Sprint just suffered another blow today to their team. Kevin Packinham (Senior VP for 4G) just left the company effective August 16, 2010. The carrier said he was leaving to lead another company but declined to state the new company. Steve Elfman and product development VP Fared Adib will replace Kevin in the coming weeks.
Packingham leaving does leave a significant gap but left Sprint a mighty jewel with their next 4G phone Samsung Epic 4G. The Samsung Epic 4G, which has WiMAX and a high performance chip excels with a slide-out keyboard and a Super AMOLED screen. The Epic 4G is the only Galaxy S-based phone to have either 4G or a keyboard in it’s line. Although it costs a $250 (after rebate ouch), may help Sprint prevent customers from jumping to AT&T and eventually to Verizon.
This is Sprint’s 2nd departure in recent weeks as their staff has experienced significant high level departures. Sprint says it doesn’t see this as a problem.
Devices, Mobile Carriers, News, Samsung, Sprint 4g, 4G samsung epic 4g, kevin packinham, sprint
Nexus One - Google Phone on Android
Available online directly from Google.com itself, this phone will deliver a complete Android 2.1 experience to new users with a powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Look out Apple, this phone is going to knock your socks off… There is no contract and the device will be priced accordingly. This is a similar model to Sony Ericsson and Nokia but who knows, Google might actually change consumer buying habits…
The phone, called Nexus One, was designed inside Google and will be sold, at least initially, without being subsidized by a wireless partner, these people said. It is the latest sign of the Internet giant’s ever-broadening wireless ambitions as Google hunts for ways to expand its Internet services beyond computers. The move, details of which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal on … - Wall Street Journal
Devices, HTC, Mobile Carriers, News android, Google Phone, HTC, Nexus One, Qualcomm, Snapdragon
How scary is it when a phone company gives up your data (GPS mainly) to authorities without a warrant? Sprint! Wake up! This is a big potential disaster for a company already bleeding in the mobile market. 8 million requests in 13 months by law enforcement officers. Sprint is rumored to have over 110 employees whose sole purpose is to aide in this practice without warrant or permission from the user.
News, Sprint electronic surveillance, gps, privacy, sprint, warrant
MetroPCS & LTE Combine
Wall Street reports fourth quarter earnings of MetroPCS in 2008 to be the highest ever in company history. When it came to increasing subscriber numbers, MetroPCS hit it out of the park with its $50 unlimited non-contract price to entice those savvy consumers out there worried about the economy and budget. Right now, MetroPCS has a total of 5.4 million subscribers, 5th place in the world of mobile operators. T-Mobile with 32.8 million subscribers, Sprint with 49.3 million, AT&T with 77 million, and Verizon with 72.1 million.
In other news, MetroPCS might be the first mobile operator to offer LTE…Wait what? Without a smartphone in the market, how can it even utilize this huge pipe? My guess is that the company will be releasing some new phones this Q3 from a secret Canadian company to offer a smartphone and pc card. Expect MetroPCS to start advertising in 2010
Oh no! I never even tried WiMax…sad
Broadband, LTE, MetroPCS, Mobile Carriers at&t, LTE, MetroPCS, smartphone, sprint, subscribers, unlimited plan, verizon, wimax
At a store near you
With smartphones and mobility being the bread and butter for most internet service providers, Verizon really missed their time to market with the Verizon Hub. Priced at $200 for the hardware and $35 per month for unlimited text, voice, and data, this device is really aiming for that small niche. A grandmother who is afraid of a computer and needs a weaponized handset to use and call us 24/7 asking on how to turn this damn thing on.
Mobile Carriers, Uncategorized, Verizon verizon, verizon hub
T-Mobile Shows Some Love
Maybe there’s something worth waiting for at the end of your 2-year contract with T-Mobile. With only $50 per month for unlimited voice, $10 for unlimited texting and $25 for unlimited data, you can get this plan with no additional contract commitment and save moolah. Let’s just hope other carriers start a price war and get this down even lower. This plan starts on March 1st, 2009 nationwide so call up your local t-mobile rep and get this started. This would traditionally set you back at around $150 so its a substantial discount. I pay about $80 per month for 400 minutes and 200 text messages and unlimited data at AT&T. 
I hate contracts…
Mobile Carriers, T-Mobile customer loyalty program, data, t-mobile, text, unlimited plan, voice
Is WiMax worth it for Sprint?
With Verizon claiming LTE (Long-Term Evolution) rollout to be in the later phase of 2010 with 4G like speeds, Sprint is going full speed ahead into the 4G space with its deployment (and sizeable investment) in WiMax with Clearwire. With worrisome fourth-quarter earnings performances from both companies, you sure can tell who’s willing to gamble as carriers lock down on subscribers and reduce churn by introducing deep price cuts to keep their current customers happy. Sprint reported -$1.6 billion in losses and over 1.3 million subscribers lost in the fourth quarter compared to Verizon’s 1.4 million and AT&T’s 2.1 million subscriber gains for the fourth quarter alone. Sprint ended the year with 49.3 million subscribers and is likely to continue this hemorrhaging for many months until new products and lines of services are introduced like WiMax and the Palm Pre.
But here’s the fundamental question… Is WiMax worth it? Does the subscriber model still apply? Do we need these speeds when we have 3G and HSPA nationwide? How can you justify the cost when you travel and it’s only in these two cities? Can hardware manufacturers (LG, Intel) stay in the WiMax business offering WiMax chips when there no one is buying them? Is this too early in the adoption curb?
Let’s see if WiMax can continue its deployment into more cities and expand its footprint nationally going beyond Baltimore and Portland. I would like to see this deployed in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington DC. If deployment takes any longer, Sprint may have to reconsider its investment and call this 4G race lost, or else Sprint will have to start looking to cut more jobs and offer steeper discounts.
Offer this in Los Angeles and I’ll be the first one subscribing to it
Mobile Carriers clearwire, HSPA, LTE, sprint, subscriber, verizon, wimax