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I am not so sure about this. The reworked cheaper iPhone 4S deal sounds like it would be designed to work on all the networks. I recall reading something to that effect but I'll be damned if I can find it now.

EDIT: Also, thank you for not quoting his entire post. You won't believe how many people I've seen quoting huge posts to add a single line at the bottom. One time the person even quoted two HUGE posts and added a single line at the bottom!

While that could be, the fact that alternate antenna designs could exist plus a CDMA variant gives reason for multiple iphone 4 variants do exist, some of which may never see customer hands.
 
Obviously this is all based on speculation, and there is no official confirmation that sprint will be releasing an iPhone, however the whole will it last when it comes to Unlimited Data is kind of a silly question. Assuming the iPhone is released For Sprints Network when they announce the plans offered i am certain they will stay for at least 1 year. Sprint is a fairly large company and knows what it is getting itself into if it offers unlimited data. I don't think they will be surprised by the amount of data that will be used. Regardless i really do hope they receive the iPhone and maintain the unlimited data plan.
 
I think you are overestimating how many customers Sprint has and how many iphones they will sell. They have less than half the customers AT&T or Verizon do. They don't have as good of nationwide coverage as the top 2, even though a large number of users are in metropolitan areas.

On top of that, it won't have a $99 iPhone like at&t or Verizon. Sale numbers show the 3GS sells well and therefore matters.

It may take them twice as long to sell as many as Verizon did in the same amount of time, of not more. On top of that, you have to ask how many of those buyers are previously data heavy Android users. Don't forget that many Verizon and At&t users already have unlimited data grandfathered and won't have incentive to switch based on that. When you take all those factors in, I think the crush will be manageable and there will be value in Sprint retaining unlimited data rather than just saying "Look, we have the iPhone too!"

Well I didn't give any estimates so I can't be overestimating haha :D. My numbers I provided are pure speculation and purely made up and shouldn't be taken as fact. The thing that's not made up though is that iPhones will most probably outsell all of Sprint's 4G phones combined and iPhones US marketshare will go up (again that doesn't mean by 50 percentage points). In fact you're probably right in that it won't affect the network and cause any kind of degradation, but as I mentioned in my previous post, they're going to realize that there's far more money to be made with tiers then with unlimited. With the number of customers that will get an iPhone (whether thats 1 million or 30 million), along with those who continue to buy Android they will see that as a profit gaining scenario. No matter what, sprint isn't going to lose customers by offering an iPhone.

Hesse has been double speaking forever on the unlimited thing. When asked if they'll ever move to tiers, he doesn't deny it and says "nothing is promised forever". Clearly, moving to tiers is something they've examined. If there was no chance that they'd move, he'd simply say "no we will not move". It's impossible to predict what will happen if Sprint gets an iPhone, but history shows that they'll gain a ton of customers if/when they do get it.

The iPhone is not going to be the best selling phone on 2 networks, and then fail on a third. Why would it?

Whether the network gets overloaded or not, I don't know, but as far as the bottom line is concerned, tiers on sprint are inevitable simply because of the revenue possibility.
 
Anyone know if the cheaper iPhone will find its way to Sprint? As a Sprint customer I'm more interested in lower cost solutions! :)
 
Well I didn't give any estimates so I can't be overestimating haha :D. My numbers I provided are pure speculation and purely made up and shouldn't be taken as fact. The thing that's not made up though is that iPhones will most probably outsell all of Sprint's 4G phones combined and iPhones US marketshare will go up (again that doesn't mean by 50 percentage points). In fact you're probably right in that it won't affect the network and cause any kind of degradation, but as I mentioned in my previous post, they're going to realize that there's far more money to be made with tiers then with unlimited. With the number of customers that will get an iPhone (whether thats 1 million or 30 million), along with those who continue to buy Android they will see that as a profit gaining scenario. No matter what, sprint isn't going to lose customers by offering an iPhone.

