14 DAY TRIAL // Sprint is proud of being the only wireless carrier in the United States, and around the world, for that matter, to offer a mobile phone with 4G connectivity capabilities, but it seems that this might not be so for a long period of time. The Federal Communications Commission has just approved for use a new handset with 4G connectivity on board, which should arrive in the country on the airwaves of another carrier than Sprint.
We're referring here to the Samsung SCH-r900, which has recently received all the necessary approvals from FCC, and which packs support for Long Term Evolution networks, making it suited for use at MetroPCS, the wireless carrier which already announced plans to soon release the first LTE / CDMA phone in the United States. Sprint's existing 4G device, the HTC EVO 4G, comes with WiMAX / CDMA connectivity on board.
According to FCC documentation (via PhoneScoop), the Samsung SCH-r900 packs support for the spectrum used by MetroPCS in various areas around the United States. Moreover, the device should arrive on shelves with LTE capabilities using the 1700 / 1900 radio bands. Other connectivity options are also expected to be included in the package, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, which might also suggest smartphone capabilities, though nothing has been confirmed on this for the time being.
Unfortunately, there are not too many details available on the newly approved dual-mode CDMA / LTE device, nor on its exact arrival or pricing. The wireless carrier announced initially that it shouldn't be too long before it launches the first LTE device on its airwaves, and chances are that the official announcement would be made before the end of the ongoing year. However, it still remains to be seen what the upcoming mobile phone would be able to offer to its users in terms of features, and whether this would be yet another 4G smartphone to e put on sale in the US.
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