sprint on SWiK

Instinct vs LG Vu vs iPhone

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:03:43 -0700

Here’s a head-to-head review of the Sprint Samsung Instinct the LG Vu and the Appl iPhone done by the folks at phonedog.com. -Ray [Source: youtube] SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: "Instinct vs LG Vu vs iPhone", url: "http://www.iphonespies.com/mobil...

Big Growth In US 3G

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:01:01 -0700

comScore says that the United States has caught up with Western Europe in the adoption of 3G with 28.4 percent of American mobile subscribers having 3G devices versus 28.3% in the largest countries in Europe. That works out to about 64.2 million devices - up 80% from last year. When it comes to 3G penetration are Italy and Spain lead U.S. The growth in 3G penetration comes at a time when the data revenues are growing at a rapid clip for the mobile carriers.

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Sprint’s Xohm Adds Location to WiMAX

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:11:50 -0700

Despite its delays launching its Xohm 4G mobile WiMAX network, Sprint has not been idle. The carrier said this morning it would work with a variety of businesses to bring location-based services to the Xohm network when it launches in September. It sounds neat, and the partners listed below could make for a good location-based services experience, but right now mobile WiMAX is a data card strategy without handsets.

That makes location more of gimmicky feature for browsing on your laptop than the awesome-to-have feature on your mobile phone. However, it’s well in line with recent attempts to add location to browsing through Yahoo’s Fire Eagle platform, or older attempts with the use of Skyhook’s Loki software. If Sprint’s open network strategy for Xohm attracts other devices such as personal navigation systems, this could become a more interesting offering, and lead to products as cool as the Dash Express.These features will carry over once the joint venture between Sprint and Clearwire for nationwide WiMAX gets going at the end of the year. Below the fold are the names of companies adding location to the Xohm network.

uLocate Communications Inc.: Will provide its Where platform and friend-finding application Buddy Beacon to connect Xohm customers with their favorite people, places and things.

Yelp Inc.: Will provide local business reviews and ratings for anything local, from restaurants to doctors and more. The reviews can be searched and sorted by category or shown in a map view, with access to Yelp.com for details on any of the three million local reviews.

Eventful Inc.: Will provide users with listings of local events displayed in a map view. Customers can select sub-categories of interest, search for events and click through to Eventful.com to get more event information and purchase tickets.

Topix LLC: Will provide local news based on current location as a summary, with an option to read full stories.

NAVTEQ: Will offer Xohm customers real-time local traffic and commuter updates with links to the Traffic.com site for additional detailed construction, incident and drive time information.

AccuWeather: Will provide three-day forecasts based on users’ current locations. An easy link to AccuWeather.com mobile web site gives more forecast details, radar/satellite images and more.

Google Inc.: Contributes local search capability along with additional features and functionality from Google Maps.

Openwave Systems Inc.: Will provide the location platform that enables Xohm partners to use location to provide services.

Autodesk Inc.: Will provide a standards-based interface and geospatial services, such as addresses, ZIP code and city/state information, to enhance location within the Xohm network.

image of the Nokia n810 which Sprint will launch on the Xohm network

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Tethering to get cheaper with Sprint

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 10:05:47 -0700

No Takebacks: 5 Most Screwed-Up Tech Buys

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:11:34 -0700

As the tech world gets itself in a tizzy over Google saying its 5 percent stake in AOL might be impaired — basically it may now be worth less than they thought it was — we thought we’d revisit some of the most notable tech writedowns in history. Under U.S. accounting rules, once something’s impaired, it can’t be marked up again, which typically leads to a write-off. The write-offs on our list aren’t necessarily the largest, but we think they exemplify a certain point in time in the fizzy world of technology valuations that’s worth remembering, but not worth repeating.

So far this year we’ve seen one of the largest corporate writedowns ever, that of Sprint-Nextel shaving $29.7 billion in value off its $35 billion merger with Nextel Communications. The writedown led to Sprint-Nextel posting a fourth-quarter loss of $29.9 billion, and the company is still dealing with the aftermath of its push-to-talk love affair. At the time of the merger, cell phone deals were the thing to do, but mismatched networks and customer bases doomed this one from the start.

Another relatively recent write-off occurred when eBay woke up next to Skype two years after it offered up to $4.1 billion for the peer-to-peer voice provider and realized it paid waaaay too much for the privilege. It wrote off $900 million, which is small potatoes compared to some of the other writedowns listed here, but worth mentioning as a case of new technology feeding off an old-school web giant’s desperation.