Sprint isn't a premier carrier, they're an alternative carrier. They exist and have customers because they offer things people can't get elsewhere (namely unlimited plans) and pricing structures you can't get elsewhere. If they nix their unlimited plan, what reason do I have to switch to a carrier that has worse coverage, famed bad customer service, and no clear LTE plans yet?

Hesse has been double speaking forever on the unlimited thing. When asked if they'll ever move to tiers, he doesn't deny it and says "nothing is promised forever". Clearly, moving to tiers is something they've examined. If there was no chance that they'd move, he'd simply say "no we will not move". It's impossible to predict what will happen if Sprint gets an iPhone, but history shows that they'll gain a ton of customers if/when they do get it.

I think that's a given. You can't run a network on unlimited plans when over 50% of your users are smartphone users on LTE connections with 20 Mbps bandwidth and a plethora of streaming apps on their phones. The end is coming, but I don't think it will be financially advantageous for them for a few years at least.

The iPhone is not going to be the best selling phone on 2 networks, and then fail on a third. Why would it?

I've never challenged that prediction. I'm talking about the impact of overall growth of smartphone users and overall growth of data. Not people switching smartphone platforms within a carrier.

Whether the network gets overloaded or not, I don't know, but as far as the bottom line is concerned, tiers on sprint are inevitable simply because of the revenue possibility.

Not any time soon. They need to be profitable and maintain carrier growth. Nixing unlimited won't do that.
 
Me too, but I wonder how it will be before Sprint sees exactly how much data iPhone users use and take it away. :p

Won't be long as it will be seemingly the same as when AT&T launched the iPhone, and besides Sprint does not have the same range of service, so there will be a few who switch for the unlimited, but I think it will only be to lure customers over to Sprint before they follow suit with everyone else.

Have a friend in the SC who switched from AT&T with the Atrix to another Android phone on Sprint just for the Unlimited data, so now he can use all the data he wants without worrying however that is if he even has a signal, or data access since their service is not all that good. So I ask you would you prefer Unlimited Data but worse service or watch your data for good service?

I will stick with AT&T no matter what goes on with the iPhone, been with all the other carriers at one point in time and I am treated best by AT&T, and my service is the same as I had with VZ.
 
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Sprint isn't a premier carrier, they're an alternative carrier. They exist and have customers because they offer things people can't get elsewhere (namely unlimited plans) and pricing structures you can't get elsewhere. If they nix their unlimited plan, what reason do I have to switch to a carrier that has worse coverage, famed bad customer service, and no clear LTE plans yet?



I think that's a given. You can't run a network on unlimited plans when over 50% of your users are smartphone users on LTE connections with 20 Mbps bandwidth and a plethora of streaming apps on their phones. The end is coming, but I don't think it will be financially advantageous for them for a few years at least.



I've never challenged that prediction. I'm talking about the impact of overall growth of smartphone users and overall growth of data. Not people switching smartphone platforms within a carrier.



Not any time soon. They need to be profitable and maintain carrier growth. Nixing unlimited won't do that.

2 out of your 3 points are from 2000. Current day Sprint customer service is as good as any of the big carriers and the network coverage is also very good. In the chance that you come across a region without Sprint coverage, their Nationwide Roaming agreement with Verizon will have you covered.
 
It's so funny how you all assume since AT&T and Verizon couldn't handle the data that Sprint HAS to follow the same. Sprint by far has the most spectrum and will not have issues like AT&T and Verizon. So quit making the assumption that this is only introductory or limited as it is not. Combine that with the announcement of the best and fastest nationwide LTE coverage (satellite coverage for non-terrestrial areas, non-tower areas for all carriers) will definitely make Sprint THE carrier to be on going forward. Oh and by the way, yes Lightsquared is launching LTE with no doubt.

----------

What does Spectrum do? While Verizon and AT&T have a two lane roadways to handle traffic per say, Sprint has an 8 lane highway to handle theirs. No congestion for added users.
 
