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Sprint-Specific iPad Ready for Launch as Soon as Next Month?

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macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Yesterday, a report surfaced claiming that Sprint sales reps are being trained for an iPhone 4 launch next month. The report also included mention of a "4G" iPad in development for the carrier, but the overall report was seen as questionable given that it also claimed that Sprint will not receive the iPhone 5 until 2012, a claim that directly contradicts other recent mainstream media reports.

ipad_sprint.jpg

But the claim of a Sprint-specific iPad has taken on more weight today with a report from 9to5Mac claiming that such a device is indeed ready for launch.
Apple and Sprint have completed work on a version of the iPad for Sprint's data network. This Sprint compatible iPad appears to be ready for public consumption and will join the family of GSM (AT&T) and Verizon capable Apple tablets before the holidays. With Apple soon launching a Sprint version of the iPhone - which we independently confirmed in June - we suspect that the Sprint iPad will come alongside or soon after that release.
Click to expand...
The primary question regarding the Sprint iPad is just what network technology it will support. Apple and Sprint could theoretically simply offer the existing CDMA iPad 2 for use on Sprint's network, so it seems that Apple and Sprint may have some other plans for the device. Sprint operates a 4G network based on WiMAX technology, and so speculation naturally turns to that possibility as an enticing option.

A Sprint-specific iPad 2 would increase Apple's slate of iPad offerings to an overwhelming 24 different models once all color, capacity, and carrier options are accounted for. Just last week the company simplified the layout of its iPad model selection page in its online store, and it would be a relatively clean addition to offer Sprint as a third carrier option within that new layout.

Article Link: Sprint-Specific iPad Ready for Launch as Soon as Next Month?
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2011/09/14/sprint-specific-ipad-ready-for-launch-as-soon-as-next-month/
Last edited by a moderator:
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dmunz

macrumors regular
Aug 24, 2010
192
53
How about adding LTE to the Verizon version? Of course, that just means you burn through your 2K or whatever faster...

FWIW
DLM
 
skellener

skellener

macrumors 68000
Jun 23, 2003
1,786
543
So. Cal.
LegendarySlayer said:
So wait, does America not have unlocked iPads? :confused:
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Unlocked for what? The carriers are almost all incompatible. It's not like Europe where your device will work with any of the carriers. Better off with a WiFi iPad and use your phone as a WiFi hotspot. That way if you decide to jump carriers, your iPad isn't locked in. With real 4G surfacing, do you really want to lock into a 3G device and network for another two years?
 
A

alent1234

macrumors 603
Jun 19, 2009
5,688
170
LegendarySlayer said:
So wait, does America not have unlocked iPads? :confused:
Click to expand...

america has 4 major cell phone carriers on 2 major technologies with limited roaming capabilities

sprint is the worst. it's one of the smaller 2 carriers but is always trying to build a network that is out of standards and no one can access
 
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alent1234

macrumors 603
Jun 19, 2009
5,688
170
alex.sebenski said:
Couldn't iPads just be built with a "worldphone" chips and not have to have a seperate model?

Im expecting this for iPads and iPhones (maybe not all iPhones).
Click to expand...

i think for CDMA you have to put carrier specific info into the product to allow it to be provisioned on the network
 
smithrh

smithrh

macrumors 68030
Feb 28, 2009
2,722
1,730
It won't be a Wimax iPad - that's a dead technology. Guessing it'll just be a re-banded EVDO spin.

Typically (exceptions exist) Verizon is at 800 MHz while Sprint is at 1.9 GHz.

But Verizon has some EVDO at 1.9 GHz... Come to think of it, the iPad would have had to be dual-band from the beginning or they would have had major gaps in coverage across the country.

In any case, it won't be Wimax.
 
applesith

applesith

macrumors 68030
Jun 11, 2007
2,778
1,574
Manhattan
I'm sure iPad 3 will be a world device that will be compatible with all carriers. There's gotta be enough space in an iPad to fit the antenna structure for this, after seeing earlier information about how an iPhone could hold such a versatile internal structure.

It would be so much easier to choose an iPad if it could be used with any major carrier. Now, if only I could change the color as i like too! :)
 
iRobby

iRobby

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2011
994
6
Fort Myers, FL USA
skellener said:
Unlocked for what? The carriers are almost all incompatible. It's not like Europe where your device will work with any of the carriers. Better off with a WiFi iPad and use your phone as a WiFi hotspot. That way if you decide to jump carriers, your iPad isn't locked in. With real 4G surfacing, do you really want to lock into a 3G device and network for another two years?
Click to expand...


