14 DAY TRIAL // It seems that Sprint decided it was about time to offer smartphones at smaller prices than usual, so the mobile phone carrier proceeded to lowering the prices for a nice range of handsets. Some of these devices are offered for $100 or even less, after a mail-in rebate and the signing of a two-year contract agreement with the operator.
Most of the devices that feature smaller prices now have been designed as entry-level models, while some are older handsets that registered drops in their price in time. Interestingly enough, the handsets seem to sport a lot of features in common, including a tablet shape with the keyboard (QWERTY or SureType) below the display. At the same time, some of them come with touchscreen.
All the Sprint handsets running under the PalmOS have seen a drop in price. This move does not come as a surprise, given the fact that Palm announced recently that it planned to phase out the operating system. The popular Palm Centro can be acquired from Sprint for only $50 at the moment, while the Treo 755p, which has been introduced as a high-end device, costs only $100.
At the same time, the Treo 800w, which is a Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional business-oriented handset, also costs $100. As many of you might already know, the carrier plans to replace the handset in the near future with the Palm Treo Pro.
Some of the smartphones made by Research in Motion have also seen price reductions, starting with the BlackBerry 7100i, which comes with support for the iDEN network and is priced at $75. The BlackBerry Pearl 8130 is a more consumer-oriented device that costs only $80. A little more expensive, yet not too much, would be the BlackBerry Curve 8330, which costs $100. The device can be seen as a great option for both the business and consumer segments.
The list of the handsets offered by Sprint for lower prices will end this time with two more Windows Mobile-powered smartphones, namely the Samsung Ace and the Motorola Q9c, both of which cost only $100.