Sprint makes it official; no more WiMax phones

2. wumberpeb posted on 30 Mar 2012, 01:22 5 0

Why would they?

4. StrumerJohn posted on 30 Mar 2012, 01:27 9 2

You're not paying for 4G. It's included in your Data Plan which is Marked as "Premium Data" as an Extra 10 Dollars a month if you have a SMARTPHONE on your account.

6. tigermcm posted on 30 Mar 2012, 01:40 2 6

if im not mistaken the extra$10 started when the evo came out......its for 4g services but they tell us its for data

8. wumberpeb posted on 30 Mar 2012, 01:50 5 1

And 7 months later, everyone was paying it, 3G or 4G. You really think they should give you your money back? Really? If you didn't have to pay it, then traveled to a 4G city, you'd complain you didn't have access. We all pay it, get over it

• This comment is posted in response to #6 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #6 Hide

10. tigermcm posted on 30 Mar 2012, 01:58 1 2

I never had a 4g phone. I can understand if they had all their phones 4g and worked on the network. instead its pay an extra $10 we roll out just a few cities oh yeah and we'll stop caring about it in a few months

• This comment is posted in response to #8 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #8 Hide

20. cjjohnson86 posted on 30 Mar 2012, 16:40 0 1

Idk, I have LTE for Verizon and they still charge the standard data rate. So if I would payed that extra premium for sprint to just find out that they would not be supporting or continuing it anymore, I would be pissed to.

• This comment is posted in response to #8 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #8 Hide

28. centuro1911 posted on 01 Apr 2012, 08:24 1 0

If it's not for 4g then define premium data.

12. DonkeySauce posted on 30 Mar 2012, 08:49 5 1

The $10 is for 3G smartphones too. Does it suck to pay $10 extra? Yes. Does it help to cry about it? No. If you want a smartphone, you have to pay the fee, simple as that. Still cheaper than a 3G smartphone plan on AT&T or Verizon.

14. ironmarc89 posted on 30 Mar 2012, 10:54 0 5

but are stuck on dialup 300Kbits/sec 3G speeds while 3G on GSM is 3000Kbits/sec. just because sprint is cheap dont make it better. why have a cheap phone and barely have signal in most places. Sprint is ok in the city but in rual areas, its a joke

#TeamATT

16. TheRequiem posted on 30 Mar 2012, 12:27 6 1

This is incorrect information, get your facts straight. Sprint's network is the second largest in the country and they will have the most coverage after network vision at end of 2013. We are also looking at a 300% coverage increase and will cover all but 200 sq miles of the country. Not only that, but google their Network Vision improved 3G speeds... they are getting 7-8mbps, with about 4 mbps sustained, in operation with the new capacity. This is while other people are on the network. I have an AT&T work phone and I travel the country and I also have a Sprint personal phone. Sprint is far superior in coverage.

• This comment is posted in response to #14 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #14 Hide

5. Birds posted on 30 Mar 2012, 01:34 5 0

I think that will be one hella chunky device.

7. wumberpeb posted on 30 Mar 2012, 01:44 2 0

I like the idea. Considering the footprint of Wimax already, which isn't great, it seems a waste to let them sit there slowly becoming more and more dormant. LTE would be your first option, Wimax if available, and the always available 3G wherever else. Would even further keep people from clogging up sprint's 3G and may aid iPhone users as well, since they all bitch about their data speeds anyways...

And as for it becoming a bulky device, we've seen multiple chips able to see various frequencies and technologies. The tech is there, and unlike LTE, I don't really know of any incompatibilities with Wimax and other chipsets

9. Birds posted on 30 Mar 2012, 01:51 0 1

Well, knowing sprint, they can pull something off. I just thought for a device to have a WIMAX and LTE antenna would cause for a huge battery since both are energy hogs. lol But the HTC rezound is a world phone with LTE, CDMA, and HSPA+ but it is still rather slim.

11. BuckeyeCadet86 posted on 30 Mar 2012, 06:04 1 0

The technology doesn't exist right now because it hasn't had to, there hasn't been a situation where any carrier in the world has had to worry about simultaneously running a WiMax and LTE network. They could develop a chipset that would work with it but it would be about 5 months before it hit mass production, would drain battery, and would be more expensive because the production would be independent of any current production lines.

23. wumberpeb posted on 31 Mar 2012, 01:11 0 1

The technology is already there. There's a tri-network portable hotspot device coming out with the galaxy nexus sometime in April, hopefully. Lte, Wimax and 3g. Sniggly is right, why not. And as far as being a battery hog, it's not running on all 3 networks at once. Shouldn't be any different than any device that only bears lte and 3g

• This comment is posted in response to #11 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #11 Hide

25. remixfa posted on 31 Mar 2012, 04:05 0 1

I would think why not as well. Especially since the spex listed on the Sprint OneX have a massive battery internally. That would more than make up for LTE/Wimax radios. Besides, as long as they had built in toggles where you could manually turn off the radios when you know your in an unsupported area, it wouldnt be a big deal.

• This comment is posted in response to #23 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #23 Hide

27. BuckeyeCadet86 posted on 31 Mar 2012, 21:32 1 0

No the technology does not exist yet as an integrated option, a hotspot lacks a voice radio, its data only. It may seem like a small change but it isn't. It comes down to cost and the manufacturers don't want the higher cost, Sprints customers won't pay the higher cost and Sprint can't afford to give larger subsidies.

• This comment is posted in response to #23 Show
• This comment is posted in response to #23 Hide

17. Forsaken77 posted on 30 Mar 2012, 13:16 0 1

I believe it means Sprint won't put out any new Wimax phones. All the phones already out, and the network itself, should work fine.

19. Nonono posted on 30 Mar 2012, 14:43 0 1

they a;ready stopped spreading wimax a long time ago

22. IcanBEATali posted on 30 Mar 2012, 22:25 2 0

Its not a new technology... there is no new radio needed. Its network infrastructure changes that make the difference... there is no moot point

24. wumberpeb posted on 31 Mar 2012, 01:17 2 1

Check up on your Sprint history genius. Wimax came out before lte was anywhere ready. They didn't have a choice after the Nextel merger. I feel like someone always has to mention this during any Sprint article. At least try to crack open a wikipedia page every once in a while...