Both handsets prepare customers for the eventual shutting down of iDEN by offering push-to-talk-to-yourself technology.
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For those Monthly Unlimited customers with an iDEN Series handsets, nationwide walkie-talkie service is also included.
When they ask me when we'll see the next generation of iDEN, I tell them it's NEVR.
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Like all iDen phones it has Push-to-Talk, Java, and aGPS. sadly, like other iDen phones, it lacks Bluetooth or IR.
Even though the i860 is not a smartphone, it can run Java applications like the other iDen phones.
But when people ask me about the current state of iDEN technology, I simply tell them it's OVER.
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Sprint is not financially robust and has an IDen network to turn off stranding push to talk users.
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"This agreement is great news for our iDEN customers, " said Bob Azzi, senior vice president of Network, Sprint.
It's also the first iDen phone we've seen (possibly the first Microsoft Smartphone we've seen) to have a HUGE external display.
Like the i830, the i860 is slimmer and smaller than iDen phones past.
Additionally, this agreement provides support for our important iDEN customer base while we begin executing our Network Vision plan.
Extending this longstanding agreement reflects both companies' commitment to iDEN technology as a best-in-class platform for push-to-talk (PTT) services.
Customers can therefore be moved from iDEN to EV-DO without having to give up the feature they value most.
At the same time it will be transitioning its 800 Mhz spectrum to Sprint from its iDen network at Nextel.
Today Sprint also announced that several new and exciting iDEN handsets will be available in the first quarter of 2011.
And he notes that when you consider that Sprint added 516, 000 subs from conversion from iDEN, the numbers look even worse.
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This agreement formally extends Sprint and Motorola Solutions' contractual iDEN relationship through 2013 and covers the supply of software and services.
Motorola i886 is a stylish yet rugged phone, boasting the first-ever side-sliding QWERTY keyboard and corporate e-mail on an iDEN device.
Stumbling into the Motorola booth, what's the first thing that catches our eye but the long rumored Microsoft Smartphone for iDen networks like Nextel.
In order to free up spectrum and increase operational efficiency, Sprint is shutting down the older iDEN network completely by next summer.
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The editor of the Zimbabwean Independent, Iden Weatherell, took a different view.
Click here for more information on Sprint's iDEN network, products and services.
Subscribers are continuing to flee the Nextel iDEN network as Sprint has accelerated its shutdown and has been unable to retain these users.
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The good news is that Qualcomm has devised a robust platform which will incorporate many of the best aspects of the former Motorola iDEN system.
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As with all Sprint iDEN handsets, customers can use Nextel Direct Connect on Nextel phones in and between Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Peru.
Click here for more information on Motorola's iDEN network solution portfolio.
We expect the iDEN shutdown and a growing adoption of LTE to help Sprint derive a lot of savings in network expenses and increase operational efficiency.
How one goes about making a quick buck on a network as old and quirky as iDEN in the year 2008, though, remains to be seen.
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"In line with Motorola Solutions' ongoing support of the iDEN network, Motorola Mobility is committed to working with Sprint, " said Mark Shockley, senior vice president, Motorola Mobility.
The first cameraphone due out for iDen will be the i860 - which is a bit of a hybrid between the new skinny i830 and the i930 smartphone.
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