If you’re buying your new CDMA iPhone 4S through Sprint, then you’ll be pleased to know that the device will come unlocked — allowing you to stick in any SIM and use the device on any network. If you’ve ordered a Verizon device, however, it will come locked to Verizon, but you can request to have it unlocked after 60 days.
Boy Genius Report has an interesting scoop on how Sprint and Apple will be handling the upcoming iPhone 4S launch this Friday, October 14th.
Apple is well-known for keeping its unreleased products under lock and key, and the 4S launch is no exception. Those that were lucky enough to pre-order the iPhone 4S during the initial rush last Friday will get the product delivered to their doorstep when it becomes available in stories Friday.
Sprint has a $7 per month Total Equipment Protection Plan allows you to get your device replaced if you drop it on the hard ground, in the toilet, or accidentally blow it up with an explosive device. Seems like a good thing to sign yourself up for if you’re getting a Sprint iPhone, right?
Wrong, for two reasons. One: Sprint isn’t offering the Total Equipment Protection Plan for the iPhone 4S. Two? AppleCare + does the same thing, and at only $99, costs less overall than $7 a month over twenty four months.
The stars seem to be aligning for an LTE iPhone in 2012. Friday, Sprint announced it plans to offer wireless 4G service “by the middle of 2012” with the faster wireless network complete by the end of 2013. This bolsters reports earlier this week that thinner LTE chips for the iPhone could be ready by the third quarter of next year.
Apple’s iPhone 4S is available to pre-order today, but if you’re ordering in the U.S., you’ll have to purchase it with a commitment from either AT&T, Sprint or Verizon. Those wanting an unlocked device will have to wait until November, and they won’t get a world phone.
Following Apple’s unveiling of the iPhone 4S on Tuesday, Sprint has finally updated its website to notify customers that it will be carrying the iPhone. Pre-orders for the iPhone 4S begin on October 7, but pre-orders for the iPhone 4 on Sprint are now being taken.
Despite Sprint reportedly taking a $20 billion gamble to get into the iPhone game, Apple’s new iPhone 5 won’t work on 4G networks. The new handset won’t operate on LTE or other 4G networks which are just starting to roll out, according to the Wall Street Journal.
It’s something we’ve been saying for a year: an LTE or 4G iPhone is impossible until 2012 at the minimum.
Editor’s Note: We first posted this yesterday, but for readers who didn’t see it, we’re bumping it to the top of the page so people know what’s coming in just about three hours.
Hey, we know: after sixteen months of rumors, figuring out exactly what to expect from Apple’s “Let’s Talk iPhone” event tomorrow can be confusing. Well, let us break it all down for you. Here’s everything we know (or think we know) about what Apple’s going to announce tomorrow. It’s going to be a hell of a show.
So the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sprint was so desperate to get the iPhone now that AT&T’s exclusivity deal is up, they actually bet the future of their company on it: they’ve placed an order for over $20 billion in iPhone sales over the next four years. Sprint won’t break even on the deal until 2014, and if the iPhone suddenly becomes less popular (yeah, right), the deal could sink the company.
That’s a big story. It seems almost unbelievable, in fact, that Sprint would bet the future of its company on just one device, but that’s exactly what they appear to have done.
Want to know something even more unbelievable, though? According to a follow up report… Sprint’s ballsy deal secured them exclusive rights to the iPhone 5.
Sprint appears to be adjusting its service in preparation for possibly getting the iPhone. After killing a program letting long-term customers update handsets more often, the No. 3 carrier cut its return time in half.
With rumor after rumor claiming that Sprint will carry Apple’s iPhone next month, many are wondering if the carrier can handle the expected influx of iPhone customers.
Without blatantly stating that it will carry the iPhone, Sprint has reaffirmed that it can in fact handle the traffic associated with iPhone users.
After nearly doubling its early termination fee, Sprint is making more changes that point towards the iPhone’s unveiling on the carrier’s network.
Mainstream outlets have said that Sprint will being carrying the iPhone after Apple’s Fall announcement, and Sprint is now realigning the qualifying time for smartphone upgrades to early-October. In case you didn’t know, the iPhone 5 is expected to come out in early-October.
Apple and carrier Sprint have finished preparations for offering the iPad ‘before the holidays,’ according to a report citing unnamed sources. The iPad will follow an Oct. 7 launch of the iPhone 5, according to the Wednesday report.
Reiterating previous reports that Sprint will be getting the iPhone 5 in the coming weeks, a leaked internal Sprint memo reveals that the carrier is blacking out the first two weeks of October for the “possibility of a major phone launch.”
Sprint employees are not allowed to take vacations between September 30th and October 15th. After all, Sprint will need as many hands on deck as possible to deal with all of its new iPhone customers.
In the news business, it’s called a non-denial denial. For the rest of us, it is just the latest indication we’re just months from having the iPhone 5 available on all major U.S. wireless carriers. Sprint is instructing employees to say “no comment” the latest Apple handset is coming to the carrier this fall.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Sprint will offer Apple’s iPhone come this October. Currently, the iPhone is only available on AT&T and Verizon. An AT&T/T-Mobile merger is currently in the process of being approved by the FCC, so that leaves Sprint as the lonely, iPhone-less kid in the corner.
According to a new report, Sprint will soon be able to share in Apple’s ‘magical’ smartphone when the iPhone 5 is launched in October.
Add Sprint-Nextel to the growing list of U.S. carriers that will offer the iPhone. The carrier is likely to gain the Apple handset by Christmas and it could be a big-seller, one analyst tells investors Wednesday.
Short of Sprint’s WiMax, Verizon LTE has no actual competition to speak of in the 4G market. AT&T and T-Mobile’s “4G” is really just supercharged HSPA+ 3G technology, after all. So the results of PC Mag’s nationwide mobile bandwidth test shouldn’t be much of a surprise: Verizon LTE just mops the floor with the competition.
That’s not going to last though. Here’s why.
When the fifth-generation iPhone launches later this year, with it may come its third U.S. carrier, as sources now report that a Sprint iPhone is in advanced testing.
An Apple job listing for a “Carrier Engineer” located near the Sprint headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri, has sparked speculation that Sprint could soon be the third U.S. carrier to adopt the iPhone.
We’ve seen our fair share of sleeves and cases in the past meant to graft new functionality onto an existing iDevice, the most obvious example being the Peel 520, which transformed any iPod Touch into a 2G iPhone 4.
It was only a matter of time, then, before we could expect accessory makers to make a go of transforming the iPhone 4 into the iPhone 4G. Now they’d made a go of it, but sadly, it’s South Korea only right now… but expect it in the United States soon.
Well we finally got to see the Verizon version of the iPhone 4 (big yawn) and I know many iPhone 4 users on AT&T are excited about a chance to own an iPhone that won’t drop calls (Note my iPhone 4 rarely drops calls and I really mean rarely). Although the iPhone 4 on Verizon isn’t actually here just yet it won’t hurt to get prepared for when it finally gets here.
So considering all the above — what’s the most important thing to know about a cellular carrier?
Coverage and now there’s an app for that, but unfortunately you might have better luck checking a carriers site for coverage versus using this app.