SANYO

Sprint launches HTC Touch Pro, Sanyo Katana

Phil Goldstein — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:57:08 -0500

As the holiday shopping season switches into high gear in November, Sprint Nextel has officially launched two more phones in its holiday lineup.

Today Sprint launched the Kyocera Sanyo Katana Eclipse X, an EV-DO phone that uses Sprint's One Click user interface, allowing users to drop tiles onto the standby screen to access favorite features. The phone is an update of the Eclipse, which was first launched in August and features different lighting modes that can be assigned to specific callers or alerts and messages. The phone also features an MP3 player, microSD slot capable of holding 8GB and a 1.3 megapixel camera. The phone is being sold for $99.99 with a two-year service contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.

Consumers can also buy the HTC Touch Pro via Sprint's web site today. The HTC Pro has all of the features of the HTC Touch Diamond--Windows Mobile 6.1, a web experience powered by the Opera browser and a 3.2 megapixel camera--but it also has a few upgrades. It uses TouchFLO 3D user interface and has a full slide-out QWERTY keyboard, expandable memory capability (a 1GB card is included) and comes with a handy business card scanning application that uses the phone's camera. The phone is going for $299.99 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate.

For more:
- see this release
- see this article on the HTC Touch Pro
- see these pictures of the HTC Touch Pro
- see these photos of the Sanyo Katana

Related Articles:
Q1-Q3 handset metrics analyzed
Sprint to release four One Click phones next week
Sprint introduces One Click

Sprint to offer business email access on non-PDA phones

Lynnette Luna — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:43:15 -0400

Sprint announced plans to offer business email access on non-PDA phones. As an extension of the Sprint Mobile Email application, the new Sprint Mobile Email Work feature will enable customers to access their Microsoft Exchange Server and IBM Lotus Notes accounts. The new service will become available tomorrow on the Instinct, which is also going on sale tomorrow, and in the coming weeks on 11 more devices, including the LG Rumor, Katana phones from Sanyo and the Motorola RAZR and KRZR phones.

Powered by Seven, the new service features a one-time setup process. In the Instinct, the Sprint Mobile Email Work is preloaded. Emails are pushed to the user's phone as they arrive on their desktop mailbox. The service is available at no extra charge for those who have subscribed to Sprint's Everything plans. With all other plans, the email service costs an extra $10 per month in addition to voice and data charges. Will business users bite?

For more:
- read this release

Related story:
Samsung Instinct Photo Slideshow
Study: 30% of mobile workers on first smartphone. Smartphone story

Sprint adds 4 new PTT phones

Sue Marek — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:55:15 -0400

Sprint Nextel will launch four new Direct Connect phones in about 47 markets on June 15. The phones will be powered by Qualcomm's QChat next-generation push-to-talk technology that uses Sprint's EV-DO Rev. A network. The phones offer new features such as Call Alerts (a repeating alert that lets users notify another user that they are trying to reach them) and Group Connect, which lets customers quickly connect to up to 20 other Direct Connect users at once.

The new Direct Connect phones include the LX400 by LG, the Sanyo Pro-200 and Pro-700 and the Samsung Z400, which is the first Direct Connect phone offered by the handset maker. The phones range in price from $50 (with a two-year agreement and a $50 rebate) to $80 (with a two-year agreement and a $50 rebate).

The new Direct Connect handsets are critical to Sprint, which has been losing iDEN customers in droves. The firm hopes that the new QChat technology and handsets will prevent more customers from leaving the carrier.

For more:
- see this press release

Related stories:
Sprint updates PTT with push-to-x
Will QChat Save Sprint?
Sprint commits to iDEN, revives Clearwire talks

PayPal inks p2p deal with Sprint

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:59:55 -0400

mFoundry and PayPal have inked a deal with Sprint to offer person-to-person mobile payments. The service from Sprint, called MyMoneyManager, lets PayPal users and Sprint subscribers send money to other persons who have an email address or mobile phone number. When a person receives money they get a message or voicemail to let them know they received funds. To access the funds, however, the person must have a PayPal account.

Sprint's MyMoneyManager is available on some 18 phone models from four manufacturers, including LG, Motorola, Samsung, and Sanyo. Phones must be Java-enabled and support https with 128-bit encryption. The service soft-launched at the end of March, but is now officially available.

