Though it stopped short of providing any actual numbers, Sprint said first-day sales of its second 4G smartphone are among its best. The Epic 4G is one of the Samsung Galaxy smartphone line that’s done noticeably well in the U.S. Though only two other Galaxy phones are available — one each with T-Mobile and AT&T — Samsung said it has shipped more than 1 million Galaxy devices.
The dual-mode CDMA 1X EV-DO and WiMax phone follows on the heels of the HTC EVO 4G launched in June, another record-setting device for Sprint. The handset was successful in spite of the fact that the WiMax network, run by Clearwire, is available in 51 markets, meaning many customers are buying the 4G phone even though they don’t have access to the 4G network. In the second quarter Clearwire reported a huge spike in wholesale customers, believed to be largely driven by EVO activations, many of which were outside Clearwire’s WiMax footprint.
As Clearwire moves forward with its 2010 rollout plans, though, customers in key markets such as New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco will find themselves getting 4G signals. Clearwire plans to offer its own versions of the Samsung Epic and HTC EVO later this year, creating a new channel for 4G connections.
Connected Planet’s take,
Kevin Fitchard:
Though certainly not a knock on HTC, the EVO was a phone launched largely in isolation. Sprint had to depend largely on educating customers on 4G capabilities and to a lesser extent on the Android operating system to demonstrate its appeal. With the Epic, Samsung and the market may do a lot of the work for Sprint.
While it certainly doesn’t have the mind share of, say, the iPhone or BlackBerry, the Galaxy Series has done surprisingly well. One million shipments is nothing to scoff at, and if Sprint emphasizes the phone’s place within the Galaxy geneology, it could ride the brand’s coattails much further than if it had to promote the phones capabilities in a vacuum.
I understand why 4G is a big deal. You understand why it’s a big deal. But the vast majority of the U.S. population still doesn’t. With the Epic, Sprint might be getting what is an attractive smartphone first and a 4G device second, which could go far in generating 4G contracts while the industry tries to educate the public on what 4G means.
That’s our take on this. Let us know what you think in the comments section below: