Sprint to sell new tri-band Galaxy S4 in the coming weeks

New version fully supports Sprint Spark

As part of their national Sprint Spark rollout, Sprint will be releasing a new version of the Galaxy S4 in the coming weeks. Support for LTE bands 25, 26 and 41 will be included, and the new version will be compatible with the new LTE network in the locations that currently have it available, as well as any and all expansion sites.

Today, Sprint Spark is limited to Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Tampa, but Sprint says it will expand to 100 markets over the next year.

The new version of the Galaxy S4 will cost $199 with a new agreement and a $50 mail-in rebate, or just $25 monthly with Sprint's One Up financing.

Existing Galaxy S4 phones will not be compatible with Sprint Spark. See the full press release after the break.

Sprint Debuts Samsung Galaxy S 4 with the Benefit of Sprint Spark

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sprint (NYSE:S) expects to begin delivery of Samsung Galaxy S 4 (16GB) with the addition of Sprint Spark (enhanced LTE) to its sales channels in the next few weeks. This enhances the current version of Galaxy S 4 with a design change to take advantage of unprecedented speeds by combining all three Sprint bands (800MHz, 1.9GHz and 2.5GHz) of 4G LTE wireless spectrum.

Sprint Spark allows tri-band devices, like Galaxy S 4, to support active hand-off mode between 800MHz, 1.9GHz and 2.5GHz and provide data session continuity as the devices move between spectrum bands.

Sprint Spark provides the capacity to greatly improve the performance of video and other bandwidth-intensive applications while opening the way for futuristic applications. Sprint Spark is designed to support a new generation of online gaming, virtual reality, advanced cloud services and other applications requiring very high bandwidth.

Sprint plans to deploy Sprint Spark in about 100 of Americas largest cities during the next three years, with initial availability in five markets now. The first markets with limited availability are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Tampa and Miami. Sprint 4G LTE service is expected to be available by mid-2014 to approximately 250 million Americans, and Sprint expects 100 million Americans will have Sprint Spark or 2.5GHz coverage by the end of 2014.

This super-high-speed capability demonstrates 50-60 Megabits per second (Mbps) peak speeds today with increasing speed potential over time. Given Sprints spectrum and technology assets, it is technically feasible to deliver more than 2Gbps per sector of over-the-air speed.1

Samsung Galaxy S 4 with Sprint Spark will be available for $199.99 (excluding taxes) with a new line or eligible upgrade and two-year service agreement after a $50 mail-in rebate via reward card2 or $25 per month with Sprint One UpSM.

Customers can take advantage of Sprint One Up3, a new program that offers customers an affordable option to upgrade their device more frequently. With Sprint One Up, participating smartphone customers get unlimited talk, text and data for an introductory rate of $65 per month4 a $15 per month savings off their Unlimited, My Way standard rate plan and Sprints guarantee of unlimited talk, text and data for the life of the line of service.5 Sprint One Up is also available for smartphones on the My All-in plan.

Sprint offers unlimited 4G LTE data, text and calling to any mobile device with no metering or overages, all while on the Sprint network, making it the ideal carrier for customers who want to use every feature of their Galaxy S 4 every day of the month without worry. Sprint 4G LTE is available in select markets.

Manufactured by Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), Galaxy S 4 is powered by Android 4.3, Jelly Bean, boasts a brilliant 5-inch full-HD Super AMOLED touchscreen, 1.9GHz quad-core processor and access to the Sprint 4G LTE network. It also offers Multi Window, which allows the use of two apps side-by-side.

Via: Sprint to sell new tri-band Galaxy S4 in the coming weeks