Predictions: When will the Sprint GNex be released?

[chance1117]

It is getting to the point where I'm a little torn. I know the G-nexus is a great phone that will get the latest software updates. However my last 8 phones have been HTC. Recently they have done a poor job of releasing their source and because of this the asop roms have not gotten very far. I think if the Jewel has a tegra 3 and comes out about the same time I might have to go with that. I also know that the nexus phone seem to stay relevant much longer. Looks at the Nexus one still a decent phone!

 

[ilaifire]

"HTC Jewel Tipped as Among First Sprint LTE Phones"

Interesting.... Anybody think they would buy the new HTC One X sprint version (Known as maybe the EVO LTE or EVO 4G LTE) over the GNex?

That really depends on to very simple things, release date and specs. If the Nexus is released next week, I'm getting it, if they wait and release both phones at roughly the same time then it'll come down to specs (mostly does the HTC Jewel have an SD card slot and NFC?). The launcher doesn't really matter to me since I plan on running ADW, and I do prefer a lot of what comes with HTC Sense to stock android (the keyboard, dailer, and sms are all better in my opinion).

 

[dtreo]

I went in to Best Buy to look at phones and see if by chance the employees might know something, no luck. The person who was working was a complete moron claiming that the Samsung Galaxy S 2 was the same phone as the Nexus Galaxy and as such Sprint already had the phone and wouldn't be getting it...
Grr... why can't Sprint release new phones yet? I want to give them money but they aren't letting me.

Really?? I am shocked, SHOCKED that you didn't find that Best Buy employees were somehow "in the know" and could give you the inside scoop beyond what you read here. I get the same feeling when break a large bill at the grocery store customer service counter and don't get any insight into the Fed monetary policy. That can be so frustrating...really.

 

[dtreo]

no i'm sticking with the G-Nex. pure sleek Android ICS with no skins and no bloatware is what i want.

You forgot to include "...and crappy Samsung plasticky hardware."

 

[dtreo]

That really depends on to very simple things, release date and specs. If the Nexus is released next week, I'm getting it, if they wait and release both phones at roughly the same time then it'll come down to specs (mostly does the HTC Jewel have an SD card slot and NFC?). The launcher doesn't really matter to me since I plan on running ADW, and I do prefer a lot of what comes with HTC Sense to stock android (the keyboard, dailer, and sms are all better in my opinion).

I agree and I'd venture a guess that we'll see the Nexus in May, but the Jewel not until late June if we're lucky. I bet the Jewel does have NFC, but sadly won't have an SD card slot.

I agree with you that the HTC keyboard, dialer and sms are certainly better than Samsung's.

 

[dtreo]

maybe but i think it would be pretty anticlimactic for him to do so.

Verizon has the G-Nex and AT&T has the G-Note. Sprint customers REALLY need something NOW. i love Sprint's coverage, service, pricing, unlimited plans, and overall value proposition. and their phone selection had been pretty good - the OG EVO was a revolutionary groundbreaker. but Sprint's phone selection ever since then has been atrocious.

I think the only thing Sprint really needs is an ICS device launched sooner than we all expect and then one or two decent Windows Phone devices (even though I wouldn't go that route). I don't see how you can say that with the EVO 4G (still such a good device as most of us know), EVO 3D (gimmicky, but still solid), Epic 4G Touch (the best available and does nearly everything well), Photon 4G (if you must have a Moto), iPhone 4/4S, BB Bold 9930...how is that not a solid line up? That's a pretty full slate of high end devices on each platform, save WP. A Lumia 900 or HTC Titan would be nice to try for a bit. We know we're getting the GNex and now the Jewel. Just a wait and watch at this point. (all while enjoying unlimited data, mind you)

 

[ilaifire]

Really?? I am shocked, SHOCKED that you didn't find that Best Buy employees were somehow "in the know" and could give you the inside scoop beyond what you read here. I get the same feeling when break a large bill at the grocery store customer service counter and don't get any insight into the Fed monetary policy. That can be so frustrating...really.

