Sprint finally decides to hop on the Windows Phone 8 bandwagon...in 2013

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Sprint has finally confirmed what we already kind of knew for a while now: They will be hopping on the the Windows Phone 8 bandwagon. In an emailed statement to PCMag, the company said that it's cold feet have warmed up and that they will bring Windows Phone 8 on board in 2013:

"Sprint and Microsoft are partnering to bring Windows Phone 8 to Sprint's customers - operating on its 4G LTE network - next year."

There had been inklings that this may happen, like Ting, a Sprint network reseller blogging that it would support the latest version of Windows Phone "sixty days after Sprint has it," but there was plenty of reason to wonder as well. Not only did Sprint kill off it's poorly-selling, yet highly-acclaimed HTC Arrive, but they also put out an internal document stating that there were no Windows Phone 8 devices slated to offered any time soon.

The statement to PCMag failed to mention what device(s) they were planning on offering, nor did they say when exactly customers could expect them. However, the above-mentioned blog post by Ting said they anticipated getting their device "for the first half of 2013", so it could be as early as Q1 2013.

What remains to be seen is what approach the third-largest US mobile carrier takes to Windows Phone 8. AT&T, T-Mobile, and the one-time tepid Verizon Wireless have all embraced WP8, offering multiple devices, including some exclusive to them. They have also partnered with Microsoft to actually advertise Windows Phone. Hopefully, Sprint follows their lead.

Whereas they punked out on Windows Phone 7, offering only one device and doing zero to market it, they have a real chance to right the ship. Will they actually give Windows Phone lovers a variety to choose from? Are they going to half-heartedly offer a single mid- or low- range thing, or will they have the gusto to bring aboard any of the hero phones, the Lumia 920, 8X and ATIV S? We have no idea. But Sprint, if you are listening, this your chance to get it right. Please don't disappoint.

Source: PCMag

Seth Brodeur
Seth Brodeur
90 Comments
  • Wasn't expecting anything earlier, to be honest.
  • Everyone should go here,
    http://www.facebook.com/sprint?ref=stream
    Post http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us and ask WHATS THE HOLD UP!!!
  • Bet they only get one half ass Windows Phone!!!!
  • Now be fair, I bet it will be Full Assed(tm).
  • Can't wait for a 6 month old HTC 8X priced at $199. Woohoo!
    Dare I dream about them acquiring an outdated 820 variant too? 
  • Whoa, slow down, man! That's asking too much.
  • Sprint will probably just carry the HTC trophy.... lol
  • Vigor's prediction?
    March release. HTC and Nokia phone. 1 of each. HTC high end and 800 series Nokia
  • I hope they have one or two solid WP8s to offer when the time comes. I feel bad about those Sprint WP fans that are waiting.
  • My HTC Arrive has served me well, but I'm in dire need for some new hardware! I'm cool with waiting until March if I get a new WP device.
  • The March timeline actually makes sense, as that's when all of use Arrive Launch customers hit our 2 year mark.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the ATIV-S as well as the 8X or 8S.  I would be surprised to see a Nokia, but if we do get one, I sure hope it's a 9xx rather than an 8xx.
  • I read somewhere that AT&T's exclusivity on the 920 was only six months so if that's true then it's a possibility we could see the 920 on Sprint.  I do know that if they get some crappy low to mid range phone I'm out. 
  • Six months means May...  That's a long time for people to jump ship.
  • I feel you better I am in the same boat as you & feel the same EXACT way. But if I get a updated or Beefed up 8X the would be serviceable.
  • So has mine, but I already have one foot out the door. I think it was really lame the way they carried the Arrive, did zero advertising, then claimed it as a lame duck and discontinued it. They also claimed it was the most returned phone......and yet was the highest rated. So based on that, they are a day late and about 5 dollars short.
  • Good to hear, but I'm still ditching them when my contract runs out with them next spring.
  • Fool you once, fool you twice, I suppose?
  • I've already jumped off Sprint, moved one of my lines to AT&T. Really tired of how slow Sprint's data was performing.
  • Same here. I just completed having all three of my line transferred from Sprint to ATT. In laws also had Sprint and loved the Lumia 920 so much that they both left Sprint as well on Saturday. L
    Had Sprint for 14 years. No regrets at all.
  • just did the same with me and the wife...
  • Did the same for myself, my wife and my in-laws for a Gen1 Titan. Unfortunately my bill went up about $100 more a month...ugh...on the other hand their customer service has been great...Tempted to switch back when they get WP8...guess it depends on if their signal in my area has improved or not...
     
