June 12 - 4:25pm EDT   Sprint on Thursday announced it will soon add four phones with Nextel Direct Connect support in more than 40 US cities. Each new phone will support the Nextel push-to-talk (PTT) network that connects subscribers in less than one second. Some of the handsets' features include call alerts and a Group Connect function over the PTT network that allows communication with up to 20 users at once. The phones can either use one phone number for both traditional calling and PTT functionality, or have a dedicated number for each. [full story]

April 1 - 10:10pm EDT   Sprint today unveiled the LG LX 400, Motorola V950, and Samsung Z400/Z700 series phones, rounding off a landslide of announcements from the carrier at the CTIA Wireless 2008 Conference [1|2|3|4|5|6|7]. The LG LX 400 features a 1.77-inch main display, and works on both 1900 and 800MHz frequencies. It also features Sprint's Direct Connect push-to-talk network, as well as several multimedia communications options such as PCS Picture Mail, text, voice messaging, and email. Bluetooth connectivity and a 1.3-megapixel camera are also included. [full story]

January 30 - 3:35pm EST   Sprint will not only continue to support its iDEN network, it will attempt to breathe more life into it, the company's CEO says. Rumors have persisted that the company would shut down its push-to-talk technology, which was inherited through the purchase of Nextel and was once in widespread use with the likes of construction firms and taxi companies. Although iDEN devices are still used by millions of Sprint/Nextel subscribers, the Associated Press notes that business and technical issues -- namely dropped, blocked or garbled calls -- have led thousands of people to cancel their accounts. [full story]