DEL.ICIO.USCox News Service
Published on: 04/01/08
Sprint Nextel Corp. sought to reverse its recent troubles Tuesday, unveiling with fanfare an iPhone-like handset and reaffirming its support for a next-generation wireless Internet technology.
Chief Executive Dan Hesse, speaking to the wireless industry at its annual convention, said No. 3 Sprint is positioning itself to become "the wireless company of the future."
 Sprint | ||
| Sprint executives reportedly said the Instinct, which goes on sale in June, will be less expensive than the iPhone, which starts at $399.
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Hesse said nothing in his keynote speech about recent reports that Sprint has been trying to get top cable companies to help the carrier deploy a WiMax network. That wireless technology offers speeds akin to cable modems or digital subscriber lines with range much greater than Wi-Fi.
However, Hesse emphasized his support for the service, called Xohm. He said it will give Sprint a two-year market advantage over its rivals in deploying a next-generation high-speed network.
It was the new Sprint Instinct handset made by Samsung that made a big splash at the show on Tuesday. Sprint plans a massive marketing campaign.
"This is an answer to the iPhone," said Jeff Kagan, an independent telecommunications analyst based in Atlanta. "We started to see answers to the iPhone come out last year. Those devices were good, but we knew they were just the first wave. This is the next wave."
Kagan said that for Sprint to turn itself around, it will have to find a way to excite wireless customers as it did years ago when camera phones first appeared.
The Instinct handset "looks like something Sprint can ride to success this year," he said. "Every year there's a hot phone. This could be it."
Hesse didn't mention Apple Inc.'s popular iPhone by name, but it was clearly the rival to beat.
He said the Instinct "is like no other touch-screen phone. Period. None are faster. None have more content pre-loaded."
Sprint executives say the Instinct, which goes on sale in June, will be "significantly less expensive" than the iPhone, which starts at $399, said Avi Greengart, research director of mobile devices for Current Analysis.
"For the last few years, Sprint hasn't had a compelling marketing message," he said. "They intend to use the Instinct as a showcase."
The Instinct features a 3.1-inch touch screen with three dedicated buttons on the bottom: phone, back and home. It uses vibrating "tactile feedback" to make it easier to navigate with fingers.
The handset lacks the iPhone's multi-touch abilities, which allow people to use multiple fingers to do things like zooming in and out of photos.
However, the Instinct does have features not found on the iPhone.
It uses Sprint's fastest available wireless network, providing faster online access than the iPhone. A faster iPhone is reportedly in the works, but for now it runs on an older and slower AT&T network.
The Instinct also uses Global Positioning System technology for location-based services. The iPhone pulls off similar tricks by using wireless networks to determine an approximate location.
Sprint's announcements come after some hard months for the Reston, Va.-based company. The carrier said in January that it would cut about 4,000 jobs and close 125 stores to save up to $800 million a year in labor costs this year.
Sprint has struggled with a lower stock price and fewer new customers compared to its rivals in the last year. The carrier had 53.8 million subscribers at the end of 2007.
Sprint in December replaced Chief Executive Gary Forsee with Dan Hesse, former CEO of Embarq Corp, a local phone company and Sprint spin-off.
"They got off track during the last few years," Kagan said. "The new CEO is fixing Sprint. He's spent the last few months cutting some senior executives, eliminating many locations, getting the budget under control. This is a process that's going to take a while."
Many of Sprint's woes began when it acquired Nextel Communications Inc. in 2005, a merger that left the company struggling to reconcile incompatible networks.
The company also faces problems because of many Sprint poor-credit customers who now may be having trouble paying their bills.
The problems have raised doubts about Sprint's WiMax effort.
Sprint plans a commercial launch this year and the service is deployed for testing with Sprint employees in Chicago, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
News reports last week said Sprint and the wireless Internet provider Clearwire Corp. were negotiating with cable and technology companies to form an alliance behind the service.
Comcast Corp. may put up to $1 billion into the WiMax project, with Time Warner Cable kicking in $500 million, the reports said, citing unidentified sources. Other potential partners mentioned include Intel Corp. and Google Inc.
More on ajc.com
- Hello? IPhone copycats calling (04/06/2008)
- Sprint Nextel unveils its answer to iPhone (04/02/2008)
- Sprint's WiMax may be lead topic at wireless show (03/30/2008)
- WiMAX coming soon to a city near you (02/04/2008)
- Verizon wireless to allow outside phones and software (11/28/2007)
- Sprint begins mobile WiMax network in Baltimore (09/29/2008)
- Earnings Preview: Research in Motion to report 2Q (09/24/2008)
- Google expands wireless reach with T-Mobile phone (09/24/2008)
- Cellphone packs power of Google, T-Mobile (09/24/2008)
- Google phone to cost $179, debut Oct. 22 (09/23/2008)
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By AALIYAH
Jun 29, 2008 10:26 AM | Link to this
I GOT THIS PHONE FROM MY DAD COUSE HES THE ONE WHO MADE IT THIS PHONE IS REALLY FUN AND GOOD TO USE BUT SOME PEOPLE DO UNDRESTAND MY DAD PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO THIS PHONE AND THIS PHONE IS ALOT BETTER THAN AN IPHONE BECOUSE ITS MUCH FASTER AND U CAN DO MORE THINGS ON IT BUT IT WILL BE COMEING OUT JULY 20 2008 FOR JUST 130 DOLLORS ITS A REALY NICE PHONE AND THE BILL IS JUST 100 DOLLORS A MONTH SO IF YOU LIKE THIS PHONE THAN YOU CAN GO TO SPRINT
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By SprintInstinctForum.com
May 18, 2008 5:29 PM | Link to this
I found a great forum dedicated to everything about the Samsung Instinct. Have comments or questions- go here!
(http://www.SprintInstinctForum.com)
Laura
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By SprintInstinctForum.com
May 18, 2008 5:27 PM | Link to this
I found a great forum dedicated to everything about the Samsung Instinct. Have comments or questions- go here!
http://www.SprintInstinctForum.com
Laura
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By james Braselton
Apr 29, 2008 11:17 AM | Link to this
WILL I THINK SPRINT INSTINCT IS BETTER THEN THE IPHONE BECASE THE SPRINT INSTINCT HAS TV GAMES VOICE COMANDS AND USES MICRO SD CARDS SO YOU COULD HOLD OVER 100 GB OF MICRO SD CARDS IN YOUR POCKET 13 8 GB MICRO SD CARDS 124 GB OF FLASH.
By instinctsamsung
Apr 27, 2008 5:27 PM | Link to this
The best fans website is located at http://www.instinct-samsung.com
Definitely check it out.
By mikey
Apr 4, 2008 11:04 AM | Link to this
go sprint!
i love my SERO plan!!
By abc123
Apr 3, 2008 3:49 PM | Link to this
Kagan is a telecom 'ho. He gets $$$ from Sprint and anyone else to say good things about them. LOL
By Steve
Apr 3, 2008 11:50 AM | Link to this
This will definitely not put Sprint back on top. Especially considering that the 3g iphone will beat this phone to the market. This is nothing but another crappy knockoff.
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