The upcoming and much awaited Evo 4G LTE has run into a snag due to possible infringements on Apple’s patent. This means that while the investigation is going on, the public will not have access to the device. You can read more about it here:
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Sprint’s Customer Service has been a topic of debate for many. Some say the service is good and others only describe it using profanity and sarcasm. However, when it comes to customer satisfaction, Sprint is doing quite well. So well in fact that this article from Market Watch puts Sprint at the #1 spot.
This is actually very interesting since a new LTE capable phone is being released and still there is no LTE – product descriptions refer to it as “coming soon.” I guess these statistics are focusing on the service you get with the phone you have and not on the promise of things to come and the delays they bring.
USA Today posted that the carriers were “even” on satisfaction. The Big 4 – T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint are all upper D’s or low C’s (on a 100 point scale).
Sprint has released a list of major cities that will be hosting special events for the new HTC Evo 4G LTE. Here are the cities:
Plano, Texas:
WHEN: Friday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Central
WHERE: Sprint Store, 1913 Preston Road, Suite 100, Plano, Texas 75093
Atlanta, Georgia
WHEN: Friday, May 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern
WHERE: Sprint Store, 3400 Around Lenox Road, Atlanta, Ga., 30326, in the Around Lenox shopping center
Miami, Florida
WHEN: Friday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern
WHERE: Sprint Store, 12540 SW 120th Street, Miami, FL 33186
Boston, Massachusetts
WHEN: Friday, May 18, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern
WHERE: Sprint Store, 422 Boylston Street, Boston, Mass. 02116, at the corner of Boylston & Berkeley streets
Sprint executives today laid out their plans for a better 3G network, wider push-to-talk capabilities, and a solid LTE 4G experience during a breakfast at the CTIA Wireless trade show.
We’ve already heard how Sprint is turning on six LTE cities in the middle of this year and committing to releasing 15 LTE devices. They’ve already announced four: the LG Viper, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, HTC EVO 4G LTE, and a Sierra Wireless hotspot.
Sprint’s LTE and 3G Plans
Sprint has only announced six LTE cities so far, and the execs today didn’t expand on that. Rather, they focused on how they’re going to make the LTE experience consistent and solid.
Pre-order here: www.sprint.com/evo4glte
Sprint (NYSE: S), the only national wireless carrier offering truly unlimited data for all phones while on the Sprint network1, and HTC, a global designer of smartphones, announce the Friday, May 18, availability of the next evolution of the award-winning HTC EVO™ family, HTC EVO™ 4G LTE.
It will cost $199.99 with a new line of service or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement (excludes taxes).
“HTC EVO 4G LTE sets the benchmark for Android devices this year with its incredible 4.7-inch screen, advanced camera features and future HD voice capabilities when combined with the speed of Sprint’s upcoming 4G LTE network,” said Fared Adib, vice president-Product Development, Sprint. “Its cutting-edge technology pairs perfectly with Sprint’s unlimited data plans to let our customers enjoy their wireless experience without worrying about overage charges or throttling.”
HTC EVO 4G LTE is built on Android™ 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich, integrated with HTC Sense™ 4. It focuses on exceptional improvements in camera technology, audio and voice quality on both the network and device.
HTC ImageSense™ brings improvements to every part of the amazing camera experience featuring a superfast autofocus to enable continuous shooting, the ability to capture still images while taking video, and increasing the quality of photos taken in adverse conditions such as low light, no light or with bright backlighting.
HTC EVO 4G LTE is Sprint’s first device with HTC’s Authentic Sound experience integrating Beats Audio™. The technology enables customers to hear music the way the artist intended with unique audio tuning that delivers thundering bass, soaring midrange and crisp highs. Beats Audio is enabled across the entire phone experience, including playing music stored on the device, streaming from a favorite service, watching a movie or YouTube™ video, or playing the latest hot game.
In a poll of wireless customers, 82 percent of users do not have safety or security applications installed on their device, and most are unaware of solutions that can better protect them and their family. Sprint (NYSE) announced today the upcoming release of Sprint Guardian, a collection of mobile family safety and device security bundles that provide families relevant tools to help stay safe and secure.
