Sprint Locks Down the UI on Their Phones, a la Verizon

I think the point of OneClick is so that customers who go from phone to phone will have the same experience. They won’t have to relearn a new menu system and interface. Its basically “dummy-proofing” phones. Because, while people who go on message boards and sites like this one are savy enough to figure it out, a lot of people aren’t as tech savy. This is basically a way to appease that demographic. I don’t think you’ll see this kind of unified interface used with PDA/smartphones, so those users shouldn’t be affected.

We’re well aware of that. Verizon uses the same excuse on the Verizon Wireless User Interface.

Many users prefer the interface of a particular manufacturer… especially elderly users who are resistant to buying a new phone.

What we’re asking is… why not give users the choice? BREW UI can easily be disabled, Sprint simply needs to enable the menu option to do so. They did so in the last generation, with uiOne, so there really isn’t any excuse to not offer that.

Well , i only ask have you used one of the phones?

You can add favs, bookmarks, things you use most and a ton..

NOTHING LIKE Verizon……

Chris have you ever used a Verizon phone?

We’ve used both, quite in-depth actually… I have a Samsung Rant on my desk as I write this, and I’ve used VZW UI phones for years. Certainly One Click is worlds better than the Verizon User Interface. However, that’s not the point.

The point is, Sprint has removed your ability to turn it off. If you liked the Samsung Interface, if you liked the Nokia Interface, if you were accustomed to the Motorola Interface… sorry, it’s now the Sprint Interface or nothing.

We’re saying that a simple off switch, something that Sprint has offered for years, is all that is needed. That would remove the monopoly, and keep everyone happy.

Digg This: http://digg.com/gadgets/Sprint_Locks_Down_the_UI_on_Their_Phones_a_la_Verizon

But none the less Comparing Sprints UI on any phone is apples or COKE…

Sprint UI .. Nothing Like Verizon UI

Read what your saying in the post

Verizon UI sSUCKS big time

I have actually used the Lotus and IT ROCKS

Best UI ever nothing like Verizon..

Have to ask who wrote this why are they hating on sprint?

For something great

Again (second time now), we are not attacking the Sprint One Click UI.

We are attacking the fact that Sprint removed the option to turn it off.

Not everyone is going to like the interface, and there is no valid reason to prevent people from disabling it.

P.S. Both of the above commenters appear to be the same person. Why not provide a valid email address so that your comments would have some creditability?

I had a samsung flip phone with sprint and had the option to use sprints ui or samsungs.

I liked Samsungs ALOT, but do not like sprints.

So why take away the ability to pick which one “I” like. Who cares about verizon’s.

I played with the Rant, Lotus, & the HighNote; the UI must go. It reminds me of the three options on the Upstage’s screen which covered the screen up. I agree: take it off or give an option to disable it.

I agree that it should have an “off switch”.. but it is unlike any other offering. It is completely customizable. You CAN remove any tab you want. You can have only the Home tab if that is what you would like. Underneath, it looks just like any other phone, just a regular menu system.

I’m not sure how much more “off” it can get from that.

You cannot remove all tabs. You are required to have at least seven tabs on the home screen.

If you could turn it off by removing all tabs… that would work, but, it would still be running in the background, eating up resources and battery power (a common complaint with BREW UI and the VZW UI).

Plus, the One Click UI also appears to control the main menu… we haven’t confirmed this yet, but it does appear that Sprint is altering the appearance of system menus (with this mandatory theme) to be more consistent across Sprint models.

I personally think that everyone should use a PDA/Smartphone. Or create/alter a linux style software package for the phone. It wouldn’t get any better than that.

If wireless companies ever cared about it’s customers, that would be the day.

This could be one of sprint’s attempts at a saving grace. Let it fail, and be the final nail on the coffin. They seem to be running the Instinct’s wave all the way thru the holiday season, as none of the upcoming line-up come close to it in features. Ride one phone too long and watch the company fail. Just look at Motorola and the RAZR.

I guess I just don’t understand this whole need for a discussion. I don’t see how Sprint’s UI on this phone is any different than if I had to deal with the one that Samsung put on the phone that I didn’t like other than the fact that it is across all new models? I mean, the UI on the Instinct sucks.. and you can’t turn that off? So why aren’t we bitching about that?

