Official: Motorola Admiral Coming to Sprint October 23, Direct Connect for $100

The oft-leaked Motorola Admiral has been made official. The all-Android smartphone is built for Sprint’s Direct Connect network and will be available online starting October 23rd and in stores November 13th. For $100 on a new two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate, the Admiral offers a 1.2GHz processor, 5MP camera, and 3.1-inch Gorilla Glass display all housed within a body that has received 810G military spec approval. It’s push-to-talk for a new generation of workers in rough-and-tumble fields. The full press release follows.

First Android-Powered Smartphone with Sprint Direct Connect, Motorola ADMIRAL, Available Oct. 23 for Under $100

Motorola ADMIRAL delivers the gold standard in push-to-talk to the Sprint Network; Boasts Android 2.3, a 3.1-inch touchscreen display with QWERTY keyboard and military spec toughness

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., and LIBERTYVILLE, Ill. – Oct. 20, 2011 – Sprint (NYSE: S) and Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) today announced the availability of Motorola ADMIRAL™, the first smartphone that boasts Sprint Direct Connect® speed, powered by Android™. It goes on sale in Sprint direct ship sales channels, including Sprint Business Sales, Telesales (1-800-SPRINT1) and Web Sales (www.sprint.com) and can be ordered at Sprint Stores beginning Sunday, Oct. 23, for $99.99 with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement, after a $50 mail-in rebate via reward card1. It will be available Sunday, Nov. 13, through all Sprint sales channels.

Motorola ADMIRAL features Android 2.3, Gingerbread, a 1.2GHz processor, 3.1-inch VGA touchscreen display and QWERTY keyboard. It will use the Sprint 3G (EVDO Rev. A) network to provide the gold-standard push-to-talk capabilities of Sprint Direct Connect.

Ready for the toughest conditions, Motorola ADMIRAL is designed to meet Military Standard 810G for dust, shock, vibration, solar radiation, low pressure and high and low temperatures. Plus, with Corning® Gorilla® Glass®, Motorola ADMIRAL’s touchscreen display is scratch-resistant.

“Motorola ADMIRAL will be the flagship smartphone of Sprint’s all-new Sprint Direct Connect portfolio,” said David Owens, vice president – Product Development, Sprint. “We know our customers will appreciate this tough Android-powered smartphone that combines 3G data speeds with push-to-talk capabilities. It is designed to offer mobile professionals instant communications and mobile broadband data access when it matters most while being able to withstand the toughest environments.”

“Motorola is excited to bring the first Android-powered smartphone to the Sprint Direct Connect portfolio,” said Jeff Miller, corporate vice president of sales, Motorola Mobility. “With Motorola ADMIRAL, Direct Connect customers can enjoy the instantaneous connection they have come to expect from a push-to-talk device, along with the speed, durability and security needed to get the job done, wherever the work day may take them.”

Built with business in mind, Motorola ADMIRAL supports Microsoft Exchange and other email systems. It is easy to push delivery of Microsoft Exchange email tailored to the needs of specific users, and with robust calendar capabilities, employees can access the corporate Global Address List to create, edit and share meetings.

Motorola ADMIRAL also has the security features IT departments demand and protects sensitive company data with enhanced on-device security features that can be managed via the existing Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync Server, including password support, remote wipe and data encryption, as well as more than 30 other security policies. It offers standard PIN and password lock support, but goes above and beyond to include an alphanumeric requirement, complexity standards, expiration, history and recovery capabilities that are considered best-in-class features for Android-powered smartphones in the industry. Data encryption at rest on the device and microSD card also helps ensure that sensitive company data remains confidential.

Key features of Motorola ADMIRAL include:
1.2GHz processor to unlock full multi-tasking possibilities, including instantaneous page downloads and seamless document editing
Quickoffice® to view and edit Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint, as well as Adobe® PDF documents anywhere, anytime
5-megapixel camera with 720p HD video capture, flash and 4x zoom
Full suite of Google mobile services, including Google Maps™, Google Talk™, Gmail™, Google Voice™ and YouTube™
Android Market™ for access to more than 250,000 applications, widgets and games
Adobe® Flash® Player to enjoy games, interactive web apps and websites with technical or training videos
3G Mobile Hotspot capability supporting up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously
Wi-Fi® – 802.11 b/g/n
4GB internal memory with option to increase with up to 32GB micro SD card
Connected music player with access to all your favorite artists, including live, personalized recommendations for songs and videos, as well as news and event updates from the world of music

Sprint Direct Connect is a portfolio of push-to-talk services that allow individuals and groups to get more done – quickly and easily with just the push of a button. Among the initial Sprint Direct Connect services:
Sprint Direct Connect – Instant, one-to-one push-to-talk calling nationwide on the Sprint network, with any other Direct Connect subscriber. Direct Connect is the core push-to-talk feature and is designed for interoperability across Sprint and Nextel network platforms.
Guaranteed Talk Permit – The assurance that when you hear the push-to-talk “chirp” that your call was successfully transmitted.
Call Alert with Text – Send an audio alert with an optional text message to let another Direct Connect subscriber know you are trying to reach them and why.
Group Connect® – Communicate with up to 20 other Sprint Direct Connect subscribers all at once – nationwide, at the push of one button.
TeamDCSM – Communicate with up to 200 other Sprint Direct Connect subscribers at the same time nationwide2.
NextMail® – Send a recorded message to any email worldwide or mobile handset via text message by using the Direct Connect button.
Availability Notification – Request the availability status of another push-to-talk member and, if they are busy, request a notification when they are free.

With more than 18 years of expertise, Sprint is the industry leader in push-to-talk, serving the world’s largest push-to-talk community with millions of Direct Connect subscribers. Direct Connect from Sprint has set the industry standard for push-to-talk worldwide.

A pioneer in push-to-talk technology, Motorola Mobility has been providing devices for the push-to-talk community since the network’s inception. With the introduction of Direct Connect from Sprint, Motorola Mobility continues to innovate and provide reliable and compelling products that utilize the latest push-to-talk solutions.

Motorola ADMIRAL requires activation on a plan with unlimited data. Sprint Business customers may be eligible to activate Motorola ADMIRAL on a Sprint Business Advantage Messaging and Data plan, starting at just $59.99 per month plus required $10 per month Premium Data add-on for smartphones. Business Advantage Messaging and Data plans include Any Mobile, AnytimeSM for unlimited calling to and from any mobile in America, plus unlimited web, texting and Direct Connect.

For consumers, Sprint’s Everything Data plan with Any Mobile, Anytime includes unlimited web, texting and calling to and from any mobile in America while on the Sprint Network, starting at just $69.99 per month plus required $10 per month Premium Data add-on for smartphones and $5 Direct Connect add-on. Simply Everything delivers unlimited web, texting, calling and Direct Connect for $99.99 per month plus required $10 per month Premium Data add-on for smartphones.

The Mobile Hotspot option is available for an additional $29.99 per month supporting up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices simultaneously with up to 5GB of data while on the Sprint network3. (All pricing excludes taxes and surcharges).

For more information about Motorola ADMIRAL and Sprint Direct Connect, visit www.sprint.com/sprintdirectconnect.