Sprint G-Nex Release Date Predictions?

[Gekko]

how about some guesses as to when the Sprint G-Nex will be available for sale?

let's look at the past to help us guess the future -

3-23-10 EVO 4G announced
6-4-10 EVO 4G available for sale

3-21-11 Sprint Nexus S 4G announced
5-8-11 Sprint Nexus S 4G available for sale

10-18-11 Verizon G-Nex announced
12-15-11 Verizon G-Nex available for sale

1-9-12 Sprint G-Nex announced
3-9-12 Sprint G-Nex available for sale?

 

[Gekko]

no guesses? no comments?

 

[Thai]

Probably not until mid year (at earliest!) or later because Sprint has to establish a viable LTE network for the GN to work on. Right now, their LTE network is in 1 or 2 cities only (aka still in infancy). Since GN is not WiMax compatible, it does not make any sense to release it anytime soon...because if so, then it is basically a 3G phone only until late 2012.

 

[Gekko]

Probably not until mid year (at earliest!) or later because Sprint has to establish a viable LTE network for the GN to work on. Right now, their LTE network is in 1 or 2 cities only (aka still in infancy). Since GN is not WiMax compatible, it does not make any sense to release it anytime soon...because if so, then it is basically a 3G phone only until late 2012.

do you remember the EVO 4G release?

 

[Gekko]

based on past Sprint phones - it appears that they announce the availability "for sale" date about 2 weeks in advance. so we could see -

1-9-12 Sprint G-Nex announced
2-24-12 Sprint G-Nex available "for sale" date announced?
3-9-12 Sprint G-Nex available for sale?

 

[Thai]

So, when the EVO 4G came out, was WiMax available? Are you saying that when EVO 4G came out, WiMax did not exist yet?

WiMax is NOT LTE. GN works on LTE. Sprint does NOT have LTE right now (at least beyond 1 city)...and it is unlikely that Sprint will have LTE nationwide by March.

So, why would Sprint release a LTE phone without LTE network?? GN will NOT work on WiMax.

 

[Gekko]

So, when the EVO 4G came out, was WiMax available? Are you saying that when EVO 4G came out, WiMax did not exist yet?

WiMax is NOT LTE. GN works on LTE. Sprint does NOT have LTE right now (at least beyond 1 city)...and it is unlikely that Sprint will have LTE nationwide by March.

So, why would Sprint release a LTE phone without LTE network?? GN will NOT work on WiMax.

when the EVO was released there were only a handful of cities with WiMax. hence - it is not necessary for more than a handful of cities to have LTE in order for the G-Nex to be released. per a Sprint executive - they have under-promised and will over-deliver on the initial LTE roll out time frame. those initial cities will be LIT UP sometime between NOW and mid-2012 - but closer to NOW if we are to believe the Sprint executive who specifically said "NOW" in his time frame and said they have under-promised and will over-deliver.

get it?

Sprint: We're Bullish On LTE, Not Windows Phone | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

 

[Thai]

We're midway thru January...and how many LTE cities on sprint network? One? And with sprint being strap for cash badly, I doubt "handful" will be possible by early March!

Get it?

 

[Techno Tonis]

We're midway thru January...and how many LTE cities on sprint network? One? And with sprint being strap for cash badly, I doubt "handful" will be possible by early March!

Get it?

Your logic is slightly puzzling to me. So why would Sprint bother announcing in the month of January they will be stocking the Galaxy Nexus if they have no intentions of releasing it for another 11 months??

 

[vandyman]

I have the VZW Galaxy Nexus LTE. And there is no LTE in my area and I may not get LTE until 2013.

I brought the phone because it has ICS, Samsung, dual core, etc
And there are a lot of people that are in the same boat as me.

Now I could have picked up a 3G phone for half the price, but it would not be up to par in the other areas as said above.

I hope everyone that wants this phone from Sprint gets it soon. We VZW GNex owners know what it is like to wait for a great phone no matter what you need it for.

 

[Techno Tonis]

So, when the EVO 4G came out, was WiMax available? Are you saying that when EVO 4G came out, WiMax did not exist yet?

