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Sprint Nextel Corp.’
RCR Wireless News

Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) said it had a blockbuster opening sales day with its HTC Evo 4G smartphone, which broke the one-day sales record previously held by the Samsung Instinct and Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) Pre. According to Sprint, the number of Evo devices the carrier sold on Friday was three times the number of Instinct and Pre units sold over their first three days on the market combined.

Though Sprint did not disclose the actual sales figure, BTIG Research analyst Walter Piecyk estimated Sprint sold at least 250,000 Evos over the weekend, but noted “it would also be reasonable to speculate that sales could have topped 300,000 this weekend given the pre-ordering appointments that extended throughout the weekend.” David Dixon, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets, was more bullish, predicting the carrier sold 320,000 units, gaining 100,000 new customers and 220,000 upgrades.

Customer interest appeared to take its toll on Sprint’s systems. In a statement, the carrier said some stores–including Best Buy, RadioShack and Wal-Mart–were not able to keep up with the demand. Sprint spokeswoman Michelle Leff Mermelstein told FierceWireless the carrier saw higher-than-normal wait times for activations due to high volumes.

“Our servers were slowed down but we worked hard to make the customer experience a positive one,” in some cases writing activation orders up by hand, she said. “Think of this like calling the airlines during a snowstorm or tropical weather incident where everyone is flooding the call centers at once–call volumes and wait times were longer than we would like to see but we worked hard to process every activation as quickly as possible.” AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T) has recorded similar problems in the past with iPhone launches.

Regarding inventory shortages, Mermelstein said Sprint is “bringing more devices into stores on a regular basis with many stores actually getting daily shipments.” She described the shortages as a “temporary situation,” and explained that the carrier is working with HTC to ease the inventory constraints as soon as possible.

Shortages of high-end HTC phones are turning into a trend, it seems; Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) is having trouble keeping up with demand for the HTC Droid Incredible.

Sprint is banking on the Evo to turn into a solid hit as well as serve as a showcase for Clearwire’s (NASDAQ:CLWR) mobile WiMAX network as it looks to win back postpaid subscribers. The phone costs 9.99 with a two-year contract and after a 0 mail-in rebate for a new line or eligible upgrade.

For more:
- see this release
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Engadget post
- see this BTIG blog post (sub. req.)
- see this BTIG blog post (sub. req.)
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.)

Related Articles:
Sprint launches HTC Evo amid buzz, bugs
Sprint launching HTC Evo June 4 for 9
4G phones: The promise and the peril
Sprint won’t support Google’s Nexus One

FierceWireless

Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S) CEO Dan Hesse sounded an optimistic tone on the carrier’s direction, noting that Sprint is considering providing details on its mobile WiMAX subscriber numbers as the company continues to push its 4G strategy.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Kansas City Star, Hesse said he feels confident the company is turning around. The carrier expanded its prepaid offerings recently, and though it continues to struggle with postpaid subscriber losses it has made progress during the past several quarters. “We’re not where we want to be yet, but there’s no question we’re showing progress,” he said. “The strategies we focused on the last couple of years are paying off. We were in fourth place or were way behind. Now we may be third, in some areas first or second.”

One of the key strategic imperatives for Sprint this year is the expansion of its 4G services and devices, which run on Clearwire’s (NASDAQ:CLWR) mobile WiMAX network. Sprint holds a majority stake in Clearwire. Hesse said he expects the the launch of the HTC Evo–Sprint’s first 3G/4G phone–to be a “tailwind to our numbers.” Sprint said the Evo broke its previous one-day sales record when it launched Friday.

Additionally, Hesse said Sprint management is discussing whether to release the carrier’s 4G subscriber numbers. “There’s one real good surrogate,” he said. “Take a look at Clearwire. When they talk about their number of 4G subscribers, the lion’s share of that is Sprint. We may or may not break out 4G, or what we call dual-mode numbers.” During the first quarter Clearwire added 283,000 net new subscribers, including 172,000 retail additions and 111,000 wholesale additions.

Hesse also touched on the struggles of T-Mobile USA, the nations’ No. 4 carrier. T-Mobile CEO Robert Dotson announced his resignation last month, and the company reported a net loss of 77,000 subscribers in the first quarter. “Analysts will tell you that T-Mobile’s performance, their trends lines, are declining while Sprint’s are improving,” Hesse said.

For more:
- see this Kansas City Star article

Related Articles:
Sprint: HTC Evo launch breaks sales record
Sprint launches HTC Evo amid buzz, bugs
Clearwire promises two WiMAX smartphones, hints at LTE adoption
T-Mobile CEO Robert Dotson resigns
T-Mobile slumps in Q1, loses 77,000 subscribers
Sprint launching HTC Evo June 4 for 9

FierceWireless

By Bloomberg News
Sprint Nextel Corp. has obtained a .1 billion revolving loan, replacing a .5 billion credit line due to expire in December.

The new revolver matures in October 2013.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp., Barclays Plc, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., Bank of Nova Scotia and Northern Trust Corp. are participating in the loan, said Cristi Allen, a Sprint spokeswoman.

read more

Sprint Connection | News and views on Sprint Nextel –

In a recent public event, Sprint and its VP of Device and Technology Development, Mathew Oommen stated that they were looking to “future proof their network.” They are very excited about and are completely behind their WiMax Network but just want to be sure that if a different direction is needed to be taken that they are ready.

