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For "sprint"

Smartphones ‘a tax on the poor’ argues academic, amid lawsuits

Ben Lovejoy Dec 16 2021

Smartphones have been described as “a new tax on the poor” by an academic, as more than a quarter of…

Could an Apple Watch ever replace an iPhone for you?

Major US carriers join forces with state attorneys general to fight robocalls

Chance Miller Aug 22 2019

The fight among carriers and regulators over the robocalling problem continues this week. The Washington Post reports that 12 of…

Netflix admits to throttling video quality on AT&T and Verizon ‘to protect consumers’

Ben Lovejoy Mar 25 2016

If you’ve ever been disappointed with the quality of Netflix videos when streaming them on AT&T or Verizon, and cursed…

FCC chairman Ajit Pai to resign next month after controversial four years under President Trump

Chance Miller Nov 30 2020

Controversial FCC chairman Ajit Pai has announced that he will resign as of January 20, 2021. This announcement is not…

Verizon giving away 2GB to upgraders, T-Mobile discounts iPhones and Apple Watches to AT&T switchers

Zac Hall Dec 3 2015

The carrier wars in the US are heating up as we head further into the winter, and that’s generally good…

Sprint continues the trend, will stop offering two-year contracts for smartphones

Chance Miller Jan 7 2016

The trend of carriers ending contract pricing continues today. According to an internal leaked document obtained by Android Central, Sprint smartphone…

Petition to activate smartphone FM radios gains steam as carriers agree to flip the switch

Chance Miller May 16 2016

A new report from CBC News details the progress being made to unlock the FM radio chip that many smartphones…

iPhone IS second biggest-selling US mobile

9to5 Staff Oct 6 2008

Apple’s iPhone 3G is now the second best-selling mobile handset in the US, just behind the Motorola Razr 3, NPD Group announced this morning.

Researchers also confirmed that one in three iPhone 3G purchasers switched from other carriers to join AT&T, suggesting that network’s subscriber numbers will have seen a hefty bump – particularly as it now seems extremely likely Apple has exceeded its stated sales targets for the device.

Returning to NPD, they claim by way of comparison just 23 per cent of consumers, on average, switched carriers between June and August 2008. Nearly half (47 per cent) of new AT&T iPhone customers that switched carriers switched from Verizon Wireless, another 24 per cent switched from T-Mobile, and 19 per cent switched from Sprint.

iPhone heading to EVDO/Verizon for 2009?

9to5 Staff Sep 28 2008

We’ve fielded a couple of tips (some more sketchy than others) about EVDO iPhones floating around Cupertino in the past, but today’s tipster seems a little bit more sure of himself. Besides having some Verizon insider credentials, he seems to know way too much about Verizon-Apple politics. According to him, Apple will be announcing iPhones for Verizon Wireless in 2009, perhaps as early Macworld 2009. Negotiations between Apple and Verizon are ongoing but they expect to hammer out agreements by the end of the year.

This isn’t a huge surprise for a number of reasons:

Zyxel begins shipping WiMAX routers to Sprint Nextel

9to5 Staff Feb 22 2008

Digitimes reports that Zyxtel is shipping the XHOM WiMAX high speed routers to Sprint that will be used in its nationawide WiMAX rollout. These will be used at Sprint’s customer’s homes and should start hitting the streets very soon.

Many people have been very eager to try out the WiMAX service offered by Sprint Nextel only to be put off by delay after delay.

Sprint’s WiMAX 4G service will compete against existing 3G services from AT&T, Verizon and T-mobile and upcoming next generation standards. For more on WiMAX, check the video after the break

Why doesn't the MacBook Air have 3G?

9to5 Staff Jan 26 2008

One thing that stood out from all of the reviews was Ed Baig’s comment that Steve Jobs wanted to put 3G access into the Air but ran out of room.

Air does not come with the built-in ability to connect to a speedy wireless data network run by various cellular carriers. Jobs told me last week that Apple considered it but that adding the capability would take up room and restrict consumers to a particular carrier. Through a USB modem, he says, you can still subscribe to wireless broadband with your favorite carrier.

I hate to badmouth Mr. Baig and Mr. Jobs but there is no other way to put it. BS!…

Mossberg comes out (yet again) against the US mobile cartel

9to5 Staff Dec 19 2007

http://services.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f8/452319854

You have to admire Walt Mossberg for taking his position as grand exalted leader amongst technology journalists directly to the US telecoms. He is single handedly trying to break the hold on consumers that the Sprint/Tmobile/AT&T/Verizon Cartel has on the US Mobile industry. To his credit, he has gotten Verizon to promise that in Q3 2008, that it will accept any device on its platform – as long as it meets a very simple set of requirements (like no VoIP?). If he were running for Office, we’d vote for him.

15 Billion dollars, Apple? Someone is doing some Christmas shopping

9to5 Staff Dec 11 2007

So it came out last week that Apple had been saving a bit of money. They are likely going to buy something and the internet blew up with ideas on what that should be. Ars came up with Adobe, Tivo, Nintendo. We aren’t feeling any of those – here’s why:

Adobe – there is too much overlap in products. Final Cut/Premiere. Aperture/Lightroom, etc, etc. Adobe has a great portfolio of applications but overall the line isn’t close enough to Apple’s core competency. Plus the two companies aren’t getting along that well anymore. Adobe is also pricey.
Tivo – It is a great technology for the next 3-5 years. Soon though, networks will be broadcasting their content over the net by themselves. The technology to leverage advertising will make them more than the currently falling costs of broadcasting over the net – so it won’t matter. As someone who has to watch college football on a slingbox, I say hurry the fsck up.
Nintendo – great idea, but they are too expensive. Any buyout of Nintendo would have to be more like a merger. Can you see Steve Jobs agreeing to a merger and taking in top management? Us neither.

