What's the difference between an alliance and a plain old product announcement?
If you ask Sprint Nextel
So what's so groundbreaking about this partnership? Well, Sprint and Motorola do cover some all-new ground, as Motorola never sold a phone through the carrier's Virgin Mobile USA prepaid brand before. Moreover, this lineup contains Sprint's first Motorola-branded 4G smartphone -- they've all been HTC and Samsung products so far.
On top of that, the Photon 4G also happens to be a state-of-the-art piece of technology. Featuring a high-end NVIDIA
None of this is game-changing, of course. This is not the second coming of AT&T's exclusive rights to sell Apple
But it never hurts to make a spectacle out of a multiproduct launch, does it? Anything that raises the profile of Sprint's network and brand will be a boon to that company, as it's lagging Ma Bell and Verizon badly in the race for market-leading subscriber counts.
The best way to gauge how this so-called alliance works out is to keep a close watch on the partners. Our new My Watchlist feature helps you do just that by keeping you connected to Foolish analysis and news on any company you choose. Add Motorola Mobility or Sprint Nextel to My Watchlist.