Sprint this week launched a pair of new smartphones, the Samsung Intrepid and the HTC Hero. The former is one of the carrier's first Windows Mobile 6.5 models, while the latter is Sprint's inaugural handset to run on Google's Android platform.
The Samsung Intrepid, which measures 4.6 x 2.6 x 0.5 inches and weighs 4 ounces, has a 2.5-inch touch screen with a 320 x 240-pixel (QVGA) resolution. It also sports a BlackBerry-style QWERTY thumb-keyboard.
Although the smartphone is from Sprint, a CDMA/ EV-DO Rev. A 3G carrier, you can use the Intrepid worldwide as it includes a second, GSM cellular radio.
There's also Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, a 3.2 megapixel camera, and a microSD slot that can handle cards up to 32GB in capacity. Its 1480 mAh battery is supposed to give users 6 hours of talk time on a single charge.
The Samsung Intrepid goes for $150 with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. You can learn more about it
here.
As for the HTC Hero (see left), as Sprint's first 'gPhone' handset, it is highly integrated with Google's online services and Microsoft Exchange for enterprise e-mail and management.
The HTC Hero is a tablet-shaped smartphone without a hardware-based keyboard. It sports a 3.2-inch capacitive touch display for finger input and layers the HTC sense user interface on top of Google's smartphone platform.
Sense sports seven-panel wide home screen that can be populated with customizable widgets to bring information to the surface, according to HTC. The idea is to allow users to easily create and switch between Scenes to reflect different moments or roles in their lives, such as work, social, travel and play. For example, a work Scene can be set up to include stock updates, work email and calendar, a play Scene could have music, weather, and a Twitter feed or a travel Scene could offer instant access to the local time, weather and maps.
In addition to the apps that ship on the Hero, many Google-based of course, users gain access to the Android Market, which today includes over 10,000 free and paid applications. Popular apps today include ShopSavvy, Twitter, Shazam, amazon.com, USA Today, Flixster, PacMan, CraigslistChecker, and MySpace. Pandora, the popular personal radio application, is launching on Android devices and will be available on the Hero.
Specs include support for Sprint's 3G network, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a microSD with 32GB card support, GPS, a 5.0 megapixel camera, and a compass.
Sprint is selling the HTC Hero for $180 with a two-year contract, after a $100 mail rebate.