For more on the service:
- read about mFoundry in today's Fierce 15 awards
- read this article from Digital Transactions

Hesse looks for push-to-comeback

Brian Dolan — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 20:55:00 -0400

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse announced a half dozen push-to-x QChat phones that are set to run on Sprint's EVDO Rev. A network instead of the old Nextel iDEN network. The new Direct Connect service supports one-to-one and group push-to-talk capabilities with other QChat users as well as Nextel users. The QChat phones also only require one phone number for both regular calls and PTT calls, which is a change from the legacy Nextel phones which required two numbers. Hesse also announced an as yet unnamed WiFi-enabled BlackBerry that will run on the Nextel iDEN network. No word yet on a timeframe for a launch on the device.

Here's a quick rundown of the QChat phones that Hesse unveiled this morning:

Ã‚Â· Motorola V950: a rugged flip phone with a 2.2 inch, 320-by-240 screen and a 2MP camera. This feature-rich phones looks to be the most expensive of the new QChat phones.

Ã‚Â· Sanyo PRO-700: a ruggedized, 1.7 inch slim flip phone that will retail for $69.99 with a two-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate. Other features include GPS, Bluetooth, email.

Ã‚Â· Sanyo PRO-200: a similar handset, but the non-ruggedized version of the slim flip phone that will retail for $49.99. Other features include GPS, Bluetooth, email but no camera.

Ã‚Â· Samsung Z700: a midrange clamshell with a high resolution 2.1 inch screen, 2MP camera, Bluetooth, microSD slot and more.

Ã‚Â· Samsung Z400: ruggedized but a more modest version of the Z700. The Z400 features a lower-res screen, a 1.3MP camera and a rubber exterior.

Ã‚Â· LG LX400: 1.3MP camera, GPS, speakerphone.

Sprint said to expect the phones to launch this summer and price points should come out shortly before the launches. -Brian

Rumor Mill: Qchat phones to hit Sprint in April

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:59:55 -0500

According to a report from PhoneArena, Sprint may be launching its first QChat-enabled phones on April 16. The carrier is reportedly unveiling its the LG LX400 as the first device with QChat and will retail for about $279.99. Sprint is also reportedly launching two Sanyo Direct Connect handsets on the same day: Sanyo's PRO-200 and the PRO-700, which will retail for $249.99 and $279.99, respectively. Two other handsets will launch on the Sprint network in April, too: the BlackBerry Curve 8330 and Sanyo's Katana LX.

For more on the rumored device launches:
- read this article from PhoneArena (via Engadget Mobile)

DEALS: Handset units for sale

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 06:59:52 -0500

Handset units are selling like hot cakes.

DEALS
WHO	WITH	WHAT	SCOOP
Lenovo	Hony Capital	Lenovo sold its handset unit to Hony Capital for $100 million.	Handset shipments for Lenovo fell 31 percent last quarter.
Continental Airlines	LiveTV	Continental Airlines plans to add free WiFi service to some of their planes next year.	LiveTV is a unit of rival Jet Blue Airlines.
Nokia	Trolltech	Nokia announced its intent to acquire Trolltech for $153M.	Trolltech software and application platforms are used in programs including Skype, Google Earth and Adobe Photoshop Elements. Might be bad news for Symbian?
Verizon Wireless	SureWest Wireless	Verizon has acquired SureWest's wireless assets for $69 million.	SureWest Wireless served about 50,000 subscribers, while its licenses covered about 3.8 million people.
Kyocera	Sanyo	Kyocera bought Sanyo's handset business for $468 million.	The deal makes Kyocera the sixth largest handset business in the world.

Report: U.S. Mobile phone sales revenue increased 47%

Tue, 20 Nov 2007 06:59:56 -0500

According to a recent report from the NPD Group, mobile phone sales to U.S. consumers increased to 38 million units sold in the third quarter. The shipments brought in $3.2 billion in revenue, a 47 percent increase from the same period last year. The percentage of smartphones sold also increased from 4 percent in Q3 2006 to 11 percent during the third quarter of 2007, which marks a 163 percent increase year-on-year. Certain features also grew in popularity during the third quarter: 72 percent of phones sold were Bluetooth capable, 50 percent were able to play music and 11 percent were smartphones, NPD found.

