sprint posts

'Take Back the Beep Campaign': Cell Phone Carriers Respond

by Thomas Houston (RSS feed) — Aug 14th 2009 at 2:15PM

David Pogue, New York Times tech writer extraordinaire, took to the Web two weeks ago in a campaign to force cell phone carriers to delete time-wasting, pre-voicemail instructions. Pogue writes that over 28,032 blogs have rallied behind the Take Back the Beep campaign, and "thousands and thousands" of complaints have been sent to Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint. So, two weeks in, how have the cellular giants responded?

Sprint confirmed that it's possible to remove those instructions from its service, Verizon's mum on the whole subject, and T-Mobile responded to Pogue with a typically vague corporate statement: "We appreciate the feedback we've received from our customers, and these comments are being taken into consideration in our planning." AT&T said it would make some changes, and suggested it would "make Visual Voice Mail available on other devices."

If you haven't taken to the digital streets yet, or if you just want to reaffirm your commitment to the cause, Pogue's got instructions and contacts for making your voice heard. If this succeeds, maybe the momentum can be used to cut down on those absurd text-messaging rates. [From: New York Times via Engadget]

Tags: att, consumer rights, ConsumerRights, sprint, take back the beep, TakeBackTheBeep, tmobile, top, verizon, voicemail

Cell Phones, Green Tech, Mobile Phones

Samsung's Eco-Friendly 'Reclaim' Phone Is Made of Corn

by Leila Brillson (RSS feed) — Aug 6th 2009 at 1:26PM

Made from 40-percent corn-derived bio-plastic and 80-percent biodegradable material in general, Samsung, along with service partner Sprint, just announced the 'Reclaim,' touted as the world's first green phone (an iffy claim, considering that earlier this year Motorola came out with its W233 Renew phone, made out of recycled plastic water bottles). The two corporations jointly debuted the QWERTY-capable sliding phone this morning at Cooper Hewitt, where Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse promised that $2 of every Reclaim's sale will go to the Nature Conservancy's Adopt an Acre program.

The Reclaim, which is a fairly high-design gadget, aims to do everything a typical messaging phone can do, but with less environmental impact. According to Omar Kahn, senior vice president of Strategy and Product Management for Samsung Mobile, this entails 12 times less power than the Energy Star standard, direct access to "green content" (like guides and glossaries), and recycled, biodegradable packaging and product manuals. Of course, the device comes in hug-the-world colors Earth Green and Ocean Blue. (To us, Earth Green is immeasurably cooler, in a deep jade.) The kicker: the phone beeps when it's charged, reminding users to unplug it to save energy.

With the convenience that Internet-equipped phones give to Americans, it's important to remember that every Blackberry and iPhone is made from plastic, comes with an absurd amount of packaging and material, and is often left on the charging cradle, draining power endlessly. While this is an excellent initiative (Sprint needs to do this, as it admits it's currently #17 on the EPA's Green Power list.), the Reclaim is unfortunately a pretty simple cell. Retailing for a meager $50 (with a two-year Sprint contract, obviously), the price is a great step towards making eco-products available to everyone. Yet, the phone lacks Wi-Fi, one-touch navigation is frustrating, and with just 2.0 megapixels, the camera is pretty scrappy (not to mention video-playback is grainy and unimpressive). What the Reclaim does do well is take all of the small hints and tips we've known about staying green (unplug your phone post-charge, recycle old batteries, avoid PVC and BFRs, etc.) and puts them in an attractive little device that looks part Greenpeace Rally, part Fifth Avenue.

Tags: cellphone, eco-friendly, green, news, phone, reclaim, samsung, sprint, top

Computers

Barnes & Noble Working on a Kindle Competitor?

by Donald Melanson (RSS feed) — Apr 9th 2009 at 11:54AM

Everyone else is doing it, so why not Barnes & Noble too? That's the talk following last week's CTIA at least, where mysterious "insiders" were reportedly abuzz about the possibility of a B&N e-book reader that, like the Kindle, would supposedly be tied to a cellular carrier for some Whispernet-like connectivity. According to one of those insiders, Barnes & Noble had apparently first been in talks with Verizon about a partnership, but those seem to have fallen apart for one reason or another, and it now looks like Sprint (Amazon's partner, coincidentally) is the top contender. Some "observers" apparently still aren't ruling out AT&T as a possibility, however, especially in light of its recent expression of interest about getting into the e-book reader game. No word about the actual device itself just yet, but there's no shortage of ready-made options out there (like Plastic Logic's e-reader above) should B&N decide to go that route.

