Dish is offering shareholders $7 in cash (versus $4.03 in Softbank’s offer), and claims that the overall offer of cash plus shares is worth 13% more than the proposed Softbank deal.
Update: AllThingsD is reporting that Softbank expects to complete the deal despite the rival bid, with Reuters suggesting that Softbank is unlikely to walk away even if forced to increase its bid.
With Mother’s Day just around the corner on Sunday, May 12, Sprint today announced it is launching a special promotion that will allow you to get the Galaxy S III in Amethyst Purple for $99 on the usual two-year contract, upgrade, or new line. The savings come via a $50 mail-in rebate, and Sprint also noted that it is also offering a “16GB Galaxy S III FREE with an additional $100 instant savings through a port in credit” for a limited time only for customers that switch their number from another carrier.
Possibly in an effort to better compete with the new pricing-strategy from T-Mobile, Sprint announced today they’ll be offering the HTC One for $99 if you’re a new customer and sign a 2-year contract. If you’re interested on getting in the deal, click here to go straight to Sprint’s pre-order page.
Sprint just announced the expansion of its 4G LTE data network to 11 new cities in eight states, but the term “cities” is a little stretched in this instance as each population is either near or well below the 50,000 mark.
Sprint currently sports a thin LTE spread, but it has steadily tried to thicken 4G LTE data coverage in recent months. The carrier even rolled out 4G LTE data to 100 additional U.S. cities this past fall.
We continue to make progress with the rollout of our all-new, high-speed data network. Today, Sprint is delivering 4G LTE to 11 new cities and counties. Sprint introduced its all-new 4G LTE network in July 2012 and now offers service in 43 markets[1]. The 4G LTE network build is under way in more than 115 cities within the existing Sprint nationwide 3G footprint, including Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Indianapolis; Los Angeles; New Orleans; New York; Philadelphia; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C.
The full list of new areas:
Anderson, Ind.
Clarke County, Va./Jefferson County, W.Va.
Harrisburg/Carlisle/Hershey, Pa.
Hagerstown, Md./Martinsburg, W.Va.
Harrisonburg, Va.
Muncie, Ind.
Peabody, Mass.
Salina, Kan.
Shenandoah County, Va.
South Bend/Mishawaka, Ind.
Winchester, Va.
Sprint was the first national wireless carrier to introduce 4G (WiMAX) service in 2008, and it expects to light up the above areas in “the coming weeks and months.” The carrier further revealed upcoming improvements for its 3G customers, including: wireless signal strength, in-building coverage, and fewer dropped/blocked calls.
Sprint previously said it planned to complete the nationwide build out of its 4G network by the end of 2013.
Sprint is offering up to $150 in savings starting Thanksgiving Day that will allow you to get either the Galaxy S II for $49 on contract, as well as the Galaxy Nexus and Galaxy Victory 4G for free. The offer will continue on Black Friday and through Nov. 25. Details below:
Beat the Black Friday crowds! On Nov. 22, Thanksgiving Day, customers can visitwww.sprint.com/holiday or call 1-800-Sprint1 to purchase Samsung Galaxy S® III (16GB) for only $49.99 – a $150 savings1 with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement2.Customers who shop online or call on Thursday can also purchase Galaxy Nexus by Samsung or Samsung Galaxy Victory™ 4G LTE for FREE2.
‘Unlimited Edition’ savings continue on Black Friday! Customers can still get their hands on Samsung Galaxy S III (16GB) for $49.99 as well as Galaxy Nexus by Samsung or Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE for FREE2 after $50 mail-in-rebate (via reward card)3. Customers can take advantage of Black Friday deals by visiting select Sprint retail stores, online or by calling 1-800-Sprint1.
The holiday cheer continues through Sunday, Nov. 25, in Sprint retail stores across the country and online, with Galaxy Nexus and Samsung Galaxy Victory available for FREE2 after $50 mail-in rebate (via reward card) 3 when purchasing in Sprint retail stores.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – Nov. 16, 2012 – Sprint(NYSE:S), a Truly UnlimitedSM data carrier for smartphones, is brightening up the holiday season by giving the gift of Unlimited and offering big savings on some of its hottest Android™ devices. Sprint’s holiday promotions are sure to put an ease on this year’s tight holiday budgets with significant price drops on the popular Samsung Galaxy family of devices.
Beat the Black Friday crowds! On Nov. 22, Thanksgiving Day, customers can visitwww.sprint.com/holiday or call 1-800-Sprint1 to purchase Samsung Galaxy S® III (16GB) for only $49.99 – a $150 savings1 with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement2.Customers who shop online or call on Thursday can also purchase Galaxy Nexus by Samsung or Samsung Galaxy Victory™ 4G LTE for FREE2.