According to the report, Motorola sold 31 percent of the phones during the quarter, while LG sold 17 percent. Samsung came in a close third with 16 percent of the market, while Nokia trailed with 11 percent and Sanyo had 4 percent.

For more on NPD's report:
- read this release

Takeaways from Nokia's latest CDMA handset

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Ã‚Â

Takeaways from Nokia's latest CDMA handset

This week Nokia unveiled a new CDMA handset, the Nokia 2135, which is set to launch in the U.S. this fall. The announcement created a mild stir among those following Nokia's latest moves in the U.S. More than a year ago Nokia announced it would scrap its months-old joint venture with Sanyo to build their own CDMA handsets. By April of 2007, the company said, it would have scaled back its CDMA R&D and manufacturing. It planned to only participate in key CDMA markets, like North America.

The Nokia 2135 points to what Nokia meant last year by "participate." The 2135 is the result of a traditional ODM deal, according to Nokia spokesman Keith Nowak. "We're not doing R&D in CDMA anymore, but all the CDMA products moving forward will have a Nokia design and UI. Manufacturing and engineering of these products will be done by an ODM partner," Nowak said. "We'll be using the traditional ODM model, except the phone really will look and feel like Nokia phones since they will have our UI and design."

While other media outlets have been reporting Nokia's CDMA comeback, the 2135 unveiling is really just a reminder that the business never fully went away, which was the plan all along. Nokia's press release regarding the split with Sanyo pointed to "an already financially prohibitive CDMA ecosystem" and a "more challenging" than expected CDMA opportunity in emerging markets. But Nokia said it would still have a "special focus" on North America.

The Finnish company's real CDMA surprise came last September when it announced plans to sell a cheap CDMA handset in India for $43, its lowest priced handset globally at the time. Nokia teamed with Reliance Communications to push the device. Few balked at the handset maker's about-face then.

So why is a simple handset, that's most prominent feature is a phonebook that can hold 400 contacts, gaining so much attention? Well, does that cost prohibitive comment above refer to Qualcomm? Does going the ODM channel help Nokia avoid the patent dispute brouhaha? Or is Nokia just doing what it said it would all along: Have a special focus on the North American CDMA market. Namely, a voice-centric, affordable handset that doesn't involve a struggling rival or draw out the legal team of another chipset maker. -Brian

Report: Kyocera set to buy Sanyo's mobile unit

Fri, 14 Sep 2007 06:59:57 -0400

Reports continue to circulate that Sanyo's mobile unit is on the chopping block, now Nikkei reports that Kyocera is in the final stages of a deal to acquire the unit for $435 million. Sanyo's handset business has struggled to compete with Nokia, Motorola and other handset makers, which is one of the reasons it hired Goldman Sachs to restructure its business and shed struggling business units. According to Gartner, Kyocera was the 10th largest handset maker in the world by unit sales, while Sanyo was the 11th.

Sanyo, however, denies the reports regarding a deal with Kyocera: "Regarding the mobile phone handset business (excluding the mobile phone sales agents), Sanyo is considering all possibilities for development and growth," the company said in a statement. "These media reports were not based upon an official announcement by SANYO and it is not a fact that SANYO has made a decision to sell this business."

For more on Sanyo's rumored deal with Kyocera:
- read this press release from Sanyo
- check out this article from The Inquirer

Sanyo still denying acquisition rumors

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 06:59:56 -0400

Ailing Japanese manufacturer Sanyo may be putting its mobile phone business up for sale, as part of an ongoing corporate restructuring. Sanyo's operating profits have dropped 72 percent during the past few months and selling off its faltering phone division (which accounts for about 15 percent of the company's total sales) could provide a quick infusion of cash. Back in April, Sanyo tried to quell similar rumors about selling its mobile unit, but now reports indicate that Sanyo has some interested buyers, including Sharp and Kyocera.

Sanyo stated it is not considering such a sale, however: "We are conducting various reviews in order to strengthen our mobile phone handset operation, but we have not made any decision to sell the operation," the company said.

For more on the rumored Sanyo sale:
- read this article from DailyTimes