[Thanks, Tim]

Tags: att, b n, barnes and noble, barnes noble, BarnesAndNoble, BarnesNoble, BN, ctia, ctia 2009, Ctia2009, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, sprint, verizon, whispernet

Cell Phones

Which Cell Phone Provider Has the Fewest Dropped Calls?

by Evan Shamoon (RSS feed) — Jan 16th 2009 at 11:33AM

Dropped calls ruining your friendships, business relationships, and/or hairline?

In a rather unscientific (but perhaps telling) survey, research company ChangeWave asked 3,800 cell phone owners to estimate what percentage of their calls were dropped during the past 90 days. Verizon was the clear winner, with customers reporting an average of just 2.2-percent of their calls dropped; Sprint came in second with an average of 3.4-percent dropped calls reported, followed by AT&T with an average of 3.7-percent
, and lastly T-Mobile customers, who reported the most drops with 4-percent.

Again, not the most scientific study ever conducted, but the results pretty much fall in line with our own experience. Now, if only we could get the iPhone on Verizon. [From: BloggingStocks]

Related Links:

Tags: att, dropped calls, DroppedCalls, sprint, study, tmobile, top, verizon

Cell Phones

Samsung Launching Google Phone in 2009

by Thomas Ricker (RSS feed) — Dec 19th 2008 at 11:48AM

Without a doubt, 2009 is destined to be the year of The Android. Samsung earlier this week announced its ticket to the party with a Q2 launch of its Android phones on both Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile in the US. Apparently, the touch-screen device will be an adaptation of the Omnia (Korea's 800 x 480 pixel version please) and Instinct. In other words, a rectangle with a full-screen display and minimal set of buttons just like every other touchscreen device out there. In case you missed it, this game is no longer about the hardware. [Via ModMyGphone, thanks Neerhaj]

Tags: android, google, google phone, GooglePhone, instinct, omnia, samsung, sprint, t-mobile

Audio/Video, Cell Phones, TV

Sprint Prepares to Phone-cast Full NFL Games, Starting Tonight

by Darren Murph (RSS feed) — Nov 6th 2008 at 9:26AM

The National Football League and Sprint have been tied up in one form or fashion for years now, but the relationship is finally rounding third and heading for home. All mixed analogies aside, what we're saying is that the feature you've been clamoring for has finally arrived, and beginning tonight, select Sprint subscribers will be able to watch the entire Cleveland Browns vs. Denver Broncos tilt on their handset.

Obviously, you'll need a Sprint TV-capable handset and an Everything Plan (or a $15 per month add-on) in order to tune in, but tonight's game -- which kicks off at 8:00PM ET on the NFL Network -- will be the first of eight games (televised solely on that network) to air via Sprint. Whether or not The Now Network can keep up with the action, however, remains to be seen.

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, football, mobile tv, MobileTv, NFL, NFL Mobile, NFL Network, NflMobile, NflNetwork, phone-cast, sport, sports, sprint

Cell Phones

Sprint Launches Touch Pro at "Select National Retailers" This Week

by Chris Ziegler (RSS feed) — Oct 26th 2008 at 4:14PM

Locked in a footrace with AT&T's Fuze to become the first US national carrier to launch a variant of the HTC Touch Pro, Sprint has announced that folks can start ordering the QWERTY smartphone this week from "select national retailers," making good on a promise made at CTIA last month. That's not quite as cool as a full-scale launch, but at least we'll start to get 'em in the wild in the next few days -- meanwhile, a more full-scale, fanfare-filled launch is planned for November 2 when the Touch Pro is made available online, via phone, and in all Sprint stores. Any Touch Diamond buyers feeling lingering regrets right about now? [From: Sprint]

Tags: sprint, touch pro, TouchPro, windows mobile, windows mobile 6.1, WindowsMobile, WindowsMobile6.1, winmo, wm6.1

Computers

Three ISPs, France, Other Countries to Block Child Porn Web Sites

by Will Safer (RSS feed) — Jun 12th 2008 at 6:23PM

Sprint, Time Warner and Verizon have worked out an agreement with the New York State Attorney General to block access to Web sites and bulletin boards that host images of child pornography. This is a new tactic by law enforcement to stop the dissemination of these images and brings these companies into the effort by making them responsible, to a degree, for the content relayed across their servers and relay points.