Honestly, the Verizon UI in comparison is horrible. It is the sole reason that I stopped carrying Verizon phones. The Sprint UI on the other hand has actually made the phone easier to use, more functional, and hasn’t locked the phone down from doing anything that it would have been capable of otherwise.

I agree with Chris, it cuts into the visual area of the physical screen size, hence reducing the available screen real estate provided by the mamufacturer, as you can see from the screenshot of the Lotus, neat phone btw, it should be an at will, pop up function, say for example by pressing the ok/asterix button twice, after a 15 second apperance,( maybe even user selectable fixed intervals) fade away. The smaller the screen, the more valuable the space. For the record i cut of landline in 1997! I have had Airtouch, Sprint (Spectrum) 1998, Tmobile 2003 and again Sprint (PCS) since 2004, also i am writing this on my 22 month old Samsung M 610. I have read PCS Intel/ Phone News at least 2.5 years everyday! Thank you, for the info source that you are!

Chris out of all my years of coming to this site this is the most worthless “NEWS” ever

Why should Sprint spend the time and money on a OFF switch?

If you get paid by Verizon thats fine but be up front about it and not make a “NEWS Topic” out of NOTHING

The new UI is by far the best out there and YOU yes you Chris can get used to change…

If you read other reviews Chris is the only one bashing something great…

Dont think he will care he still gets his cash…..

Omega,

This site is nothing more than another mobile blog site. With that said, you are going to get opinions mixed in with the news.. Chris is entitled to his opinion just as any other person.

Yep i agree with that but when there is Money behind someone motivations its different..

To me at least

All in all VERY dissapointed in Chris

Constructive critisism is what opens the path to enhancement , Verizone has a control freak U.I., Sprint is a very different Company, to suggest that Chris is an agent of Verizone, is simply bizarre. Lets not forget, Its all about providing choices and options for the Consumer. Chris is merely providing constructive criticism to a new product, a voice for the educated and not so educated Consumer.Thank You Chris, again…! “Great Spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds” A. Einstein

Just to point out, the user Omega, alongside Ano, and Other, all have similar phony email addresses, and similar IP addresses.

There aren’t three or four people in the room bashing us for this article… just one person that likes to be a troll.

I’d appreciate that the rest of the comments be directed towards the article itself rather than the idea that we favor a particular carrier. For the record, I’m not too happy with Sprint’s decision to ape Verizon’s implementation of BREW UI as it’s nothing but a battery and resource drain compared to the optimized manufacturer UI.

I think it’s all in the eye of the beholder, some may not even know the difference

perhaps this will raise sprints share price above $4. while this isn’t worse than losing $253 million in three months or being in 3rd place out of 4, it is hardly a good thing. typical sprint fan boy spin from omega, mustang46l and don louie.

CJ is an *** for continuing to reference me, my one and only post to this topic is let it come out then judge. Excuse my language but buddy is getting on my nerves labeling me a fanboy. Visit message boards, I go by Dubspoon everywhere

WOW , Chris you are a stalker…..

ITS funny the stalker ie chris has nothing to real to say…

Chris Read this,

I’m not too happy with Sprint’s decision to ape Verizon’s implementation of BREW UI as it’s nothing but a battery and resource drain compared to the optimized manufacturer UI.

Hey Chris is Sprint DOING this UMM NO, lol at least you get your pay check……

Chris feel free to email me my stalker its a real email…

Make sure you do it from your Verizon account…

I do like it how Chris would call people trolls when they don’t agree with him

And to say i am 4 or so people is just stupid

He is just comparing Apples to a Oranges…

And i and others wanted to point that out

What in the world does this have to do with share prices ? Or losing $253 million in 3 months ?? cj, you are nothing more than a misguided malcontent who has nothing better to do but call other people names(fanboys) for stating their opinions. We all have the right to an opinion, whether you agree with it or not. Grow up.

