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The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2013 in Las Vegas was host to a
number of exciting announcements and new developments in the electronics
business. In a surprise move, Sprint announced it would be including
two Windows 8 powered smartphones to its portfolio this summer.
The phones by HTC and Samsung
will be available for $79.99 per month and the plan will include
unlimited calls, texts, and data. The data part is extremely important
here, Sprint has made it clear that the phones will work on their 3D and
4G LTE networks and will have dual-core processors, expandable external
memory, and video chat.
Sprint
had shown its doubts about devices powered by Windows 8 in the past,
but all their competitors have already introduces Windows 8 phones, so
they decided to take a leap. The last Windows phone included to Sprint’s
portfolio was HTC EVO Pro in 2010.
The HTC EVO Pro had a higher rate of returns than other Sprint
offering, and it clashed with their network. The leadership at Sprint
has since been skeptical about Windows powered phones but it seems they
are confident about Windows 8 phones.
Experts are predicting that HTC 8X and Samsung ATIV Odyssey, the same
phones offered by Verizon, are the two phones being added to Sprint’s
portfolio. Verizon uses a similar CDMA technology as Sprint, so these
phones will not clash with Sprint’s network.
Since Sprint is the last major company to include Phone 8
to its portfolio, it can be said they are a little late. A lot can
happen between now and when the phones are actually made available to
customers.
The relationship between Sprint and Microsoft has been a bit strained
after the HTC EVO Pro episode, and Sprint has shown disinterest towards
Windows powered products for the last two years. However, the credit of
this development goes to Microsoft; they have been pitching Windows 8
to Sprint quite persistently and it seems to have paid off.
Is this the beginning of a sustainable and mutually beneficial business relationship? Let’s wait and find out.