Simple, the (two) guys who normally work in the Best Buy mobile phone section by my house work there normally. They were working there two years ago when I bought my last phone, and I see them there any time I go into Best Buy for anything else. Based on the way they look my guess is they are decently past college, and based on how long I'm aware of them being there this might be an actual job for them, and as such they have proven to be quite knowledgeable.
Now, where does all the non-official-press-conference info come from? Employees at all sorts of levels leaking information whether it be someone high up or a random store employee mentioning they got a whole shipment of Galaxy Nexuses in but aren't allowed to sell them yet (as happened with Verizon a couple of months ago).
If the Best Buy employees actually view what they do as a job and not as a way to get a few extra bucks to go drinking with their classmates there can be some expectation that they will pay attention to news about phones, that they will notice a shipment of something come in (or scheduled to come in), or at the very *very* least know the difference between two phones they're selling.
The only person working there on Saturday/Sunday/When-ever-I-went-in-day was some high school/college kid who probably only knew that they weren't iPhones.

tl;dr Leaked information comes from somewhere so Best Buy employees *might* know something we don't yet, and employees who take their jobs seriously may have read a blog post I missed.

 

[ilaifire]

EVO 4G

Released summer 2010, yes it is good but buying it now seems pointless. A couple of years ago when only business and geeks bought smart phones you got your parents who just wanted to make a call and didn't care about all the fancy stuff a flip phone, this is about the same slot I would put the Evo in now.

EVO 3D

As I recall when it was first released the specs were either the same or worse then the EVO 4G. Also the fact that the older Evo is still selling for $100 on a new contract and this is only $50 would make me think twice.

Epic 4G Touch

The only Galaxy S2 without NFC

iPhone 4/4S

I hate Apple and Apple products, but you have a valid point with this phone.

BB Bold 9930

RIM is currently teetering on the edge, they will either pull through or fail in the next year or two. Buying a BB right now is quite a risk. Edit: Unless you are a current BB user, in which case you don't have to relearn a new system as switching to Android/iOS would force you to do and enough customers may save the company in which case you'll be able to keep using BBs for many years to come.

 

[Gekko]

GS2 has an awful display resolution. not enough pixels for the size of the display. icons and web pages look poor even compared to my OG EVO.

when i'm talking about Sprint's poor lineup of phones - i'm talking specifically about their poor lineup of Android phones. they are tired, dated, and antiquated. nothing exciting to buy for new customers and nothing to upgrade to for OG EVO owners. not to mention the Wimax vs. LTE issue. hence - they are looking elsewhere. they are rightfully disgruntled and this is a real problem.

 

[dtreo]

Released summer 2010, yes it is good but buying it now seems pointless. A couple of years ago when only business and geeks bought smart phones you got your parents who just wanted to make a call and didn't care about all the fancy stuff a flip phone, this is about the same slot I would put the Evo in now.

As I recall when it was first released the specs were either the same or worse then the EVO 4G. Also the fact that the older Evo is still selling for $100 on a new contract and this is only $50 would make me think twice.

The only Galaxy S2 without NFC

I hate Apple and Apple products, but you have a valid point with this phone.

RIM is currently teetering on the edge, they will either pull through or fail in the next year or two. Buying a BB right now is quite a risk. Edit: Unless you are a current BB user, in which case you don't have to relearn a new system as switching to Android/iOS would force you to do and enough customers may save the company in which case you'll be able to keep using BBs for many years to come.

I think you're missing my point. Overall, if you look at their lineup (and I'm no Sprint apologist), they certainly have a solid offering across platforms (except WP7, as I noted). EVO 4G, EVO 3D, Epic Touch certainly get the job done as current Android power user phones - with more to come as we all know. If you were an Apple user (me neither), obviously the top level phones are there. If you were a BB user (me neither), the top Bold 9930 is there.

As for the EVO 3D, the specs for it are better than the OG EVO. Higher pixel density, dual core, 1.2MHz. The 3D was gimicky and it's more bulky. Plus, the support community for the OG EVO is larger, so I think that's why it's remained popular.

All that being said, I welcome them getting the Nexus out the door ASAP and the HTC Jewel/One X/EVO LTE/whateveritwillbecalled double ASAP. About the only other phones I would like to try are the RAZR MAXX and the HTC Titan, but that's just me. The Jewel would be a great replacement for my EVO.