‘Unlimited Edition’ savings continue on Black Friday! Customers can still get their hands on Samsung Galaxy S III (16GB) for $49.99 as well as Galaxy Nexus by Samsung or Samsung Galaxy Victory 4G LTE for FREE2 after $50 mail-in-rebate (via reward card)3. Customers can take advantage of Black Friday deals by visiting select Sprint retail stores, online or by calling 1-800-Sprint1.
The holiday cheer continues through Sunday, Nov. 25, in Sprint retail stores across the country and online, with Galaxy Nexus and Samsung Galaxy Victory available for FREE2 after $50 mail-in rebate (via reward card) 3 when purchasing in Sprint retail stores.
All Sprint smartphones require activation on one of the Sprint Everything Data plans starting at just $79.99 per month (surcharges and taxes excluded) with Truly Unlimited data, text and calling to any mobile. No throttling, no metering and no overages, all while on the Sprint network. With Sprint’s Everything Data and other plans that include Truly Unlimited data, Sprint is continuing its history of data leadership by making it easy for its customers to use data in all the ways that are useful to them, such as news, email, music, and GPS navigation, without worrying about data overages on their monthly bill.
Just in time for the holidays, Sprint smartphone customers4 can add a 3G/4G tablet to their account with a specially discounted rate plan that includes 1GB of 3G/4G on-network data for only $15 per month or as little as $10 per month for 100MB of data on the Sprint network (surcharges and taxes excluded). For customers who only want a 3G/4G LTE-enabled tablet, Sprint offers a monthly plan for $14.99 with 300MB of 3G/4G LTE on-network data. Sprint’s $14.99 rate plan offers customers 20 percent more data than AT&T for the same price5. For a limited time, Sprint is waiving the activation fee on all 3G/4G LTE tablets.
Samsung Galaxy Tab® 2 10.1 is the latest Samsung tablet to join Sprint’s 4G LTE lineup and brings to life the data capabilities of the Sprint 4G LTE Network6 on a large beautiful display, making it the ideal device to watch a video, listen to music, check email or surf the Web. Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 is currently available for $549.992.
1The regular price of Samsung Galaxy S III (16GB) is $199.99 with a two-year service agreement.
2Device pricing excludes taxes and surcharges customers must purchase with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement.
3The American Express Prepaid Reward Card (“Card”) provided in connection with this Rebate offer is a prepaid Card that is usable at U.S. merchants that accept American Express Card. Some limitations apply. The Card is not redeemable for cash (except where required by law) and does not provide ATM access. Use of Card constitutes acknowledgement that it is given as a reward and no consideration, value, or money has been paid by the holder to American Express in exchange for this Card. USE OF CARD IS SUBJECT TO THE CARDHOLDER AGREEMENT. SUBJECT TO APPLICABLE LAW, A $3.00 MONTHLY FEE WILL BE ASSESED AGAINST CARD BALANCE, STARTING SIX MONTHS AFTER CARD ISSUANCE, UNLESS FUNDS ARE EARLIER DEPLETED. For BALANCE, customer service and Cardholder Agreement, visit americanexpress.com/sprint or call 1-866-608-3756. Card issued by American Express Prepaid Card Management Corporation.
4Qualifying smartphone plans include: Simply Everything, Simply Everything Share, Everything Business, Everything Data, Everything Data Share, Business Advantage Messaging & Data, Business Share Plus with Pro Pack Plus.
520 percent more data claim applies to Sprint plan priced at $14.99. Plans also include off-network data allowance of 25MB, 100MB or 300MB depending on selection. For National Offers: Additional on-network data usage is $0.05/MB and additional off-network usage above allowance is $0.25/MB.
6Sprint’s 4G LTE Network is available in limited markets. For more information please visit sprint.com/4G LTE.
Samsung, Galaxy, Galaxy S, Victory and Galaxy Tab are all trademarks of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Nexus is a trademark of Google Inc. Other company names, product names and marks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners and may be trademarks or registered trademarks. 4G LTE when used in connection with Samsung devices refers to the fact that the devices can operate on Sprint’s 4G LTE network.
Sprint just announced customers could pre-order the LG Optimus G starting today for $199.99 with a new two-year contract or eligible upgrade.
So, what’s so special about this particular LTE Android smartphone? Well, it has a 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 processor. It also features a 4.7-inch True HD IPS Plus display, 2GB of RAM, 32GB built-in storage, NFC, and a 2,100mAh battery.
