Sprint to have WP8 in 2013 | via Mary Jo Foley / PC Mag

[andrelamont]

Not that I am on Sprint but we need to get WP onto as many hands as possible to grow the userbase!

Exclusive: Windows Phone 8 Coming to Sprint in 2013 | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

"Sprint and Microsoft are partnering to bring Windows Phone 8 to Sprint's customers - operating on its 4G LTE network - next year," the company said in an emailed statement.

 

[johnmcd348]

Only problem is, they won't support it. The most rumored speculation is the phone they produce will be the 8S, a mid level phone at best. Worst yet, they will probably charge $200 on contract for it also.

I really hope they will do better, after waiting for so long for another Windows phone on this service. I truly hope they make it worth the wait.

 

[kurt ammons]

I kno what u mean. I have the arrive. B4 that tp2 before that to before that. Touch diamond and pro, before that 6700. we missed the second and third rush of wp7. So with wp8 coming out. I bought a 920 and switched. And go figure 4 days later they say sprint is jumping on board. But if its a mid or low card, I won't be mad at all I'll be happy I switched

 

[anon(5327207)]

Just left Sprint

I just pulled 4 of my 5 lines off Sprint this past Friday to join ATT and the wonderful Nokia 920. (5 line still waiting on the Yellow Phone to come in)

During my 10 years on Sprint, they have shown little desire to support any of the phones I have purchased. From dumb phones, to Windows Mobile and Android Phones and Finally the Awesome HTC Arrive (we had 4). Rarely did I ever see updates.

This was a truly hard decision Considering the Data Charges. I truly believed that Sprint would get a Windows 8 Phone, but what then. Their standard practice has been, sell them and forget them phones.

The final issue I had with Sprint was I could not receive or make phone calls in most of the rooms of the High School I am an admin at. Yesterday on my pretty cyan 920, I received multiple phone calls, made calls, and after being at school for 12 hours, I still had 75% of my battery. (every Sprint phone had to stay on a charger when in my office)

I have no faith in Sprint or its CEO, one bad decision after another.

I am Hoping my experience with ATT is different, as too with the Nokia.

 

[johnmcd348]

I'm having somewhat the same issues now with my Arrive. Apparently I have a bad tower in my area and the Company that owns it is not very interested in fixing it. It may have something to do with the upcoming LTE rollout in my area in the coming months. Don't know. My contract has been up since Sept '10 and I've been holding out for a next WP device. I'm waiting for my wife's contract period to come up in a few more months and then we'll decide what to do. I've actually been seriously considering going Droid with the Note2. I just want to give it time to be out for a few months and see how it works out for everyone else.

 

[mrmdj31675]

Why make this issue a Sprint only thing when most CDMA carriers have shown no plans for carrying any WP8 devices? It's obviously the requirements for encryption that has caused this issue which Microsoft could have addressed a while ago. Why not go and bash US Cellular, Cricket, C Spire, Premier, nTelos and the rest of the CDMA carriers? Because they are siding with Sprint and sticking with 512bit encryption over the 256bit encryption Microsoft wants to use which would not allow SVDO on any CDMA device for the time being.

 

[johnmcd348]

I don't know why CDMA encryption should even be an issue. It's the oldest form of electronic encryption still in use today. Google Hedy Lamarr and frequency hoping for a little insight on CDMA. It sounds more like an excuse.

 

[mrmdj31675]

Because most carriers in the US will be supporting SVDO, which requires the 512bit encryption for the use of an extra radio to enable 1X advanced and EVDO revision B, which Qualcomm has introduced in both software and hardware at towers, especially if you are in an area where Sprint has deployed Network Vision equipment.

The coding for CDMA as is being now required is more complicated due to SVDO, compared to the 2005 encryption Microsoft wants to use and push among CDMA carriers (and because that old standard is used in China, which their carriers have no immediate plans to have SVDO ready devices as Verizon and Sprint have, more obvious on Sprint since they have more than half of the current LTE devices supporting SVDO)

May sound like an excuse, but when most carriers follow Sprint's choices for WP devices is for a reason (whether they are MVNOs or Regional/Prepaid carriers with their own networks like US Cellular, Premier, C-Spire, Cricket, and MetroPCS), is obvious that they are following changes when it comes to Qualcomm's CDMA standards, for which Verizon and Sprint have a major input on in order to keep that technology up to date, and SVDO is possibly the biggest advance for CDMA in nearly seven years, which ends the GSM advantage of talk and surf at the same time, although at the cost of doubling encryption to make it possible.

 

[mrmdj31675]

Johnmcd, Microsoft did not support any CDMA based WP7 devices regardless of carrier (only updates for the OS, and leaving the rest to HTC and Nokia along the carriers).

 

[juanitoriv]

Why make this issue a Sprint only thing when most CDMA carriers have shown no plans for carrying any WP8 devices? It's obviously the requirements for encryption that has caused this issue which Microsoft could have addressed a while ago. Why not go and bash US Cellular, Cricket, C Spire, Premier, nTelos and the rest of the CDMA carriers? .