Wow this forum has had more drama than a full season of “Flavor of Love”

lol @ bottomline the registered sex offender coming to the aid of his buddy don louie. a true case of dumb and dumber finding each other. anyhow, youre completely missing the point as usual which is not a surprise. any thread related to sprint we have fanboys such as don louie, mustang, and the exposed troll omega doing damage control by saying its not that bad or saying in some way that sprint is right. yes, this is not as bad as losing $253 million and 1.09 million customers in three months or share prices being in the $4 range but forcing customers to use the same sprint interface is hardly a good thing and will in no way help sprint. please stop trying to spin it.

First things first I 100% agree that any time that a wireless provider decides to install a custom interface it would be very appreciative to have a kill switch to allow me to go back to the manufacturers default. No matter how much innovation you may have put into the interface you will never satisfy everyone and for those people who don’t like the new and improved interface having the option to fall back to the classic UI may determine whether or not they stay as a customer.

Secondly with all due respect all though I may agree with you on this issue we are still only discussing opinion and not factual news. It would be nice to see things like whether or not to have a UI kill switch, and editorials about why you are firing the iPhone an a separate section and leave the news section for hard fact news.

Wait, how does Verizon have anything to do with this? Saying “oh well it’s better than Verizon’s” is like having someone surve you a turd on a plate in a restaurant and when you complain having them say “Well in Africa people are starving.” The point is it FORCES you to use Sprint’s UI, What if you liked Motorola’s UI, or like my Dad who is older uses Motorola phones and now will have to learn a whole new interface like was mentioned. This has more to do with the fact that they’re taking away choice. It does not bode well for Sprint. The last market Sprint HAS are technophiles who frankly only stay with them because of the fact that they don’t lock everything down like VZW. BTW, what does this have to do with its stock price? If Sprint continues to hemorrhage customers and find its stock falling, it speaks to the fact that the executives at Sprint are doing something wrong. It’s kinda sad to see people attack the character of the author instead of what he’s saying. Classic smearing and blaming the messenger…

More fanboy coming your way.. Oh wait, no.. It’s just my opinion. I must have gotten my Sprint fanboy-ism from my 5 years of selling Verizon. Or was it the 2 years of selling Cingular. Eh, either way..

I understand what everyone says about not having choice.. but where I lack understanding is where I had choice before. I can pick up my old Samsung phone, turn it on, and guess what.. I have a Samsung interface. How can I change that? How can I make it different from what they installed? I can’t.

A point was made about how it interrupts the view of the wallpaper. Seriously? That is the argument against this UI? I mean, yeah, it does cut off the bottom of my picture but.. who cares? Do you sit and stare at your wallpaper on your phone for hours?

The purpose of this UI is simple and it is basically the same reason as the whole Ready Now promotion. They want to make wireless easy. They want you to be able to chose any phone, and know how to use it. Sprint thinks that you shouldn’t have to take time to learn to use your new phone because Samsung thinks that the bluetooth menu belongs in one place, and Motorola thinks it goes somewhere else. Now it will be in the same place for everyone.

Also, the ‘Bubble’ idea on this phone is nice. It is a way to customize the ‘desktop’ of your phone. Yes, it isn’t as customizable as a WinMo or G-Phone.. but it is a start.

So..

After all of that, and a few days using the new UI.. I personally don’t think it is really any different from anything we’ve already had. It looks the same, it does the same thing, it just makes the phone usable without going into your Menu first. It saves time. It makes the main screen have purpose other than just having a fun picture.

Except for the fact that it will make you NOT want to buy each new phone when it comes out….

Why would you want the same phone? The only reason I buy a new phone is if it has new features…. Where’s the change? I’d just keep the same phone if the only thing different is the “look” of the phone.

Sure you will Andrew.. You got it exactly right! We buy the new phones for the new features, or the features that we want. When is the last time you purchased (or didn’t purchase) a phone based on the UI?

Actually for those of us in the visually impaired community such as my self the UI does play a major role in the decision. Font size, Color scheme, Menu Readout (LG & Motorola), and several other aspects of the UI can make or break a phone for us. In the case of the M520 a lot of us found it much easier to return to Samsungs classic UI as the Sprint UI hendered us more than helped us.

