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Sprint Commits to Buying $20 Billion Worth of iPhones, To Get Redesigned iPhone 5 Exclusively?

Captain B said:
Pure speculation. But exclusivity would make sense if this were to be true

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2011/10...t-deal-did-the-maker-just-become-the-carrier/

Interesting reading nonetheless.
Click to expand...

This would be a great idea for Apple. Much like Apple is essentially providing a cloud for next to nothing to improve the eco-experience, becoming a carrier would allow for a lower priced, iPhone-centered data plan. Take full advantage of the iPhone including Hot Spot and eliminate voice calls and go strictly VOIP.

I think that is the one thing the Kindle has over all other tablets. Free 3G on their high-end model. I don't know what the specifics are on that free 3g, but the idea sounds great. Imagine it. Buy an iPhone at full price and use it for free.

I wish...
 
KnightWRX said:
Only if you consider the iPhone 3G the 3rd iPhone, which it wasn't. ;) You should know better than that, come on.

iPhone 4S makes no sense, it has a negative connotation and suggests this is not a 5th generation iPhone. It's a bad marketing strategy.
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What?

iPhone 3G -> 3G(S)

iPhone 4 -> 4(S)

How did you come up with the idea that I thought the 3G was the 3rd iPhone? :confused:

iPhone 4(S) makes as much sense as the 3G(S) - and that is what they actually named it.
 
The WSJ story here really only states that Sprint had to make a similar "buy-in" as ATT and Verizon. The size is staggering and says a lot about the value of the iPhone franchise -- enough for Sprint to risk bankruptcy. Say what you will about Android growth, apparently Sprint doesn't feel its own business can grow fast enough w/o the iPhone in its arsenal.

But the BGR story is harder to swallow because too much doesn't make sense -- those points noted here in other posts, but most notably Apple isn't prancing out a WiMax phone as its flagship.
 
KnightWRX said:
Only if you consider the iPhone 3G the 3rd iPhone, which it wasn't. ;) You should know better than that, come on.

iPhone 4S makes no sense, it has a negative connotation and suggests this is not a 5th generation iPhone. It's a bad marketing strategy.

Unless again : the iPhone 4S is actually the redesigned slimmer tappered design and the Sprint exclusive. The iPhone 5 is the 4 look-alike.

This is the only way the iPhone 4S make sense.
Click to expand...

I honestly don't see anything negative about it. The 4 was a beautiful device, with pretty great hardware. A 4S would just be the evolution of that.
 
chrmjenkins said:
No, he didn't. He reported BGR's story where they did that. The skepticism surrounding this is even right there in the story.
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its called bait and switch, read the headline. He then back paddles. These should have been posted as two separate rumors. Opinions Opinions.
 
webman2k said:
I would have an easy time believing that Sprint would be willing to do this, but Apple? All those - what was the poll? - 95% of current iPhone owners would want to upgrade? That's an awful lot of customers that wouldn't be able to upgrade. I don't think Apple would miss out on that many sales.
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IF APPLE just PRE-SOLD $20 BILLION DOLLARS of phones to SPRINT,
do you think Apple missed out on sales? Is your grey matter drying up? :eek:
The deal is only exclusive until 1st quarter anyway. Everyone else can upgrade in a couple of months.
 
I really doubt the iPhone 5 exclusivity is true as BGR is almost always wrong when it comes to rumours as far as I can tell. However, I hope they're right and I can get it because I'm in Canada and I wouldn't have to deal with any iPhone 5 exclusives bull crap. :D
 
Dcuellar said:
I think that is the one thing the Kindle has over all other tablets. Free 3G on their high-end model. I don't know what the specifics are on that free 3g, but the idea sounds great. Imagine it. Buy an iPhone at full price and use it for free.

I wish...
Click to expand...

3G can't be used for web on the newest models.
You can shop on amazon, use Wikipedia or email.
Thats it!

There's no 'imagine that'!...buy full price & use for free.
 
If this is true (which I doubt), then good for Sprint for finally taking the bull by the balls and securing exclusivity. They really needed to do something big and bold to stay alive in the industry. The last thing we need is for another competitor to get consumed by AT&T or VZW.
 
It's all becoming clear...

1. No suitable low power LTE chip available for 2-3 months.

2. Apple wants to advertise iPhone 5 as 4G to compete with similar Android models.

3. Sprint wants in on the game and asks Apple what it would take to built a WiMax model. Apple offers to produce it if Sprint signs a contract for 30 million iPhone 5s. Sprint gets exclusivity, but only because its competitors are LTE, not because Apple guarantees exclusivity. Apple promises that the iPhone 5 will be available on LTE in January, when suitable LTE chips are available.

