It's hard to believe that iDEN's having a bit of a renaissance so late in its life, but if these two handsets aren't evidence of that, we really don't know what would be. The Motorola i9 and BlackBerry 8350i will represent the very best that Sprint's Direct Connect network has to offer when they're finally released; the i9 hasn't been officially announced in any capacity yet, but the 8350i is on track for a launch some time this quarter (and with the still-sold 7100i three frickin' years old now, that's a damn good thing). We've also heard that Moto's got an i465 in the works, too, but we don't know anything about it just yet. Check out a few shots below while you wait for Sprint to get its push-to-talk butt in gear.

[Thanks, Manny P.]

Even though all signs are pointing to a release later this month, we'll admit -- we were still secretly hoping that the rumored September 2 date would somehow magically hold for Sprint's release of the Touch Diamond. Even so, the carrier is reeling in some decent -- if not totally expected -- booty today in the form of the Motorola i365 and Renegade V950 alongside Samsung's M220 and M320 flips. The i365 becomes the baddest-ass phone in Sprint's iDEN arsenal, sporting what they call a "monolith form factor" (badass speak for "candybar," we think), mil-spec everything, and GPS. As Direct Connect goes, the V950 is pretty much everything the i365 is not, eschewing iDEN for QChat and offering all the creature comforts of a modern featurephone -- music player, camera, external controls, and a pair of decent displays for starters -- and although Sprint calls this one "ultra-rugged" as well, we don't think we could heave it against a wall quite as many times as we could the i365. From Samsung, the M220 and M320 are simple 1xRTT flips with essentially the same specs as one another, though the M320 tacks on a VGA camera (so in other words, it really may as well not have a camera, either). All four handsets are available now.

Read - Samsung M220, M320
Read - Motorola i365
Read - Motorola Renegade V950

Okay, Samsung, we get it: you're really good at pounding out the cheap clamshells. Point taken. Oh, what's that, you say? You still feel like you have something to prove? Oh, well then by all means, dump another couple $20 flips on Sprint! Please, we insist. As expected, it looks like we'll all have the fabulous opportunity to pick up our choice of the M220 or M320 for $19.99 come September 2, offering Bluetooth, speakerphone, and in the case of the M320, a VGA camera.

Out of the Moto camp, we get the i365 ruggedized brickphone for iDEN fanboys and fangirls -- you know who you are, so stop looking around -- which will run $90 and include Bluetooth despite its early-90s appeal. Finally, the most exciting of the foursome has to be the V950 Renegade, but excitement comes at a cost: $199.99, to be exact. In this case, your pair of Benjamins is going to net you QChat capability, Bluetooth, a 2 megapixel cam, microSD expansion, and external music controls, which makes it just about the coolest Direct Connect phone going. Line starts over here, folks.

[Thanks, anonymous tipster]

Sprint's now well beyond the promised 40 opening markets for its QChat-based Direct Connect network, announcing that an additional 14 are available as of this week. In addition to network availability, that means subscribers in those areas can now stroll into their local shop and pick up the Sanyo PRO-200 and PRO-700, LG LX400, and Samsung Z400. Headliners on the new list include Phoenix, much of New York state, and Minnesota. Feeling the heat yet, iDEN?

[Via Phone Scoop]

Is that iDEN's swan song we hear playing in the background? Nope, apparently not. Buried in between fits of bad news in Sprint's earnings call yesterday, CEO Dan Hesse chatted up the rollout of its next-gen PTT network, based on Qualcomm's QChat technology that rides atop EV-DO Rev. A. Currently available in just a very small handful of markets -- and only to business customers, at that -- Hesse says that the new Direct Connect goods will be available in 40 markets over the next few months, and on a full 80 percent of its EV-DO Rev. A network by the end of 2008. That setup gives Sprint a nice migration path from its legacy Nextel network, but interestingly, Hesse says that the company's "economic analysis" suggests that it should actually keep running iDEN and QChat side by side. Of course, if this is the same nature of "economic analysis" that got it into the financial pickle it's currently in, it might just be worth... you know, reanalyzing.

