June 29th is the last day you’ll get to use your Sprint Nextel iDEN device — buy a Direct Connect phone instead
Sprint has long warned consumers that the death of iDEN is coming, and it’s giving us another warning today. In fact, Sprint is announcing that the service is still on track to shut down within 60 days. The last full day of service for those on iDEN-based handsets will be June 29th. On June 30th, Sprint will begin the shutdown process until the network is completely laid to rest.
At that point, iDEN devices will no longer be able to make or receive phone calls or text messages, including 911 calls. It’s a big deal for those in the field of public safety — you don’t want to wake up the morning of June 30th knowing you missed pages and calls that might have been crucial to saving lives.
The death of iDEN doesn’t mean the death of push-to-talk, of course. Sprint has been aggressively pushing its Direct Connect service that affords users the same functionality over a wider, more stable, and more flexible network.
If you’re looking for an Android smartphone with this functionality, you should know Sprint has four decent offerings, including the Motorola Admiral, the Kyocera Torque, the Kyocera Rise and the LG Optimus Elite. All of those devices cost you nothing to walk away with (unless you count the two-year contract agreement you’ll also be asked to sign). Give them a good look over at Sprint’s site and make sure you’re ready for the iDEN sunset at the end of next month.
[via Sprint]