QWERTY-packing Android smartphones are certainly a little rarer than their touchscreen-only counterparts, but we’d still have second thoughts about picking the Samsung Moment. While its AMOLED display is bright and clear and its keyboard pleasantly expansive (once you’ve retrained your fingers to deal with its offset layout) its stock Android 1.5 OS pales in comparison to what other manufacturers are doing to distinguish their rival handsets. Most damning, though, is the price: Sprint will ask $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and presuming a new, two-year agreement when the Moment arrives on November 1st. That’s perilously close to the $199.99 of the Verizon DROID by Motorola, and right now we can’t find enough to recommend the Samsung over the new Motorola.

“The Samsung Moment and the Android platform are helping Sprint drive openness and innovation,” said Andy Rubin, vice president of mobile platforms at Google. “With the Samsung Moment’s built-in suite of Google mobile services, along with thousands of applications on Android Market, Sprint customers can enjoy a unique mobile experience.”

Samsung Moment offers simple device navigation through an optical joystick located just below the expansive display. It features Wi-Fi capability, integrated GPS navigation and accelerometer. Additional features include:

• Dimensions: 4.6 x 2.34 x 0.63 inches; weight 5.67 oz.
• Main Display: 3.2-inch AMOLED (320 x 480 pixels) 16M colors
• 3.2-megapixel camera with flash and camcorder with auto-focus
• Stereo Bluetooth 2.0 wireless technology
• microSD card slot (2GB card included)
• Media player with 3.5-millimeter headphone jack
• Built-in WiFi 802.11 b/g
• GPS

Check out a hands on report on slashgear

It will be available on Sunday, Oct. 11 for $149.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade, two-year service agreement, and after a $50 instant savings and $100 mail-in rebate.

“Samsung Intrepid makes it easier for people to do more on the go by giving them the choice to use voice or touch input on a sleek new Windows phone,” said Andy Lees, senior vice president of Microsoft’s Mobile Communication Business. “Samsung Intrepid on Sprint’s reliable network is a great example of how customers benefit when industry leaders rally around a common goal – in this case convenience.”

Samsung Intrepid from Sprint will also pre-install with Microsoft’s Tellme application, which allows customers to use their voice to dial a contact, compose a text message and search the Web. The Tellme application can search business listings, traffic, maps, driving directions, movies and weather, instantly with the touch of a button and a person’s voice. With Tellme, Samsung Intrepid users only need to push a button and say ‘coffee shop’ to get the location of nearby cafes.

“The arrival of HTC Hero and the Android platform to Sprint’s network is an important milestone for our customers and the U.S. wireless industry,” said Kevin Packingham, senior vice president of product development for Sprint. “With the dependability and coverage of Sprint’s 3G network, HTC Hero users will appreciate a much better experience than is possible now with any other Android phone operating in the United States. They will enjoy the robust potential to personalize their wireless experience as well as the best value in wireless with a Simply Everything plan from Sprint.”

“Sprint and HTC are helping to drive openness and innovation in the mobile industry with the introduction of the Android-powered HTC Hero,” said Andy Rubin, vice president, mobile platforms at Google. “As the world’s first truly open mobile platform built with the Internet in mind, Android provides to consumers the same Internet services they have become accustomed to on their desktop PC. Offering access to thousands of applications, a suite of Google™ services, and unique personalization features, the HTC Hero offers a compelling mobile experience.”

The HTC Hero is also the first Sprint device to offer HTC Footprints, an application experience that enables the user to chronicle their special moments by capturing a digital postcard on their phone. Once captured, Footprints provides the ability to take notes and an audio clip of that favorite restaurant or special place while identifying its specific location. In addition to identifying each postcard with its specific GPS coordinates, Footprints also auto-names each postcard with its general location or area.

