The recent resurrection of rumors that Sprint is working with Samsung on a WiMAX-enabled phone may have just been trumped by news from Korea earlier today. According to a report from The Korea Herald, KT is planning to offer a tri-mode Windows Phone built by Samsung that will operate on the KT’s WiMAX network. The most interesting part — KT supposedly claims it will be releasing this handset before 2009 is through. Dubbed the Samsung Prism, the phone will be a triple threat, operating on WCDMA, Wi-Fi and WiMAX networks. On the far less interest-piquing side of things, KT is reportedly also prepping the 3G-ready LG Lilac. Super. So what does all this mean for us here in the US? News that Samsung is partnering with a carrier to develop a WiMAX-enabled phone that comes straight from a carrier is far more interesting than previous guesses from analysts. Of course logic suggests dictates that Samsung will be among the first manufacturers to build handsets for KT’s WiMAX network, but the time frame is what interests us. A Korean release in 2009 could mean comparable handsets might reach our shores as early as 1H 2010.

[Via WMPowerUser]

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Many people have wondered aloud what Sprint’s next big move might be after the Pre jumps off this weekend. The Palm Eos? Perhaps, but it looks like the struggling carrier might have something even more exciting in its bag within the next year or so. Market analysis firm SmarTrend is reporting that an unnamed Sprint spokesperson revealed a tri-mode handset coming down the pipeline sometime in 2009/2010. Said phone will be sporting CDMA, WiFi and WiMAX compatibility, which would provide a healthy mix of CDMA coverage and beastly data speeds where WiMAX is available. Analysts guess believe this upcoming tri-mode beast may be Android-powered, though we have yet to see anything substantiate that claim. As Sprint continues to expand WiMAX coverage and tout “the first wireless 4G network” in commercials, it would indeed be nice to see a handset emerge with WiMAX compatibility before the year is out. We shall see.

Thanks, fresh!

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