM by Paul Lilly

Sprint feels awfully confident in Clearwire's WiMax 4G technology, enough so to pump another $1 billion into it, Combined with a $500 million investment from Comcast, Intel, Time Warner, and Bright House, that brings the latest round of funding to $1.5 billion, reports the Wall Street Journal.

As if billion dollar investments needed any additional intrigue, what makes this one so interesting (and risky) is that Clearwire and Sprint are the only two U.S. carriers putting faith in WiMax to usher in 4G wireless broadband. Verizon and AT&T, who happen to be the two biggest heavyweights, are banking on rival technology LTE for their 4G networks.

The gamble is huge for Sprint. Should Clearwire burn through its cash, which the company has been known to do, it will be up to Sprint to invest even more if it's to keep majority control. Sounds simple enough, except that Sprint's net debt was already approaching $16 billion at the end of last quarter.

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Posted 11/03/09 at 08:30:54 AM by Paul Lilly

Following up its first WiMax deployment in Baltimore in September of last year, Sprint on Monday launched WiMax service in Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth. This in addition to the three markets being served in North Carolina.

And Sprint isn't even close to be finished. By the time 2009 comes to an end, the wireless provider says it will roll out WiMax in Honolulu, Seattle, San Antonio, and Austin, Texas.

"Sprint continues to lead the charge in rolling out wireless 4G in cities across America and the momentum continues to build," Todd Rowley, vice president of Sprint 4G, said in a statement. "Our aggressive expansion of Sprint 4G will include many new devices and capabilities that create increased performance and productivity while enhancing personal lifestyles on the go."

Looking ahead to next year, Sprint expects to launch service in several more markets, including Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

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Posted 11/02/09 at 01:37:36 PM by Paul Lilly

The rumors missed the mark by a day, but still turned out to be true in that Sprint has teamed with Dell to offer a subsidized netbook with a data plan subscription. That netbook is the Dell Mini 10 and is available at select Sprint stores throughout the Bay Area for $200 (after mail-in-rebate) with a two-year Sprint Mobile Broadband agreement.

The 10.1-inch Dell weighs 2.6 pounds and sports an Intel Atom Z520 processor. Other specs include a 160GB hard drive, 1GB of RAM, 1.3MP webcam, integrated Intel 500 graphics, a 5-in-1 media card reader, Bluetooh, WiFi, and Windows XP Home. In other words, nothing sexy like a dual-booting Android platform or anything else to separate the Mini 10 from the standard netbook fare.

While not particularly exciting, it's hard to argue with the price. Just be sure to factor in the cost of the service agreement, which includes 5GB of data for $60 per month. That comes out to an extra $1,440 over the next two years.

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Posted 10/29/09 at 08:33:58 AM by Paul Lilly

As part of the retooling for the Sprint Software Store, the telco announced plans to aggressively change the turnaround time in receiving, reviewing, and approving new apps.

"If you want to get something onto the (current) Sprint Software Store, someone has to review it, someone's got to test it. By the time those things happen through long lead times, we've seen that some of the content completely loses its relevance. We've got to stop. We've got to get out of the way so that content can get up here faster," J.P. Brocket, Sprint's general manager of wireless applications, said during the the company's Open Developer Conference.

Brock added that the turnaround time will depend on what the app does, pointing out that an app for finding a local pizza joint would get approved pretty quickly, but one touting turn-by-turn directions might take a little longer. But if Sprint can stick to a one-week schedule regardless of the type of app, in most cases it will be getting things done twice as fast (or more) than Apple.

Some other changes are in store as well. Sprint said it would start charging developers an unspecified fee  to have their apps re-reviewed, and new payment methods are being added

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Posted 10/22/09 at 06:24:54 PM by Bart Salisbury

It’s coming--kind of, sort of. Clearwire, Comcast and Sprint plan to bring us 4G mobile broadband service in the next several weeks, provided we’re lucky enough to live in one of the few locations that will initially be blessed with the service; locations that seem connected by virtue of their being disconnected.

According to Clearwire’s press release all three providers will have service available in more than 25 markets, covering over 30 million people. Checking out coverage maps there’s not a whole lot to get excited about. Much of Clearwire and Sprint’s coverage, geographically, is in suburban Texas. The only cities, and I use the term loosely, are Las Vegas, Boise, Atlanta, Portland, and Seattle. The only efforts to tackle legitimate urban areas are Chicago and Philadelphia.

So, if you happen to live in Milledgeville, Georgia, population 18,757, you’ve got Sprint’s 4G service waiting for you. But, if you live in Los Angeles, California, population 3,834,340, you’re out of luck.

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Posted 09/16/09 at 03:04:24 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Microsoft is approaching the October 6 launch of its Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system with renewed vigor, even though it is only the first, more humble course of a two-course meal, of which Windows Mobile 7 is the concluding course. With Windows Mobile 6.5, it hopes to change the current perception of WinMo phones and replace it with a nattier, bonnier picture.

The company announced Tuesday that AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon will begin offering phones running Windows Mobile 6.5 on October 6 itself, the very day they will be released globally. “These are going to be fabulous phones that meet the customers' needs for their whole life,” said Stephanie Ferguson, general manager at Microsoft’s Windows Mobile unit. Beginning with the launch of Windows Mobile 6.5, all WinMo-toting phones will be sold under the “Windows Phone” brand.

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Posted 09/09/09 at 08:29:22 AM by Pulkit Chandna

Palm is expecting another webOS-based child. Mommy Palm announced on her blog Tuesday that she will soon be delivering her second webOS-based handset, called the Palm Pixi, in a leaner form factor than its elder brother. “Palm Pixi -- due on the Sprint network in time for the holidays -- is Palm’s thinnest phone ever,” the company announced on its blog.

The Pixi will feature a full QWERTY keyboard, EV-DO REV A, built-in GPS, a 2.63-inch capacitive display with a resolution of 320 pixel by 400 pixels, a 2MP camera with LED flash, and 8GB internal memory. Palm appears to be saving vital details regarding the Pixi’s price and launch date for a later date. Phone-cover connoisseurs will also be able to purchase stylish back covers in the "Palm Pixi Artist Series.”

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