AOL’s purchase of Time Warner back in 2000 was spectacular both for its $106.2 billion price tag and its almost instant failure once the deal closed. By that point, the tech bubble had burst and in 2002 the combined company wrote down $54 billion thanks to the evaporation of AOL’s value. Even the easy money economy of the previous few years has yet to see a deal of such awesome valuation, something for which we can all be thankful.

The dot-com crash was followed by another wave of writedowns related to the companies that had banked on the Internet infrastructure rush, such as Qwest Communications, which spent $36.5 billion on U.S. West in 1999, only to turn around and write down $24 billion of that in 2002.

I’ll put Google’s possible impairment on here simply because it’s amazing that AOL has managed to convince two companies to overpay for it, even as it does its own dubious buys. Since many financial experts are predicting a new wave of impairment charges, perhaps Google’s taking one of the first steps toward write-offs in the tech sector based on the Web 2.0 boom.

Trouble In iDen

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:17:16 -0700

Wireless Results Scorecard

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:14:36 -0700

The four major mobile carriers have presented their 2008 second quarter financial results, and it’s really a tough time to be Sprint. We compiled a quick scorecard after T-Mobile USA reported its numbers this morning, so for an at-a-glance view of which added the most new subscribers (Verizon) or which makes the most money off of each subscriber (Sprint), see below.

AT&T reported Q2 earnings on July 23:

Wireless revenue: $12 billion
Wireless operating income: $3.1 billion
Churn (postpaid only): 1.1 percent
Net adds: 1.3 million
Total subscribers: 72.9 million
Data revenue: $2.5 billion
Average ARPU: $50.60

Verizon reported Q2 earnings on July 28:

Wireless revenue: $12.1 million billion
Wireless operating income: N/A
Blended churn: 1.12 percent, postpaid 0.83 percent
Net adds: 1.5 million
Total subscribers: 68.7 million
Data revenue: $2.6 billion
Average ARPU: $51.53

Sprint reported Q2 results on August 6:

Wireless revenue: $7.7 billion
Wireless operating loss: $142 million
Churn (postpaid only): “just under” 2 percent
Net loss: 901,000
Total subscribers: 51.9 million
Data revenue: N/A
Average ARPU: $53.47 (excludes wholesale customers)

T-Mobile reported Q2 earnings today:

Wireless revenue: $4.85 billion
Wireless net income: $452 million
Blended churn: 2.7 percent, postpaid 1.9 percent
Net adds: 668,000
Total subscribers: 31.5 million
Data revenue: N/A
Average ARPU: $52

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A quick five.grok sprint update!

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:44:11 -0700

SK Telecom Wants Sprint? Maybe Not

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:55:26 -0700

SK Telecom, the South Korean carrier who till now has frittered away hundreds of millions of dollars trying to get a toehold in the U.S. market, was rumored to be looking to spend a few billion to buy Sprint, in partnership with some private equity firms, according to news reports based on a CNBC claim. That rumor caused some furious activity in the shares of those two companies.

Now there are rumors that SK Telecom and Spring were looking to partner on technology. The whole thing is just too curious, and the company spokespeople for both of them are staying mum.

Sprint has about 52.8 million customers, but is having a tough time holding onto them. The company recently merged its WiMAX effort, Xohm, with Clearwire to form a new company that attracted $3.2 billion in financing from Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner and others.

SK Telecom owns 17 percent of MVNO Virgin Mobile, which recently acquired Helio at a throw-away price. SK has sunk a lot of money into Helio. Both Helio and Virgin use Sprint’s network.

And on a related note, Helio’s store in Palo Alto shut down today, after setting what must have been a new record for being devoid of customers but still opening its doors every day. Rumor has it that employees at Palo Alto startups would make bets on whether or not any customers could be spotted in the Helio store. I guess the only ones who didn’t get the memo about people not caring about Helio stores was the management.

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Mini-sprint on introspection in Paris!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 11:44:37 -0700

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Sprint Bets Big on Super-fast Broadband

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 08:54:38 -0700

On the Internet, you can never be too fast or carry too much data, which is why Sprint is crowing about its plan to convert its core network to deliver data at 40 Gbps using the 40 Gigabit Ethernet technologies. The carrier will use Cisco and Ciena gear to deliver 40 Gig E Gbps over its existing fiber network worldwide. To help put the speeds in context, a 40 Gig E backbone will be able to carry 3.2 terabits of data per second. That’s a lot of cloud services or HD video via iTunes, but Internet consumers are demanding it. And with the speed which new services, including video and 3G wireless, are growing, we need the speed.

Sprint has long been eager to experiment with new technologies, building out the first fiber network back in the 80s and 90s. In 1999 –well before convergence was all the rage — it launched a converged voice and data service built on a packet-based network dubbed “ION.” However, those experiments have not always translated directly into dollars. Sprint spent more than $2 billion on ION before killing it three years after its launch.

