Sprint is sending out invites to a press event to be held in NYC on February 7th. The event will feature illusionist David Blaine and seems to be a big deal, but the intended product worthy of all this attention is not yet known. The invite itself holds no clues to the product announcement, so we are on our own to speculate about this event.
When considering the possibilities, there seems to be more products that are excluded than included on this short list. It’s not the CDMA iPhone as that is not an industry first. It’s not a 4G mobile hotspot device as we already had that announcement last week. Though a few Android blogs are invited, Sprint did unveil an Android 4G handset last week and has several previous models, so it is not another 4G smartphone. Unless you consider a CDMA version PlayStation phone to be novel enough to be considered an industry first. It is a not a new webOS device as HP has a big press event on the 9th of February to confirm its upcoming hardware lineup.
Knowing that a few Android blogs are invited, it is possible that Sprint has a WiMAX tablet up its sleeve. The next generation version of the Galaxy Tab or a WiMAX-version of the Motorola XOOM may be a possibility. It is interesting to note that Sprint did just drop the price on its Galaxy Tab to a lowly $299 with contract. The only hindrance to this possibility is the N810 WiMAX edition. The diminutive tablet supported WiMAX and holds the title as the first WiMAX tablet. Any subsequent modern tablet would not be an industry first.
It is also possible that the event is business-oriented and not focused on hardware. It’s no secret that the relationship between Sprint and Clearwire has been strained due to Clearwire’s growing financial troubles. Sprint may have a plan to help bail them out or, perhaps, it is ready to liberate themselves from the WiMAX company. It is equally possible that Sprint has some new pricing plans or new innovative partnerships .