Following up on the Sprint device roadmap leak, further details have been confirmed regarding other Sprint initiatives:
- No New QChat devices will be developed or released, with the current lineup receiving minor chipset refreshes
- Sprint OneClick will be deployed on all EVDO non-smart devices going forward, with 1X class devices being excluded from the requirement.
- microSDHC expansion slots will be eliminated from 1X devices going forward and 1x devices will be reduced in the lineup.
- Increased focus on Android devices
- Samsung Cello M550 to be first device focused on social networking
- Samsung Chianti M560 to be first “Green” device
- Expand international roaming capability across BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and aircards.
- Focus on dual-mode EVDO Rev. A/WiMax devices
So is qchat dieing off? Explain please inquiring minds need to know.
It looks like Sprint is easing up on expansion in devices and coverage, but this was already expected with the renewed investment in iDEN within the past year and new iDEN devices in the pipeline.
Thanks for repsonding to my question.
Dear Sprint, please go back and release the high end Samsung qchat phone you were developing, or a more newly developed Samsung qchat phone. Thanks.
So the touch pro 2 will be available in the 4th quarter. Not too bad…….
Word, qwerty. I really want a smartphone with ptt but don’t want to deal with WiFi or IDEN
Sprint needs an Android phone. It’s too bad there are so many problems with the development. At least from what I hear.
“microSDHC expansion slots will be eliminated from 1X devices going forward and 1x devices will be reduced in the lineup.”
Anything that gives the consumer control and options, is being eliminated, i.e. MicroSDHC!!? See “Pre” as the first victim!
So when the device starts acting up, your Data is first to go!!
MicroSDHC (32GB limit) and future MicroSDXC (2 Terabytes) should be standard features on all Phones!!
No MicroSD! No Sale!
Good luck maintaining Customers, with these idiotic control freak policies!
there cutting back on the 1x network phones you dope!!!!!
3G phones will still have the SD slots.. 3G and soon 4G are the future and why would you go with a 1x phone now any way??????
@ Matt “the dope”
Not everybody is as (financialy)blessed as you are, genius!
Just because they can not afford it, does not mean they should not have the option to store data on a MicroSDHC!
I know it is a stretch for you to understand other income brackets, but try to think before name calling! Many use 1x as life lines or due to limited disposable income!
There are cheap DOrA handsets
this isn’t a full roadmap, obviously.
I’m a Lead Retail Consultant in one of Sprint’s corporate retail stores and would like to know the alleged source that Humberto Saabedra used when he states…
“No New QChat devices will be developed or released, with the current lineup receiving minor chipset refreshes
Sprint OneClick will be deployed on all EVDO non-smart devices going forward, with 1X class devices being excluded from the requirement.
microSDHC expansion slots will be eliminated from 1X devices going forward and 1x devices will be reduced in the lineup.
Increased focus on Android devices
Samsung Cello M550 to be first device focused on social networking
Samsung Chianti M560 to be first “Green†device
Expand international roaming capability across BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and aircards.
Focus on dual-mode EVDO Rev. A/WiMax devices”
as I have not heard of any such statements from our corporate communications nor product developement team. Thank you.
ramon.p.carroll@sprint.com
Ray, I implore you and your compatriots to hit these blog sites and thier forums, your company’s own in particular
I’m with Don, Ray. You’ll learn more from sites like this one, PhoneScoop, Engadget, Boy Genius, HowardForums, Direct-Connect.net, and countless others than you’ll ever get out of your RSM or Playbook. As a former 4+ year SN retail employee, you can trust me on this.
That said, I sure would like to know the source for the “no more qChat phones” claim. That’s a pretty big bomb to drop without citing a source, Humberto! Even a “sources familiar with the matter” would have been better than nothing.
F1,
its not money that makes me say that. I work at walmart so what “income bracket” would you say im in????? The 3G phones are around the same price if not cheaper than your 1X phones. They are practically sucking you off to keep you spending money so im shure you could get a new 3G phone with a limited income. If not then your going to be SOL with sprint…….
Matt, count your blessings,I hope WalMart will give you a nice share of the $2.000.000.000 employee bonus.
Also the people who you call in the “SOL” category, are a growing part of the population, a little consideration would be nice, just about now!
Matt meant people who are paying 100 dollars unlimited everything are not in the SOL category… And the few that might be, are well, SOL.
Prepaid is available for people who can not commit to a contract or who are out of a job and do not have much to spend.
So is Q-chat dead? I live in Nebraska and am a loyal sprint subscriber but love the ptt. I tried a nextel phone and the coverage was horrible, I then switched to a hybrid phone but bought a display model because my contract was not up and didn’t have the money for a new phone. I thought the future was Q-chat so I ended up forking up some cash for the V950 renegade which the ptt doesn’t work here because the Q-chat technology is not in this area. Did I waste my money on this phone? I love everything about the phone except that I don’t have the ptt feature. If this technology is dead is sprint working on a hybrid phone that has this kind of ruggedness and features? I need the coverage of the voice but the use of the PTT as well.
