Sprint starting employee training for a "slate" device June 7th

By on Jun 3, 2010 at 11:49 AM
Exclusive June 3, 2010

We don’t have too much information to go off of at this point in time, but we’ve been told by a Sprint source of ours that Sprint employees will begin training for a “slate”-type device on June 7th. Why is June 7th such an important date? Oh.

UPDATE: It’s actually not a device we’re told, but a new “system” for Sprint.

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  • Norm

    IPHONE TO SPRINT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!??!

  • JJ

    Hmm.. iPad on Sprint? Nice. I wonder if they’ll be able to beat AT&T on price. But knowing Apple, they will probably dictate the price and will all be the same.

    • HunterA3

      Apple can dictate pricing of the unit, but not the data plan, which is where Sprint could have an advantage over AT&T. The plan costs may be similar, but the cap will more than likely be higher (if not unlimited)–assuming any of this comes to fruition.

      • JJ

        Apple could easily dictate the price of the plan if they’re in the position of power (which they generally are).

        Apple: “Do you want the iPad?”
        Sprint: “Yes”
        Apple: “Here’s what you have to do….”

        Of course it’s just speculation if they have/will/would do that.. but they could. It would seem counterproductive to do that, but you know how they are.

      • Michael

        I’d like to here a lawyer’s opinion on this, but I believe dictating the price of the plan would be illegal. There have been some changes over the years and manufacturer’s have been able to set prices for their stuff (the iPad), but fixing prices for the carrier’s service would be anti-competitive and I suspect it would get the attention of the justice department.

      • JJ

        Yeah, you could be right. But I have seen manufacturers (clothing and sports gear) set price constraints on their products…. i.e. you can’t put it on sale for a discounted price, etc.
        Not sure… but apparently we don’t have to worry about it now since it’s turned out to be a false alarm.

  • Stevejobsforprez

    It says “slate” device so I rule out iPhone…I just can’t see the iPhone on Sprints Network tho…could be that CDMA ipad everyone is talking about..or it could be a non apple product that wants to try to steal some attention from Apple’s big day

  • Tim Berry

    Dell Streak or Looking Glass?

  • Roberto

    They’re probably just talking about the EVO 4G. That thing is practically as big as the iPad.

  • IceColdWinner

    S.L.A.T.E. is not a device at all. Disregard this article.

  • drksilenc

    well since you dont have to worry about voice and data on the ipad it would work quite well

  • asdf;lkj

    Slate is a system that allows you to plug in a device and it tells you everything that is wrong with that device. Earpiece, mic, software updates, dropped calls, etc. It’s a process that will take about 15 minutes.

  • undertainer

    sorry guys… i work for sprint.. today is my last day actually.. and its not the ipad or anything like that. its the SKIFF which is a larger E ink reader. you can see it at Skiff.com . if you remember talk about this was going around about 6-8 months ago and then it kind of died down. So sorry no Ipad.. but u do get a pretty badass reader for a decent price. oh and boygenius… GIMME CREDIT!

    • JJ

      Damn.. what a buzzkill. Oh well, EVO owners can just use their phone as a wifi hotspot for the ipad (assuming they can around that $30/mo charge).

  • asdf;lkj

    It is definitely not something like SKIFF I don’t know at what sprint store you work but that is not true. Like I said is just a device that allows you to see everything that is wrong with a mobile phone. Is for sprint use only and only techs can use it.

    • p

      its not just for techs, the cool thing about slate is that any worker can use it to do triage and software updates, its gonna be really cool to see how it works out.

  • asdf;lkj

    It even says on the pic of the playbook that is a tool for full service retail locations.

  • Mike

    BGR – thanks for ripping my comment on the sprint store inventory screenshot comments thread (take a look folks and making it a headline….at least give me credit for noticing it first!!!

  • Anthony

    lol love how they jumped the gun on the slate thing hahaha

  • Holla
  • drew dogg

    Lame….

  • blake

    it’s a device to fix and troubleshoot phones. its not a new device.

  • JD

    Who cares, really? Sprint is a joke and on their last legs. This, nor anything else will save them. AT&T is right behind them. I actually know, and don’t care if anyone believes me or not. Just remember it. I told you so.

  • Confucious

    Riggghhhttt…just like verizon had a noon conference call to supposedly announce something to the sales force back when they announced os 4 for iPhone. These crazy rumors are ridiculous.

  • Trevor

    Jesus criminy. I said before, the magical “SLATE” is just a Sprint tool to diagnose issues with phones.

    It’s S.L.A.T.E., and stands for Sprint Lab Automated Telephone Evaluator or something like that (I know it’s Sprint Lab…blahblah) and is used to triage equipment that gets brought in by customers.

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