2 out of your 3 points are from 2000. Current day Sprint customer service is as good as any of the big carriers

nope:
http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-customer-care-ratings-(volume-2)/full-service/

and the network coverage is also very good. In the chance that you come across a region without Sprint coverage, their Nationwide Roaming agreement with Verizon will have you covered.

Mid-Atlantic (nope):
http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-call-quality-ratings-(volume-1)/mid-atlantic/

North-Central (ok, not best):
http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-call-quality-ratings-(volume-1)/north-central/

Northeast (nope):
http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-call-quality-ratings-(volume-1)/northeast/

Southeast (good, not best):
http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-call-quality-ratings-(volume-1)/southeast/

Southwest (good, not best):
http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-call-quality-ratings-(volume-1)/southeast/

West (good, not best):
http://www.jdpower.com/telecom/ratings/wireless-call-quality-ratings-(volume-1)/west/

Based on this data, the only two reasons people have to choose sprint over verizon are pricing and unlimited data.
 
The thing that's not made up though is that iPhones will most probably outsell all of Sprint's 4G phones combined...

Why would this be inevitable? iPhone sales numbers are currently behind the combined sales numbers of Android devices. This has not born out on VZW and there is no reason to assume it would be the case on Sprint.

While I'm sure there will be an initial surge in sales of iPhones and perhaps new customers coming to Sprint to get an iPhone on Sprint. I would venture to guess a larger number of iPhone sales on Sprint will be from Feature phone users migrating to the iPhone and NOT from Android users leaving for the iPhone.

I would also speculate that the number of Android users on Sprint tempted to drop Android for the iPhone would be further diminished if the Sprint iPhone is NOT a 4G device. Unlike AT&T iPhone users...Sprint users are very aware if they have a 4G device or not.
 
Why would this be inevitable? iPhone sales numbers are currently behind the combined sales numbers of Android devices. This has not born out on VZW and there is no reason to assume it would be the case on Sprint.

While I'm sure there will be an initial surge in sales of iPhones and perhaps new customers coming to Sprint to get an iPhone on Sprint. I would venture to guess a larger number of iPhone sales on Sprint will be from Feature phone users migrating to the iPhone and NOT from Android users leaving for the iPhone.

I would also speculate that the number of Android users on Sprint tempted to drop Android for the iPhone would be further diminished if the Sprint iPhone is NOT a 4G device. Unlike AT&T iPhone users...Sprint users are very aware if they have a 4G device or not.

I said 4G devices. iPhone outsells all the 4G devices on Verizon combined (to this day, whether that changes is yet to be seen). I'm sure that's the case or very close to it on ATT.

The iPhone outselling the 4G devices on Sprint is inevitable. Those devices simply dont have the numbers even combined.

It doesn't matter if its new customers, people upgrading from feature phone to smartphone, or Android users switching (and I have absolutely zero data to be able to break it down that precisely). The point is when all is said and done (in the quarter), the iPhone will be the best selling device on Sprint, and may very well outsell all the 4G devices combined on Sprint and will raise its US marketshare. I know everyone here is hyping up the S2, but it's not going to be able to compete with an iPhone5. (we've heard this iPhone killer crap for the last 4 years).

As for Sprint users being aware if they have 4G devices, how do you know this? Was there some study done? Or is it pure speculation? Consumers don't care/don't know about specs or technologies. That's been proven time and time again, when a year and a half old phone is outselling cutting edge phones that beat it in every spec possible. The Bionic destroys the iPhone spec-wise and when the numbers for it are released (if ever), you'll see it has mediocre or paltry sales. If the iphone goes to sprint, we'll see the same results. People are going to get the iPhone over the S2...guaranteed.

History has always shown this to be the case...nothing convincing has happened to suggest otherwise. That doesn't mean it can't happen, but right now I doubt it would. No phone out there is compelling enough to compete with the ridiculous (most probably unfounded) hype that the iPhone5 is receiving. Ask someone on the street what they think about the Galaxy S2, and they'll say huh?

