Sprint customers, have you found yourself wondering what Hesse & Co. have in store for you this year beyond the illustrious Palm Pre? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. While we can’t post the list itself, one of our ninjas came through with a tasty internal document that may shed some light on things for you. It doesn’t cover all of the handsets Sprint has in store for 2009 but it does shed some light on a few handsets we’re all eagerly awaiting. Note that this is an End of Life (EOL) list so the replacement devices may add an element of confusion. Some of the handsets listed below are already released, such as the Motorola i365 and the Samsung M220, yet they are listed next to dates in the future. This simply means that these handsets will fill any gaps left by the corresponding EOL device. As for the handsets on the list that are not yet released, the EOL dates represent the target death of the EOL handset (in the warehouse, existing store inventory will still be sold) and the target in stock-date at Sprint’s warehouses for its replacement. In other words, these replacement devices are projected to be in stock by the dates specified so a release on or around said date is most likely a safe bet. So without further ado, hit the jump and soak up all that Sprint handset goodness we’ve extracted from the EOL document for you.
UPDATE: To clarify a bit of confusion, the sheet shows a target in-stock date of 3/15 for the Pre. It also shows that it will be replacing the Palm 755P which has a projected EOL in late May. For comparison sake, the Treo Pro shows a target in-stock date of 2/15, replacing the 800W which has a projected EOL in April. For the Treo Pro, we know that the target in-stock date corresponds with the launch of 2/15. This could indeed put the Pre launch on or around 3/15, but we wouldn’t bet on it. Sprint wants to move their stock of Treo 755Ps before they get to the Pre, and if we were a betting bunch, we’d peg the Pre release closer to May/Early June than Mid-March.
Device Name – Projected Warehouse EOL – Replacement (if available)
- Sierra Compass 597 USB – Early February – Sierra 598 USB
- Motorola ic602 – Early February
- LG 160 – Mid-February – Samsung M220
- LG Rumor (blue) – Mid February – LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
- Motorola i325IS – Mid February – Motorola i365IS
- LG Rumor (green) – Mid March – LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
- Franklin Wireless U680 USB – Early April
- Palm 800W – April – Palm Treo Pro (target in-stock 2/15)
- LG Rumor (black) – Mid April – LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
- Motorola i615 – Mid April
- Samsung M520 Lumina – Mid April – LG LX370 (slider)
- RIM BlackBerry Pearl (red) – May
- LG LX400 – Late May
- Palm 755P (blue) – Late May – Palm Pre (target in-stock 3/15)
- Sanyo 6750 Eclipse (pink) – June
- Palm Centro (berry) – June
- Motorola Q9C – Mid June
- Sierra 597E – July – Sierra 2-in-1 Aircard
- Palm Centro (green) – July
- Palm Centro refresh (black) – July
- Motorola VE20 – July
- HTC Touch Diamond – July
- RIM BlackBerry 7100i – August – RIM BlackBerry 8350i