Sprint Muziq Phone Coming in July

Sprint will launch LG's Muziq phone next month, supporting over-the-air music downloads, Pandora mobile, and an integrated FM transmitter.

Sprint and LG Electronics have announced that Sprint will begin offering LG’s Muziq phone beginning July 15. The Muziq follows up on last year’s Fusic, and, like the Fusic, the Muziq phone sports an FM transmitter so users can broadcast music from their phones to any FM stereo within about 10 feet, making for cable-free in-car or even in-home use. But the Muziq also enables users to play music in the background while playing games or using text messaging, offers 4 GB of storage via microSD cards, and taps into Sprint’s over-the-air music, video, and navigation services.

“We are very excited to add Muziq to our portfolio of industry-leading music phones,” said Oliver Valente, Sprint’s senior VP of product development, in a release. “This device reaffirms Sprint’s commitment to offer innovative music devices that enable customers to get music wherever they are and listen to music however they desire, whether that is through Bluetooth headphones, their car stereo, or the device itself.”

In addition to its music features and microSD slot, the Muziq features a 1.3 megapixel camera, PictBridge support for printing directly to supported printers without an intervening PC, and Bluetooth and USB connectivity. The phone sports dedicated music and camera buttons, and ships with a 64 MB microSD memory card. The phone can tap into Sprint’s Telenav-powered Navigation services, and also ships with Pandora Mobile, while enables users to create personalized streaming radio stations—of course, that assumes Pandora stays up an running, which isn’t a sure thing given the looming royalty hike planned for Internet radio broadcasters.

The Sprint Muziq will be available July 15 for $99 with a two-year service agreement, although Sprint is letting folks sign up to purchase the Muziq phone via their music Web site.