Sprint isn't a premier carrier, they're an alternative carrier. They exist and have customers because they offer things people can't get elsewhere (namely unlimited plans) and pricing structures you can't get elsewhere. If they nix their unlimited plan, what reason do I have to switch to a carrier that has worse coverage, famed bad customer service, and no clear LTE plans yet?

Well yeah, that's what I said this is a marketing ploy/strategy. This is all they have, and that's why they're milking it and that's why Dan Hesse gets on TV preaching how strongly he feels about this. It's for sales. That's all it is, that's all it'll ever be.


I think that's a given. You can't run a network on unlimited plans when over 50% of your users are smartphone users on LTE connections with 20 Mbps bandwidth and a plethora of streaming apps on their phones. The end is coming, but I don't think it will be financially advantageous for them for a few years at least.

Well we agree they'll move to tiers, just not when. I say 12 months after the get the iPhone (if they do). I don't see it going on for years...


I've never challenged that prediction. I'm talking about the impact of overall growth of smartphone users and overall growth of data. Not people switching smartphone platforms within a carrier.

That's what I'm talking about too. The overall growth is going to grow by leaps and bounds if they offer an unlimited iPhone, and I base that on history. Sprint has their unlimited data marketing strategy, and they might get an iPhone. They will add plenty of customers in the coming year, both android and iOS.

Not any time soon. They need to be profitable and maintain carrier growth. Nixing unlimited won't do that.

12 months haha. They'll either switch to tiers within 12 months or we'll hear about their proposed tiers by then. It's not going to be several years.
 
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And is distinctly not LTE, nor is what Sprint is expected to talk about when they talk about their network plans soon.

Don't speak until you know the facts buddy, they ARE talking about the network on October 7th and a little side note, you will be very suprised what you are going to hear which will make most of your statements false. Huge fail!

Insider: I work for Sprint ;)
 
Don't speak until you know the facts buddy, they ARE talking about the network on October 7th and a little side note, you will be very suprised what you are going to hear which will make most of your statements false. Huge fail!

Insider: I work for Sprint ;)

Uh, I was referring to WiMax and alluding to the fact that LTE is expected to be discussed at the event. That's the general consensus of the tech community, and one which I agree with. LTE has a much clearer path forward than WiMax given its compliance to competitors' technology. The prospect of catering to a unique 4G technology with a unique radio isn't all that appetizing to handset manufacturers, I'm sure.
 
I said 4G devices. iPhone outsells all the 4G devices on Verizon combined (to this day, whether that changes is yet to be seen). I'm sure that's the case or very close to it on ATT.

All 4G devices on Sprint are ANDROID devices. The 4G offerings from ATT are particularly lame. ATT does this on purpose so as not to siphon sales from their Cash Cow the iPhone (and the fact they don't have Jack for 4G).

Given that there are MANY other 4G options on Sprint including the hottest selling phone on the planet the Samsung Galaxy II S I predict many users will be reluctant to drop a 4G device in favor of a non-4G device.

The iPhone outselling the 4G devices on Sprint is inevitable. Those devices simply dont have the numbers even combined.

The fact remains that combined Android phone sales outnumber iPhone sales. How is this possible based on your reasoning?

The point is when all is said and done (in the quarter), the iPhone will be the best selling device on Sprint.

Now you are qualifying your previous response and narrowing it down to 'the quarter'. You basically confirmed exactly what I said. Initially there will probably be a large jump in iPhone sales but there is no reason to expect the introduction of the iPhone on Sprint to reverse the current trend of Android devices OUT SELLING iPhone devices.

I'm not saying Android devices are better than the iPhone. I'm just pointing out that overall they do not sell as many phones.
 
All 4G devices on Sprint are ANDROID devices. The 4G offerings from ATT are particularly lame. ATT does this on purpose so as not to siphon sales from their Cash Cow the iPhone (and the fact they don't have Jack for 4G).

