Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S - message board) is gearing up to launch its first dualmode CDMA/iDEN cellphones soon, according to a Sprint VP. The devices could be particularly useful to enterprise users that have long depended on the reliability and range of the walkie-talkie-like push-to-talk (PTT) service on the iDEN network. Sprint Nextel first talked about dualmode CDMA/iDEN devices when the carriers decided to merge back in December 2004. (See Deal Solves Nextel 3G Dilemma.) Ali Afrashteh, VP of access technologies for Sprint Nextel, said yesterday at the Light Reading Live "Backhaul Strategies for Mobile Operators" show in New York that a "hybrid phone" will be available "very soon." http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=104410&WT.svl=news2_1
It will be interesting to see how these devices pan out for Sprint/Nextel. I don't think it will help in the PTT area, where I have most problems, but to be able to use the phone in bad Nextel area's will be a plus.
I'm impressed at how quickly they are going to bring out the dual mode. I remember initial estimates didn't have it available until some time in 2007.
Well, 2007 is not far away. That's probably what they mean by "very soon." True but I was originally expecting it more like spring or summer 2007. They put a rush on it.
Sad but true, even in the wireless business where things are changing at the drop of a hat, a year is a relatively short timespan.
Well they really need to hurry it up. The iDen network is seriously overloaded in major markets, and this will take some major stress off of it.
This is very good news for Sprint-Nextel. If it works well, this will give them something very solid to take to market.
PCSintel reported a while back that the first dual-mode phone would also have EVDO RevA. Any word on that?
I've been using a Rev. A card for a day now and it seems a bit faster. Considering I'm not doing anything bandwidth intensive I don't really notice. I wish I had done a speed test on my previous card.
There are RevA devices (laptop cards only) but no RevA service yet. In fact RevA devices still have Rev0 firmware. Sprint has been upgrading towers in 10+ markets to RevA but the RevA devices won't work until Sprint rolls out the updated firmware, which may happen next month. There will probably be an announcement week of Oct 1 on RevA markets.
The ic902 is EVDO rev A. capable. But like all ic series phones it is 1900mhz only for CDMA. Only roaming capabilities are on the all but completely useless AMPS networks. Well what there is left of them anyway.
