Following up on the news of the current iDEN network sunset as a result of the Network Vision initiative, Sprint and Motorola have reaffirmed support for the standard until at least 2013, with new devices in the i686 and i886 confirmed for the first quarter of 2011.
The i886 will be the first iDEN device with a horizontally sliding QWERTY keyboard as well as support for corporate email access, while the i686 is refresh of the current i680 with the additional capability to be immersed in water for up to half an hour.
The key point from the announcement is that Motorola’s Solutions division will continue to support the Sprint iDEN network for three years from Jan. 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2013.
During the support extension, Sprint will also announce and begin to deploy its CDMA-based iDEN PTT replacement, with further information expected at a later date.