Other Internet service providers, or ISPs, are expected to follow the lead of these three companies and are negotiating their approach with the attorney general's office.

Until now, the focus by law enforcement has primarily been on the perpetrators of child porn, those people who create the original images or those who go onto the message boards and Web sites to view or share the illegal content. The responsibility of the ISPs has been somewhat passive, relying on their subscribers to complain about images or other bad content before they would take action.

As the New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo pointed out, the individual ISP subscribers who would most likely come into contact with the illicit images are the very same people who create or intend to share them, so they would be unlikely to report the illegal activity. Still, it was undercover operatives from Cuomo's office who went on to the child porn sites and message boards in a sting operation. These agents then logged complaints with the ISPs, with the expectation that action would be taken to remove the images or block the sites. When the ISPs didn't respond to the complaints, that's when Cuomo's office took action.

ISPs have been reluctant to block Web sites and message boards, saying the nature of the Web makes it difficult to monitor content and determine who is really responsible for illicit content. But part of the agreement to block the sites includes access to an image bank maintained by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. When an image with child porn is found, the Center logs it and creates a "digital identifier." Then, if the same image appears on another Web site it can be quickly identified, and even lead to the discovery of other child porn images. Use of this tool and searching method can aid ISPs and investigators as they seek to root out child pornographers.

This move comes at the same time an international effort is ramping up, with Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Canada and New Zealand already directing their ISPs to create "black lists" of sites that host child porn, and spread terrorist information or racial hatred. The latest country to announce it will join this effort is France, which will have its blacklist in place by September.

Some ISPs, like AOL, have already put major effort into blocking child porn Web sites and message boards on their own. And some social networking sites, like MySpace and Facebook, have already worked with law enforcement to prevent child porn purveyors from making use of their services.

Together, Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner have about 16 million customers. [Source: The New York Times.]

Tags: france, law, porn, Sprint, Time Warner, TimeWarner, Verizon

Cell Phones

Major Wireless Carriers Slapped with Text-Messaging Class-Action Lawsuit

by Nilay Patel (RSS feed) — May 21st 2008 at 9:39AM

Text messaging rates have always been a little ridiculous, but a new class-action suit filed in Mississippi alleges that virtually every wireless carrier you can think of is basically cheating you by charging you for received texts and not allowing you to turn the service off. The suit names AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, Alltel, US Cellular, Cellular South, and Virgin Mobile (surprisingly, T-Mobile didn't make the cut), and says that members of the class are entitled to relief for the unauthorized charges, wrongful collection, and unjust enrichment. Of course, this will all likely end in a useless settlement that nets subscribers like three extra text messages and a 20 percent discount on an "approved accessory," while the plaintiff's law firm banks millions, but we'll see how things go. [Source: RCR Wireless News]

Tags: alltel, att, sprint, verizon

Cell Phones

BlackBerry Curve Now Available Through Sprint

by Chris Ziegler (RSS feed) — May 9th 2008 at 10:02AM

Late's better than never -- usually, anyway -- and a rumored release date finally stuck long enough for the BlackBerry Curve 8330 to make an appearance on Sprint's online store. In fact, as "mid-May" goes, May 9 is actually on the early side of things if you want to get technical about it, so we guess some kudos are actually due here. Sprint's asking $179.99 on contract with rebates for the pleasure of indulging in its latest mobile productivity tool, which you'll ironically be using to respond to emails during meetings that you're supposed to be listening in on. Funny how the world works, isn't it? [Source: Nextel]

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Tags: BlackBerry, breaking news, BreakingNews, curve, sprint

Cell Phones

Sprint "Seriously Considering" Spinning Off Nextel

by Darren Murph (RSS feed) — May 5th 2008 at 8:01PM

We'd take this with half a tablespoon of salt for now, but The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint-Nextel Corp. is "seriously considering spinning off or selling its ailing Nextel unit." That's according to undisclosed people "familiar with the situation," though Sprint did decline to comment on whether it actually was considering a sale of Nextel. Also of note, Cyren Call is reportedly attempting to "assemble a consortium of investors to acquire Nextel as part of its plans to create a nationwide wireless network for public safety communications," and while it can't be confirmed, we are hearing that Sprint is "contemplating other possible buyers such as private equity firms."

