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The Nexus S 4G will include Google Voice integration

Sprint users have something to be happy about today: A new 4G handset, the Nexus S 4G, and integrated Google Voice for all phone models.

The Nexus S 4G will be the first 4G device to come stocked with Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

The 4G model shares most of the same features as the original 3G Nexus S, including a 4-inch Super AMOLED Contour Display, a 5-megapixel back facing camera, forward-facing VGA camera, and 16 GB of onboard storage.

It can act as a 3G or 4G WiFi hotspot for up to six devices.

The Nexus S 4G also incorporates NFC technology and is powered by a 1 GHz Hummingbird processor, which is said to provide “3-D-like graphics” and support “HD-like multimedia content.”

Google’s flagship phone, the Nexus S, was first released back in December for T-Mobile. It was the first smartphone to ship with Android 2.3.

Google also announced today that Sprint subscribers now have the option to use their mobile number as their Google Voice number or replace their Sprint number with their Google Voice number. This allows calls to ring on multiple devices — such as your home phone, mobile, or computer (using Gmail) — simultaneously. Very useful if you find yourself flitting between the office, the car, and the house and don’t want to miss an important call.

The integration with Google Voice also means that Google Voice will replace Sprint voicemail, providing users with voicemail message transcriptions that can be emailed, texted, or viewed online. International calls will also follow Google Voice rates rather than Sprint’s.

Google Voice number-porting has been available for a few months, but it looks like the partnership with Sprint will make access to the service and its features much more hassle-free.

The Sprint Nexus S will be available this spring for $200 with a two-year contract, and Google Voice integration will roll out “soon.”

Introducing Nexus S 4G for Sprint and Sprint integrates Google Voice [Google Voice Blog via Android Community]

We knew good and well that the 4G version of RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook was on track for a summertime release on Sprint, and here at CTIA 2011, the carrier has launched a newfangled product portal confirming that things are still on lock. For those in need of a refresher, this guy will boast a 1GHz dual-core CPU, Adobe Flash / HTML 5 support, “true” multitasking, rear- and front-facing HD video cameras and a price that’s still to be determined. What’s most interesting here, however, is the dearth of information about a WiFi-only version — we’re hoping that it’ll slip out a bit earlier than the WiMAX variant, but we’re intentionally keeping our expectations on the low side. No one enjoys a bursting bubble, you know?

[Thanks, Christopher]

Sprint’s BlackBerry 4G PlayBook portal goes live, still on track for a summer release originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If the Nexus S 4G wasn’t enough to get you excited, Sprint and Google have one more trick up their collective sleeves this morning: an unprecedented new level of integration with Google Voice. Basically, you’ll be able to use your existing Sprint number in Google Voice, but through some custom-brewed sorcery and magicks, you won’t have to port it to Google Voice — your number, and your account, still belong to Sprint so that you won’t get an ugly early termination fee. And if you like your current Google Voice number more than your Sprint one, that’s cool, too — you’ll be able to set it up so that your GV number shows when you make calls or send texts on your Sprint phone. Either way, you’ll use Google Voice for voicemail (as many folks already do) instead of Sprint’s voicemail service. No word on when the feature will launch (“soon” is all they’re saying), but live demos will be on display at CTIA this week — on Nexus S 4Gs, we’re willing to bet. Follow the break for video!

Continue reading Sprint, Google Voice getting tight integration, will let you use your number without porting it

Sprint, Google Voice getting tight integration, will let you use your number without porting it originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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in case we didn’t leak this thoroughly enough for your tastes, here’s Sprint spoiling its own surprise: the Nexus S is coming to the Now Network in a 4G flavor. Touted as “Pure Google,” this WiMAX-toting device will be the very first to feature “fully integrated” Google Voice — which we’re told means using only one number for all your calls and permits for things like web calling and voicemail transcription. Pretty snazzy, if you ask us, and potentially even more important than the mere addition of 4G networking. All it took to discover this bit of intel was a casual search for “nexus” on Sprint’s web portal, not exactly the hardest snooping job ever, but we appreciate our eagle-eyed tipster for doing it all the same. Now it’s just a matter of waiting a few more hours until Sprint’s CTIA event to hear the full details of its collaboration with Google.

[Thanks, MTW]

Update: What do you know, Sprint must read Engadget. The offending search topic has now disappeared from its public servers.

Update 2: And now it’s official. $200 on a two-year contract, arriving this spring.

Nexus S 4G confirmed by Sprint’s own website, first ‘fully integrated’ Google Voice smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 21 Mar 2011 04:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This afternoon, AT&T and T-Mobile dedicated a twenty-eight page PDF to convincing regulators that their $39 billion aquisition wouldn’t violate antitrust law, using images like the one above. Well, as you can imagine, Sprint had something to say about that, and you can read it immediately below.

The combination of AT&T and T-Mobile USA, if approved by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC), would alter dramatically the structure of the communications industry. AT&T and Verizon are already by far the largest wireless providers. A combined AT&T and T-Mobile would be almost three times the size of Sprint, the third largest wireless competitor. If approved, the merger would result in a wireless industry dominated overwhelmingly by two vertically-integrated companies that control almost 80% of the US wireless post-paid market, as well as the availability and price of key inputs such as backhaul and access needed by other wireless companies to compete. The DOJ and the FCC must decide if this transaction is in the best interest of consumers and the US economy overall, and determine if innovation and robust competition would be impacted adversely and by this dramatic change in the structure of the industry.

Last week, rumors flew that Sprint, not AT&T, would be the one to join T-Mobile and create a vast wireless network, and while we haven’t heard any proof of that so far, it probably wouldn’t be terribly happy to settle for “number 1 spectrum position” if the tables were indeed turned.

Sprint critiques proposed AT&T / T-Mobile deal, says buyout would ‘dramatically alter’ telecom industry originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 20 Mar 2011 23:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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