More recently, Sprint has bet on WiMAX, but its beleaguered Xohm network has been plagued by delays. Sprint has had to turn to rival Clearwire in order to bring the 4G service nationwide. So I applaud Sprint for investing in 40 GigE faster broadband and only hope it can find some return.

(We will update the story after talking to Cisco and Sprint.)

Mobile OSGi Blog: Sprint Nextel goes live with Mobile OSGi!

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:52:00 -0700

Mobile OSGi Blog: Sprint Nextel goes live with Mobile OSGi!

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:51:34 -0700

Mobile OSGi Blog: Sprint Nextel goes live with Mobile OSGi!

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:51:29 -0700

Use your music (MP3's), photos, pictures, and animations to create ringtones and graphics for free: online, without needing software for your computer. Supports most popular cellphones, including the new Apple iPhone! (Mobile17 is a ringtone maker).

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:57:54 -0700

<sep/>without needing software for your computer. Supports most popular cellphones, including the new Apple iPhone! (Mobile17 is a ringtone maker).

Nerd Vittles " A Marriage Made in Heaven: Sprint Cellphone + Asterisk@Home = Unlimited U.S. Cell Phone Calls for $5

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:57:32 -0700

Delayed: Android, aka Google Phone

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 00:02:29 -0700

If you are a start-up targeting the mobile industry, then you are well aware of the slow moving ways of incumbents, equipment makers and of course handset makers. You are made aware of their equally glacial ways when you come from the opposite end of the spectrum, Silicon Valley.

Google, the Mountain View, Calif.-based search engine that is making a big mobile push via its Android Mobile Platform, is learning the realities of mobile business the hard way. A report in WSJ suggests that the company is experiencing delays to its so called launch which is now slated for fourth quarter 2008. (Somewhere in Cupertino, Calif., Apple’s Steve Jobs is having a good laugh!)

“This is where the pain happens,” Andy Rubin, Google’s director of mobile platforms told WSJ. “We are very, very close.” He was talking about adding features etc requested by carrier partners. I think this is why Jobs was smart in being tyrannical and ignoring carrier requests when it came to software. Google apparently can’t afford to ignore partner requests.

Here are the relevant and interesting facts from the WSJ article:

T-Mobile USA is taking up all of Google’s attention, since the company wants to launch a device in the 4th quarter. This is diverting attention away from other partners.

Executive reshuffle at Sprint is causing some delays. Sprint now wants to develop an Android phone for its 4G network instead of 3G network. Sprint as we know, is like a dancer with two left feet.

China Mobile’s equipment partner is having a tough time translating Android into Chinese characters.

Developers are finding it hard to write apps for Android because Google keeps making changes to the Android.

Again, as I said earlier - whimsical wishes of carriers, endless customization, software delays and of course, executive reshuffling - these are facts of life for mobile start-ups. Welcome to the club, Google.

Sprint

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 04:18:10 -0700

DIY - How to Block Phone Numbers on your Cellphone!

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 09:23:44 -0700

Here’s a great way to block phone numbers on your cellphone. Of course, it only works for text messaging but could be useful if you get spam on your cellphone.

* AT&T: Log in at mymessages.wireless.att.com. Under Preferences, you’ll see the text-blocking and alias options. Here’s also where you can block messages from specific e-mail addresses or Web sites.

* Verizon Wireless: Log in at vtext.com. Under Text Messaging, click Preferences. Click Text Blocking. You’re offered choices to block text messages from e-mail or from the Web. Here again, you can block specific addresses or Web sites. (Here’s where you set up your aliases, too.)

* Sprint: No auto-blocking is available at all, but you can block specific phone numbers and addresses. To get started, log in at www.sprint.com. On the top navigation bar, click My Online Tools. Under Communication Tools, click Text Messaging. On the Compose a Text Message page, under Text Messaging Options, click Settings & Preferences. In the text box, you can enter a phone number, email address or domain (such as Comcast.net) that you want to block.

* T-Mobile: T-Mobile doesn’t yet offer a “block text messages from the Internet” option. You can block all messages sent by e-mail, though, or permit only messages sent to your phone’s e-mail address or alias, or create filters that block text messages containing certain phrases. It’s all waiting when you log into www.t-mobile.com and click Communication Tools.

via nytimes

Sprint Titan

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 07:22:08 -0700

Sprint Titan

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 07:21:41 -0700

Sprint Titan

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 07:21:23 -0700

Sprint Samsung Instinct is great but the videos suck!

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:02:25 -0700

Download latest version of Flash to view video!.

