Sprint customers, long forced to use less-cool, non-Apple smartphones, will finally get their chance to join the iPhone club. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the wireless carrier will begin selling the iPhone 5 (as well as the iPhone 4) in mid-October.
While this is good news for Sprint subscribers, it’s not promising for everyone else who’s been dying to get their hands on the next-gen iPhone. Until now, most reports suggested that the iPhone 5 would be released in September, but WSJ sources are now saying that the phone won’t be available to anyone until mid-October, meaning that AT&T and Verizon customers will have to wait an extra month, too.
Sprint has lagged in third place among wireless providers, with about 52 million subscribers compared to AT&T’s 99 million and Verizon’s 106 million. In the second quarter, the company blamed a decline in contract subscribers on the fact that it was “the first full quarter both major competitors offered the iPhone.” But with the popular phone finally on its roster, the company hopes to stop losing customers to rival carriers and get a much-needed boost.
