Todd Allcock wrote:
>
> "The Bob" <nospam@bob.com> wrote in message
> news:Xns9A74B53F5E984bob@216.196.97.136...
>>> A few years ago, people were complaining more about Verizon's handset
>>> selection, and praising Sprint's selection.
>>
>> Um- no. That was never the case. Sprint has always been a late adopter
>> of technology.
>
> I don't know if it was "never" the case- they offered digital handsets
> before back when Cingular and Verizon were still analog! ;-)

Around 2003-2005, Sprint had some smart phone models that had people
dumping Verizon for Sprint, as well as "regular phones" that Verizon had
no competing models for. Verizon was taking an agonizingly long time to
"approve" new handsets, with the real reason being that they needed time
to cripple the firmware to prevent subscribers from doing such horrible
things as transferring pictures to their computer, or uploading
ringtones to the phone.

Remember when Verizon rushed out the T720, desperate to have a model to
compete against Sprint's color phones? It was a disastrous piece of junk.

You can go back and read threads on Google Groups about Verizon's poor
phone selection.

I.e.
"http://groups.google.com/group/alt.cellular.verizon/browse_thread/thread/71b0fe6c709cb847/19c114c28b4baa36?hl=en&lnk=st&q=#19c114c28b4baa36" .

One good post in that thread:

"Verizon's lack of an exciting phone selection is quite bothersome,
especially to someone who values a flip model. With the v60 out of
stock, there is not a good non-color flip choice, and all of the cheaper
phones are candy bar. Sprint's Samsung a500 offers a TFT screen (which
the a530 will lack) and is amazingly thin. The color LG model also
seems thinner and sleeker than the chunky 4400 on Verizon. As you
mentioned, the Sanyo is another nice phone for Sprint.

Because Verizon offers the best reception, it does not need to woo
customers with cutting edge handsets. However, with the largest
subscribership, I would think Verizon would be in a position to make
deals with manufacturers like Sanyo and Samsung to receive their
best-designed products. Better phones will also cause more people to
upgrade at full retail price (as most I expect sign up for two year
deals).

I, for one, hope for a better selection in the near future. I'm sick of
hearing people defend Verizon's rigorous testing process. If Verizon
thought it could increase profits with more desirable phones, we would
see them."

Those of us with long memories remember the days when Sprint was the
CDMA carrier of choice in terms of handsets. "The Bob" is simply incorrect.