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Sprint Finally Gets The iPhone
October 10, 2011 by admin
Filed under Smartphones
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Sprint Nextel confirmed that it will offer the next version of Apple Inc’s iPhone, ending months of speculation about whether it would become the third U.S. carrier to sell the popular device.
But the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider would not say whether its iPhone would come with a flat-fee service for unlimited data use – an offering analysts see as Sprint’s only hope for making its iPhone more competitive than rivals.
While selling the device should help Sprint keep subscribers from fleeing to other operators, some analysts worried whether the costs would outweigh the benefits because Apple phones come at a steep premium to other devices.
This is a huge gamble for Sprint and people are justifiably worried that they won’t be able to make any money doing it. It’s not a company that’s in great financial shape right now,” said Stifel Nicolaus analyst Chris King.
Analysts questioned how Sprint will be able to find the money to pay a premium to Apple on top of its obligations to pay back billions of dollars in debt and its plan to spend about $5 billion on an network upgrade in coming years.
Lofty Wishes: AT&T To Offer $700 HTC 4G Tablet
September 7, 2011 by admin
Filed under Consumer Electronics
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AT&T on Wednesday announced the new HTC Jetstream, its first LTE-ready tablet, will become available on Sept. 4 for $700 and a two-year contract.
Jetstream’s price may be too steep for many customers, even with a fast LTE plus HSPA+ connection, given expected lower prices for tablets on the horizon. Amazon is expected to unveil a 9-in. tablet soon priced at $299, while Hewlett-Packard has begun a $99 fire sale for its soon-to-be-defunct TouchPad.
The 10.1-in. Jetstream runs Android 3.1 with an expandable storage capacity of 32 GB, but at nearly $700, it would be $100 more than the 32 GB Apple iPad 2 with its 9.7-in. screen.
That premium price for the Jetstream seems to based principally on its fast LTE (Long-Term Evolution) connection and a digital pen input capability that allows for drawings and signatures on the touchscreen.