Still, these same sources made clear that "no deal was imminent and that Sprint was preoccupied for the moment with other matters." It's no secret that the firm would be way more attractive to suitors (read: Deutsche Telekom) if the flagging Nextel division was detached from the deal, but we guess we'll have to wait and see how it all plays out. [Source: Wall Street Journal - Warning: read link requires subscription]

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in, image courtesy of Flickr]

Tags: nextel, sprint

Cell Phones

Sprint Employee Sends Nude Photos to Customer's Phone

by Will Safer (RSS feed) — Apr 25th 2008 at 10:15AM

Customer service may have reached a new low at a Dayton, Ohio, Sprint store. In a lawsuite, a Sprint wireless customer claims that when she bought a new phone for her plan, she was courted via text and picture messages -- by the employee who sold her the device. He even sent nude photos of himself to the woman.

One problem: She's married, with kids, and says the, um, "romantic" advances were uninvited and certainly unwelcome. Another problem: the Sprint employee allegedly used his knowledge of the woman's cell phone number and plan in a way that certainly goes against Sprint policy. A third problem: the woman's service plan does not include picture messaging! We can only imagine the extra costs incurred each time the Sprint employee sent one of his revealing photos.

Now she's suing the employee and Sprint for more than $1 million, claiming emotional distress, loss of sleep, nervousness and more.

We're pretty sure this isn't what Sprint CEO Dan Hesse had in mind when he said he wanted to change the customer service culture of the company. [Source: Dayton Daily News]

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, customer service, CustomerService, nudity, sprint, text

Cell Phones

Sanyo Katana LX Now Available on Sprint

by Chris Ziegler (RSS feed) — Apr 21st 2008 at 11:11AM

From rumor to sale in about two months' time -- not bad. The Sanyo Katana LX is now available through Sprint, offering a worthy replacement to the aging Katana II at the same price point, $49.99 on contract after rebates. Fashion is the name of the game here, thanks to a trendy see-through front cover revealing an external display underneath and availability in three collect-'em-all colors: Liquid Graphite, Pacific Blue, and Elegant Pink. You're also going to get GPS, Bluetooth, and a VGA cam -- but one thing you aren't going to get is EV-DO, so steer clear if you have a need for speedy bits. [Source: Nextel]

[Thanks, Chuck and Jorge]

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, sprint

Cell Phones, Google

AT&T Warms Up to Google's Android For Mobile Phones

by Terrence O'Brien (RSS feed) — Apr 3rd 2008 at 2:39PM

Well, they're a little late to the party, but AT&T is finally warming up to Google's phone OS, Android. T-Mobile and Sprint and members of the Open Handset Alliance, which champions Google's new Linux-based platform, and Verizon has promised to make its network open to any device, a move that likely had Android devices specifically in mind.

At the CTIA wireless show in Vegas AT&T Mobility chief, Ralph de la Vega said,
"I like it a lot more than I did before... It's something we would want in our portfolio."

His conversion on Android came after Google executives showed him that AT&T would be able to load its own applications on any Android handset it sold. Previously, the company had been fearful the handset would be geared too much towards the Google brand. Too be fair, however, AT&T's tepid response would not have prevented Android devices from getting on its network. AT&T's network has long been open to any device that operates on the right frequency, is GSM based (as opposed to Verizon's CDMA cellular technology), and can accept a SIM card.

Regardless, this means it looks like most of the major carriers are on board with Android, which means we may see a more open system for creating user--friendly (i.e. Google-like) cell phone applications that work on all phones (with Android, of course).

From the Los Angeles Times

Related links:

Tags: att, CDMA, ctia 2008, ctia2008, GSM, sprint, tmobile

Cell Phones

Customizable Samsung Instinct Can Be Controlled By Voice (Sort of)

by Tom Samiljan (RSS feed) — Apr 2nd 2008 at 9:03AM

The days of actual tactile buttons seem to be numbered, at least that's what a slew of new cell phones would have you believe. Samsung's new Instinct, which made its official debut at the CTIA Wireless show in Las Vegas yesterday, makes use of two currently hot ways to control your phone -- touchscreens (made popular by the iPhone) and voice-recognition.

Slim and light, the Instinct is jam-packed with state-of-the-art features, including EV-DO (for fast surfing, downloading, and live TV watching), GPS with turn-by-turn directions, a music player with direct-to-phone download capability, and a 2-megapixel camera. So far, a lot of these features are found on plenty of other phones, so why exactly should we care about the Instinct?