I'm deciding on getting either an iPad 2 or iPad 3 are you saying that I do not need to buy a 3G iPad if I carry my iPhone with me. I can instead use my AT&T unlimited data off the phone by tethering?
 
D

ddarko

macrumors 6502
May 7, 2007
290
61
Why are rumor sites devoted to Apple always so quick to grab hold of rumors that are contrary to Apple behavior and practices?

Apple is not going to launch a WiMax iPad for the same reason it isn't launching an LTE iPhone; power consumption and absence of widespread availability. Plus, Sprint is the only carrier that support WiMax and it will soon announce plans to transition to LTE. Apple isn't going to launch an iPad that's going to become obsolete in a matter of weeks.

The most plausible explanation for Sprint's iPad being "completely separate" from Verizon's models is not that they will run on different radio tech but that Apple will introduce "completely separate" SKUs for Sprint that are locked to Sprint's network. That's how it works with Sprint and Verizon phones even though both carriers use the same CDMA tech and frequency bands.

This may be far more prosaic than the possibility of a WiMax iPad but it's also far more likely to happen. I wish Apple sites would stop reaching for the most far-fetched scenarios and explanations while ignoring the much more plausible ones. Occam's razor is a good principle for rumor sites to follow.
 
Rocketman

Rocketman

macrumors 603
Dec 2, 2001
6,191
1,186
Claremont, The intellectual capitol of the world.
I completely believe this rumor. A pad needs 4G more than a phone. I also like the supportive observation of a pad shopping process that narrows choices from among a byzantine of choices to a Apple-ish simple one. Black or White.

Funny how a single "type of device" can have (far more than) 27 different permutations of capacities, frequencies, color(, and localizations).

I will get one when T-mobile offers it.

Rocketman
 
C

cvaldes

macrumors 68040
Dec 14, 2006
3,237
0
somewhere else
ddarko said:
I wish Apple sites would stop reaching for the most far-fetched scenarios and explanations while ignoring the much more plausible ones. Occam's razor is a good principle for rumor sites to follow.
Click to expand...
I echo this sentiment although these Apple sites worship the Almighty Pageview. In terms of advertising, they want to write the most lurid, preposterous articles possible, even if the proposed scenarios are ludicrously un-Apple.

If these site presented things in a logical and sensible way, they'd probably have very little to offer. From a reader's standpoint, that would improve their signal-to-noise performance considerably and make the site more credible, but their advertisers would not be happy.

One of most hilarious behaviors is presenting financial analyst predictions as something worth hearing about.

We already know that professional analysts suck, however their research findings are also presented as legitimate sources of information.

I tend to look at these Apple rumor sites as entertainment providers, like Fark, The Smoking Gun, or The Onion, not as legitimate sources of news.
 
B

barkomatic

macrumors 601
Aug 8, 2008
4,521
2,827
Manhattan
It seems odd that Apple would release a Sprint iPad 2 so far into its current life cycle. I certainly hope this doesn't mean the the iPad 3 will be delayed like the iPhone 5 has been.
 
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cvaldes

macrumors 68040
Dec 14, 2006
3,237
0
somewhere else
Why is it odd? After all, that's what Apple did when they gave Verizon an iPhone to sell.

In any case, Apple's rollout of the iPhone is never instantaneous. There are international markets that don't get the latest handset until months after the U.S. debut.

Heck, the iPad 2 still hasn't finished its international rollout.
 
I

Intarweb

macrumors 6502a
May 30, 2007
561
0
I wonder if it's actually the iPad that Sprint is getting and not the iPhone. Didn't Verizon get the iPad before the iPhone?
 
T

Tiger8

macrumors 68020
May 23, 2011
2,479
649
LegendarySlayer said:
So wait, does America not have unlocked iPads? :confused:
Click to expand...

We have different networks with different standards, and by the way, don't play that game. There was a time Europe was relevant in the world of mobile phones (Nokia), but those days are over, thanks to Apple, Google, and many other AMERICAN companies. Oh wait, who did Nokia team up with to save their suffering sales? Yes, Microsoft. Another American company.
 
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