CEO sees Sprint as main brand, Nextel as sub-brand

NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Sprint Nextel Corp (S.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) plans to keep Sprint as its umbrella brand, using the Nextel brand for applications such as push-to-talk, Chief Executive Dan Hesse said on Thursday.

"We are really focusing on building the Sprint brand as the umbrella brand for everything we do, but also having some sub-brands that are very specific to applications or market segments," said Hesse in a call with analysts.

The company also said that it would launch QChat, a new version of its walkie-talkie style push-to-talk service, in the second quarter, with expansion to 20 markets in 2008. (Reporting by Sinead Carew, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)