Ahhh, Sprint-Nextel (and now Google)

[mkrishnan]

So Google is putting its muscle behind Sprint-Nextel (and we already know that they've been engaging in some sort of edgy hybrid lobbying/bidding behavior).

Google, the internet search and online advertising giant, is to provide fee web search, interactive communications and social networking tools to subscribers who sign up for Sprint Nextel's next generation WiMax wireless network currently under construction.

So... the question on my mind, for one, is... Sprint is building an even more amazing nationwide network than they already have. WiMAX seems poised to finally offer convergence between WiFi and cellular data services, which will hasten adoption in computers, since OEMs may not (?) have to pick just one cell company's protocol (e.g. by installing an EV-DO or 3GSM card in a notebook). Google is involved, and of course most of what they touch works out.

But the question is... will Sprint ever actually be worth going back to? Will they ever offer phones I could actually palate? Ugh, why couldn't a GSM company be doing all this?