Sprint announces the first real smartphone on its Direct Connect push to talk network Thursday by confirming the Motorola Admiral. A A spiritual heir to the XPRT and Droid Pro, the Android 2.3 phone keeps the 3.1-inch display (at a higher VGA resolution) and BlackBerry-like form but is upgraded to keep in step. The phone now has a faster 1.2GHz single-core TI OMAP processor, and MIL-810G military-grade hardening against dust, water, shock, and temperature.
Although the phone ships with Quickoffice for work and a suite of apps to enable push to talk, including for group broadcasts and voice e-mail, it still carries a level of features for use at home. The five-megapixel camera is largely unchanged but can shoot 720p video. About 4GB of storage is built in and gives enough leeway for some media on the side.
Android’s work credentials are helped in the background with support for deeper management, such as mandatory passwords and a remote wipe if the Admiral is lost.
Sprint is starting the Admiral off at a lower price than it has in the past for these devices, putting it at $100 on a two-year contract. Stores will get Motorola’s phone on October 23