    Techiedude
  • I left sprint for T-mobile last November over this exact reason. Couldn't be happier.
  • And this is why today, when i receive my Lumia 920 in the mail, i will no longer be a Sprint customer. 
    Oh, and their coverage is horrible.  'Good' on their coverage map means 1 bar in my house.
  • Got mine in mail today too. Welcome to at&t ^_^
  • Moved to ATT for Lumia 920 after breaking my contract with sprint.. I ain't looking back
  • Hopefully HTC and Sprint's relationship as well as HTC and Microsoft's relationship will yeild a great WP8 on the Sprint network... hopefully!
  • People are still on Sprint?? But on a lighter note, that's good for them. Hopefully they don't treat it like the Arrive and actually hype it up like umm the Palm Pre!
  • Yeah, they suckered me into buying the Pre too... Bought it AND the Arrive on their respective Launch days... Why are people still on Sprint? For me, it's the 5 line family plan with all the different ETF dates...
  • im awaiting my 920 and as soon as it gets here, goodbye sprint. sick and tired of its slow data and increasing dropped calls and late texts. thank god my youtube money is going to basically pay the etf. with my corporate and uverse discount, im actualy going to pay like 5 bucks less than what i was paying sprint.
  • I'm just hoping for a Lumia.  I'd prefer the 920 but would be happy with the 820.
  • By that time I will have most likely left Sprint along with the 3 other lines on my family plan...
  • Sprint must have seen the number of people quitting their network because of the lack of WP8 devices. I am afraid this is just a farce to keep the tide away. I am expecting a half-assed support.
  • I had one foot out the door, and was testing T-Mobile's network. Dare I say, it has even crappier signal coverage.  With this announcement, I think I might end up staying on Sprint. I can deal with some of the issues at $50 for unlimited everything, versus $90 with a cap on AT&T.
  • Amen to that...
  • There is no way T-Mobile's signal is weaker than Sprint.  Maybe just your neighborhood.
  • Lol!  Your first sentence implies that T-Mobile's signal is the absolute strongest signal that can be offered by any carrier!
    Of course T-Mobile's signal is weaker, thus why he/she is staying with Sprint.  
  • T-mobile's signal is in NO way whatsoever weaker than sprint's. At least not in the Midwest or immediate south.
  • Except that there are tons of places where you can get Sprint signal but not T-Mobile.  Seriously, do you live under a rock? =/
  • I tried to switch to t-mobile as well and had to move to sprint. T-mobile had zero coverage at my employment and home.
  • Strong in Boston too
  • Good job sprint. They're idiots though. Before it was "no windows" phones at all...then they realized that they're losing money with that mindset. I stay on ATT because they get all of the good devices.
  • I have been a WP fan since its inception. I am a happy Arrive user, but a very unhappy Sprint cusotmer. WP8 is legit Sprint, and I am tired of you lack of vision and slow footed response to what people want. The Arrive is an excellant phone and Sprint failed to market the phone properly. My contract is up in March along with 3 other lines. I will be going to AT&T and purchasing a 920. I'm tired of terrible support, spotty service and crappy marketing. Good ridance Sprint!!!
  • Always the bridesmaid... Never the bride
  • In my area in Chicago suburbs, they have been having tower issues for maybe a year and a half now. They promised my wife's school they would fix the issue and then backed out. The school left. My phone had full signal for years before, even in my house. Afterwards, I went to not maintaining a call for longer than 10 secs. I left VERY quickly, and have never looked back. Imo they are in big trouble if they won't fix their towers.
  • I'm in the Seattle area, and at work last week, I couldn't get a signal.  Called them, they said there were 3 towers having issues in my area.  Yesterday I came back in to work and have a stronger signal than before, and the speed seems to be a LITTLE better than the dismal rates I'd had over the past year.  
     