Sprint Guardian features leading mobile applications from Safely and Lookout. The family safety bundle from Safely enables families to protect their phone-carrying children through location checks and limits on texting while driving or at school for $9.99 per month, for up to five lines on an account. With the device security bundle from Lookout, customers also can protect their mobile devices from loss and malware for one single charge of $4.99 per month for up to five lines on an account.
Sprint customers also have the option to purchase both bundles for a single monthly fee of just $14.98. For a family of five, that offers a 73 percent savings – more than $39 per month – over purchasing each application in the family safety and device security bundles separately. Sprint Guardian will be available this summer on many Sprint Android™-powered devices through Sprint Zone. Customers can find Sprint Zone as an icon on their device.2 “With Sprint Guardian, we’re helping to make it easy for individuals and families to manage how their children are using their mobile phone and giving them the tools they need to protect their wireless devices from theft, loss and malware,” said Fared Adib, vice president-Product Development, Sprint.
“Sprint is pleased to be the first in the industry to unify innovative safety and security applications from Safely and Lookout in two simple bundles at a great value for our customers.”
Inside Sprint Guardian: Safely and Lookout
The family safety tools from Safely bring together three applications to help parents keep their kids safe and focused on what matters whether they are at home, at school or on-the-go.
Sprint Mobile Controls – Clearly understand your child’s talk, text and app use habits. Lock your child’s phone on demand or schedule locks – during dinner, school or late at night. Browse your child’s contacts and apps downloaded to the phone.
Sprint Drive First – Automatically locks your teenagers’ mobile phones when they’re traveling more than 10 mph and unlocks when they stop driving. Direct incoming calls to voicemail and silence distracting alerts while driving. Sprint
Family Locator – Quickly and easily locate your family members on an interactive map. Set up automatic location checks to get notified that your kids made it to school safely and on time. The Family Safety bundle will be available for $9.99 per month for up to five lines on the same account.
“We are excited to be part of the Sprint Guardian service for families,” said Tasso Roumeliotis, CEO of Location Labs, the makers of Safely products. “Parents are concerned about children’s phone use, and Sprint’s solution, using Safely management tools, makes it even easier for families to have peace of mind about their children’s mobile experience.”
Virgin Mobile USA continues to demonstrate how it’s answering to A Higher Calling with the speed of 4G, by offering customers who prefer a no-contract option the fully loaded HTC EVO™ V 4G on Virgin Mobile Beyond Talk monthly plans. The data-centric offers start at $35 per month for unlimited data and messaging. HTC EVO V 4G will be available for $299.99 beginning May 31.
Richard Branson states in his video manifesto for A Higher Calling, “Why pay for minutes when it’s unlimited data you really want?” Now customers will be able to enjoy unlimited 4G data where available and messaging on an iconic Android™-powered device, all for just $35/month.1 Virgin Mobile USA was recently “Highest Ranked Customer Service Performance among Non-Contract Wireless Providers” by J.D. Power and Associates.
Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) CEO Dan Hesse agreed to cut his total compensation by $3.25 million after shareholders balked at his pay package in light of the heavy upfront costs Sprint is paying to carry Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone.
Sprint hiked Hesse’s total compensation 31 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, for a total of $11.9 million. Sprint discounted the negative financial impact of selling the iPhone as well as Sprint’s now-terminated network-hosting deal with LightSquared when it calculated bonuses for eligible executives in 2011.
“I do not want, nor does our compensation committee want, to penalize Sprint employees for the company’s investment with Apple,” Hesse wrote in a letter to the company’s human resources department, according to a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. “These voluntary actions regarding my personal compensation, which total $3,250,830, will eliminate any benefit for me to the discretionary adjustment the compensation committee made earlier this year, and will set my 2012 incentive compensation target opportunities at my 2010 levels.”
Hesse said he is cutting his base salary by about $346,000 and is forgoing around $545,000 in future pay related to the company’s performance last year.
In a separate filing with the SEC, Sprint Chairman Jim Hance commended Hesse for the decision. “We applaud Dan for his willingness to sacrifice personal compensation in order to reduce any distraction that could negatively affect the morale and performance of the company,” he said. “Dan enjoys the full support of our board of directors and we appreciate the leadership he has demonstrated as he continues to guide the company through a turnaround in a difficult competitive environment.”