[Via mocoNews]

Looks like we might all be waiting just a few more weeks before we're given the green light to descend into the next generation of push-to-talk nirvana (or hell, depending on your perspective). phoneArena is claiming that the national release of Sprint's QChat-powered PTT system -- and the phones to go along with it -- has been pushed back to June 15, though it's not known whether the delay's due to technical issues, a desire to have all of the new phones available on shelves at once, CEO Dan Hesse's whim, or something else entirely. For what it's worth, business customers in Denver and Kansas City already have access to the Sanyo PRO handsets, so you guys should really revel in your exclusivity while you still can.

After some serious neglect, Sprint is finally giving the Nextel iDEN network some new devices, not the least of which is a WiFi BlackBerry, says Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. The phone will hit the network "later this year," and will be accompanied by phones from Sanyo, Samsung, Motorola and LG that will rock the Sprint CDMA, but will use Nextel capabilities for push-to-talk. That old 7100i (pictured) doesn't stand a chance.

[Via Boy Genius]

As we've long known, Sanyo isn't the only company contributing goodies to the opening volley of CDMA Direct Connect devices for Sprint -- LG, Motorola, and Samsung all want in on the action, too. LG brings the LX400, featuring a 1.3 megapixel camera in a burgundy shell; it's not our cup of tea, but folks looking for something on the non-rugged side of the PTT spectrum might find their soulmate here. Next up, the Motorola V950 is pretty notable since it marks Moto's inevitable foray away from its own iDEN tech and toward something just a little more modern to support the push-to-talk functionality its users so deeply love. It's a media powerhouse, too, thanks to external music controls, a microSD slot, stereo Bluetooth, and a 2 megapixel cam. Finally, Samsung comes to the table with two models: the rubberized Z400 (surprisingly appearing to be the most hardcore of the foursome) that trades consumer-friendly features for a tough shell -- though they've still felt the need to slap a 1.3 megapixel cam on there -- and the Z700, a fancy, refined set that looks fit for duty in the most fancy of pockets and shares much of its spec sheet with the Moto V950. Pricing and availability haven't been announced for any of the four, but we imagine they'll be pretty reasonable given the overall modesty across the line.

Motorola, the patron saint of iDEN, is departing its own safety net in preparation for the imminent launch of Sprint's next-gen push-to-talk network based on EV-DO Rev. A and Qualcomm's QChat technology. The V950 flip -- unannounced, save for an FCC mention -- appears to maintain some elements of the ruggedness its iDEN line is famous for, but by the same token, there's a certain... shall we say, CDMA-ness that undeniably exudes from the new piece. There's a camera, external music controls, and microSD expansion, too, so it's clear that Sprint won't just be targeting this one at the construction worker types. No word on a release date, but the first volley of QChat-enabled devices should be launching any minute now, so we could theoretically see this in the next few weeks.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Word on the street is that customers might be getting their first crack at Sprint's QChat wares rather soon -- April 16, to be exact. The news comes from phoneArena, which reports that the LG LX400 (pictured) will be launching alongside Sanyo's PRO-200 and PRO-700 on that fateful day, presumably along with the Direct Connect tech (and iDEN heir apparent) itself. The LG is rumored to be coming in at an SRP of $279.99, while the two Sanyos check in at $249.99 and $269.99, respectively. Also slated for April launches are the BlackBerry Curve 8330 in "titanium" along with Sanyo's Katana LX, a replacement for the Katana II that'll presumably keep its slim profile but carry over the forgettable VGA cam.

The trickle of QChat-enabled handsets for Sprint's Direct Connect push-to-talk service is in the process of turning into a flood now that manufacturers don't have to worry about dealing with Moto's proprietary iDEN network, and Sanyo is the latest to join the party with a pair of models named SCP-PRO200 and SCP-PRO700. As the names and ID label renderings imply, these will likely be ruggedized models targeted squarely at the same audience that currently snaps up iDEN equipment, so go ahead and get ready to drop these things, splash them with mud, and generally treat them like poo. Both are equipped with Bluetooth and EV-DO, so they'll be able to hold their own with the remainder of Sprint's midrange whenever they get around to launching.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Read - Sanyo SCP-PRO200
Read - Sanyo SCP-PRO700