Apple iPhone 5 (Sprint)

The Apple iPhone 5 for Sprint ($199 and up) is the same physical model as is sold on Verizon Wireless. Like Verizon's phone, it takes the iPhone's traditional advantages, including a well-designed consistent interface, amazing apps, and robust retail support, and literally extends them. It's beautiful and fun to use. The difference with Sprint's?phone, of course, is the network and service plans. Sprint is the only iPhone carrier with truly unlimited data, but you'll be sipping it through a tiny straw until Sprint builds a wider 4G LTE network.

In this review, we'll focus on the difference between Sprint's model and the Verizon Wireless and AT&T units we've already reviewed; please refer to those articles for a discussion of the phone's body, software, and basic features.

Voice Quality and Network
The iPhone 5 on Sprint is a very good voice phone. Reception was solid, and voice quality was quite punchy. I had no trouble hearing a caller over construction noise in my ear, and I liked the noticeable side tone. Transmissions through the microphone from a noisy area blanked the background noise well, although voice quality was a touch muddled. The speakerphone was of adequate volume and transmissions came through clear, if nasal.

If you're looking for the ideal Sprint voice phone, though, remember that Sprint's HTC EVO 4G LTE will support "HD Voice" next year; the iPhone isn't compatible with Sprint's version of HD Voice.

The iPhone 5 also supports Sprint's new LTE network. Sprint's 3G system is the nation's slowest according to our 30-city tests, which means Web pages and app downloads just crawl along, and video streaming is often just impossible. LTE boosts that a lot: it was 21 times faster than Sprint 3G when we tested it in New York City.

But Sprint's LTE lags way behind competitors Verizon and AT&T on availability. Where Verizon covers 400 cities and AT&T has more than 75, Sprint has only about a dozen big cities and a smattering of small towns. Sprint promises to ramp up LTE coverage to more than 100 markets in the next several months.

Where Sprint wins is on service plans. Thanks to its unlimited data plan, you can stream all of the video and download all the files you want at prices starting at $79.99/month, less than Verizon and AT&T charge. Sprint's 3G network is too slow to stream much, but this unlimited data will really come into its own with LTE.

For now, you can hunt down Wi-Fi hotspots and take advantage of the iPhone's fast 5GHz Wi-Fi. Just like on the Verizon model, switching to the uncrowded 5GHz band doubled the iPhone's Wi-Fi speeds, enabling us to watch an uninterrupted HD video when streaming that had choked up on a busy 2.4GHz network.

The Sprint iPhone 5 works on a wide range of networks. According to Apple, it supports CDMA EV-DO Rev A and Rev. B (800/1900/2100MHz), UMTS/HSPA+/DC-HSDPA (850/900/1900/2100MHz), GSM/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900MHz) and LTE (Bands 1/3/5/13/25). Sprint will unlock its phone after 90 days of use if you want to put in a foreign SIM card.?

One thing you can't do is?talk on the phone while using the Internet, just like on Verizon's model. AT&T's iPhone is the only one which lets you make phone calls while online, which is key if you intend to use the phone as an in-car GPS. You also can't?move a Sprint iPhone to Verizon or AT&T's LTE network. Verizon has (and uses) the ability to reject other carriers' phones on its CDMA network, and this model lacks AT&T's LTE bands.

I got shorter 3G talk time on the Sprint model than on Verizon's unit, probably because of weaker Sprint wireless signal. Still, the 6 hours, 55 minutes of talk time I got was perfectly decent. If you don't have LTE in your area, leave LTE switched off, because otherwise, searching for 4G will kill your battery.

Conclusions
The iPhone 5 is one of the few phones where you can count on getting the same model on multiple carriers. Sprint's model is just as good as Verizon's and AT&T's, and like on those other two carriers, it shares our Editors' Choice with the Samsung Galaxy S III. They're both excellent. The iPhone has better games, a better body design and is more usable one-handed; the S III has a bigger screen, works better as an in-car GPS and lets you bring an extra battery.

For a while now, we've been rating Sprint Editors' Choice phones a half-star less than similar phones on competing carriers because of the lack of Sprint LTE coverage. I'm not ready to remove that handicap yet. The dramatic difference I saw in Web speeds between Sprint's 3G network and LTE only underscores how badly Sprint needs some sort of 4G, and it isn't delivering yet.

If you're buying an iPhone, it's for the next two years. Your choice of carrier here comes down to how much you trust Sprint. If you believe the carrier's promises that LTE will come to 100 more cities within a few months, then this iPhone 5 with unlimited data is a great deal. If you'd rather see fast Internet speeds the day you buy your phone, it's time to look at AT&T's and Verizon's faster, but more expensive networks.

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