Oscar® Night Sure to Bring Out the Best in Video Chat; Who’s on the Most Wanted Video Chat List for Movie/TV Stars?

Sprint 4G Celebrity Survey Nuggets: Politics, Outer Space, Family and … oh … a Little Sizzle

LOS ANGELES (BUSINESS WIRE), February 16, 2011 – In a recent survey of well-known movie, TV and sports stars, Sprint (NYSE:S, news, filings) discovered details about celebrities’ relationships with mobile technology. In particular, Sprint found it’s no surprise that the famous and glamorous want to use video chat (available on Sprint 4G devices with front-facing cameras). They particularly want to use this relatively new technology to communicate with political leaders, family, astronauts and sexy actresses. That’s right; Sprint discovered that celebrities may be just like the rest of us when it comes to using mobile technology – but with a few interesting twists.

Outer Space: Blair Underwood and Bryan Cranston both expressed a desire to talk to and see the outer dimension. Cranston, three-time Emmy-winning actor for “Breaking Bad,” said that he would like to mobile video chat with “astronauts on the moon or Mars, because it would be out of this world!” Underwood, starring as President Elias Martinez in “The Event,” said he would like to talk to President Clinton to find out if UFOs are real because “I just want to see what the little green things look like.” Although Sprint 4G cannot connect you with beings in or from outer space, you can use video chat to talk to work colleagues, friends and family on the Sprint 4G network. See video chat in action in San Francisco.

Political Leaders: In addition to Underwood’s desire to host a mobile video conversation with a former president, Melissa Joan Hart, star of “Melissa & Joey” on ABC’s Family Channel, would like to video chat with Condoleezza Rice because “she is so smart and I have lots of questions for her!”

Family: Vanessa Williams, currently starring in ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” said clear and reliable video chat “would be an awesome feature for a cell device!” Williams, a model and recording artist, expressed a desire to mobile chat with her “daughter in college to stay connected at any given time.” Amanda Beard, Olympic champion swimmer, expressed a desire to which most parents can probably relate: “If I could video chat with anyone in my phone it would be my son. I really get sad when I have to leave him even for a day, so it would be nice for him to see me and I him.”

Sex Appeal: Jesse McCartney, pop recording artist and star of the upcoming “Locke & Key” TV series, said that he would most like to video chat with January Jones from “Mad Men” because “she is incredible.” If McCartney gets the number to the set of “Mad Men,” Sprint has 4G service in 71 markets, including Hollywood and New York City, to help make his dream happen.

Sprint 4G’s lightning-fast wireless service enables mobile downloads, video chat capabilities and turbo-charged Web browsing. Video chat is currently available on two handsets, HTC EVO™ 4G and the Samsung Epic™ 4G. Matt Carter, president of Wholesale, Sprint, said, “Video chat is one of the most exciting services that Sprint 4G provides, so we are thrilled to see the excitement from Hollywood about this new technology.”

Video chat service is available to the pre-loaded Qik app to enable conversational, interactive, real-time sharing between mobile devices or from mobile-to-desktop. Additionally, Sprint 4G speeds deliver a full, no-compromise Internet experience.

In addition to video chat, Sprint celebrity survey results gave insights into how the Hollywood glamour set would like to use mobile technology overall:

• Bryan Cranston and Jesse McCartney Wish for Constant, Clear Communication: Cranston can’t live without e-mail on his mobile device; McCartney uses his for texting.
• Blair Underwood Can Use a Boost: Underwood wished his current mobile device could “give me an instant shot of caffeine when I pick it up!” Although the Sprint 4G network can’t provide a quick cup of coffee, it boosts download speeds and turbo-charges Web browsing up to 10 times faster than 3G service².
• Melissa Joan Hart’s Favorite Applications: For those who can’t get enough on the latest awards season fashion, nominees, gossip and trivia, there are dozens of apps to help you stay ahead of your friends, including E! Live from the Red Carpet, Oscar’s Trivia Challenge, Oscars (provides Oscar winners and nominated films since 1928) and Oscar Quotes (acceptance speeches). Location-based apps such as Gowalla or Foursquare can be used to find out which parties your friends are crashing, the best places to watch the awards, or to receive discounts at local retailers. Hart said she would use these location-enabled apps to help find her husband when they get separated at the mall or grocery store.

For more information on Sprint 4G and to explore additional suggestions on how Sprint 4G can be used in your daily life, visit www.sprint.com.

About Sprint Nextel

Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 49.9 million customers at the end of 2010 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 6 in its 2010 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

¹ Sprint 4G is now available in 71 markets: California – Los Angeles, Merced, Modesto, Sacramento, San Francisco, Stockton, Visalia; Colorado – Denver; Connecticut – Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven; Delaware – Wilmington; District of Columbia – Washington; Florida – Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa; Georgia – Atlanta, Milledgeville; Hawaii – Honolulu, Maui; Idaho – Boise; Illinois – Chicago; Maryland – Baltimore; Massachusetts – Boston; Michigan – Grand Rapids; Minnesota – Minneapolis-St. Paul: Missouri – Kansas City, St. Louis; New Jersey – New Brunswick, Trenton; New York – New York, Rochester, Syracuse; Nevada – Las Vegas; North Carolina – Charlotte, Greensboro (includes High Point and Winston-Salem), Raleigh (includes Cary, Chapel Hill and Durham); Ohio – Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus; Oregon – Eugene, Portland, Salem; Pennsylvania – Harrisburg, Lancaster, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Reading, York; Rhode Island – Providence; Tennessee – Nashville; Texas – Abilene, Amarillo, Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Killeen/Temple, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Antonio, Waco, Wichita Falls; Utah – Salt Lake City; Virginia – Richmond; and Washington – Bellingham, Seattle, Tri-Cities, Yakima.

² Up to 10x Faster Claim: Based on download speed comparison of 3G’s 600 kbps vs. 4G’s 6 Mbps. Industry published 3G avg. speeds (600 kbps-1.7 Mbps); 4G avg. speeds (3-6 Mbps). Actual speeds may vary by plan or based on other factors. Not all services are available on 4G, and coverage may default to 3G/separate network where 4G is unavailable.