 Sprint Unveils First 4G Phone In US LAS VEGAS (Dow Jones)--Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) officially unveiled Tuesday the first U.S. phone able to tap into super-high speeds, as the carrier hopes to capitalize on its lead in next-generation wireless technology. The phone, called the Evo, is made by HTC Corp. (2498.TW). Sprint did not provide pricing information on the device or service plans, and the company maintained its timeframe of a summer launch.  Sprint is racing to get people on its network as it hopes to exploit its narrowing lead over the other carriers in 4G. Earlier Tuesday, Sprint and its network partner, Clearwire Corp. (CLWR), expanded the list of cities to get 4G technology. The Evo, which was widely known as the Supersonic within the company, runs on the latest version of Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android operating system. The 4G device features a large 4.3-inch screen, similar to the HTC HD2, which recently launched on T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom (DT). It has two cameras, including a front-facing one used for video conferencing. The device's ability to handle high-definition video is one of the key selling points for Sprint and the 4G network. The device has an HDMI port to transmit high-definition video to the television. "This is going to take multimedia to a whole new level," said Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse at an event for the device. Mobile hotspot The phone also can act like a mobile hotspot and create a Wi-Fi connection for eight other devices. It uses Qualcomm Inc.'s (QCOM) Snapdragon processor to run programs faster. The Evo will fall back to Sprint's 3G network when 4G isn't available. "We believe the phone will be in a class by itself," Hesse said. "This is a significant step," said Peter Chou, chief executive of HTC. "I look forward to seeing some bandwidth-intensive application come out. The network speed is amazing." Sprint and Clearwire also provided a fuller list of cities that would receive 4G, including Los Angeles and Miami. Sprint's head of 4G services, Matt Carter, said the new cities fall under the existing roll-out plan, and that they wouldn't require additional funding. "We're rolling it out according to schedule," Carter said. Clearwire currently provides 4G service in 27 U.S. markets. Sprint and Clearwire are committed to a 4G technology called WiMax. But in the U.S., other carriers have rallied behind a rival standard called Long Term Evolution. Verizon Wireless, which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Vodafone Group PLC (VOD), aims to have its network in 25 to 30 markets by the end of the year. AT&T Inc. (T) is moving more slowly, but it also will also roll out 4G over the next few years. Over the next few years, wireless carriers will be progressing to 4G from the currently used third-generation, or 3G, technology. The move allows the carriers to deliver more bandwidth at a lower price, making them more efficient. The carriers say the technology also offers higher wireless downloading speeds, although some dispute the significance of the advantage once more people convert to 4G. - By Roger Cheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2153; [email protected] -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . To unsubscribe from this group, send email to yclsa-eom-forum+unsubscribegooglegroups.com or reply to this email with the words "REMOVE ME" as the subject. |
