Sprint drops WiMAX phones for LTE, ‘all’ to get NFC
Electronista, 1/14/2012
Sprint to move phones wholesale to 4G and NFC
Sprint in commentary during CES confrimed that it was dropping WiMAX on smartphones. The initial LTE smartphones were ultimately representing a full-scale switch to the technology for 4G phones, PCMag was told. The carrier was being more aggressive than it had suggested before and, when promising LTE in mid-year, had meant between January and June, Owens explained.
Simultaneously, consumer product marketing VP Trevor Van Norman mentioned to Light Reading that the company planned for NFC (near-field communication) to be a standard feature in every smartphone. While there would be some edge case free or low-end phones tat wouldn’t have it, every other smartphone would get it from now onwards.
The planned switch may have given clues as to future iPhone releases. Sprint has committed to a multi-year deal with Apple to carry the iPhone and would have to either make a special exception for a 3G phone or else knows to expect LTE, NFC, or both. Both technologies have usually been left to Android, where Google takes a piece of Google Offers discounts.
Sprint regularly adopts basic technology first. It picked 4G well before other carriers were ready to deploy. Google helped it become the first to ship with a full NFC payment system in place through Google Wallet on the Nexus S 4G and now the Galaxy Nexus.
On Windows Phone, Owens said the HTC Arrive had sold poorly enough to reduce reasons to “jump back into the fire.” A return might come in August or September, although with who wasnt mentioned.
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- Sprint’s first WiMax smartphone called Supersonic, runs Android, say reports Matt Hamblen, Computerworld, 2/3/2010 Sprint has promised a WiMax phone this year, but has not confirmed these reports Reports and...
- Verizon 4G LTE ‘blows away’ Sprint’s WiMAX in 1,000 speed tests Zach Epstein, BGR, 4/1/2011 Sprint is no longer the “4G king,” BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk proclaimed on Friday following...
In: Android, Mobile Technology · Tagged with: 4G, HTC, LTE, NFC, Sprint, WiMax