4. Apple can't continue with the current iPhone 4 as its best offering on all the other carriers, hence the spec-bumped iPhone 4S with HSPA+. This, together with the holiday sales rush and the momentum of the Sprint iPhone 5 carries Apple through the holiday season. Many customers go for the 4S because it can fully utilize iOS 5, having the same internals, it's less expensive than the iP5, and they just can't wait any longer.

5. Low-end iPhone 4 with specs of low-end current model sells for $300 prepaid or free on contract. iOS market share increases. 3GS retired. iPhone 4 leads all smartphones in worldwide sales. Record sales for Apple for October to December with Apple's first iPhone offerings on Sprint, combined with decent sales of the 4S and the "free" or prepaid iP4.

6. Ramp-up of iPhone 5 production less problematic because it's initially only in WiMax, limiting initial sales. Even if there are some bugs to work out, Sprint has already committed to buying 30 million of them, so Apple still sells every unit it can make. By the time the LTE model comes on stream, the kinks are all ironed out, and production has been fully ramped up in China (and maybe Brazil, too). Apple has record revenue for February to April due to the availability of iP5 on additional carriers.
 
sineplex said:
3G can't be used for web on the newest models.
You can shop on amazon, use Wikipedia or email.
Thats it!

There's no 'imagine that'!...buy full price & use for free.
Click to expand...
That's true. They may release a 3G Fire but as of now the Fire browser called Silk can only be used on WiFi and the one on the Touch Kindle can also only be used on WiFi. The old Keyboard Kindle is different. On that one you can access the web with the browser over 3G but it's a pretty horrible experience.
 
So while I do feel that this rumor makes some sense, there is one gaping problem that I have with it. If Sprint gets the redesigned iPhone and everyone else gets the spec bump Phone but is told that the redesigned phone will be available in say 6 months, why would anyone buy the spec bump phone? Unless you had to get a new phone between now and that time, wouldn't most people just wait it out for the redesigned iPhone to become available? I would think something like this would really hurt the sales of the spec bump phone.

The only way I see it happening then would be if Sprint had an exclusive on the phone for a year. This would then help drive the sale of the spec bump iPhone more. But I just dont see that being the case.
 
MacinDoc said:
1. No suitable low power LTE chip available for 2-3 months.

2. Apple wants to advertise iPhone 5 as 4G to compete with similar Android models.

3. Sprint wants in on the game and asks Apple what it would take to built a WiMax model. Apple offers to produce it if Sprint signs a contract for 30 million iPhone 5s. Sprint gets exclusivity, but only because its competitors are LTE, not because Apple guarantees exclusivity. Apple promises that the iPhone 5 will be available on LTE in January, when suitable LTE chips are available.

4. Apple can't continue with the current iPhone 4 as its best offering on all the
other carriers, hence the spec-bumped iPhone 4S with HSPA+. This, together with the holiday sales rush and the momentum of the Sprint iPhone 5 carries Apple through the holiday season. Many customers go for the 4S because it can fully utilize iOS 5, having the same internals, it's less expensive than the iP5, and they just can't wait any longer.

5. Low-end iPhone 4 with specs of low-end current model sells for $300 prepaid or free on contract. iOS market share increases. 3GS retired. iPhone 4 leads all smartphones in worldwide sales. Record sales for Apple for October to December with Apple's first iPhone offerings on Sprint, combined with
decent sales of the 4S and the "free" or prepaid iP4.

6. Ramp-up of iPhone 5 production less problematic because it's initially only in WiMax, limiting initial sales. Even if there are some bugs to work out, Sprint has already committed to buying 30 million of them, so Apple still sells every unit it can make. By the time the LTE model comes on stream, the kinks are all ironed out, and production has been fully ramped up in China (and maybe Brazil, too). Apple has record revenue for February to April due to the availability of iP5 on additional carriers.
Click to expand...

Pretty impressive logic chain. I'm having trouble seeing it because it's so audacious, but Apple has been willing to disrupt anyonevand anything (even their own business model) in the past. So maybe it's not as wild as itsounds.
 
As an Apple & Sprint user...

I have wanted the iPhone since day one, but no way in hell I was going to go to AT&T. I have had Sprint for a decade now, and I have never had a problem with their service, and therefore have never wanted to leave them... and again, especially for AT&T. So, I have just VERY patiently waited for Apple to open up its phone to others than AT&T.

