After looking over some spec’s for Sprint’s 2010 lineup over at BGR, upon arriving at the very last bullet point my train of thought gets stopped dead in it’s tracks. It simply states
“No tethering for phones that require “Everything Plans”.
Essentially, that puts the kibosh on all smartphones. Pardon me if I’m over reacting, but a smartphone in supposed to be um…you know…smart, plans included. If I’m paying for these falsely advertised “Everything/Unlimited” plans, I better sure as hell be able to use it as I see fit. Not to mention, more and more smartphones being released are going to be required by Sprint to have some sort of everything plan.
If I’m missing something please point it out so that my blood pressure can return to normal. Is tethering an option that I can to an Everything plan for an extra fee? This push to make tethering such a forbidden fruit is ridiculous really. If the case simply is that there is no possible way for me to tether on Sprint, then I’m not going to ever use Sprint. For those who tether their phones, are you in the least bit irritated?
For a company that has been bleeding customers quarter after quarter and still can’t manager to actually have a net growth, maybe they should take a good, hard look at their plans and policies. Just a thought. Also, not pissing off the few customers that can actually stand you is another good thing to try. I don’t expect much from Sprint so I’m sort of unsurprised. They’ve done stuff like this for years, hence they’re never going to change. And the red ink flows…
I know all you want to see is pictures and prices so I’ll get on with it. You might or may not be a tad disappointed. I on the other hand am pretty excited. If the wifey and I go with a 500 minute + unlimited text + web family plan on a contractual agreement, we’re looking at a mere $109/month. That may sound like a lot. Mind you it’s for two lines and is a much better price than we would get on either Verizon or AT&T. How is your setup going to fair?
Looks like I got a bit too excited. The confusion comes from the fact that non-contract pricing is cheaper per month. Under this, it would make more sense for the wifey and I to go contract free so that we could escape with that $109/month price. Going the normal route jumps us up to $139. Sorry for (1) misinterpreting and (2) getting your hopes up. The $109 quoted price is for a family plan w/ no yearly contract and includes 750 minutes + unlimited text + unlimited web for two lines. Again, my bad.
Even More: 2 year contract w/ handset subsidies
Even More Plus: Contract Free — Flex Pay — Installment based payments on handsets
**Bigger pictures immediately below
For the solo artists, the $80/month Even More plan (with subsidy and two year contract) that includes 500 minutes and unlimited text and talk is pretty decent if you ask me. In comparison, my solo iPhone contract on AT&T with 450 minutes, unlimited text, and the data plan is $95/month. I hate talking on the phone and try to avoid it as much as possible. Because of that, the lowest minutes plan is perfect for me. Of course, everyone is different and your mileage may vary.
If you’re the family type, the $10/month just for each additional line is still a disappointment. Though there are deals to be had here as well. In particular, non-talkers with equally silent companions will find that the 500 minute Even More plan w/ unlimited text and web at $109/month is quite a bargain. To remind you, that’s practically my bill on AT&T for my iPhone with less minutes and occupied by myself. How’s it looking for you?
As mentioned before, I got too excited and got confused. *hangs head in embarrassment and shame.* Now that I really see the price structure, the luster is still sorta here and sorta not. Question still stands — what’s your take?
Engadget > TMO News
Sprint Nextel has had a sickness for the last couple of years concerning the constant bleeding of customers. Whether it be the $99 unlimited everything plan, the earlier nights and weekends, or even the up and coming Palm Pre, nothing seems to be helping. However, there was one slight glimmer of hope in Boost Mobile when they announced that they were introducing a $50 unlimited everything which was then and is still by far the cheapest unlimited everything plan by far. And as would be expected with such an enticing plan, customers snapped it up. However, those customers seem to be really taxing the network as Boost Mobile users are voicing concerns over the networks integrity citing such problems as text messages arriving at their recipients cellphone hours after they were sent. Such is a sad and unwelcome symptom of network congestion. Seems as if poor Boost Mobile has 1′s and 0′s everywhere clogging their pipes. Sadly, I can see the other larger telco’s picking up this story and highlighting a “shortage of bandwidth” much like landline based ISP’s have been doing in recent times. Of course, such a shortage is a made up lie per say. While Sprint/Nextel’s network may be choking because of the increased traffic due to the $50 unlimited everything plan, there isn’t anything that is keeping them from upgrading their network. Well, of course there always is that nagging issue of bleeding customers and losing money. Boost Mobile customers, are you experiencing any delays? Did it take you ten minutes to load this page? Us gadget loving folk love specs and information. So talk back at us!
Sourc: Phone Arena, AP, Image Source
When I said the last post was the last post about Time Warner…I lied. Sorry. Forgive me. But as you know the only way to get something done in this country is by mass force. The mass being the people, and the force being those people dropping their worthless TW service. The latest chapter in the ongoing story with TW and their stubborn refusal to flat out dump caps, tiers, and kicking people off of the unlimited accounts for actually using them deals with just that. Ryan Howard of Austin, Texas found out first hand that Time Warner’s caps are still being enforced even though they publicly announced that they were backing down for now to “re-educate”. The “announcement was nothing but a PR move. So what Time Warners exact strategy?
Boost Mobile is undercutting the competition and is now offering an unlimited talk, text, and web plan for the super low price of US$50! On top of that, it is a no contract plan so you aren’t shackled to it for two years should the need to move arise. An added benefit of Boosts plan is that it runs on Sprint’s Nextel cellular network meaning the plan and users can talk, text, and surf around the country. In contrast, Cricket, who runs on the MetroPCS network is bound to “home calling areas” that are only available in a few hundred cities. If you’re looking for a new carrier and hate contracts, Boost may be worth your while.
Source: Mobile Burn, AP
