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We’re keeping our eyes on Sprint ID, which is why our ears pricked when we heard that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse announced more partners yesterday at a developer’s conference in Santa Clara, Calif. They include AOL, UPS, Canvas, IHG, and BodyMedia, as well as Deluxe, a partner on the enterprise side.
Sprint ID is a new and rather experimental feature that Hesse introduced before a crowd of journalists last month at CTIA. Sprint ID is a way for content partners like eBay and Disney to load customized, branded profiles onto an Android phone with just a click. Each Sprint ID Pack includes a bundle of apps, widgets, shortcuts, wallpapers, and so on, selected by the content partner.
In addition to consumer brands, including start-ups, corporations, hospitals, and universities are encouraged to add their ID Packs to the Sprint ID gallery. The idea is that companies can create a profile of apps and Wi-Fi settings to be used by their mobile workforce.
Although we understand Sprint’s interest in forging partnerships and in differentiating its Android phones, we weren’t particularly fans of Sprint ID’s profiles, both in terms of the concept and the way it’s been implemented so far on the three phones it shipped with–the Samsung Transform, the LG Optimus S, and the Sanyo Zio.
However, Sprint has been actively courting developers at its conference, both in the keynote and in conference sessions, so we’re sure to hear more about Sprint ID in the coming months.