So, we’ve come up with three companies that Apple should buy – and which they actually have a shot at. Yep, telecoms:

Fake Steve on Fake Google Phone

9to5 Staff Nov 6 2007

Popular Steve Jobs satirist FakeSteve posted a nice piece on the percieved threat of the Google Open Handset Alliance on Apple and its iPhone franchise. Google’s stock is up and all of the alliance members are getting plenty of publicity. But in the end what have we really got?

No devices for a year (!!) which is forever in technology terms. The 6 months wait for the iPhone was eternity.
An SDK – which is based on Linux. Let’s reserve judgment until next week. No news yet.
Device manufacturers like HTC will build the equipment. However, in hardware terms, since it is an open platform, they are already going to be building the same hardware anyway. Its like Dell saying we are going to build Linux compliant computers now. They already do and have for years. They just usually install Windows on them. It is a low risk for HTC because, if the OHA fails, they just sell the devices with WM6. In fact, it would not surprise us to see the same devices running WM6 and OHA – just like Palm sells similar devices running PAlmOS and WM6. Also – Rubin mentioned the low end processor for the OHA phone would be a 200Mhz ARM processor. Something that has been out for a few years already. IT was introduced in an iPaq about 4 years ago.

WiMAX for MacBook Pros

9to5 Staff May 17 2008

The FCC just released information on Intel’s upcoming 5350 WiFi/WiMAX combo Mini-PCI card. "What’s that got to do with me?" You might be saying…

Physically, this card will fit into the MacBook Pro’s Mini-PCI card slot, replacing the current Wifi card. The only caveat is that the WiMAX antenna might not do so well with the Wifi antenna setup that current MacBook Pros possess. Oh, and there is no Mac driver software (Bootcamp?) for this semi-unofficial product yet. Oh, and Sprint-Clearwire are late in the nationwide WiMAX rollout…

Intel’s 5350 WiFi/WiMAX combo Mini-PCI card (Above)

Apple’s current 802.11NWifi Card (below)

iPhone revolution impresses WiMax men

9to5 Staff May 7 2008

The iPhone has revolutionised the mobile web, senior mobile executives agree, and heightened activity in terms of WiMax deployment may offer even more opportunities for Apple ahead.

Peter Cannistra, VP-strategic partnerships for WiMax, Sprint, Nextel, told Digital Hollywood that the iPhone is ““a great first mover; it’ll be improved on and imitated and really will be the catalyst for a lot of devices in the future.”

Cannistra was speaking as part of an experts panel at Digital Hollywood. He shared his space with Michael Ball, account lead, Interpublic Emerging Media Lab; David Shim, Sybase 365 VP-product management and strategy; Larry Berkin, senior director; Access Systems; Brian Johnson, executive chairman, mBlox; and Lee Hancock, CEO, go2.

Others on the panel agreed the iPhone would generate a wave of copy-cat phones, but suggested the future of mobiles will include larger touch screens and the evolution of a truly mobile internet, with iPhone imitators embracing Google’s Android platform for future evolutions.

Special Report: Apple's secret iPhone WiMax plans?

9to5 Staff Apr 30 2008

Apple’s expected to introduce the much-anticipated 3G iPhone next month – but what if the company’s planning a little more than simple support for the 3G standard?

Enter InterDigital. In March, that company revealed it has signed-up Apple (and RIM) as a licensee for its 3G technologies. “As to our market share for 3G, while we did not achieve the 50% target, we did add some very high-quality licensees including Apple, Giant, and RIM…,” the company explained.

XOHM WiMAX enabled iPhones and iPods in 2008?

9to5 Staff Aug 16 2007

With the formalization today of the XOHM Service, Sprint is releasing what could be the most exciting thing to hit the Internet in quite awhile. If real-world results are anything close to the specs that we’ve been drooling over for the past few years, WiMAX technology will revolutionalize mobile communications. Initial speeds will be about four times the speed of EVDO/HSDPA and will eventually scale up to the type of speed at which you will be able to stream High Definition movies and video conferencing.

Just as a reference point, the German WiMAX operator Deutsche Breitband Dienste (DBD) has two tariff plans. The first costing $12.99 per month offering 1 Mbit/s connection speed and 1 GB monthly traffic. The second plan has unlimited traffic, the speed increased to 2 Mbit/s for a $25.99 monthly fee. Not too shabby!

Where does Apple fit into all of this?
Apple is an innovator, a first mover. This service would be perfect for their whole line of products from Airport Extreme base stations, MacBooks, iPods, AppleTV’s and of course iPhones. Don’t forget that while PC laptop makers have been selling machines with EVDO and HSDPA wireless broadband built-in for years, Apple has only allowed this type of connection through third party PC/Express cards or tethering (which doesn’t always work so well). Why the wait?