Since Ramon came here to discredit the article I hope he can come back and clear this up. If that is the case, no more coming out, that patent/affiliate mess gets the majority of the blame but that shouldn’t stop them from enabling this across the country so we can use the ones out now as advertised
Let’s clear a few things up.
One, like Nextel phones, QChat phones do not need to be revised often. We’re on our third “revision” of the Motorola i580, for example.
Two, as I’ve pointed out in the past, adding QChat to smart devices is very difficult. Sprint is the only carrier that uses QChat… so it is typically a low priority when the planning meetings happen. Sprint isn’t going to ask for it unless they have a perfect and plentiful line of smartphones. Or, until Nextel doesn’t want to make Curve 8350i’s anymore. That’ll be a awhile.
Three, QChat is a problem because it requires EV-DO Rev A. In four years, when EV-DO Rev A is network-wide, you can bet that Sprint will revise QChat phones regularly. They’ll also start taking apart the Nextel network. But, Sprint needs EV-DO Rev A first, and in this economy… that isn’t going to happen.
Could Sprint squeeze one revision of a QChat phone in the fourth quarter? Sure. But, I suspect that it would be a “revision” like the i580. Say, the Renegade V950 in another color, or a rubberized case.
Nobody is saying QChat is dead. Sprint is just being smart with saving money in a bad economy, and not pouring more into QChat when they don’t need to. Right now they have the iDEN network, and their choice to keep it alive for a few more years takes away from the need to roll out EV-DO Rev A nationwide. I think it was a good call considering how bad things are getting in the industry.
I guess that makes sense, can they get group w/IDEN and international working on them though
Thank you for commeting it makes sense, I guess I will wait because like I said I love the V950.
everyone’s opinions are really appreciated here…and the name calling/bickering with each other is priceless…
i agree mostly with what Christopher says here, but remember that Verizon is using QCHAT as their method of PTT, and this is a Moto service, not just proprietary to Sprint.
Secondly, I see most of your points, and upgrading the network in today’s current economic state could be detrimental for Sprint, considering their current balance fiscal state, along with their rapidly depreciating stock price. QChat is merely an upgrade for their current PTT product/Nextel (and although there is a great desire from the customers to have a better PTT service with enhanced handsets), I still find it hard to believe that they let their 3rd generation PTT service die off so fast after the NEXTEL acquisition…we all remember ReadLink, right? Which actually worked quite well for what it was in 2005, and didn’t require and EVDO coverage.
All this considered, I would also like to mention that Sprint is withholding the roll out of QChat, painfully, to EVDO/revA markets as well as others not EVDO/revA equipped. Take Charlotte for an example, an EVDO/revA market in which Sprint has a HUGE market share in (will go Sprint’s version of 4G this year), and a carries major business segment for the company. Sprint rolled out QChat in Charlotte last year in July/August for a brief month or so (long enough for a hand full of excited customers to get their hands on the handsets), and then de-provisioned it “UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.” With very little explanation, the service was removed from the available line up of Charlotte market area services, and the phones disappeared under the market’s available handsets. And interesting enough, the QCHAT Service will work on handsets from other QCHAT-enabled CSAs that have QCHAT active their account (like an Atlanta account that comes to Charlotte). New Charlotte-based customers can not add QChat unless they change their coverage address, which changes their area code…
In addition to having very little employee knowledge of the services (don’t you just love their CSRs/Techs – Exp the ones in India? – as we say in the south…BLESS THEIR LITTLE HEARTS!!!), no information about the services can be obtained through any communication outlet that they have (FRUSTRATING AS HELL), which only leaves us (THE TECHNICAL/EDUCATED CUSTOMERS) to assume what is going on. Based on what happened in Charlotte, my only speculation is that the delay DOESN’T in fact have ANYTHING to the upgrade needed to each market, rather the law suite MOTO lawsuit over QChat.
I do not believe QCHAT is dead as Sprint did roll out in February a web link that would allow you to check to see if “NEXTEL” services are available on “NEW” sprint phones in the area (http://www.sprint.com/landings/hpptt_availability/index.html?id12=NDC_WaystoBuy_Link_AvailabilityChecker). I do believe QChat will surface again and is alive and well – just put on hold (maybe for the lawsuit, maybe not)…I just wish Sprint would come out of the closet and tell us what the hell is going on! Guess we’ll all just have to wait…
[…] move away from QChat is not surprising and was confirmed by PhoneNews.com in a roadmap leak last March which detailed a halt to new QChat device development […]