The poor numbers mean that this likely won't be a happy holiday season for Sprint Nextel. While competitors Verizon Wireless (a joint venture between Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE:VOD)), Deutsche Telekom 's T-Mobile, and AT&T (NYSE:T) are all spending big bucks to advertise the latest Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) BlackBerry or other Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone alternative, Sprint Nextel will be dealing with its leadership vacuum.