Provide a consistent user interface across handsets to reduce customer calls to care, or please a few users on a blog. This must have been a customer pain point and thus it was addressed. I think they made the right choice, but I do agree the ability to disable the UI would have been a nice option.

ignorance is bliss, I suspect most of those lamenting loss of manufacturer UI interfaces were preteens when Windows 3.0 came out and thus have no real life experience of the transforming impact of adoption of a common interface in their life. Perhaps they need to do community service in a phone store to wake them up to the reality of the mass customer experience. Oh to be able to pickup a new cell phone and use it without having to relearn every time how the UI works and relearning where to change the common options present on every phone. Guess what, UI’s don’t limit feature sets, they just establish the convention of where you find the feature

Here’s my $0.02…

Sprint is NOT trying to atract advanced users with these phones- they want the advanced users using PDA’s. That said, the interface for a regular customer is REALLY easy to use. And why would Sprint want to disable that? Ignorance is bliss……

If you look at the features ok OneClick those are all VERY advanced for a dumb phone…

It is a great idea for Sprint to do OneClick the same on all non Smartphones…

NO off switch is a good thing….

Faster updates and better customer experiences

thats the point. this should have NOTHING to do with verizon at all. but of course sprint fanboys will bring verizon up and say that sprint is still better than verizon despite being in 3rd out of 4. attacking christopher and saying sprint is better than verizon is typical behavior on this site. the laughable stock prices and sad overall state of the almighty sprint is just a friendly reminder that sprint is failing as a company and that mustang, don louie and the exposed troll omega are failing just as bad at damage control.

Let me say, I like Sprint, I personally have not had trouble with them (fingers crossed). I had an issue when I ordered a SERO plan for my Dad a couple days before they discontinued it but there was a processing error and by the time they realized it the SERO plan was out of the system. It took a few calls but finally I got someone who was willing to go the extra-mile (she was in India too I feel I should say), and contacted a department that built the plan for me. THAT is the Sprint that I like. I don’t like Dan Hesse because frankly he’s been making stupid decisions and alienated an already dwindling base. This is another one of those things. Uniform user experience? This is so they can reduce their sales and support sources, as theoretically there will be less problems and less confusion. This is a cost cutting attempt. The people who need Sprint’s UI probably would not make it to the menu where they could turn it off. BTW, not everyone who wants one or is a techie can afford PDAs. No customizable interface is just fail…

CJ, the point is that this does have nothing to do with Verizon but there are comparisons to draw. Obviously Verizon has been offering a single UI on their phones for a while, and have been the only provider to do that. That is the comparison. That’s it. They both are using a unified UI on their phones. I’m not sure what other comparisons “you” are reading, but I see none. Nobody is saying Sprint is better than Verizon.

If you read the posts, which you apparently haven’t.. what is being said is that this UI not being able to be turned off isn’t nearly the big deal that it is being made to be. Verizon has done this, and obviously has stayed profitable. As you point out, Sprint isn’t in the best of financial situations, so this can’t really make it any worse.

BTW you point out that Sprint is #3 out of 4, with VZW being #2 after the Cingular merger. Talks are starting again about Deutsche Telekom acquiring Sprint and well, that would put T-Mo/Sprint in the #1 spot. None of that really matters though.

Verizon has been using a standard UI for quite a few years now and still have record low churn. Guess the masses don’t have an issue with a standard UI or they’d all be running out to get Sprint phones. Oh….maybe they will now that its a standard UI. Guess the techies are going to have to find a new carrier. Maybe Revol, I think their UIs are open.

And Sprint/T-Mob?!?!? LOL Great idea since Sprint did such a great job merging two different technologies the last time.

Hey, I wasn’t saying a merger is a good idea. I hated the idea of the Nextel merger, still do.

CJ, Sprints oneclick has nothing to do with Verizons BREW thats the enitre point..

Chris should never of even brought up Verizon…He just wanted to get more hits on his article….

Chris could of said sprints new oneclick how NO off switch.. This would only have 2 posts…

Anyone else notice he hasn’t even posted another reply?

Actually Omega, Sprint One Click is powered by the same BREW UI technology that powers the Verizon Wireless UI.

They use the exact same SDK from Qualcomm, and are even updated using the same updater app.

It’s actually the first time we’ve ever seen the BREW Apploader on a Sprint phone (although uiOne used a modified version, Sprint is now using the same one Verizon uses).