Last year was disappointing with only Verizon getting it. But, knew with the fact that Verizon was getting it, and that they use the same CDMA technology as Sprint, that it was only a matter of time. So, VERY VERY patiently waited this past year for the news to come that Sprint would finally be allowed the iPhone also.

With the speculation and almost certainty that Sprint will finally get the iPhone, I pretty much was wetting myself as I was so giddy!

Reality set in though, that it would probably be like it was for Verizon last year, where they didn't get the new iPhone, as AT&T did, but only get the current model and not the newest... the same fate would await Sprint.

If it's true and Sprint did slide all their chips into the middle of the table in order to get the iPhone, I am again beginning to tinkle myself! I doubt highly that Sprint would get exclusively the iPhone 5, because that is just illogical, I don't care how many chips they have stacked in the middle of the table.

So, that is what I am thinking and hoping that comes tomorrow: I will hear that in fact Sprint will be finally a carrier of the iPhone, and also be allowed to sell the latest and most current incarnation of the iPhone that will be introduced tomorrow also, right along with AT&T and Verizon... Sprint being able to, because of this story of the $30bil profferered to Apple.

Funny thing is, after all of this time of loyally sticking with Sprint, if they don't get the iPhone tomorrow, and honestly, if they do, but it isn't the latest version also being introduced tomorrow, I am most likely going to dump them for AT&T or Verizon just so I can get it... because I REALLY do not want to wait months for it to trickle down to Sprint... my phone contract with Sprint expired a year and half ago (I think), and have kept using this same old Samsung Rant phone, which has been showing signs of going kaput for some time now, hoping that it would hang on long enough until the iPhone came to Sprint...

Blowing on Sprint's dice - come on Sprint! I hope your speculative gamble pans out... baby needs a new phone! :)
 
MacinDoc said:
1. No suitable low power LTE chip available for 2-3 months.

2. Apple wants to advertise iPhone 5 as 4G to compete with similar Android models.

3. Sprint wants in on the game and asks Apple what it would take to built a WiMax model. Apple offers to produce it if Sprint signs a contract for 30 million iPhone 5s. Sprint gets exclusivity, but only because its competitors are LTE, not because Apple guarantees exclusivity. Apple promises that the iPhone 5 will be available on LTE in January, when suitable LTE chips are available.

4. Apple can't continue with the current iPhone 4 as its best offering on all the other carriers, hence the spec-bumped iPhone 4S with HSPA+. This, together with the holiday sales rush and the momentum of the Sprint iPhone 5 carries Apple through the holiday season. Many customers go for the 4S because it can fully utilize iOS 5, having the same internals, it's less expensive than the iP5, and they just can't wait any longer.

5. Low-end iPhone 4 with specs of low-end current model sells for $300 prepaid or free on contract. iOS market share increases. 3GS retired. iPhone 4 leads all smartphones in worldwide sales. Record sales for Apple for October to December with Apple's first iPhone offerings on Sprint, combined with decent sales of the 4S and the "free" or prepaid iP4.

6. Ramp-up of iPhone 5 production less problematic because it's initially only in WiMax, limiting initial sales. Even if there are some bugs to work out, Sprint has already committed to buying 30 million of them, so Apple still sells every unit it can make. By the time the LTE model comes on stream, the kinks are all ironed out, and production has been fully ramped up in China (and maybe Brazil, too). Apple has record revenue for February to April due to the availability of iP5 on additional carriers.
Click to expand...

Very well thought out argument. I had almost the same exact train of thought. I can't wait to hear what happens tomorrow. It will be very interesting indeed. No matter what gets released I will be a happy new iPhone owner. Now I'm waiting for the updated Apple TV with the A5. And that will complete my destiny joining the force... Oh wait..sorry just finished watching Star Wars ;-)
 
Sweet, I was going to go with Sprint anyway because of their plans, this just seals the deal.
 
Not a rumor that I believe in. Wont be long til we get the truth. Just does not make sense on so many levels. :rolleyes:
 
I keep seeing people referring to the naming of the generations as:

3G - 3Gs - 4G - [4Gs]

I hate to be pedantic, but it actually goes:

IPhone (2G) - 3G - 3Gs - 4G... Which would make the next sequence plainly named 5, as there was no "s" version of the preceding model to the 3G. Then there'd be a 5s.

...not that there is an naming sequence Apple is beholden to follow... and not that I expect anything more than a minor speed bump tomorrow... Jus sayin.
 
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