Given that there are MANY other 4G options on Sprint including the hottest selling phone on the planet the Samsung Galaxy II S I predict many users will be reluctant to drop a 4G device in favor of a non-4G device.

AT&T's 4G android device offerings are solid. Their '4G' service is not.
 
The fact remains that combined Android phone sales outnumber iPhone sales. How is this possible based on your reasoning?

Because more people buy Android phones! haha...I don't get why this is so difficult for the people here? And I really don't know how to make what I'm saying clearer haha

1) AT&T is the only one to offer iPhone -- iPhone has a ridiculous amount of marketshare with no one near them
2) Android becomes mainstream and completely destroys iPhone's marketshare
3) iPhone goes to Verizon, iPhone shares goes up in the US
4) iPhone outsells all the 4G Android phones on Verizon combined (not 3G, not 4G and 3G, not 3G and 4G, 4G only).
5) iPhone is the best selling phone on AT&T and VZW
6) iPhone goes to Sprint
7) iPhones marketshare goes up in the US

I don't get why you guys are having so much difficulty grasping this easy concept? iPhone is not going to have 80% marketshare next year...it wont have 60, or 50, or 40, or even 30. It'll remain in its mid to high 20% range but it's going to go up if Sprint gets an iPhone. That's all I'm saying. Android will keep its marketshare and will also continue to grow because it's available on a multitude of carriers in the US, available at different pricepoints and available as part of BOGO deals and some of the greatest phones out there have Android on them. That's why Android sales outnumber iPhones overall (it's not as simple as "Android is better FTW!!!" as some people think).

I don't get why everyone feels I'm saying this is the end of Android as we know it and Google is done for. That's not what I'm saying, and that's not what's going to happen. I'm making two statements and that is that iPhone will be the best selling phone on Sprint, and iPhone's marketshare in the US will go up. That's it. No qualifiers, no talk about Android, no talk about global marketshare.


Now you are qualifying your previous response and narrowing it down to 'the quarter'. You basically confirmed exactly what I said. Initially there will probably be a large jump in iPhone sales but there is no reason to expect the introduction of the iPhone on Sprint to reverse the current trend of Android devices OUT SELLING iPhone devices.

I'm not saying Android devices are better than the iPhone. I'm just pointing out that overall they do not sell as many phones.

I only qualified it because there's only 1 quarter left. You can remove the qualifier if you'd like. For the remaining quarter, and for the rest of 2012, and for as long as Sprint has an iPhone, iPhone will be the best selling phone on Sprint.

iOS marketshare will go up, but Android will remain in the strong lead. How much more clearer can i be??! :confused:

As for outselling, yes, android phones outsell the iPhone combined. But iPhone outsells many of them combined (a correction I made several pages ago haha) and outsells ALL of the 4G phones on Verizon combined. It's 300 phones to 2 models. iPhone obviously outsells many (not all) of those 300 combined, and I hope you can agree with that (for example on Verizon, I think its a safe bet that iPhone is outselling the Eris, and the Citrus, and the Casio G1 Commando and whatever other crappy android phones they offer for pennies combined. Believe me there are plenty of Android phones that the iPhone outsells combined). But it does not outsell all 300...it's simple what I'm saying, everyone is just making it overly complicated.

All 4G devices on Sprint are ANDROID devices. The 4G offerings from ATT are particularly lame. ATT does this on purpose so as not to siphon sales from their Cash Cow the iPhone (and the fact they don't have Jack for 4G).

Given that there are MANY other 4G options on Sprint including the hottest selling phone on the planet the Samsung Galaxy II S I predict many users will be reluctant to drop a 4G device in favor of a non-4G device.

Yes, but not all Android devices are 4G. I'm only talking about the 4G android devices. And I'm not saying the reason iPhone is outselling them is because iPhone is the future and all devices should bow down to it. I'm just stating the facts. iPhone outsells all the 4G android devices.