Unfortunately, this powerful handset boasts the aging Ice Cream Sandwich OS. There is also no mention in the announcement of an upcoming upgrade. Take a look at 9to5Google’s hands-on review of the AT&T version for a full spec refresher.
Oh, but we must note the LG Optimus G’s cheese shutter. Yeah—you heard that right. The smartphone’s camera is voice-activated by words like “cheese” and “smile”—eliminating the need for a shutter button. Um, interesting?
Sprint just made things official for its release of Samsung’s Galaxy Note II by announcing in a press release that the device will launch on Oct. 25. Available for $299 on the usual two-year contract or eligible upgrade, Sprint will get both Marble White and Titanium Gray colors. In case you forget, we had hands on time with the 5.5-inch device in August at its unveiling in Berlin. It also looks like Sprint is confirming a launch date for the previously announced LG Optimus G. AndroidPolice reported the carrier confirmed the device, which many believe LG’s upcoming Nexus is based on, will land on Sprint for $200 on a two-year contract starting Nov. 11. The report also noted that pre-orders for the Optimus G will go live on Nov. 1 Sprint confirmed (below):
Sprint just announced it is adding three new Android-powered devices to its 4G LTE lineup, as well as expanding its 4G mobile broadband portfolio with a new USB dongle.
The Android devices include:
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 features a 10.1-inch 1,280-by-800 display, front-facing VGA camera, and rear-facing 3-megapixel on the back, while the inside touts a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, 8GB of storage, and a 7,000 mAh battery. The Ice Cream Sandwich-powered tablet also comes with Sprint LTE connectivity and mobile hotspot support for up to 10 devices.
The LG Optimus G offers a 4.7-inch 1,280-by-768 True HD IPS Plus display, 1.5GHz quad-core Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, 13-megapixel rear-facing camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, 32GB ROM, 2GB RAM, and a 2,100 mAh battery. It also touts Ice Cream Sandwich OS, but it further includes LG software like QSlide and QuickMemo.
Sprint 4G LTE
LG Optimus G (AT&T)
Galaxy Tab 2 10.1
The LG Mach boasts a QWERTY and slide-out physical keyboard with only a .48-inch thick body. The Ice Cream Sandwich-powered, 4-inch smartphone also packs a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 8GB ROM, 1GB RAM, microSD slot, and a 1,700 mAh battery.
As for the USB dongle: Sprint’s Plug-in-Connect Tri-Mode USB will support 3G, 4G WiMAX and 4G LTE connectivity. The stick even houses a foldaway USB connector, LED service indicator, and it is both Windows- and Mac-compatible.
Sprint said pricing and availability for each new addition will surface “at a later date,” but further specs and details are available in the press release below.
A widespread network outage on Sprint’s network started at 7:30 a.m. PST today and hit Portland, Ore., Seattle and Tacoma Wash., Minneapolis, Minn., and San Francisco and Sacramento, Calif. Sprint just confirmed it is working diligently to fix the issue.
Sprint’s statement to 9to5Mac:
“Earlier this morning, an accidental dual fibercut occurred on Sprint’s network causing a disruption in data and voice services for some Sprint customers in parts of Portland, Oregon; Seattle and Tacoma Washington; Minneapolis, Minnesota; and San Francisco and Sacramento, California. Sprint network technicians are working aggressively to resolve this issue and we hope to have service restored soon.”
JK Shin, head of Samsung’s mobile division, told reporters today (via Reuters) that the company expects to sell over 10 million units of the recently launched Galaxy S III during July. Despite concerns of component shortages for the flagship device, the company is expecting higher earnings for its current quarter compared to the $3.6 billion profit generated from January to March:
Samsung kicked off global sales of its Galaxy S III on May 29, but shipments have been affected by the tight supply of parts such as the handset casing for the pebble-blue model… In the United States, where sales were launched last Thursday, major carriers including Sprint Nextel Corp, T-Mobile and AT&T have not been able to offer the Galaxy with 32 gigabytes of memory, partly due to tight supply… “Due to overwhelming demand for the Galaxy S III worldwide, Samsung has informed us they will not be able to deliver enough inventory of Galaxy S III for Sprint to begin selling the device on June 21.”
Shin assured reporters that the company is not worried about the shortages affecting second quarter results. Shin noted “supply simply can’t meet soaring demand,” but he claimed, “things will get better from next week”:
Wirefly listed Samsung’s new Galaxy S III with 4G LTE to new and existing Sprint customers for just $149.99 on its website, which is currently one of the lowest price tags available.