WiMax is NOT LTE. GN works on LTE. Sprint does NOT have LTE right now (at least beyond 1 city)...and it is unlikely that Sprint will have LTE nationwide by March.

So, why would Sprint release a LTE phone without LTE network?? GN will NOT work on WiMax.

Well, considering Baltimore was the only city I knew of with WiMax when the EVO4G was released, I'm not really sure what you're arguing given there are already as many if not more LTE areas that sprint has if the phone was released...say today for example.

My guess for the release of this phone is mid March to mid April. I would be shocked if this phone came out later than then for Sprint. Obviously they want to get it out before "the next big thing" comes along.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if we saw this phone by next month, however, and as a current Verizon Gnex owner, I hope this is the case. The more, the merrier.

 

[Gekko]

We're midway thru January...and how many LTE cities on sprint network? One? And with sprint being strap for cash badly, I doubt "handful" will be possible by early March!

Get it?

for all we know those handful of LTE cities are ready to go - Sprint just hasn't flipped the switch yet or officially announced it. my guess is that they will keep everything under wraps and announce it simultaneously with the launch of the first LTE devices. why bother announcing anything with no LTE devices yet available?

i believe that Sprint is doing a lot more behind the scenes and they have a lot more accomplished with regard to LTE than you know.

 

[Thai]

I hope that you're right...but the last thing i heard a few days ago is Sprint just doing initial testing in Dallas or somewhere near there of their LTE...far from going nationwide.

Quote from CEO: "SAN FRANCISCO (BUSINESS WIRE), January 05, 2012 - Sprint (NYSE: S) CEO Dan Hesse announced today at the annual Citigroup Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference that customers in Dallas, Atlanta, Houston and San Antonio are expected to be among the first to benefit from 4G LTE and improved 3G coverage in the first half of 2012."

So, by June 2012, we should have 4G LTE in 4 cities. They are big cities, but certainly not big enough to support a rollout of GN.

Again, not to argue with you, and certainly, i HOPE that i am wrong...but an early March rollout of GN when less than 4 cities have LTE capability is just too early IMO.

BTW, i am a big Sprint fan/customer...so, i definitely hope that i am wrong!

(In addition, i hope that Sprint makes Google/Samsung improve the camera by the rollout! Sprint made the Galaxy S II [Epic 4g Touch] different than the other Galaxy phones...so, crossing my fingers!)

 

[Thai]

Your logic is slightly puzzling to me. So why would Sprint bother announcing in the month of January they will be stocking the Galaxy Nexus if they have no intentions of releasing it for another 11 months??

Not 11 months, i predict around June or so.

I have the VZW Galaxy Nexus LTE. And there is no LTE in my area and I may not get LTE until 2013.

Yes, but Verizon LTE is nationwide already...unlike Sprint. Thus, the majority of Verizon GN owners do enjoy LTE.

Sprint got nothing on the ground except for Dallas right now. By March, maybe 2-3 more cities...certainly not enough for a phone to sell. LTE is a BIG thing for Android owners (unlike Apple owners)...probably almost as big as ICS.

Again, just my theory guys...nothing more.

 

[Rabban]

yes i heard LTE in 4 southwestern cities by the middle of the year... dont see how you can launch GN when you only have that kinda coverage in 4 cities....

 

[Thai]

And don't forget how google and Verizon totally screwed up GN release...so, hopefully, google learned their lesson and properly release GN on Sprint on time!

 

[Gekko]

i see no harm in releasing it right now. people will buy it.

 

[Thai]

i see no harm in releasing it right now. people will buy it.

If they release it now, then Sprint customers will have 2 choices:

1. Sammy Epic Touch 4G (and other similar devices) with 4G (WiMax)

2. GN with no 4G at the current time...and not likely for another 6-8 months

Yeah, there will be a group of hardcore ICS owners who will buy GN...but, most of Sprint customers will choose choice #1. So, by releasing it now, GN won't sell well, will minimally affect other Android phones, and really won't attract any new customers (b/c those folks would rather be on Verizon where the 4G LTE capability can be used immediately).