 

[dtreo]

GS2 has an awful display resolution. not enough pixels for the size of the display. icons and web pages look poor even compared to my OG EVO.

when i'm talking about Sprint's poor lineup of phones - i'm talking specifically about their poor lineup of Android phones. they are tired, dated, and antiquated. nothing exciting to buy for new customers and nothing to upgrade to for OG EVO owners. not to mention the Wimax vs. LTE issue. hence - they are looking elsewhere. they are rightfully disgruntled and this is a real problem.

I guess all we can do is hope for good news out of Hesse on March 1st and not have to watch tumbleweeds blow around a silent Overland Park until CTIA.

 

[silverthornne]

Just saw an ad for a regional carrier offering the Galaxy Nexus. It's the 16 GB GSM version. I'm not a big fan of their service (my company has some 15k+ devices using their network and they're a source of endless headaches), but if only for one short moment I was tempted to cancel my Sprint contact and go grab that Nexus...

Sent from my SPH-D700 using Tapatalk

 

[ilaifire]

Seriously, what is going on? Everyone outside the US has the Nexus already, even American regional carriers are starting to get it. Why can't Sprint get it? What possible logic could Hesse have for not releasing it now? (or the other LTE phone)?

 

[P. Doeboy]

Man, just give me the phone now and launch the LTE network whenever. I barely use wimax more than twice per month. Wifi & 3G hold it down for me just fine. I fear that by the time I have a Galaxy Nexus, the HTC One X and the Galaxy Beam will be released 2 weeks later with hardware to throw my Nex back in the stone-age with my Epic 4g and Palm Pre.

 

[parout66]

Man, just give me the phone now and launch the LTE network whenever. I barely use wimax more than twice per month. Wifi & 3G hold it down for me just fine. I fear that by the time I have a Galaxy Nexus, the HTC One X and the Galaxy Beam will be released 2 weeks later with hardware to throw my Nex back in the stone-age with my Epic 4g and Palm Pre.

Wow, you wrote that and I am in the same boat! Same phone migration. In fact just destroyed my 4g and bought a Palm Pixi off Ebay to use for a couple of months. I am eligible for an upgrade but can't do it with the knowledge of the phones coming down the pike. Nexus sounds nice but not sure. It's got some holes. But all phones do. Side note, although the Pixi guts are weak Web OS still rocks. Too bad they couldn't launch with great hardware. It might have got into more peoples hands. On a side note, I feel the same way with WiMax. Never use it due to it eating the battery. 3g and wifi work for me.

 

[JobiWan144]

Man, just give me the phone now and launch the LTE network whenever...Wifi & 3G hold it down for me just fine.

Yeah, this is definitely what I think too. However, I don't think it's gonna happen. From a corporate image standpoint, it doesn't seem right to release a 4G LTE phone without their LTE network up and running in more than the half-dozen or so cities they've announced already. By the way, these don't even include some of the biggest American cities like NYC, LA, or Chicago, although the 3 Texan cities (Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas) are all top 10 populations.

By the way, you may remember me saying this a while back:

Well, I talked to a Sprint guy at the mall today, and he said that the Galaxy Nexus would be released in February. I don't know how well-informed he is, but that sounds a lot more promising than a second quarter release.

I went the same kiosk yesterday, and they said it had been pushed back with absolutely no word on a release date/window. He recommended I watch tech blogs like Engadget for news of its release. I don't consider them an incredibly reliable source, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

Since he described it as "pushed back," it makes me think they were gonna release it earlier but didn't for one of two possible reasons (or both):
1) LTE rollout wasn't as fast as they internally (not publicly) expected, and/or
2) they instead want an upgraded version of the Galaxy Nexus that we've heard rumors about. For those who didn't hear, someone saw a Galaxy Nexus on a benchmarking site clocking faster than the normal 1.2 GHz, opening up speculation of a "Galaxy Nexus Plus" with 1.5 GHz processor and possible 8 MP camera and/or bigger battery. To which I say, yes please! Camera quality was one area people have criticized the Galaxy Nexus, given the 8 MP cameras on the Galaxy S II, iPhone 4S, and countless others. Obviously, megapixels aren't everything, but all the other improvements the ICS camera software did add (zero shutter lag, panorama mode, etc.) would be amazing on a state-of-the-art camera.

Gosh, I really hope Sprint announces this on Thursday, March 1. They could totally make a major splash at MWC by announcing the release of the Galaxy Nexus, LG Viper (hey, "green" phones with decent specs are quite a respectable acheivement), and perhaps other 4G LTE phones. Take that, Big Red and your Droids, RAZRs, and Nexuses without Google Wallet!