See that would be something GO to post

please provide a link to that info…

Omega, as we said in the article, we confirmed it on our own Samsung Rant, which Sprint provided us. It’s not hard to see the BREW Apploader kick in and update One Click… it’s no different from downloading a BREW app on a Verizon phone.

You ask for a link… we are the link. We broke the news on this, as usual… sorry if you don’t like that.

LOL Chris i was wanting a link from Samsung ext..
Or phone or software manufacture…

Not just your website

But oh well

But ps you never brought up Sprint using BREW in the article

A good Title
Sprint using new BREW oneClick UI,

But thanks for the replys…

BTW guys.. Just found your off switch. ##DATA#, go to XUI, click edit, and you can change it to the manufacturers default.

Enjoy!

LOLOL

Are you kidding me LOL

If its true do you have any idea how many forums and people are saying sprint sucks because they don’t have a off switch LOL

IF its true Chris should make a WRITTEN apology to Sprint and the readers

Well I guess that is what us ‘fanboys’ are here for.. To answer everyone’s questions and solve their problems. … now if I only got paid for it.

YES i agree

Phone news cut this man a check

It is funny that a person that ACTUALLY uses the phone, can figure out what an entire company can NOT…

LOL, it isn’t the Sprint couldn’t figure it out.. I mean, they did the programming. It is that they don’t want you to do it. They want the UI else they wouldn’t have spent the money on it. They want a consistent user interface. Power users want a way to turn it off. Now everyone is happy.

Well said mustang. I had a cust. service rep explain that to me earlier today. It’s unfortunate though, that some people would react with such negativity.

It’s a shame Sprint didn’t explain to us this debug code existed… we’ll confirm it and update the article. Like we said in the article, Sprint said there would be a simple menu option (yes, in the user menus) to disable One Click. They never said that they moved it to a debug menu, and now require a lock code to turn it off.

That’s hardly consumer-friendly, and I don’t see why they couldn’t have put it under Settings > Others like they originally intended (and told us they would).

Still, thanks to Mustang46L for finding the “secret” option.

Our commentary remains the same really, Sprint should give users a simple choice, and not have to hack their phones for this… the option should be where they originally said it would be, and not buried in ##DATA# (which 99.9% of customers don’t even know exists, let alone how to access).

I switched to rant from rumor and found it pretty interesting. I can add personalized pictures to my homepage although i can see the carousel. I found things on the phone through carousel that i was totally unaware of before. Overall i am giving 4 and 1/2 out of 5 to this sprint UI.

I think the main reason that Sprint does not have an easy menu option to disable the UI is that it then forces people to try it. It is better in many ways than the stock UI in the background, and thus the stock UI did not need to be tested for glitches.

Once people actually try the UI it should grow on them and people do seem to like it much better. Plus Chris, your comment about the eldery, is this on any non-EVDO phones? No, and last I checked there were no plans to do so. It is for feature phones only. It provides a faster way to the content that people use most by brining it to the main screen.

Oh, and yes I get paid by Sprint, but not for my comments here.

Actually, I know lots of older users that want phones like the Rant. Just because it has EV-DO, doesn’t make it off limits to an older audience.

And, the excuse that there isn’t a way to turn it off, in order to have folks try it out, is a false premise.

Why? Because the phone comes with it pre-loaded. Do I need to have Adobe hide the uninstall option for Adobe Reader, in order to force me to try it out? No. It comes pre-loaded on my PC, and I can uninstall it.

AOL tried that… all they got for it was animosity, and a class-action law suit. I’m not saying Sprint broke the law here, I am saying that excuse is nothing but FUD.

I shouldn’t have to search endlessly on non-Sprint web sites to find a way to turn One Click off. There should be an official option, and any other answer really is just backpedaling for Sprint. I’m not saying that, Sprint is… they promised me the user option to disable it when I gave my blessing of One Click pre-release.

(And yes, I gave my blessing of One Click pre-release… One Click is great if it’s optional).

So, the argument that the option is hidden in a debug menu, something a user never should have to access… in order to “try the feature out” is rubbish. Sorry, but it is. It’s no different from AOL saying that you should have to edit the Windows Registry, in order to uninstall AOL, so that users would “have to try the service out”.

