PhoneTalk

Getting a data plan with a cell phone has become more of a requirement this past year. It makes sense since many of the feature-rich and smartphones are built around web-based connectivity including access to social media apps such as Facebook and viewing videos on YouTube. That said there are still plenty of people who just want a phone that can make calls, take pictures, and send texts. It's true that If you want to send texts, you'll need to include that option when you select a plan. Sprint offers messaging in many of the company's Sprint Talk plans. In light of that, here's a list of cell phones from Sprint that don't require a data plan. You'll find these phones tend to be more compact and some such as the Kyocera Brio and the eco-friendly Samsung Replenish even sport a tactile QWERTY keyboard.

• Kyocera Brio
• Kyocera DuraCore
• Kyocera DuraMax
• LG Rumor Touch
• Samsung Replenish
• Samsung Trender
• Sanyo Taho by Kyocera  

Are you interested in a more basic cell phone? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Sanyo Zio users should start receiving a notification on their cell phone that an update is available. The update will upgrade the cell phone's OS from Android 2.1 to Android 2.2 Froyo, which means the phone will run just a bit faster. There will be quite a few updates as well including the ability to install apps on the microSD card, the SWYPE keyboard for texting, improvements to battery life, the Camera and Gallery features will get picture stacks, zoom, and some other enhancements, and the freezing issues should be resolved. There are a few more fixes that can also be expected. You can read about all the release details by clicking this link.

If you are a Sanyo Zio owner and receive the update notification, be sure to plug the cell phone into the wall before installing and it's recommended that users turn on WiFi and download the update via that connection.

At CTIA in October, Sprint announced ID Packs to help Android users customize their phone. The packs essentially are a way to deck out a cell phone with a theme loading it with corresponding apps and widgets. The latest pack announced today comes from MTV called the MTV Music ID pack. In addition, to various MTV centric apps such as the MTV News App, MTV Photos, MTV Twitter, and the MTV Meter (a daily list of artists currently trending) there are also some popular music apps including Pandora and Rhapsody.

The ID packs also tend to include apps you might not know about. In this case there are two:

SoundHound: An instant music search and discovery application that's similar to Shazaam. Only difference is this app can also recognize songs that you sing or hum.

doubleTwist: Use this app to sync playlists, ratings and play counts to your Android phone with the doubleTwist Player for Android.

Although, the MTV Music ID pack is free to download it's currently only available for three phones: LG Optimus S, Sanyo Zio, and Samsung Transform.

The latest messaging phone from Sprint, the Sanyo Innuendo by Kyocera, is loaded with style and even a little bit of mystery. The cell phone, which comes in blue, has a concealed numeric keypad that glows through its mirrored finish and disappears when not in use. Open the cell phone to reveal a QWERTY keypad and 2.8-inch display designed with texters in mind. The phone also provides an easy way to stay updated with popular social media apps Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Also, on board is a 3.2-megapixel camera, music player with a 1GB microSD card included, and GPS. So is this the sleekest messaging phone you've seen to date? Let us know by posting a comment below.

This post comes from LetsTalk.com Merchandising Manager Michael Cera.

Another Sprint Roadmap here. This one was found at Boy Genius while searching for more about Sprint’s presence in the news today. Sprint has made some drastic changes in the recent past and it seems like they are going to be doing the same into the near future and through Q1 and Q2 of 2009 with some new and very exciting handsets.

For starters, one of the more exciting devices they will have coming out most likely in Q4 is the BlackBerry 8350i. This is a BlackBerry Direct Connect device that is based off the BlackBerry Curve design. There is an internal antenna, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, Nextel Direct Connect, and a 2MP camera that is optional (they have one with it and one without so you can choose). This will be an awesome cell phone for those looking to keep their direct connect capabilities, but want to step further into the 21st century.

Some of the other cell phone releases mentioned in the Boy Genius blog post consist of the Motorola i950 that will be first, then the Motorola i576 and i776, which are reported to launch in early Q4. There is not much about the i950, but the i576 and i776 will both be built to military specifications and will have Direct Connect, Bluetooth, and GPS capabilities. In early Q1 of 2009, we will see the Motorola Monolith, which is a sure-type device (two alphabet letters per key) that is similar to the Motorola V8, and a Sanyo handset that will be an iDEN/GSM device. Further into 2009, most likely in Q2, there is rumored to be a Samsung slider with music capabilities, the Immersion by Motorola built to military specs, and the Sanyo Pro410. This is going to be a great end to a good year and an excellent beginning to a new one.

Note: We have no confirmation of the dates or products mentioned in the Boy Genius blog post, however, when and if these products become available through LetsTalk.com we’ll be sure to let you know.

This post comes from LetsTalk.com Merchandising Manager Michael Cera.

After perusing around Engadget Mobile for a little while, I came across some very interesting and exciting news: a leaked Sprint roadmap. From the post we can see an abundance of new, cool cell phones coming from Sprint in the coming months. It is claimed that a new, blue-colored Rumor and the Palm Treo 800W will be coming out later this month, while the Motorola RAZR VE20 Vegas and Katana Eclipse will arrive next month. September is said to bring the Samsung M220 and M320 flip phones, as well as the HTC MP6950, which is assumed to be either the Touch Diamond or Touch Pro. It looks like the next few months should be really amazing for new and existing Sprint customers.

Note: We have no confirmation of the dates or products mentioned in the Engadget blog post, however, when and if these products become available through LetsTalk.com we’ll be sure to let you know.