Now, once Sprint LTE is operational in more than 4 cities nationwide, releasing GN at that time will cause more uproar and NEW customers that don't want to deal with uber expensive data limited Verizon plans.

 

[Gekko]

If they release it now, then Sprint customers will have 2 choices:

1. Sammy Epic Touch 4G (and other similar devices) with 4G (WiMax)

2. GN with no 4G at the current time...and not likely for another 6-8 months

Yeah, there will be a group of hardcore ICS owners who will buy GN...but, most of Sprint customers will choose choice #1. So, by releasing it now, GN won't sell well, will minimally affect other Android phones, and really won't attract any new customers (b/c those folks would rather be on Verizon where the 4G LTE capability can be used immediately).

Now, once Sprint LTE is operational in more than 4 cities nationwide, releasing GN at that time will cause more uproar and NEW customers that don't want to deal with uber expensive data limited Verizon plans.

it's coming soon anyway. no harm to add it to the portfolio now.

 

[Wolfedude88]

There are still a ton of cities without wimax as well though, yes it is more widespread than their LTE but it didn't stop any of the newer phones from selling well. Look how their iphone sold as well.

I live by Indianapolis, and while it has been getting LTE Love from both AT&T and Verizon really early on, and probably on Sprint it will as well.

Still no love with Wimax.

 

[Thai]

There are still a ton of cities without wimax as well though, yes it is more widespread than their LTE but it didn't stop any of the newer phones from selling well. Look how their iphone sold as well.

I live by Indianapolis, and while it has been getting LTE Love from both AT&T and Verizon really early on, and probably on Sprint it will as well.

Still no love with Wimax.

Well, it is just not more widespread, but literally, LTE is in ONE city at the current time. By June of this year, Sprint hopes that there will be FOUR cities...according to their CEO. WiMax is nationwide...sure, it is not as big as Verizon, but it is nonetheless nationwide. We're talking FOUR cities guys....

Now, i am sure that by end of this year, Sprint LTE will be up and running in many cities...but it won't happen in MARCH. I don't think that it will.

Iphone is different...there is a big cult following by the Apple crowd. GN does not have that (yet)...certainly not big enough to single-handedly support a device launch.

And lets face it, LTE/4G is a big deal for Android users who demand big processors and big screens.

 

[Gekko]

Well, it is just not more widespread, but literally, LTE is in ONE city at the current time. By June of this year, Sprint hopes that there will be FOUR cities...according to their CEO. WiMax is nationwide...sure, it is not as big as Verizon, but it is nonetheless nationwide. We're talking FOUR cities guys....

Now, i am sure that by end of this year, Sprint LTE will be up and running in many cities...but it won't happen in MARCH. I don't think that it will.

Iphone is different...there is a big cult following by the Apple crowd. GN does not have that (yet)...certainly not big enough to single-handedly support a device launch.

And lets face it, LTE/4G is a big deal for Android users who demand big processors and big screens.

as i said before - Sprint is not showing all of their cards right now. we don't know what's ready and what's not - and they are not going to tell us right now. i believe they are under-promising and will over-deliver. they are managing expectations so they do not disappoint investors or customers. and they do not want to show their cards to competitors.

"All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near." - Sun Tzu - The Art of War

 

[sklarbodds]

All of the people (including myself) without Sprint Premier that bought the Evo on June 1 will have an upgrade on April 1....

It would be REALLY smart of Sprint to make sure the Nexus is available by then.

 

[Gekko]

i was in a Sprint Corporate Store today and asked one of the more knowledgeable guys and he thinks "next month" ie February but he was just guessing based on the fact that they are already advertising the phone etc. he said many customers are asking about it.

 

[Thai]

i was in a Sprint Corporate Store today and asked one of the more knowledgeable guys and he thinks "next month" ie February but he was just guessing based on the fact that they are already advertising the phone etc. he said many customers are asking about it.

Wow...next month?! That is early! It will be interesting how Sprint will push this phone with LTE capability when Sprint does not even have any LTE towers working! Is Sprint just gonna talk about the big screen and ICS and ignore LTE altogether?? They can't advertise LTE's capability on this phone without a single working tower outside of Dallas!