Sprint said it will begin selling a Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. phone that will work on both CDMA and GSM networks. Verizon Wireless already sells a similar device.
Sprint said the new Sprint PCS International Phone IP-A790 by Samsung will sell for $550 and will work in more than 130 countries. The device supports Sprint’s video mail and features voice-recognition capabilities and “+” key functions for automatic international access-code dialing.
For roaming, Sprint said it will offer flat-rate pricing for GSM countries where it has roaming agreements in place. Customers will pay $1.50 per minute for making or receiving calls in those countries with long-distance included, and rates for the remaining covered countries, where frequencies supported include CDMA and AMPS, will be 50 cents to 99 cents per minute plus varying long-distance rates, depending on where the call originates.
“The availability of simple pricing and a single device that works on CDMA and international GSM networks is a significant addition to Sprint’s portfolio of solutions designed to meet the needs of those customers whose work and play take them around the world,” said Harry Campbell, president of emerging and mid markets for the carrier’s Business Solutions group. “Besides having the convenience of a single phone number, receiving one invoice and having access to a dedicated international customer solutions team, our customers can now use a single device to stay in touch while in many countries of the world.”
On Tuesday, Sprint said it will sell the advanced MM-5600 from Sanyo, which features a 1.3-megapixel camera, a 16MB removable miniSD memory card and a MP3/AAC music player.