 

[P. Doeboy]

Wow, you wrote that and I am in the same boat! Same phone migration. In fact just destroyed my 4g and bought a Palm Pixi off Ebay to use for a couple of months. I am eligible for an upgrade but can't do it with the knowledge of the phones coming down the pike. Nexus sounds nice but not sure. It's got some holes. But all phones do. Side note, although the Pixi guts are weak Web OS still rocks. Too bad they couldn't launch with great hardware. It might have got into more peoples hands. On a side note, I feel the same way with WiMax. Never use it due to it eating the battery. 3g and wifi work for me.

Yeah, I miss webos sooo much. Took me forever to find an app to replace the task list (any.do), and I"m still looking around to find something as nice, smooth, and easy on the eyes as the calendar app. With Preware and a free (read: hacked) mobile hotspot app, my pre was a swiss army knife among box-cutters. It made me mad when Samsung turned up their nose at the idea of purchasing webos -like touchwiz is so awesome! Anyway, I wish I could put patches on my phone like in the good ol Preware days. But I guess that's enough of a derail for now.

 

[jamie]

I really think they are having to wait until Verizons exclusive rights are up.

 

[P. Doeboy]

Yeah, this is definitely what I think too. However, I don't think it's gonna happen. From a corporate image standpoint, it doesn't seem right to release a 4G LTE phone without their LTE network up and running in more than the half-dozen or so cities they've announced already. By the way, these don't even include some of the biggest American cities like NYC, LA, or Chicago, although the 3 Texan cities (Houston, San Antonio, and Dallas) are all top 10 populations.

By the way, you may remember me saying this a while back:



I went the same kiosk yesterday, and they said it had been pushed back with absolutely no word on a release date/window. He recommended I watch tech blogs like Engadget for news of its release. I don't consider them an incredibly reliable source, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while.

Since he described it as "pushed back," it makes me think they were gonna release it earlier but didn't for one of two possible reasons (or both):
1) LTE rollout wasn't as fast as they internally (not publicly) expected, and/or
2) they instead want an upgraded version of the Galaxy Nexus that we've heard rumors about. For those who didn't hear, someone saw a Galaxy Nexus on a benchmarking site clocking faster than the normal 1.2 GHz, opening up speculation of a "Galaxy Nexus Plus" with 1.5 GHz processor and possible 8 MP camera and/or bigger battery. To which I say, yes please! Camera quality was one area people have criticized the Galaxy Nexus, given the 8 MP cameras on the Galaxy S II, iPhone 4S, and countless others. Obviously, megapixels aren't everything, but all the other improvements the ICS camera software did add (zero shutter lag, panorama mode, etc.) would be amazing on a state-of-the-art camera.

Gosh, I really hope Sprint announces this on Thursday, March 1. They could totally make a major splash at MWC by announcing the release of the Galaxy Nexus, LG Viper (hey, "green" phones with decent specs are quite a respectable acheivement), and perhaps other 4G LTE phones. Take that, Big Red and your Droids, RAZRs, and Nexuses without Google Wallet!

WEAK. But I guess we'll see soon enough if Sprint decides to speak up about our Nexus. I'm probably one of the few that could care less about the camera. Just as long as it's there.. but I guess since I'm waiting, I might as well have the best of the best hardware.. until that quadcore HTC One X takes a huge dump on everyone.

 

[VW Maverick]

OK. Stopped by a Sprint store earlier. It is not a Corporate store, but it used to be.
Talked to a rather knowledgeable sales person who said that their latest info stated the Galaxy Nexus should be released on June 1st.

She said that is Sprint's target date to "turn on" their LTE service here in the Atlanta area.
This does make sense as all their LTE ads do say mid-2012.

Also, I did find this news release which encouraged me:

Sprint Newsroom | Sprint Enhances 3G Network Coverage in Atlanta

Hope Dan has something interesting to say at MWC.

Mav.

P.S. Also just noticed that the LTE list of cities has expanded and is now Baltimore, Kansas City, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston and San Antonio.

https://www.sprint.com/en/landings/...:UPU:HERO:010912:GalaxyNexusPrelaunch:960x320