Sprint Nextel Introduces New High-End Samsung Product to Take on Competitor

(NewsVisual, powered by IntellectSpace) -- Despite the fact that the markets were closed on Monday for the Presidents Day holiday, Sprint Nextel Corp (NYSE: S) announced that it and Samsung Mobile were offering customers a new high-end product that could be interpreted as a strategic effort to compete against the iPhone of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) and  AT&T Inc (NYSE: T).

Called the Samsung M520 and dubbed a “slider phone,” Sprint said in its statement that the phone will offer users enhanced functionality.

The M520 will allow customers to access the Web, find local restaurants, watch live television, download their favorite songs, send text messages or use GPS to find their way home, the company said in its statement.

The company, however, emphasized the M520’s navigation features.  Those features are powered by the company’s GPS audio and visual system that is called “Telenav” that enable “turn-by-turn driving directions.”

Telenav also enables Sprint to offer customers 10 million local listings, the company said.

Although it’s unusual for companies to issue major announcements on a holiday, Sprint’s rationale for choosing to do so was evidently based on the company’s desire to capitalize on Presidents Day shoppers, saying in its press release that this device “device is now available in all Sprint retail channels.”

“We are pleased to introduce this simple-to-use and inexpensive slider phone into our robust Power Vision portfolio,” said Sprint’s Vice President Danny Bowman in the company’s statement.

“Accessing services that are useful and entertaining is truly effortless with the M520 by Samsung.

  Customers will appreciate the uncomplicated menus and smooth multi-tasking capabilities,” he added.
Sprint Nextel’s share price was down from the previous close of $9.69 to $9.57 in after-the-bell trading on Friday Feb 15.

NewsVisual decided to create an IntellectSpace Knowledge Map in order to illustrate the business connections of Sprint’s Board of Directors as a method for assessing their knowledge of business and for determining the likelihood that the telecom’s Management Team would benefit from the former’s advice.

The Knowledge Map shows that several of Sprint’s Directors have strong business connections to other companies where they most likely have the experience of having to make critical business decisions, like to one confronting Sprint now.

For example, because Director William H Swanson is also the CEO/Chairman of Raytheon Co and Director Frank M Drendel is also the CEO/Chairman of CommScope Inc, these two Sprint Directors would certainly have faced similar competitive pressures in their own companies’ markets.  They would, therefore, most probably have some insights to share with the Management Team.

Likewise, the following two Directors would most probably be able to offer sound advice because of their widespread involvement with other companies:  Director Gordon M. Bethune is also a Director for Honeywell International Inc, Willis Group Holdings, Prudential Financial Inc, and Aloha Airgroup Inc; and Director James H Hance Jr is also a Director for Cousins Properties Inc, Duke Energy Corp, and Rayonier Corp.

Click here for an interactive version of this IntellectSpace Knowledge Map.

(Note: the information contained and presented in Knowledge Maps is public information from the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States of America).