With Apple’s iPhone now on the Verizon network, all eyes are on Sprint Nextel, the nation’s third-largest wireless provider. They are running the CDMA network like Verizon Wireless, so bringing the CDMA iPhone to Sprint should just be a matter of business and politics, not engineering. The business side of it is apparently coming into full view and some analysts now think the Sprint iPhone will be a reality by this coming Christmas. From the Barron’s blog:
He sees “little reason for Apple to hold back” and says neither Verizon nor AT&T would leverage their distribution deals with Apple to delay the iPhone launch on the Sprint network.
Bringing iPhone to Sprint will no doubt help accelerate iPhone sales: Sprint has 51 million customers as of this month and Apple’s handset is the #2 smartphone platform, but Android is still gaining ground faster in the United States. That said, any expansion of the addressable market will help Apple keep pace in the smartphone race. The iPhone will be a boon to Sprint’s failing fortunes attributed to the Verizon iPhone launch. Another thing:
