Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse says he hopes to keep the company's data plans unlimited as the company shifts toward faster 4G services through the WiMax technology it's rolling out in cities across the nation.

AT&T, which offers Apple's iPhone, is already capping the amount of data users get with a plan, and Verizon has talked about doing the same. The proliferation of smart phones and other wireless-enabled data-heavy devices has made consumers ever-hungrier for data, and carriers say they're struggling to accommodate the demand.

In a keynote yesterday at EmTech 2010, Hesse noted that when carriers moved to 3G technologies, "the solution was there before the problem", meaning few consumers used enough data to justify 3G. Today, Hesse says, consumers are waiting for faster networks.

Sprint is certainly encouraging people to think about what they could do with faster speeds. Its 4G network was turned on in selected cities over Labor Day weekend and will continue to expand to additional coverage areas. Its flagship phones for 4G, which can also operate on 3G networks, are the HTC Evo and Samsung Epic, both of which can serve as mobile WiFi hotspots in addition to functioning as smart phones. Hesse noted that users could run five or six devices through hotspots over 4G.

Hesse said consumers strongly prefer to pay a flat fee for wireless services. "Users will pay a premium for simplicity, for predictability, and for peace of mind," Hesse said. He believes Sprint can continue to provide unlimited data plans "as long as the usage is reasonable." He noted that the company will closely watch what happens as other carriers shift to metered plans.

One worry, Hesse said, is that heavy users unhappy with metered plans on other carriers might all shift to Sprint, overwhelming its resources. But he said the company would explore ways to handle changing demand for data before shifting to metered plans. For example, he said, because Sprint expected Epic and Evo customers to use more data than those with less-advanced phones, the company charges an extra $10 a month for unlimited plans on those models.

AT&T announced today that its first Android device, the Motorola Backflip, will be available on its network starting March 7. In January, AT&T announced big Android plans, promising five devices within the first half of this year.

The phone includes Motorola's Motoblur interface, which integrates closely with a user's social networks, including Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace. It also offers an interesting new feature called Backtrack, which uses an additional touch panel, accessible when the device is folded open, to allow users to scroll through websites without blocking the screen with their fingertips.

Motorola's recent innovations to smart phone interfaces have been impressive, though my own use of Motoblur suggests that bugginess sometimes interrupts the overall good user experience. For example, the connection to my social networks periodically breaks, requiring me to reboot to fix the problem. Motorola is investing heavily in the interface, however--it even ran an ad for Motoblur during the Super Bowl.

It's unclear how the Backflip will fare going head-to-head with the iPhone, but Motorola is probably glad to get another opportunity at making a big entry into the market. The momentum the company built with other recent Android phones, the Droid (Verizon) and the Cliq (T-Mobile), was damaged by Google's introduction of the Nexus One.

With a two-year contract, the Backflip will cost $199.99, though AT&T is also offering a $100 rebate to sweeten the deal. With the rebate, this makes the Backflip's price comparable to that of the iPhone 3G.

The video below shows several of the phone's features, including Backtrack, in action.

Android devices have finally come to AT&T. The carrier, which has benefited a great deal from its exclusive deal to carry Apple's iPhone, is the last major network to offer a phone loaded with Google's mobile operating system.

Now it plans to enter with a splash, by offering customers five devices, made by HTC, Dell, and Motorola, all within the first half of this year. Dell's Mini 3 will reportedly be the first device for AT&T's network to hit the market.

Some are speculating that AT&T's sudden big push into Android is inspired by the impending end of its iPhone deal.

The announcement was one of a series that AT&T made this week at the company's developer conference in Las Vegas, which coincides with CES. The carrier also announced that it will improve the speed of its 3G network.