HTC Hero is a full-featured smartphone with Wi-Fi capability, a 3.2-inch capacitive touchscreen with pinch-to-zoom capability and a fingerprint resistant coating, integrated GPS navigation, and trackball navigation. Additional features include:

• Stereo Bluetooth 2.0
• accelerometer, light sensor and home screen widgets for improved usability
• microSD slot (32GB capable, 2GB included)
• Sprint TV with live and on-demand programming
• NFL Mobile Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile
• easy access to social networking sites, including Facebook, Flickr and Twitter
• visual voice mail for quick and easy access to specific voice mail messages

The HTC Touch Pro2 features a large 3.6-inch WVGA variable-angle tilting touch screen and an ultra-wide, slide-out keyboard that is larger than its predecessor. Additional business features available on HTC Touch Pro2 include International Quad-Band capability (CDMA, GSM); Straight Talk Technology with dual speakers; dual microphones and a mute button to provide a professional speakerphone experience; full HTML browser from Opera; stereo Bluetooth wireless technology; WorldCard Mobile Business Card Scanner; Facebook integration; and Linked inboxes, which easily link personal and work contacts.

[via slashgear]

[via engadget/clone-in-china]

]]> http://www.slashphone.com/rumor-htc-hero-cdma-comes-in-different-design-016652/feed 1 http://www.slashphone.com/sprint-4g-available-in-atlanta-las-vegas-and-portland-186560 http://www.slashphone.com/sprint-4g-available-in-atlanta-las-vegas-and-portland-186560#comments Tue, 18 Aug 2009 09:29:51 +0000 Kim Poh Liaw http://www.slashphone.com/?p=6560 Sprint today announced the launch of Sprint 4G mobile broadband throughout the Atlanta metro area, Las Vegas and Portland. Sprint 4G delivers peak downlink speeds of more than 10 Mbps and average downlink speeds of 3-6 Mbps.

In addition to Atlanta, Las Vegas and Portland, Sprint plans to deploy Sprint 4G service in these additional markets in 2009: Chicago, IL; Dallas, Ft. Worth, Philadelphia, PA; Austin, Texas; Abilene, Texas; Amarillo, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Bellingham, Wash.; Charlotte, N.C.; Corpus Christi, Texas; Greensboro, N.C.; Honolulu, HI; Killeen-Temple, Texas; Lubbock, Texas; Maui, Hawaii; Midland-Odessa, Texas; Raleigh, N.C.; Salem, Ore.; San Antonio, Texas; Seattle, WA: Waco, Texas; and Wichita Falls, Texas. In 2010, Sprint expects to launch service in multiple markets, including Boston, Houston, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Sprint customers in Atlanta can start enjoying 4G today with the 3G/4G USB Modem U300, the first device from any wireless carrier to offer access to both 3G and 4G. For a special limited time 4G launch promotion, the device is currently free after a $50 mail-in rebate (excludes taxes) with a two year agreement. Sprint is currently offering new 4G/3G data plans for consumers at $69.99 monthly with unlimited 4G and 4G/3G data plans for businesses at $69.99 with unlimited 4G and unlimited 3G on the Sprint network. There is also a $10 day-pass availa ble for 24 hours 4G connection access.

[via slashgear]

”Samsung Reclaim is more than just an eco-centric device, it’s also a powerful and stylish phone that’s easy-to-use,” said Omar Khan, senior vice president of Strategy and Product Management for Samsung Mobile. “When you combine the Reclaim’s impressive feature set with its bio-plastic hardware and eco-centric packaging, you’re using a phone that is good for you and the environment.”

Other features offered by the Samsung Reclaim include:

• slide-out full QWERTY keyboard 
• Sprint Navigation with Search
• 2 megapixel camera with 3x digital zoom and camcorder;
• Bluetooth 2.0;
• expandable memory storage up to 32GB
• two color options – Earth Green and Ocean Blue.

[via phonemag]

Following the closing of the transaction, Sprint’s prepaid business will be led by Dan Schulman, current Virgin Mobile USA chief executive officer, who will report directly to Dan Hesse, Sprint Nextel president and chief executive officer.

Following the closing of the transaction, Virgin Mobile USA will continue to license the Virgin Mobile USA brand from the Virgin Group under the terms of an amended and restated Trademark License Agreement. Sprint will pay $12.7 million for the initial term, which will continue through the end of 2021. The agreement contains several renewal provisions that will allow Virgin Mobile USA to extend the term until 2047.

Version information

* Version: webOS 1.1.0
* Release date: 23 July 2009
* Configuration: Sprint 1.7

New applications
NFL Mobile Live from Sprint

* Watch or listen to live NFL games right on your phone.

