Every Future Sprint Smartphone Will Have Wi-Fi
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Friday, July 10, 2009 by Michael Kwan
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When it came to choosing my next smartphone, I had a few basic criteria in mind. I really wanted to keep a physical QWERTY keyboard, I wanted a relatively decent camera, and I absolutely had to have Wi-Fi. It seems that Sprint customers feel much the same way, because that CDMA carrier has made a guarantee and a promise that all future “major” devices will sport Wi-Fi.
There are a number of BlackBerry devices, for example, that may be great for business, but do not have Wi-Fi. Instead, they rely solely on the availability of the wireless network and this just won’t do for some customers.
As such, Sprint has announced that it is now “embracing Wi-Fi in all its major devices going forward.” This way, you don’t have to worry as much when your signal cuts out, since you can still check your email from an available hotspot. It can also help to cut down on your wireless data costs.
Sprint isn’t the only company to make this promise. Verizon has also said that it will be doing the same, promising that future Blackerry devices after the Tour (like the Storm 2) will come with Wi-Fi.
Source: BGR
It seems to me that Sprint is shooting itself in the foot. If all of their phones have Wifi then – eventually – all of its PLANS will include wifi. This means that, relative to other service providers, Sprint's service packages will be much more expensive. Perhaps this neglect of the non-wifi-cellphone market is intentional… I'm not sure what sort of profit margins Sprint sees in either segment. In any case, I'm certain that, if phones without Wifi are not available to customers, Sprint will see a significant dip in sales over the coming years. We're in the middle of a recession – phone wifi is cool, but it's a luxury. Like other luxury items, this segment of the economy will definitely see a loss of sales in the future.
The CDMA's have Finally realized that the more people surfing, syncing and downloading on WiFi – the LESS people using their 3G pipes. Maybe now they can stop worrying about network saturation … for the time being.
Brett – your comment dosn't make any sense. Wifi is not a billable resource other than if you have a wifi account at say.. a bookstore or at home included with your broadband connection. No carrier charges to use Wifi.
they said they will require WiFi on future "major" devices. That means smartphones like Blackberry and Palm. The enry-level phones will not have WiFi.