I understand what you are saying Chris. Sprint said one thing and did another. But it doesn’t mean it won’t happen later either in a software upgrade or on some newer phone models.

Eh, regardless I still think it is better than when we had people flashing their Moto V3C so they could get rid of the Verizon UI.

lol. nice back peddling mustang. in terms of financial success sprint is not in the same class as verizon as a company and never will be. unless we’re talking about customer churn rate in which sprint has the highest. no need to bring up hypothetical tmobile merger rumors that have been floating around on the internet for some time and have shown no signs of materializing. even if it did happen mergers between conflicting technologies have not worked well for sprint in the past so what makes you think the tmobile merger will work? even though verizon does it, it doesnt make it ok for sprint to do it as well so your point is null and void. i said in my first post that forcing a ui on customers isnt as big a deal as their other disgraceful and embarrassing failures so apparently you are not reading the posts. really this or omegas behavior doesn’t come as a surprise and hasn’t changed my feelings towards sprint at all. it is merely a minor negative on a laundry list of failures.

are you denying that you are pro sprint!? the htc diamond thread says other wise.

mergers have helped att & verizon while sprint’s merger with nextel almost brought the company down. seriously mustang, DON’T try to play this card.

lol

just a friendly reminder, locking down the ui has not helped sprint as their share prices dropped to a dismal $3.55

hopefully omega continuing to attack christopher and mustang providing damage control will change that.

Chris, Why not take responsibility for not doing the proper research before posting this “NEWS”….

I would to know HOW “You” test the phones…

Its not Sprints’s Fault i was say Phone NEWS as a company…

CJ, what are you talking about, no one is attacking Chris for anything he has not done…
He didnt do his research on the PHONE or software and he posted “news” with NOTHING..

Thanks the entire point, Chris was wrong… He should admit to it and say sorry…

All he tried to do is side step what he said, he had no prof and didnt test the phone, it was his ignorance that made this all such a HUGE deal when it was NOTHING..

CJ, its clear you are pro Verizon and calling other people names is just childish.. NO reason for that ..

The ultimate antagonist returns, this new UI has been around for what, 2 days. Wait to see how it’s recieved, more articles about recent blunders like discontinuing pcs mail, no more pc backup for music purchases, the 5gb cap and no smaller/cheaper fam plan for the Instinct

“In terms of financial success sprint is not in the same class as verizon”, I agree, for today. But, “never will be” ??? How do you know ? Do you own a crystal ball ? If sprint does merge with t-mobile(as unlikely as it may be), the combined company would leapfrog both verizon and at&t in number of subscribers and gross yearly revenue. Granted, it’s a longshot, but anything is possible.

ok omega. i am not pro verizon. i am currently a sprint customer and a happy one at that with no desires to switch back to verizon. yes there are things i hate about sprint but the same can be said about any carrier or company in general. i unlike you, don louie, mustang and bottomline am not pro ____ and dont pollute threads with stupid comments such as go sprint! if you don’t like christopher or phonenews why visit the site? this site was the reason i was able to get sero and is a great source for information on firmware updates and prl updates.

@ don louie. has there been positive news regarding sprint lately? everything about them is a joke starting with their $3.55 share price. remember one thing… 3rd out of 4 baby

@bottomline. you seriously cant be in your 40’s… were you paying any attention at all? how did sprints last merger turn out for them? mergers have helped the other carriers but damn near destroyed sprint. looking to tmobile which is ONCE AGAIN a conflicting technology to save sprint is foolish and more desperate than you are. do you seriously want sprint to merge (bought out) with a foreign company as if that isnt happening enough already? a move like that could not help sprint but only create further confusion for a wireless provider who struggles with their identity and appeals to people who sell insurance for a living or work in a cubicle 8-10 hours a day. sprint needs to make a few changes and theyd be fine without tmobile or any other carrier. lets hope they come to their senses and turn things around.

We’ve edited a few comments that were getting overly aggressive. Folks, please, keep things calm and productive. We realize most people are posting constructive comments, and we appreciate those that are.

