Sprint launches new iDEN phone

Sprint Nextel is hoping a new stylish PowerSource phone from Motorola will help keep its iDEN customers happy. The Motorola Delux ic902 offers iDEN Direct Connect service as well as 1xEV-DO data speeds. The ic902 offers a 2.0 megapixel camera and supports Sprint Picture Mail. In addition, it gives subscribers access to the Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV and has an MP3 player.

Sprint Nextel's iDEN network is having capacity problems and the company's lucrative Direct Connect subscribers are bailing on the service. It was particularly evident when Sprint reported that its first-quarter 2007 earnings. The firm said that its iDEN subscribers totaled 16.5 million, down from 17.6 million in fourth-quarter 2006. To circumvent these losses the carrier is launching dual-CDMA/iDEN phones, or PowerSource, to help keep its customers on the network. In first quarter, Sprint sold 400,000 PowerSource handsets.

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