Sprint (S) Introduces Worlds First CDMA Windows Phone 7 (MSFT) Device

Sprint (NYSE:S) today announced the HTC Arrive, formerly known as the HTC 7 Pro, the first Windows Phone 7 (NASDAQ:MSFT) device for Sprint and, as far as we know, the first CDMA Windows Phone 7 device in the world.

We've played with various versions and cousins of the Arrive on its five-month road to market, most recently at Mobile World Congress. It's a sliding phone with a QWERTY keyboard that brings back the famous HTC tilting screen. Folded open completely, the screen tilts up like a tiny laptop. Below the screen is an unusually roomy five-row keyboard, with a sizable space bar, a properly positioned shift key, and a full row of numbers. (See below for our hands-on slideshow from when the phone first launched.)

Specs are very similar to other Windows Phone 7 devices, which makes sense; they're all built on the same basic "chassis." So you have a 1-GHz first-generation Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 3.6-inch, 800-by-480 screen, a 5-megapixel camera, and 16GB of non-removable memory. You also get access to the more than 4,000 Windows Phone 7 apps.

The HTC Arrive will go on sale March 20 for $199.99 with a new two-year contract, Elliott said. Eager buyers will be able to pre-order starting today by going into a Sprint store and getting a $50 gift card, which will reserve one of the first phones for them.





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