Sprint is planning to expand its tablet computer portfolio, and will be soon replace the laptops by tablets by next year.  As tablets are much less expensive than laptops and are also the hottest gadgets this time. These can be easily connected with wireless internet using networks like Sprint.

“There’s a lot of interest in tablets, a greater degree of interest and faster adoption than I’ve seen in any other product …,” Paget Alvesm President, Sprint told Reuters in an interview. “I can’t think of anything that’s moved this quickly.”

“Those users, which are the majority of service companies employees, can easily be accommodated by a tablet and therefore they end up with a cheaper alternative to the notebook,” he added.

Alves also said that they are planning to replace notebooks with tablets, especially for sales employees, as these are not only handy but also enables them to carry documents, like spreadsheets. Ever since Apple’s iPad was released, several players including Samsung and RIM are rushing to get their tablets to the market and Sprint is the next one to do the same.

In an interview with Forbes, Alves mentions that Sprint is planning to introduce their tablets in year 2011. While no specific details were provided by him, he indicated that it will soon sell tablets that run “other operating systems. The adoption rate for tablets in the business sector is much, much faster than we expected. We’ve been in this market for over two years. We’ve had a lot of time to work with our customers and build up a portfolio of 4G devices and services,” said Alves.

While this was all about Sprint’s developments and growth plans, let’s not forget about the phasing out of Nextel Network. Sprint has started the gradual closure process that will be completed by 2013.  It has now identified Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson and Samsung to handle its network.