    My biggest Sprint Surprise?  I've been traveling to Spokane a lot over the past 6 months, and there, I can still stream video over 3G!  Haven't been able to do that in Western WA for at least a year...
  • They just bought out USCC towers and spectrum here so it will get better now. Too little too late I'll say.
  • Two of my lines are due to be upgraded on 6/1/2013. If the Ting article stating first half of 2013 is right, there is a chance I'll stick with Sprint. I looked into changing to AT&T or Verizon, but I really hate the ridiculous pricing models used by both and the prices are too high. I'm usually around WiFi, so I'm content with the speeds that I get, and the coverage in my area is good.  What I'm really hoping for is that Sprint can get the HTC 8x or a Lumia 92x (if the AT&T exclusivity has expired/doesn't apply), but only if they are cheap/free by June of next year. I'm not willing to pay the release contract price for a phone that is 6+ months old.
  • Getting one, yes. Supporting it? That's a different story. I switched to Sprint to get the HTC Arrive. Still haven't got the last two updates. Doubt I'll get the 7.8 update too.
  • If you have the Arrive, then you have Mango installed already.  The only other update was Tango, which I guess wasn't a huge update.  I don't have that on my Focus either on AT&T.
    I assume they both know the Apollo update is coming out, so they just want to wait for that since it's a bigger update.  With each update comes the risk of something going wrong, and phone companies would get the majority of customer service calls if something does go wrong. Still, WP8 should have over the air updates, so no need to wait for Sprint or whoever to push it.
  • There were two updates. No code names, just version numbers, that fixed bug issues. Most famously the disappearing virtual keyboard. An annoyance that Arrive users still have to put up with.
  • 7.8 is coming straight from Microsoft.
  • I left them on Friday for the 920 at att. Couldn't be happier.
  • Please Sprint, please!!!! Do get it right, offer more than just 1 device, and support it!! Dying for an upgrade to my Arrive, and hoping Sprint gets a decent couple of WP8's.
  • Would somebody tell me if WP8 runs Swype? If not, I'll wait for WP9 when MS gets it's shjt together.
  • Are you serious? Swype? Sounds like the only person that needs to get their "shjt" together is *drumroll* yourself.
  • LOl wtf are you talking about.. 1 you can just talk to your phone and it types for you, 2 the keyboard is better than the iphones and 99.9% of people including me that used swipe is annoyed by it since it messed up the words and you have to go back and manually change the word that you wanted 
  • Too little, too late.  Left sprint last week.  Won't be heading back anytime soon.  Their lack of foresight is alarming.  Their network is terrible.  Their service was mediocre the entire time I was with them.  Five years ago, I never would have guessed I would be choosing ATT over another network.
     
  • They are too late! Already got my 920 and loooooove it!!!
  • I hate sprint they made me dislike carriers more then I did before but im happy you guys still on sprint will see something more then another Android or iPhone next year
  • Sprint u suck!!! ATT the BEAST!!
  • Yeah my Arrive been a good device but Man I ready for Win8 device thats for sure. My contract up in March so let hope they have devices by then. It would be nice to get one of the Nokia devices and the 6 months should be up by then from them selling them to other carries besides AT&T. But I would be fine with the Samsung Ativ or one of the HTC 8X as well. I just hope Sprint gets more than one device to choose from if they did not do this I could easily see them using subscribers due to this. They have already made some really bad decision like over paying for the Iphone so lets hope they make a smart one here by getting on Windows 8 Devices.
  • Little late to the party, but we WP enthusiasts should embrace this. "Ain't gonna hurt"
  • Too late for me Sprint, and not just for lack of WP8 devices but overall service. Goodbye.
  • Yeah I will stay with Sprint. It does not make sense to go to AT&T or Verizon and pay more a month for less. You have to get a on a Data plan and a Cap One plus you will pay $40-50 buck more a month for it. So basically you if anyone leaves Sprint you will pay more a month with a Data Cap so if you want to pay more and have less go ahead. I guess folks can toggle their Wifi back and forth so their not using their data but what a pain and your paying more for it.. :)
  • We may pay more, but it appears my connection speeds are slower with sprint than verizon
  • I think Sprint wanted in the WP8 game but didn't have the money (huge Apple contract).  A Sprint exec said they were optimistic about WP8.  Now that they have Softbank behind them they have the money.  We should see a high end windows 8 phone.
  • Too bad I already left them for att
  • If Sprint doesn't have something to announce after MWC in Feb., my family will be taking its bussiness to a different carrier. I have a sneaking suspition, they only recently changed their mind due to being accuired by Softbank.
  • We will see. I will watch Verizon and see how this pans out by march. May leave if Verizon is offering high end devices
  • If I'm not mistaken, Sprint was concerned about offering a WP8 device due to low sales of the only WP7 device they offered. Since Sprint chose to sit out WP8, they are already behind the other three carriers and playing catch up just like they did with the iPhone. Sprint will lose out on sales over the Holiday season in addition to users they have already left to a competitor not wanting to wait. By the time Sprint comes around to offer a WP8 device, most sales will probably from users that held out for their upgrade and not so much from new subscriptions.
  • The Rearrive?
    I wouldn't want Sprint to throw away all that branding work they put into the Arrive.
    WP8 could get me to extend my SERO plan again, but SERO is not much cheaper than byo phone on straighttalk where I can pick any gsm phone.
     