And like I said, I'm not convinced that the S2 is compelling enough a device for people to not get the iPhone (again that doesn't mean the iPhone is amazing, I'm just going by history). Like I said the Bionic is undoubtedly the best Android phone that has ever been released in the US (to this date). It's specs make the iPhone look like a dumbphone in comparison. But it's not going to outsell the iPhone, and won't get remotely close (yes I know, users want choice blah blah haha).

That's how I look at the S2. Everyone on the tech sites are saying it has all this hype and how amazing it is, but does it really have hype? Or is it just among the people who frequent tech forums? Go out and ask someone about the S2 and they'll look at you like you're speaking Japanese. The truth of the matter is no one cares about specs. No one knows about the S2 in the US. It just seems like its this huge hype train because you and I frequent tech sites. The average consumer could care less.

The S2 will sell a few million and then be forgotten, much like every other Android device (not a bad thing, that's just how Android is). The iPhone5 will outsell it. Stranger things have happened, and nothing is a guarantee, but like I said we've been hearing this iPhone killer crap for 4 years. The S2 probably has the best shot at doing it, but I don't see it happening.
 
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AT&T's 4G android device offerings are solid. Their '4G' service is not.

I beg to differ (about the 4G phones anyway). Out of the 4 Android 4G devices offered by AT&T only ONE is running Gingerbread 2.3. Sprint offers SIX 4G Android handsets running Gingerbread 2.3!!! Soon to be 7 with the Galaxy II S.
 
I beg to differ (about the 4G phones anyway). Out of the 4 Android 4G devices offered by AT&T only ONE is running Gingerbread 2.3. Sprint offers SIX 4G Android handsets running Gingerbread 2.3!!! Soon to be 7 with the Galaxy II S.

The Inspire and Atrix both have Gingerbread. Galaxy S2 is also coming to AT&T with gingerbread, so that's not really a point for either side.

Besides, a phone isn't bad quality just because it's on Froyo versus Gingerbread. The infuse is a great phone, there's just no reason to get it with the Galaxy S2 coming.
 
The Inspire and Atrix both have Gingerbread.

AT&T should update their Website as it says the Inspire is a 2.2 device. Further research does indicate a 2.3 update has been released.

So AT&T the largest carrier has two Android 2.3 4G devices verses the six offered by measly little Sprint. Whether a device is 2.2 or 2.3 doesn't speak to its quality per say but it does speak to the carriers overall commitment to the brand. AT&T remains firmly committed to the iPhone brand.
 
AT&T should update their Website as it says the Inspire is a 2.2 device. Further research does indicate a 2.3 update has been released.

So AT&T the largest carrier has two Android 2.3 4G devices verses the six offered by measly little Sprint. Whether a device is 2.2 or 2.3 doesn't speak to its quality per say but it does speak to the carriers overall commitment to the brand. AT&T remains firmly committed to the iPhone brand.

My inspire is running 2.3.3, indeed. Sideloading enabled too.

You have to remember that AT&T only started offering android phones with screens larger than the iphone since Verizon got the iPhone. Sprint has a headstart on them in terms of premier android handsets.

You also have to remember that AT&T is probably the top partner of WP7, RIM and Apple right now. It would be kind of odd to expect their android offerings to rival the others given their current levels of support for other platforms.
 
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You have to remember that AT&T only started offering android phones with screens larger than the iphone since Verizon got the iPhone.

Thank you for making my point. AT&T has been so pro iPhone their other offerings have been very weak until just recently.
 
Thank you for making my point. AT&T has been so pro iPhone their other offerings have been very weak until just recently.

You can either make the point their offerings are weak because their focus is elsewhere or you can question their offerings and why they are weak. You can't do both.
 
What? I'm not questioning anything. AT&T has systematically avoided releasing cutting edge Android devices in order to have less competition for their Cash Cow. They are only now changing strategy because they are no longer the only game in town.
 
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