Cj,

With the amount of bashing you do why is it wrong when people say GOOD things about sprint..
Its funny cj when someone says something good about sprint you call them a fanboy lol
cj, you just polut with points blahah blabhah blahah, and yes your PRO verizon read your posts..

There is NO reason for people just to get on the sprint sucks bandwagon and go onlike you.. Most if not all your comments are negative..

And about chris, it is ARE job to keep him and phone news correct..

This post has still not been changed to reflect the facts, and chris still have not given us any of the facts..
i.e Links to the facts…

It is a fact that chris is a journalist and he should be treated as such, it is his job before he puts stuff like this up to KNOW what he is posting…

When it takes a reader what a day to figure out what phone news can’t that is a problem with there rules on how they handle information…

Its are JOB to KEEP them on there TOES

Omega, any journalistic source that doesn’t rely on their readers as a source of information… is a very bad one.

Every cable news network now has an “iReport” feature, letting them send in news tips and information as-it-happens. We’ve been doing that since 2003.

In this case, Sprint moved a menu item from the main menus, to a debug menu. We still think that’s unethical, so our opinion hasn’t changed. However, a user did find it… and Sprint certainly wasn’t going to tell us about it. How were we supposed to know before then?

Please stop being the Devil’s Advocate, it doesn’t suit your writing style.

Where is the pro rated ETF article? I am pro Sprint and am not seeing them through rose colored glasses, my opinion is, my opinion leave it at that. Jumping in calling out people is stupid and immature, quoting stocks and rehashing old news isn’t proving anything about the subject matter. Chris and the team do a good job reporting

I concur, there is absolutely no need to bad mouth or bash anyone. What is the point ? It’s pretty much a forgone conclusion that sprint is(& has been) struggling overall. What else is new ? Although, in the latest J.D.Power & Associates survey sprint customer service improved dramatically nationwide. Hopefully, they’ll be able to turn it around either independently or thru a merger(or buyout). It is also a well known fact that verizon and at&t are doing well, which is good. Moving on to something else, it appears sprint will be prorating ETF’s starting in december.

There seems to be internal talks going on with Google possibly stepping up to purchase Sprint outright before Deutsche Telekom decides to make a bid. Apparently, Google has been wanting to get into the wireless arena for some time now. My source is someone who works at sprint corporate office. We’ll see what transpires.

Chris, AOL didn’t sell you that windows lap top, if they did then I would expect a registry hack would be required at a minimum to remove their software.

Second, who cares about your blessings? I care about your opinion because I respect it, you’ve been around a long time and have a lot of really smart ideas, however I could care less whether you tell a multi-billion dollar company what they can and cannot do. Your opinions are valid, as opinions. The fact that Sprint made a business decision to remove or not add an easy off switch is their choice. If you really hate it, don’t buy their products. {and yes you have the right to say whatever you want about it on your site, but calling it news just degrades from the quality of the actual news on this site – this would have been better posted in the forums or on the blog side}

I admire your opinion, but from what I know, if an off switch was given and users were not forced into using it, most store reps would turn it off like they did the old themes and the user wouldn’t be the wiser.

Also, unlike Verizon, this UI is not locked. The main menu is still reachable by hitting the same middle button. If a user is not told about the tiles and bubbles they will never see them or use them if they are not interested and after that the phone behaves just like a standard Sprint phone with some added stuff at the bottom. It is allowing the user easier access to the content they want if they choose to use it there, everything is still available from the main menu in the same place as the older devices.

Bottomline – That rumor is years old. Google wanted into the wireless company and as such they bought part of Clearwire. They are not looking to buy Sprint at the current moment, however, once Clearwire is up and going I wouldn’t be surprised for either them or Comcast to go ahead and purchase Sprint and thus a large majority of Clearwire if not purchase all of Clearwire.

But nothing is in the works right now. That is very old news. Even DT has backed off and is showing little to no interest in the company now that Clearwire merger was announced. Everyone is waiting to see how that pans out.

To clear the air… I am quite sure that both DT and Google have internally analyzed the ratio of their own stock values, to Sprint’s stock value… and have standing orders to buy both companies.

