Sprint held a media event earlier today in Chicago in which the wireless provider announced a bevy of network enhancements as well as a new exclusive smartphone from Samsung, the Galaxy S5 Sport.
For starters, Sprint launched 4G LTE service in 28 new markets today including Cleveland, San Jose and Seattle. More importantly, however, is the fact that they now offer LTE in 474 total markets covering roughly 225 million people.
Sprint has also flipped the switch on HD Voice calling, a feature that improves the quality and audio range of 2G voice calls. To experience the improved call quality, both you and the person you're talking to will need to have an HD-compatible device and you'll both need to be on an HD-enabled network.
At present, 28 postpaid and 33 prepaid smartphones fall into this category with Sprint estimating that 16 million customers are already using compatible handsets.
The Galaxy S5 Sport, meanwhile, is pretty much an S5 Active designed for Sprint's own network. The device will carry some additional fitness-inspired applications and will be available in red and blue color schemes.
Last but not least, Sprint brought attention to a satisfaction guarantee in which new customers can walk away from a contract if they aren't entirely satisfied with their service after 30 days. The carrier will refund the cost of their device and waive all service and activation charges. It doesn't sound quite as appealing as T-Mobile's new Test Drive but it's better than blindly jumping into bed with a new provider.