Dude, it all makes sense now. I am a CSR for Sprint.. And the LTE rollout has been ongoing, and will be well into 2013. CDMA is a (almost) dead technology. LTE (Long Term Evolution) is where Sprint is taking things. Their current 4G is Wimax. Sprint (I think) is wanting to wait to get their LTE into more areas.

I have an HTC Radar on T-Mobile's 4G GSM network, and it works beautifully. I would love to be able to push a WP at work when people call in asking about what phone they should get. Instead, I have to say "oh yeah, the Iphone is a nice piece of equipment, the GSIII is great, the Evo 4GLTE, fantastic", sigh......

I'm hoping that the recent (as yet pending, I do believe) acquisition of Sprint (majority share) by that Japanese banking conglomerate is going to make a difference. So, looking forward to it.

 

[mrmdj31675]

Juanito, I don't buy you are a Sprint CSR because those have a NDA which they have to abide. LTE is a step ahead, but when an LTE network or even a VoLTE network goes down, you will need some backup system, and that's where GSM and CDMA technology will still be in place.

Nice try but it's yet another failure.

 

[juanitoriv]

I'm sure they're trying to get the coding correct and LTE in more areas before releasing WP8. Makes sense to me.. WP8 doesn't support Wimax freq's. And yes, I am a Sprint CSR. Nothing I've said invalidates our NDA.

 

[mrmdj31675]

Many are hoping so because Microsoft really needs the CDMA carriers in the US. Apollo+ may bring that.

 

[johnmcd348]

Well, I finally got tired of waiting, and a few other issues I had and jumped ship on the whole WP8 thing with Sprint. I bought a Note 2 Thursday and am now in the process of learning a whole new OS. I do miss the live tiles and intuitiveness of WP and do hope to one day return once it becomes a supproted format on my chosen carrier. I'm still going to be here, keeping tabs on what's up and coming on Windows Phone and I'm also now over at teh sister site, AndroidCentral so I really won't say I'm leaving.

 

[Ruined]

Well, I finally got tired of waiting, and a few other issues I had and jumped ship on the whole WP8 thing with Sprint. I bought a Note 2 Thursday and am now in the process of learning a whole new OS. I do miss the live tiles and intuitiveness of WP and do hope to one day return once it becomes a supproted format on my chosen carrier. I'm still going to be here, keeping tabs on what's up and coming on Windows Phone and I'm also now over at teh sister site, AndroidCentral so I really won't say I'm leaving.

Personally I would have recommended going with an iPhone if you aren't getting a WP. Android is... well, you'll see over time

 

[iknowsingh]

I own two WP devices and I would rather chew my face off and pour hydrogen peroxide all over it than get an iPhone. As a CSR, I tell my customers the same. Most of them listen, the impatient ones... not so much. Then they'll be back in a few weeks with a cracked screen... I just give them the closest Apple store's number and say "make an appointment".

 

[johnmcd348]

Well, I've been a Note2 user for about 2 weeks now and I'll say it's OK. I'm totally new to Droid so I'm going through a serious learning curve. The folks over on AdroidCentral have been walking me through things. I will be seriously interested in what WP device Sprint actually does put out in the coming months. I just couldn't see going to iPhone. I feel they are even less intuitive than the Android is. My initial impressions of my Note2, It Ain't no Windows Phone. I'm not fond of how Droid lays out their screens and icons. It will take some getting used to. My hope is that Windows picks up enough of a following that Sprint will one day begin to support it like it used to support WinMo.

 

[mrmdj31675]

The team behind Windows Mobile did have people very knowledgeable in CDMA. However, Team Windows Phone lacks that, which is the main reason WP7 and WP8 are GSM oriented when it comes to coding and why they don't understand the need for CDMA carriers in the US to use 512bit encryption (which in part is to support SVDO in its true form, and not be limited to 1X Advanced by using 256bit encryption, while also using the long delayed EVDO Revision B which is why most LTE devices on Sprint and Verizon have the extra radio).

This may not make sense for those on the GSM networks on why higher encryption standards are going to be the rule for US Carriers (especially now when GSM providers will start selling devices which can be tracked and reported as stolen when they join the database Verizon, Sprint, and all contract based CDMA carriers have to prevent the activation of stolen/lost devices). And before someone mentions Android, iOS, and Blackberry, the companies behind those platform are meeting and now surpassing CDMA encryption standards. Even WebOS was ahead of Windows Phone.

 

[thegoodfight]

I believe that Sprint will likely get at least one Lumia phone, and probably one HTC. Nokia has been in talks for months with Sprint, so the chance is very high Sprint will have a Lumia, especially since it's likely it will be an "exclusive" variant of either the 820 or 920. Carriers are really liking the exclusive deals Nokia is offering. As an "exclusive" device, Sprint will put more time and money into promoting the device.

 

[mrmdj31675]

Talks between Nokia and US based CDMA carriers had been going on for months, and the issue is not Nokia or any OEM when it comes to WP8. All the holdout is what Microsoft is pushing for CDMA coding and encryption which is China based rather than what US carriers want (and soon be required by the FCC, which is 512bit encryption rather than 256bit)