Feature changes to existing applications
Calendar

* For Calendar accounts you create on your phone, the default reminder intervals are 15 minutes for timed events and one day for all-day events. A few notes:
o This change applies only if software version 1.1 was on your phone when you bought it, or if you did a partial or full erase on your phone and signed in to your Palm profile again after updating to version 1.1. If you simply update your phone to software version 1.1, the default reminder intervals in Calendar do not change.
o This change applies only to Calendar events you create on your phone, not to events that are synchronized to your phone from an online account.

Camera

* The Photos application opens more quickly when launched from the camera.

Clock

* Enhanced support for time zones in Clock.
* When you set an alarm in Clock, an alarm icon appears in the notification area at the bottom of the screen. Tap the icon to display alarm details. Alarm details include the following:
o If the alarm is set for the current day, the alarm time appears.
o If the alarm is set for tomorrow, the alarm time and “Tomorrow” appear.
o If the alarm is set for any day other than today or tomorrow, the day of the alarm appears.

Contacts

* Friends added and deleted in Facebook on the web are now correctly added and deleted in the Facebook account in Contacts on the phone.
* As soon as you create or makes changes to a Google contact on the phone, the phone begins a sync to reflect those changes in Google on the web.

Email

* When you set up an Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) email account, you can enter the mail server name as an IP address.
* Support for self-signed certificates with multiple common names has been added.
* When you reply to an email in HTML format using an EAS account, the formatting of the sender’s original message is now retained in the reply.
* Palm’s EAS implementation now supports several Exchange ActiveSync Policies, including the following:
o PIN/Password Required. IT administrators can ensure a password is assigned to the phone. Administrators can also specify the minimum length of the password.
o Inactivity timeout. IT administrators can ensure that an inactive phone goes into a locked state after a certain time period. You cannot set a higher timeout interval for your phone, but you can set a shorter interval.
o Remote Wipe. IT Administrators can remotely erase all data on a phone from their Exchange console. IT administrators can also have the device wipe itself if an incorrect password is entered more than a specified number of times.

Messaging

* You can enter emoticons in new text, multimedia, and instant messages. Emoticons also display in incoming messages.
* If you set the phone to use a 24-hour time format, the message times shown in a conversation appear in 24-hour time.
* If you go into an IM account’s preferences, all the options are available even if you are signed in to the account. You can tap Remove Account to delete the account, enter a new password to update the password, or tap Sign In to sign in with your updated password. Previously, you needed to sign out of the account before you could use these preferences.
* When you delete an IM account, a message now appears asking you to confirm that you want to delete the account.

Phone

* When multiple missed call notifications are displayed on the dashboard, the time of the most recent missed call is shown.
* When you slide the ringer switch off, a bell icon with a slash is displayed. Previously, the icon was a speaker with a slash.
* In Phone Preferences, the Show Contact Matches preference is now turned on by default. When typing on the keyboard in the phone app, the phone automatically displays both the numbers being entered and any contact matches for the characters entered.

System

* Improved functionality of person reminders. A person reminder is a notification that you create in a contact entry. The notification appears when you have a call or exchange an email, text, multimedia, or IM message with a contact.
* Resolves an issue preventing media sync from working with latest version of iTunes (8.2.1).
* When you enter a search term in Card view or the Launcher to perform a universal search, if you select the Wikipedia web search option, results are shown in the Wikipedia Mobile site instead of the Desktop site.

Web

* You can now use symbols from the symbols table (Sym Sym key icon + key) when you enter text into a web page dialog box.
* If you have a page open at a certain zoom level, leave the page, and use the onscreen Back Web Back button button or the back gesture to return to the page, the zoom level is restored right away.
* A new gesture is now available that works the same as the onscreen Forward Web Forward button button. To move forward through open web pages, make a short swipe left to right in the gesture area.
* When using the Wikipedia drop-down search feature in the address bar, results are shown in the Wikipedia Mobile site instead of the Desktop site.
* When you tap a link, the link appears highlighted to indicate it has been activated, even if it takes a moment for the linked page to open.

YouTube

* After you enter search text, you can tap the Search Search icon icon to perform a search. You still have the option of pressing Enter Enter key to perform the search.