70% of Sprint’s Devices to be Android-Based, Bigger 4G Push in 2011
Sprint was the first out of the starting gate with 4G Android devices and they’ve seen the competition load their barrels up for what’s sure to be a very competitive 4G war starting this year. Sprint isn’t sleeping at their own wheel, though, as they have committed to putting a bigger emphasis on their 4G strategy in 2011.
Sprint’s Fared Adib – the man who replaced Sprint’s former Vice President of Product Development, Kevin Packingham (who was responsible for Sprint’s 4G push in 2010) – stated that 70% of their devices would also be running Android. This is even taking into account the sales of feature phones and netbooks, apparently.
They’ve already kicked the year off with the launch of the HTC EVO Shift 4G – a review of which we’ll have up soon enough – and yesterday’s unveiling of the Kyocera Echo are testaments to their strategy. What kind of devices we’ll be getting and how many exactly weren’t said, but I can’t imagine we’ll go the year without seeing at least 10 new devices, with 4 of them being high-powered beasts. (My guesstimation is based on past trends.)
More than having the most, Sprint wants to be the most unique in their offering – yesterday’s revelation was the beginning of that – but what kind of market there is for the types of devices Sprint hopes to bring out remains to be seen. Their Kyocera Echo was met with very little fan-fare and left many in a state of disappointment.
Sprint is scheduled to talk about their 4th quarter numbers on a conference call this Thursday, and we’ll be sitting in to hear what they have to say going forward. [via Wall Street Journal]