Sprint offers the base model of the Galaxy Nexus successor on its website for $199.99, but it previously revealed that “overwhelming demand and limited supply” could cause the smartphone to ship late.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile sells its version for more bread than the main carriers: the 16GB model costs $279.99 after a $50 rebate. AT&T and Verizon Wireless now list pre-order prices for the 16GB Samsung Galaxy S III at $199.99.
Another third-party retailer, Amazon, offers the 16 GB Ice Cream Sandwich-powered smartphone for $189.99 to new AT&T customers, where as those eligible to upgrade only need to cough up $149.99. The deal comes with free two-day shipping.
Original EVO 4G, left, new, less 4G EVO ONE, right
When the original HTC EVO launched on Sprint two years ago, it was a game-changer of a phone. It was the first Android device with a 4.3-inch display, 1GHz Processor, 4G WiMAX, and a host of other new technologies including something important that is often jokingly overlooked: a kickstand.
Consider this: Nokia’s current flagship Windows Phone 7 device carries the same 4.3-inch 800-by-480-pixel resolution and single core processor with 512MB of RAM. This is two years later, mind you. And, there are still lots of other phones that lag behind the original EVO. In fact, in one important way, today’s review-ee, the HTC EVO One, also lacks the original EVO’s ability to do 4G data. (Oh, and what perfect two-year contract renewal timing otherwise!)
Sprint finds itself in the middle of a debilitating transition from WiMAX to LTE on its mobile network. I will not go into the details, because it is water under the bridge, but the long story short is that Sprint is migrating to LTE from its previous 4G technology called “WiMAX.” Sprint has a host of phones running WiMAX now and needs to keep the lights on those devices until 2015 (including offloading some bandwidth to its pre-paid customers). At the same time, it has to eek out some spectrum for a new type of 4G service and still keep those 3Gers happy.
The One Family: Evo One(Sprint), One X (AT&T) and One S (T-Mobile)
Unfortunately, Sprint is only now ramping up its LTE offering as AT&T and Verizon already have many major cities covered. When the EVO One is released today (after a longer than expected layover in customs thanks to Apple), it will not be able to use LTE 4G anywhere. Worse yet, it does not have WiMAX radios, so it is basically on the same level as the iPhone for Sprint customers network-wise.
The original EVO launched at the same time that Sprint’s 4G was rolling out, so you might be saying, “Big deal? The EVO had to wait for 4G and was a success.”
Things have changed immensely over the last two years. If you are buying a superphone in the U.S. now, you expect a super network. The EVO ONE will have to wait a long time to even access a two-year-old-type of 4G speed. Sprint is rolling out its LTE in Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, and San Antonio with some mystery markets, but it should have only 10 markets covered by July. That means only a small percentage of the U.S. is going to be able to really use this phone.
(As an aside, this is Sprint not learning from its WiMAX rollout. Sprint was ahead in its 4G techby a year,but it chose to roll it out in markets like Baltimore and Portland. By the time it got around to major tech/news hubs like New York and San Francisco, Verizon had already announced LTE rollouts and swallowed Sprint’s tech lead.)
If I am a Sprint user (and I am), there is no way I am going to trade a WiMAX smartphone for a non-working LTE one until more of the network is rolled out. WiMAX works great in New York and San Francisco. In fact, I still use my original EVO as a hotspot, because the network is often better than the other carriers’ 4G in the area. There are no current plans for Sprint LTE in my area (New York City).
If HTC/Sprint could have built a phone with dual WiMAX/LTE radios, I would be all over this phone in a heartbeat. However, as it stands, and until Sprint’s LTE gets more mature, it is hard to recommend.
Coming out of CTIA 2012 today, Virgin Mobile announced it plans to launch the HTC EVO V 4G on May 31 as its first 4G device. Of course, Sprint’s no-contract subsidiary will offer the device without a commitment, which means you will have to hand over $299 and a minimum of $35 per month to get your hands on it.
Virgin also announced today the arrival of the no-contract $35 4G data plans that will go hand-in-hand with the EVO V as outlined in the press release below. Sprint confirmed its EVO V 4G WiMAX variant would come to Boost Mobile also for $300 with data plans as low as $40.
For quite a while, Android users on many carriers in a handful of countries have had access to direct carrier billing for apps. Google is rolling out the option today to all content available through Google Play including music, movies, and books to certain carriers in the United States and Japan. While direct carrier billing is available to AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile (everyone but Verizon who operates its own Android store), Google’s announcement seems to indicate the expanded service will launch first on T-Mobile in the United States with Sprint coming soon. It will also roll out to Softbank, DoCoMo, and KDDI customers in Japan. You can check out a full list of countries and carriers that support direct billing here.
