A few weeks ago, we knew that the highly anticipated BlackBerry Tour for Sprint was on the way and coming very soon. The only release date we had was “later this summer”. Now we have some inside news from insiders at Inside Sprint.

According to them, the Tour will be available on July 20th. It might be a good idea to mark your calendars and save up your $199.99. We think the date seems right. They wouldn’t want to wit much longer to unleash this one.

Sprint has released the Novatel Wireless MiFi 2200 portable EV-DO router for use on its network. The battery-powered EV-DO router will allow users to connect up to five WiFi-enabled devices to Sprint’s EV-DO Rev. A network.

It will be marketed in stores as the Sprint Mobile Hotspot. According to Sprint, this device is the first in the US to support MiFi’s GPS capabilities, allowing users to take advantage of select location and mapping applications. The up front cost is $99 after a $50 mail-in rebate (on a two-year agreement), though there’s only two options for getting it connected.

There had been some rumors about the Samsung Lucello, a dual slider with a messaging focus, that was set to hit Sprint soon. Well, this device now has an official name and a release date. It’s called the Samsung M550 Exclaim and it’s set to release on Sprint on June 7th.

The interface is all about social networking with a menu that allows instant access to Facebook, MySpace and Google. As phones go, it’ pretty middle-of-the-road, with a 2-megapixel camera, Bluetooth and EVDO Rev 0. The Exclaim will be available in pink and blue flavors.

Following the confirmation of the Palm Eos for AT&T, PhoneNews is claiming to have insider information about the existence of a CDMA version of the Palm Eos that will work on Sprint’s network.

Supposedly, the lower-cost Web OS phone is currently testing at Sprint and should be available sometime in the third quarter, after the release of the Pre. Other than running on CDMA, it should be identical to the AT&T version. We’ll let you know more when we know more.

Samsung has announced an updated instinct handset called the instinct s30. The device offers full touch screen functionality and 3G connectivity. The device offers a default web browser and Opera Mini 4.2 to browse the web. Samsung and Sprint also preload the device with Guitar Hero World Tour and Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader games.

The s30 is thinner than the original Instinct and will come in two colors — cobalt metal of touch of copper. The device offers quick access to Microsoft Outlook and utilizes Sprint Mobile Email Work to access corporate email, contacts, and calendar from Exchange Server or Lotus at no additional charge.

Ford and Sprint are working hand in hand to connect upcoming Ford trucks to Sprint’s wireless broadband network. Specifically the dashboards of 2009 F-Series trucks and E-Series cargo vans. To start with they are aiming this at Construction workers.

It will help them track stuff like inventory and schematics. Not sure how they are going to do that on such a small screen, but that’s the plan. Ford boasts that the user can “review and edit graphically-rich blueprints” right from the cab of their truck.

LG’s Rumor 2 is no longer a rumor at all having finally launched exclusively on Sprint. What does it bring to the party? A slide-out QWERTY keypad, QVGA display, 1.3 megapixel camera, and a removable backplate. Comes in either Black Titanium and Vibrant Blue.

The Black Titanium can be found at Sprint’s website on March 15th, while the Vibrant Blue edition will be available on March 29th. If you hate the web, you can drop your $49.99 (on contract) on April 19th.

On March 15 Sprint will be rolling out the new Treo Pro device. It will be the first Palm smartphone to come with Internet Explorer Mobile 6 for a more robust mobile browsing experience. Some other business-class features include Wi-Fi connectivity, GPS navigation, full keyboard for fast email and texting and touchscreen availability.

The Sprint Treo Pro will retail for $199 after you take into account rebates and contract agreement.

I don’t talk on my mobile phone all that much. We have a basic plan and thanks to AT&T’s roll over I never run out of minutes. I have been hit with a few bills with significant text messaging overages though. Sprint and the other mobile providers rolled out plans last year for heavy mobile phone users that offer everything for one price.

The catch for those like me is that the plans are expensive. Sprint has announced a new Simply Everything Plan + Mobile Broadband that rolls all the talk, text, and phone Internet access you want in with mobile broadband for your laptop.

Sprint just rolled out the Sierra Wireless Mobile Broadband USB Modem 598U complete with Sprint logo, offering users a compact and reliable mobile solution to connect to the Internet from anywhere. This is a EV-DO Rev. A-compatible device that boasts average download speeds of between 600 kbps and 1.4 Mbps, while upload speeds average 350 to 500 kbps.

The 598U is also compatible with EV-DO Rev. 0 and 1XRTT technology just in case you’re in an area where EV-DO Rev. A is unavailable. Some other features include an integrated GPS receiver and a microSDHC memory card slot (up to 32GB) for expansion. How much does it cost?

According to WebOS Arena, the Palm Pre will be exclusive to Best Buy Mobile and Sprint stores for it’s first 60 days, citing a “credible source”. That isn’t a stretch as Sprint has previously given Best Buy such privileges, like in the case of the Samsung Instinct.

There was also a short time where Best Buy was also the only place outside of an Apple Store where you could purchase an iPhone. So, whether they have a “credible” source or not, it’s a good bet. Not a stretch at all. Still, it isn’t confirmed, so take it with the usual grain of salt.

Sprint isn’t in a good place right now. It’s losing customers as its service quality drops and other providers improve and Sprint’s is in a bad financial situation to boot. The cellular arm of the phone giant bet big on WiMAX and repeatedly had to scale the service back.

Sprint has introduced its first 4G/3G modem that can operate both on its 4G WiMAX network and on its nationwide 3G broadband network. The modem connects to a PC via USB and on Sprint’s 4G network provides download speeds of up to 4 Mbps.

Sprint finally released the new HTC Touch Pro smartphone. Those who have been waiting can purchase the handset online in the next few days. It will be available in Sprint stores beginning on November 2nd, 2008 for $299.99. That’s after a $100 mail-in rebate. The HTC Touch Pro features a high resolution touchscreen display, sliding QWERTY keyboard, and is expandable to 16GB via SD card, with Video Out to display PowerPoint presentations or media files should you wear a tie and have need of such a thing.

One of a slew of new mobile phones announced by Sprint this week is the very hip looking LG Lotus. It will be available in October for around $150 with a two-year contract.

The LG Lotus is described as being a full QWERTY flip phone with a squarish shape and two color options – purple or black. It is one of the first Sprint phones to support the mobile carrier’s new One Click feature. One Click allows you to personalize the home screen of the Lotus “by selecting and organizing features and content such as text messaging, Google search, Sprint Navigation, email, favorite Web sites, music, and call log” so they can be included in the display. One sees all of this information through a customizable carousel-style menu.

The Palm Treo was one of the original smartphones. As new handsets have hit the market the Treo has become mostly overshadowed by cooler options. Despite that fact, the Treo still continues on and back in May we saw a spy shot of the new Treo 800w.

Palm has now officially launched the Treo 800w and announced that the device is a Sprint exclusive handset. The 800w will sell for $249.99 after discounts and 2-year agreement. The handset will operate on Sprint’s EVDO Rev A network for fast broadband speeds.