More after the break.

Sources: Phonescoop ; Light Reading Mobile

Sprint has stated that it is open to switching to LTE if needed and as also stated by Clear, it would not be that difficult to do. Sprint has submitted a request for proposal (RFP) from many of the world’s wireless networking technology companies in order for it to evolve its CDMA network.  This would truly bring about positive change for the users and allow for better cell experiences.

Sprint News & Phone Reviews from SprintUsers

The Boston Globe

A survey of 18 US cities conducted by the technology website PCMag.com found that Sprint’s 3G data network – used for services other than voice calls, such as Internet browsing and texting – delivered better overall performance in Boston than the networks of its three main rivals: AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, and T-Mobile USA.

But the survey showed a very different result for the rest of the country, where despite months of relentless criticism about dropped calls and sluggish 3G performance, AT&T was ranked number one.

read more

Sprint Connection | News and views on Sprint Nextel –

Bloomberg News
Updated to note technical issues
Sprint Nextel Corp. said its new HTC Corp. Evo 4G handset broke the company’s one-day record for sales of a single phone.

The carrier likely sold 320,000 of the devices at its debut on Friday, David Dixon, an FBR Capital Markets analyst, said in a report today. Sprint may have gained 100,000 new customers and 220,000 upgrades, he said. Sprint didn’t provide a specific sales figure in its statement today.

read more

Sprint Connection | News and views on Sprint Nextel –

One of the few gripes people is having with the new EVO 4G is short battery life. While on 4G and medium to heavy usage, I’ve seen the 4G go from fully charged to almost dead in 4-5 hours. This is unacceptable for today Smartphone’s. It should last at least 8 hours or more if [...]
Android Mobile News

Things are changing in the wireless industry and people are starting to move away from contracts and post-paid service and go to pre-paid services. With that being said, Sprint does not want to get left behind in this new trend, so they are doing something about it.

Sprint’s prepaid portfolio will initially be driven by four brands each focused on a specific audience. “The launch of this portfolio goes far beyond changing prices,” explained Schulman. (President of Sprint’s prepaid group) “We are introducing innovative and attractive offers for specific groups of customers based on usage and habits – from those who are on limited budgets and use their phones infrequently to those who want high-end devices to use for all their communications, entertainment and social networking.” Read all about the four prepaid services after the break.

Virgin Mobile:

On May 12th Virgin Mobile plans on introducing three new Beyond Talk plans that all include unlimited messaging, email, data and web. They say these plans will go great with their future high- end handset lineup.

• The revolutionary plan is the industry’s lowest price point for unlimited messaging, email, data and web with 300 minutes of voice per month, ideal for high-end device users seeking an unbeatable price to enable the text and data services they need.

• The plan includes unlimited messaging, email, data and web with 1,200 minutes of voice per month — the perfect value for those seeking an affordable plan with everything they need.

• The plan includes unlimited messaging, email, data and web with unlimited voice to offer great value for high-end smart phone users expecting an unlimited plan to cost much more.

Boost Mobile:

• Boost will focus more on talking and texting. The unlimited plan provides unlimited talk, text, web, 411, email and IM. New handsets being offered by Boost include the Samsung Rant, and Kyocera Incognito, Mirro SCP3810 and Juno. These are all CDMA phones. Boost will also continue to offer iDEN devices and services.

Assurance Wireless:

• Assurance Wireless is a free wireless service which launched last year and was developed specifically for the 37 million eligible low-income households who need it most. Qualifying customers – often cash-constrained individuals eligible for government- assistance programs like Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, or food stamps) – receive a free cell phone and 200 free minutes of airtime for local and long-distance calling every month.

Common Cents Mobile:

• This plan is targeted at budget conscious consumer who spend less than per month and are focused on the value they spend per minute. Roughly 63% of the no-contract market chooses to pay by the minute or by the day. Users will pay .07 per minute of voice use, and .07 per text message sent. Simple phones, such as the LG 101, Samsung M340, and Kyocera S2300 are available from Common Cents.

For more information on plans and devices that will be offered, follow the source link to Sprint.

Source: Sprint

Sprint News & Phone Reviews from SprintUsers

Friday sales of the well-reviewed
HTC EVO 4G were the highest number of a single phone sold in one day ever for Sprint – which broke the records held by both Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre.

The total number of HTC
EVO 4G smartphones sold on launch day was three times the number of Samsung Instinct and Palm Pre devices sold over their first three days on the market combined.

Walter Piecyk at BTIG Research estimated Sprint sold at least 250,000 HTC EVO 4G smartphones over the weekend, and speculated that sales could have topped 300,000 this weekend given the pre-ordering appointments that throughout the weekend

FBR Capital Markets’ David Dixon, calculated that Sprint sold 320,000 HTC EVO 4G smartphones, gaining 100,000 new customers and 220,000 upgrades.

The great HTC EVO 4G sales led to temporary shortages of the
device at some of the 22,000 sales locations across the United States,
including Sprint retail stores, national retail partners including
RadioShack, Best Buy and Walmart, and indirect dealers.

Sprint in a news released today, reported that they and HTC
are  working around the clock to increase inventory in all
sales channels. Additional shipments are arriving in retail stores on a
regular basis with many stores seeing daily deliveries.

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