In addition to the announcement of an unlocked Galaxy Nexus being made available to purchase directly from Google Play, the company confirmed on the official Google Commerce Blog today that Google Wallet is now available through three devices on Sprint: Galaxy Nexus, LG Viper 4G LTE, and LG Optimus Elite. It also confirmed that Wallet would come to the LG Optimus Elite on Virgin Mobile. Google is continuing to offer all new users a $10 credit for their Google Prepaid Card when accessing the service for the first time.
The carrier’s internal MAP documents from last week suggested a new asking price was coming sooner rather than later, and it seems Verizon was quick to match Sprint’s newly announced price tag for the device. The attractive savings also levels the flagship Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone with Verizon’s other high-end handsets such as the Droid 4 and LG Spectrum. However, Verizon’s off-contract price for the Galaxy Nexus is still fixed at $649.99.
For those unaware, the LTE-capable Galaxy Nexus also packs a 4.65-inch HD Super AMOLED contoured display, dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 1GB Ram, and a 5-megapixel camera coupled with a 1.3-megapixel front shooter.
Many of us are excited for the first realLTE device set to launch on the Now Network.According to recent leaks, the launch date looks to be coming soon. There have been a good amount of leaks already pointing to an April 22 launch date, and now we have two more leaks from two different publications. BGRposted a leaked memo from a store that indicates April 22 for the launch date. Android Police also posted a leaked memo from a Best Buy store that suggests an April 22 launch date. The LG Viper 4G is set to launch on Sprint April 22, so it makes sense for the network to launch two LTE devices on the same day. I’d bank on it coming this month. Check out both leaks below. Expand Expanding Close
Sprint announced this morning in a press release that its first LTE device, the LG Viper 4G LTE, will officially launch April 22 for $99. If you are looking to get your hands on the first LTE device, pre-orders for the handset begin today. If you pre-order, you may receive the device two days earlier on April 20.
The Viper features a 4-inch display, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, 1GB of RAM, 5-megapixel rear-camera, and a 4GB microSD card. I have to say, this device is not all the great for being the first LTE device. However, it may be worth the wait for the Galaxy Nexus LTE, which is rumored to launch on the Now Network April 22.
However, if you do plan to purchase, make sure you know that Sprint’s LTE network is not yet deployed. Sprint plans to open its first markets by mid-year, and you can see the full list along with the press release after the break. Expand Expanding Close
The launch of Sprint’s first LTE handset may not be that far off. Engadget obtained an internal memo at Sprint that details the launch of the LG Viper 4G. According to the leak, the Viper 4G will land over on the Now Network April 22 for less than $100. Of course, Sprint’s LTE network is not live, and there is no word on when the carrier plans to make it available. If you purchase the Viper 4G, you may be without 4G for a few weeks months. However, remember that pre-orders for the device begin tomorrow on Sprint’s website. You can check out the leaked memo after the break.
Well lookie there folks. Sprint posted a picture of an unbranded Galaxy Note on its website for all to see. We are hoping this is not just a lazy graphic designer over at the Now Network, but rather an indication that this is coming soon. It does make sense, because Sprint is ramping up its LTE network. Moreover, the Galaxy Note would not be a bad addition. This time, we hope it features Ice Cream Sandwich right off the bat, unlike AT&T and Google Wallet thanks to the NFC chip offered on the LTE version. At any rate, if this is true, we should hear more from Sprint soon. Stay tuned.
We know everything there is to know about the Sprint Galaxy Nexus LTE, except for its launch date. According to Phandroid, the launch could be soon, because many Sprint retail stores received sign material to post around their stores. As you can see after the break, the signage is going to be posted in stores this Sunday, April 15.
From the looks of it, the launch of the Sprint Galaxy Nexus cannot be too far off. For those unfamiliar, the Sprint Galaxy Nexus packs two exclusive features: a faster 1.5GHz processor and Google Wallet compatibility. In January, we exclusively brought news that Wallet was left out of the Verizon version at Verizon’s request. This was attributed to Verizon working on its own mobile payment platform.
At any rate, Sprint customers will be able to take advantage of that “Everything Data Plan” for the Galaxy Nexus soon.
It looks like Google and Sprint finally got around to updating the NExus S 4G to Ice Cream Sandwich. The update, certainly expected for awhile, is detailled below.
As we noted in our live event coverage, the Sprint EVO One features HD Audio, which should allow users to hear the other side of the conversation much more vividly. Perhaps to illustrate the feature, the HTC promo video brings back the famous 80’s commercial Pin drop.