What makes the the Instinct stand out is its robust voice-recognition capability, which lets you do more than just dial numbers. In fact, by just pressing the "talk" button on the side and uttering commands such as call and text and then some names or numbers, you can save yourself a few keystrokes when you want to call or send text messages -- something that can come in handy when you're driving. Combined with GPS turn-by-turn navigational software, the voice-activation even lets you get results for nearby fast-food restaurants when you utter a word like McDonald's, for example.

Unfortunately, the voice-recognition stops there, as you'll have to physically press a button on the touchscreen to actually get the directions (a similar let-down comes when you're texting, since you can only use voice recognition to literally call up a number and send the text, not to actually type the text).

We got some hands-on with the phone yesterday, and found the touchscreen to be responsive, for the most part (the phone is still in test phases). The screen features haptic technology, which uses the cell phone's vibrate function to give the user the feeling that he or she is actually pressing down on physical keys.

We also liked the phone's customization features, which essentially let the user pick a series of widgets for music, mailing, GPS and other functions to show up on the phone's main screen.

The phone is due out by the end of June, on Sprint, and will cost $199.99 with a two-year contract. It requires purchasing an unlimited data plan, so the cheapest monthly rate will be $69.99 (which might make signing up for Sprint's $99 Simply Everything Plan a good idea).

For a deeper look at the Instinct's cool interface and functionality, check out Engadget's video walk-through of the device.

Related Links:

Tags: breaking+news, ctia2008, instinct, samsung, sprint, top, touchscreens, voice-recognition

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'Black Friday' Deals to Watch For

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Black Friday' Deals to Watch For

Traditionalists might balk, but the holiday shopping season is already underway. Skeptical? Head to your local department store and you'll be inundated by Christmas trees and ornaments. Bargain hunters, though, know that the real deals are more than a month away.

Black Friday, traditionally, is when retailers truly slash prices. Early birds can save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars off of their holiday bills. Switched.com checked with a few elves, who gave a sneak peek at what you can expect deal-wise this year.

Blu-ray Players and Movies: Blu-ray is shaping up to be the biggest door buster of this year's Black Friday. de Grandpre expects at least one retailer will offer a Blu-ray player for just $49. Look for bargains on Blu-ray films as well, with last year's hit titles (such as "Iron Man") to fall as low as $5.

Laptops: With the proliferation of Netbooks this year, it's never been easier to find affordable portable computing, but Dan de Grandpre, CEO of DealNews.com says it will get even cheaper on Black Friday. Look for well-equipped Netbooks to sell for $199 – and basic 15" laptops to go for as little as $249.

HDTVs (Pretty big): The holidays are typically the best time to buy a new TV – and Black Friday is the time to do it. If you're looking for a normal sized set, you're in luck. Piper Jaffrey analyst Mitch Kaiser says he expects to see 32-inch LCD sets for as low as $299. GottaDeal.com is estimating 37-inch plasma and LCD sets will fall to $399 or less.

HDTVs (Really big): Need something bigger? How about a 46-47 inch LCD set for $599 – a 25 percent savings? Or a 52-inch LCD for $999? Dealnews says you can expect both. Plasma deals will be a little harder to come by, but a 50-inch set should run roughly $899.

HD Camcorders: You've wanted to shoot your child's school play in HD for a while, but haven't been able to spring for the pricey camcorder. This might be the year. Low-end, flash-based 720p models could drop as low as $60 (though you won't be able to zoom with those). Expect a high quality 1080p HD camcorder for $349.

GPS: While navigation systems have dramatically expanded their reach this year – even making it onto the iPhone – there's still a market for car-based systems. Dealnews predicts you'll be able to find a no-name entry-level system for $49, while a Garmin or Tom-Tom brand will be as low as $69.

Digital Picture Frames: Showcasing your digital pictures consistently gets cheaper. This year, skip the 7-inch screens and focus on the 8- or 9-inch ones, which should be available on Black Friday for as little as $30.

Monitors: Computer monitors might not be the sexiest of gifts, but they're usually welcomed with open arms – and they'll be cheap this year. Name brand 22-inch LCD models may go for as low as $99, while 24-inch models will drop below $150.

Memory: Don't know anyone who needs a monitor? External hard drives are always popular, since they're an easy way to back-up data. Dealnews expects a 1TB drive to fall as low as $49 this year. Gottadeal is looking for 8GB flash drives to hit $15.

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