With Sprint now below $3.50 per share, I think that it is quite realistic that one of those standing orders could be hit. I would be surprised if one company or the other didn’t act if Sprint falls below the $2.50/share… and I suspect it would be closer to the $3/share threshold. It really depends more on the stock values of the other companies interested in Sprint, at this point.

Each company has their own motives that would warrant the merger/acquisition. DT wants a consistent 4G plan, and has resisted going all-in on LTE. Google prefers WiMAX and would like to control the nation’s first 4G network.

Full disclosure: As I have recently editorialized, I have recently purchased stock in Sprint.

Back to topic…

Brandon, the reason that you should care… is that Sprint deceived the media. We asked quite clearly if there would be a user off switch for One Click. Sprint gave us an emphatic yes, and even went as far to say as that they wanted to give users a simple choice to turn it on or off.

If Sprint can tell the media one thing, and then do another… they can get away with all kinds of stuff…

… Like holding off on prorating ETFs for well over a year.

We have to keep Sprint honest. Here, they weren’t. We reported on their dishonesty. If that matters to you, consider it the next time you vote with your wallet. If it doesn’t, move on to the next article.

I realize that it’s been a long while since we heard any interest from Google possibly purchasing Sprint. However, it’s my understanding that Google has very recently entered the fray with possibly putting in a new revized offer for Sprint. In regards to Deutsche Telekom, I think it would be much harder for them to consummate a merger considering the circumstances. Not only do they(t-mobile & sprint) have conflicting technologies(which would be extremely hard to overcome, just ask sprint), but by virtue of them merging, they would be the largest wireless company in the united states……..I dont think the justice department would allow a foreign company(DT) to try & monopolize the wireless industry here in America. Afterall, they did prevent the Worldcom/Sprint merger 8-9 years ago……….

Why does chris keep deleting posts that disagree with him

He continues to side step all of are questions…

I ask you Chris WHO is keeping you honest??

If YOU can just delete peoples posts??

Omega, we have always removed posts that are not productive, argumentative, trolling, flaming, or otherwise completely off topic.

If you don’t like that, once again, change the channel.

Please provide details on Your boss’s email

or a HR dept for phonenews

doesnt break YOUR rules

And asking for you to valid information is productive sorry buddy

Omega, I am the CEO of MechaWorks. I am the leader, founder, and all-around-nice-guy of the company.

omega, are you serious? Chris is his boss. He owns the site.

omega, let it go that argument has run it’s course

[...] software as it will launch with the BREW UI-based OneClick user interface, which PhoneNews.com has covered in-depth and exposed its major flaw in the lack of an available user toggle for people that do not [...]

This doesn’t portend Sprint ending support for J2ME, does it?

I’m a T-mobile customer looking to switch back Sprint, I have a Nokia that I’m in love with, the 5600 music xpress. I can drag and drop any thing to my phone, themes, ringtones, wallpaper all for free. What I’m looking for a Sprint phone that will allow me to do the same.

Can someone help this n00b and explain ##DATA# on my new LG Lotus. The first thing I wanted to do was shut off the carousel. I do not know to access the debug menu. There is very little info on this that I can find. I had a Samsung M520 for two weeks and really disliked that phone and now have moved to the Lotus under the 30 day Sprint exchange plan. Thanks folks.

Nevermind. Got it! Thanks.

Quick question I hope can be answered soon by actula users.
Does the Rant heat up where it gets real hot to touch it while talking or charging?
Currently I just bought 2 Samsung M300s and I changed mine back to my Treo but my daughter wanted to keep hers. I finally got sprint to take them both back and am looking at the Rant and Rumor. But I just seen the problems with the Rumor.
I just dont want to buy 2 more phones to have them also get really hot to touch.

There is an option to turn it off.

Calvin, as has been discussed, the option is hidden in a debug menu, that the typical user would have no way of knowing about… and Sprint is not supposed to disclose to customers.

Readers of PhoneNews.com may be able to discuss/hack a way to turn it off, but quite frankly… that’s not good enough. A typical user should be able to go to the settings menu and turn off One Click.

Nah, KC, the Rant doesn’t get very hot at all. It’s actually a phone that I’d recommend to anyone who needs a phone with e-mail and 3G capability, but don’t need every Blackberry bell-and-whistle.