Sprint Briefs Employees for iPhone October Rush

Amid unconfirmed reports that Sprint Nextel will be offering the iPhone 5 in mid-October, the carrier has begun briefing employees on an imminent Sprint iPhone 4 launch. 

The briefing supposedly informed the sales team of an October 2011 launch of Apple's current smartphone. Along with standard Sprint data plans, a $10 data smartphone premium, that is not specific to iPhone, will be included, according to a report. 

While previous reports claimed the carrier would receive the upcoming iPhone 5 in October, along with AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, this latest account explicitly said Sprint would not get the latest Apple smartphone until 2012. As news continues to buzz about the iPhone 4 vs. the iPhone 5 coming to Sprint, it has been suggested the carrier's training materials feature the iPhone 4 only to avoid leaking specs of the iPhone 5, as Verizon had trained with the iPhone 3GS model instead of the then-unreleased iPhone 4. 

Sprint has been struggling in past years as the nation’s third largest wireless carrier. With AT&T holding exclusive iPhone rights for years and Verizon adding the smartphone to its repertoire this past winter, Sprint and T-Mobile are the last men standing. While T-Mobile may not be affected by this gapping whole in its product line-up, as the company is in the process of merging into AT&T, Sprint could benefit dramatically from the iPhone. 

Source: Tuaw