     
  • Left sprint on Saturday for the 920... I'm loving the phone, but had no idea how quickly I'd use up data once it was actually, y'know, fast enough to be useable. :) I've already somehow used nearly a gig since Saturday.... :-o
  • anyone notice that they say on 4G so if thats the case they will carry 1 WP8 in 5 cities in texas lol... im so glad I left sprint and have this sexy 920 in my hands.. their loss ill never go back.. their data speeds =0.33Mb a sec, and on at&t its 20-40Mb a sec, its nuts! 
  • Couldn't wait, arrive was just too beat up... Jumped ship for Nokia Lumia 920 (ATT) and couldn't be happier.
  • I'm switching to ATT in about 2 weeks from sprint.  I'll be back when they have something worth my time.  'till then, it Lumia 920 all the way
  • if sprint can have galaxy s3 and crappy iphone 5? I don't think it should be that hard to have lumia 920 added??? Also laugh at people who left sprint because no wp8. Well glad I waited has knew sprint will be getting wp8. They know wp8 been selling like hotcakes.
  • Hello thenet
  • I'm glad I am not with Sprint but, Verizon is not getting a 920...
  • The only way Sprint can make up for the fact that they didnt have a WP8 device at launch would be to release a Lumia 920 equivalent or an unanounced Microsoft made Windows Phone sometime next March. If not, then im ditching them for AT&T!!
  • The only way Sprint can make up for the fact that they didnt have a WP8 device at launch would be to release a Lumia 920 equivalent or an unanounced Microsoft made Windows Phone sometime next March. If not, then im ditching them for AT&T!!
  • All you saying sprint sucks lol yeah at least you are paying twice more at AT&t and Verizon and dont have unlimited data. No need worry of going over your data hahaah if you use sprint. Also who cares if sprint dont have wp8 devices. You can always buy an unlocked 920 and it will still work on sprint network hahahah
  • This comment is false because the 920 is a GSM device and won't work on a CDMA network
  • Yeah, Stupid... er I mean, Sprint! =s
  • Meh. After 10 years on Sprint I'm happy with my Nokia 900 on ATT. Sprint can try and bring me back with a 920 or even an 8X but truth be told, if their network is still small and slow then I'll probably be happy staying where I am at. Now a few years down the road, when/if Sprint can get their network fixed, I'd be happy to consider them at that time.
  • You'd think they'd have the 920 in the Yellow everyone is after. Also, let me add to the Sprint angst by bringing up the extra $20 I pay each month for 2 lines for "LTE SmartPhone". What a joke. We Arrive owners only dream of LTE. What we've done is to subsidize Sprint building their LTE network, only to be left out of the party on Day 1 when a WP 8 device was available to use said LTE. Really Sprint? I left Verizon's awesome network for you! Where's the love? ;-)
  • My Arrive still runs perfectly, but when I read the article WPC published about Sprint not carrying any WP8 devices anytime soon I was really disappointed. Its a great OS and people are starting to barely hop on the bandwagon, that includes Sprint. -.-
  • They sure are playing it risky with their WP customers. I worry that they wasted so much on the iPhone that they'll only be able to get a low/mid-range Windows Phone or, as others have said, an older tech one while the other carriers get WP8.5 devices. They better give us good news before my contract ends...
  • I love the unlimited data on SPRINT and it would not make sense for me to go to another carrier paying more (have 5 lines) for unlimited everything. I'm dreaming big because there was THAT RUMOR that MS was working with SPRINT in getting the SURFACE phone on their network? Maybe my memory is spicing it up a bit... jejeje But this is good news. My wife loves my ARRIVE but likes her Evo3D because of the size. Here is to hoping SPRINT and MS have something good in store for us. :P
  • I was actually a single click away from getting a Lumia 920 on AT&T. I really want that phone, but the cheap Sprint plan I am on is my only apprehension. Im on a legacy SERO plan, so anything I get with AT&T, even with discounts are at least 20-30 dollars more a month...but ill have a top notch network and phone... I am trying to wait...for now...but my patience is about gone with Sprint, I need some rumors on what device(s) they'll be getting ASAP! Lol
  • Too late. I love my Arrive, had it for a little over a year, but I am switching to AT&T tomorrow and getting a 920. Sprint has jerked around too much. I'm sure they lost a ocuple others too