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

There are bunch of videos on how to use the new Sprint Samsung Instinct but there’s NO VIDEOS on the browser of the Samsung Instinct.

If Sprint is serious about competing with the iPhone (from a marketing perspective), they gotta get rid of all that voice activated live search crap and make some videos of YouTube playing on the phone OR loading Zedomax.com on the browser.

I think whoever is managing the video marketing section of Samsun Instinct need to be fired. That’s what I’d do. Hire someone who’s capable of making good vids.

I personally HATE voice-activated commands because my Blackberry 8830 always ask me, “Say a command” like 10 times a day, it’s annoying and people don’t need voice activated stuff. I wish manufacturers start focusing more on the internet browser of the phone instead of voice activated technology I’d never use.

Great phone + bad marketing, Sprint better get their act straight soon otherwise people will laugh at them. (if they are not laughing now)

Sprint Titan

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 05:57:54 -0700

Sprint Titan

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:58:18 -0700

Sprint Titan

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:56:07 -0700

Sprint Titan

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:55:38 -0700

AT&T 3G Network Ready for Faster Speeds

Wed, 21 May 2008 13:20:21 -0700

If you’re like me, sick of the double-crossing, bandwidth-capping ways of the in-the-red Sprint, it’s time for you to start thinking about other mobile broadband options. Of course, you can sign up for Verizon and pay premium dollars for the same 5 GB-a-month download cap and restrictions over their EVDO network. Or simply switch technologies and go to AT&T’s 3G Network, which is getting speedier and is as widely available as those offered by Sprint and Verizon.

AT&T said today that over the next month it will deploy High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA) technology in the six remaining markets across its 3G footprint, leaving it able to deliver 1.4 Mbps down and 800 Kbps upstream speeds. This will be an improvement over HSDPA technology (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), which is slower.

HSUPA puts AT&T on near-equal footing with EVDO-based mobile broadband sellers Sprint and Verizon. And it’s not stopping there — the company also plans to graduate to HSPA+ and then to LTE (Long Term Evolution) technology to offer even higher speeds for mobile broadband.

Qualcomm Backs Femtocell Maker, ip.access

Wed, 21 May 2008 10:21:10 -0700

With an undisclosed investment in femtocell company ip.access, Qualcomm is raising the profile of the nascent market. Femtocells are tiny base stations that connect to a consumer’s existing broadband connection to improve cellular reception in a home or office. Carriers such as Sprint, Orange and TMobile are all deploying or have plans to deploy femtocells. Carriers (in most cases) like femtocells for their ability to improve coverage without requiring network build-outs in rural areas and to offload users from increasingly strained 3G networks.

Qualcomm’s backing is noteworthy because it has hinted that it will develop a femtocell chip of its own and also because CEO Paul Jacobson had previously cast doubts on the technology saying interference from femtocells could cause problems for other home networking equipment. With this investment, perhaps Qualcomm intends to solve those problems and reap the rewards of a growing market.

In another indication of the market’s growing maturity, today the Femto Forum said it has come up with a standard that will make femotocells interoperable with a variety of carrier equipment and gateways. That means carriers may feel more comfortable trialling the devices without being locked in with one vendor. However, the resulting standard is likely to force equipment makers such as ip.access, UbiquiSys and Alcatel-Lucent to revamp their existing equipment. So it’s a good thing ip.access has deep pockets behind it.

In the Red? Sprint Says Gouge the Customers

Mon, 19 May 2008 10:20:35 -0700

Sprint isn’t just losing millions of customers and billions of dollars, it’s in the midst of pioneering a new management philosophy. We’ll call it the Three-Megabit Monte. Similar to the venerable street con, this is where Sprint leads a customer down a confusing line of lies and inflated charges in the hopes of making a buck.

As detailed by Allen Harkleroad (who is one wrathful Southerner) on his web site, Sprint has been charging him almost four times the price of the amount it pays the local telephone company for two T-1 access lines. That’s about a 75 percent gross margin. But what really drove Harkleroad around the bend was being lied to by a Sprint salesman, who claimed that the company was charged $1,998 for the T-1s (the phone company, on the other hand, said it charges some $500). Harkleroad has since switched providers and pays about $1,500 less per month.

But he’s not done with Sprint yet. He figures the company owes him about $56,000 (for charging him so much), and he wants to get paid. Harkleroad also wants to encourage the rest of Sprint’s customer base on the access side to take a close look at their bills. And the icing on this cake? He alleges that Sprint charged him for providing 3 mbps download speed, but only provided 2.5 mbps, saying that the difference was lost to overhead. And that’s where the the Three-Megabit Monte philosophy gets it name.

For more examples of Sprint’s philosophy in action, check out this story, this story and this one.