First phone using CDMA in Sprint's iDEN bands passes FCC approval
The upcoming handset is hardly atechnological wunderkind, though – with lack for Wi-Fi our betswould be on a dumbphone. It will however offer touchscreen input anda slide-out QWERTY keyboard, with a microSD slot for memoryextension and that's where details end.
Sprint's iDEN transition will free theESMR band including frequencies in the 817-824MHz and 862-869MHzrange for use by CDMA, but this will also mean that the push-to-talk(PTT) walkie-talkie functionality will also have to be replaced.While the country's third-largest carrier has tried implement PTT inthe past, it largely failed with the dual-mode CDMA/iDEN phone andthe Qchat series. It seems to have learned, and it has a brand-newSprint Direct Connect service coming up in the fourth quarter of theyear. Could this mean that the SPH-M380 will be delayed until then?The FCC approval hints at a nearer launch date, so stay tuned.
source: FCC via Phone Scoop
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