By: Juan December 30th, 2011
In an attempt to boost their own local economy, the country of Argentina has banned the devices for an undetermined amount of time.
“Two of the most well-known of those electronics are the iPhone and BlackBerry devices. Apple and RIM collectively account for 60 percent of Argentina’s smartphone market, so the ban is going to have a substantial impact on its mobile industry.
What about Android and Windows Phone? Neither of the operating systems nor the hardware manufacturers were affected because they — Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Microsoft, etc. — have manufacturing facilities within Argentina. Android and Windows Phone will very quickly see a boost in sales, while iPhone and BlackBerry sales will drop to zero, unless of course Apple and RIM open up local plants or partner with other manufacturers. Don’t hold your breath for either.
The truth is, the iPhone and BlackBerry markets have been struggling in Argentina for a while. A law was already in place that added a 20.48 percent tax on electronic imports on top of the standard 21 percent sales tax.”
By: Juan December 30th, 2011
“Sprint’s stock has been under a lot of pressure recently after the company announced plans to sell the hugely-subsidized iPhone as well as continuing to spend on building out new 4G LTE infrastructure. The substantial costs associated with these moves forced the company to pile onto its already high debt load with a $4 billion notes offering, the interest rates on which were higher than usual. Sprint also owns over 50% of its 4G network provider, Clearwire, which has been facing a severe cash crunch. Sprint had to use some of its cash on hand to participate in Clearwire’s stock offering in order to provide the struggling carrier with a temporary respite from its liquidity issues. Sprint is hardly in a position to be providing bailouts given its own financial straits and its distant third-place market position behind behind Verizon and AT&T.”
By: Juan December 29th, 2011
For those of you interested in tuning in:
Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse will participate in the 22nd Annual Citigroup Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference in San Francisco, CA on Jan. 5, 2012 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. A live audio webcast of this session may be accessed at www.sprint.com/investors. The replay of the presentation will be available shortly after the actual presentation time.
By: Juan December 29th, 2011
From Sprint’s News Release:
As part of its Network Vision program, Sprint (NYSE:S) doubled its 2011 capital investment over 2010 to make tens of thousands of capacity upgrades, resulting in a better wireless experience for its customers. Smartphone penetration is expected to double over the next four years.* With Network Vision, Sprint is making it easier for data to travel, so its smartphone customers – who use on average 10 times more data than feature phone customers* – can use their devices the way they were intended.
As a result of the network improvements across the country, voice service is enhanced and Sprint customers can expect to see better performance on their smartphones, mobile broadband connection cards and mobile hotspots when using the Sprint 3G network. Performance improvements include:
- Faster data speeds that enable instant web access for news updates, HD viewing and game-playing, quicker video downloads and clear video chats
- Better signal strength when making a call or using the web
- Fewer dropped calls for peace of mind when talking to friends, family or colleagues
“With the network investments we made in 2011 and as the only national wireless carrier to offer truly unlimited data plans while on the Sprint network, we continue to offer better value than Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T.” said Bob Azzi, SVP – Network, Sprint. “But our commitment to an exceptional wireless experience doesn’t stop there. Sprint’s on an
By: Juan December 28th, 2011
One of our moderators, after a very recent visit to Radio Shack had this to say after speaking to an employee:
In addition to the change in how they will calculate discounts by separating the 1st 2 lines, Sprint will be going to capped data. The cap numbers I heard were a 2GB cap with speeds throttled after 1 GB. No word on if it was being applied across the board, would just be for new accounts, etc.
What does this mean? Simply put, Sprint may begin the move to stop the totally awesome Unlimited plans. How will this change your relationship with Sprint?
By: Juan December 22nd, 2011
After a failed attempt from AT&T to join forces with T Mobile, Sprint seems like it will also make a move. Apparently, T Mobile may be the grounds on which Sprint will need to stay alive. We all know that Sprint took a huge gamble with the iPhone – one that was very costly. Will teaming up with T Mobile be a wise decision in the end?
You can read this article for more information – keep an eye on this as it may affect you.
By: t-marco December 21st, 2011
Sprint has made an official announcement regarding sending and collecting private data. They stated that the servers responsible for collecting Carrier IQ data are disabled. Geek.com initially reported that “Sprint has ordered that all of their hardware partners remove the Carrier IQ software from Sprint devices as soon as possible.”
A spokesperson for the carrier speaking to MobileBurn said, “we are further evaluating options regarding this diagnostic software as well as Sprint’s diagnostic needs.”
This week, Sprint revealed that Carrier IQ software can be found on 26 million of its devices in the U.S.
By: Juan December 16th, 2011
“Android Training will be led by the Android Developer Relations team. The program will grow in time but as of today it has 11 basic classes. The program has code snippets and sample code that developers can build from to help create better apps. Here is the starter list:
- Designing for multiple screens
- Improving layout performance
- Managing audio playback
- Optimizing battery life
- Remembering users
- Sharing content
- Capturing photos
- Maintaining multiple APKs
- Developing for enterprise
- Monetizing your app
- Designing effective navigation
Google knows what the biggest problems are for Android developers. Fragmentation, screen sizes, monetization and design are high on the list. For instance, designing for multiple screens is one of the biggest advances in Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The next step after developing for different screens is to make them perform better, hence the next class on the list, improving layout performance. “
By: Juan December 15th, 2011
Is your Android phone the pits? Do you think you’ve got the worst and most infected Android phone out there? This article may offer some hope. Microsoft is apparently giving away free Windows phones to the best of the worst Android infected phones. You can follow it on their Twitter: #droidrage
By: Juan December 15th, 2011
From TheVerge.com :
“As the Carrier IQ story continues to evolve, manufacturers have clearly taken note that customers are not happy with the tracking software. Apple has promised that it would fully remove in a future update and HTC has also said that it would be “investigating the option to allow consumers to opt-out.” If a leaked ROM for the Galaxy S II Epic 4G Touch turns out to be genuine, then Samsung is speaking with actions instead of words. The “EL13″ ROM originally leaked by SamMobile contains bugfixes, yes, but forum members at XDA-Developers have discovered that it also strips out Carrier IQ’s software.”
