Sprint One Up program......breaking news (response to Jump/Edge/Next)

[gnoj]

So I'm guessing they're getting rid of the upgrade now thing where u could buy out the rest of your contract?

Not necessarily. Keep in mind that this will only be offered to people on the new plans. They might keep Upgrade Now (albeit still unadvertised) for everyone else.

[schale01]

.

 

After that, you upgrade, and reset your cycle of 24 payments of $12 (or something). Do you still owe the other 12 months worth of payments on your previous device? Or does that just... "go away" when you "upgrade"?

 

 

This is what I'm curious about.  I'm guessing it would go away.  I can't see how they could justify you having to continue to pay for a device that you were required to trade in. I'll get clarification on the marrow.

[sbolen]

I like that Sprint waited for the other carriers to show their cards and roll out their marketing efforts before committing to an upgrade program. Smart.

[IamMrFamous07]

I like that Sprint waited for the other carriers to show their cards and roll out their marketing efforts before committing to an upgrade program. Smart.

And to release it the day of launch of the new iPhone's was genius. Wonder how many new subscribers will sprint get from this program

[sbolen]

And to release it the day of launch of the new iPhone's was genius. Wonder how many new subscribers will sprint get from this program

No kidding. "Here's a free iPhone 5S, with zero down. And you don't need to wait in the line at the Apple Store to trade in your old phones for credit like that moron sbolen will!"

[koiulpoi]

So... new math time. Single contract plan @24 months and buying a second device at MSRP vs "One Up" @24 months and two phones.

 

Let's assume you're buying the iPhone 5S at $649.99 on One Up, or $199.99 on contract. Let's also assume you're a big fan of Apple's products, and want the newest one as soon as it comes out (once a year) (as many people do).

 

I'll be including the activation fee, as you'll be paying it more than once on One Up. I won't be including Sales Tax... because that would be too confusing across different states.

 

With the regular contract side, you're paying for your device, $199.99 + $36, and then $80 for 20 months. That's $1835.99 over 20 months. If you buy a new device at 12 months, add $649.99 to that (and let's assume the iPhone 6 will retail for that, because it probably will), for $2,485.98 (no activation fee here!). However, you'll be able to sell your previous phone, an iPhone 5, for around $350, making the total $2,135.98. Even though you get an upgrade at 20 months, you decide to hold off because the iPhone 6 will be out in 4 months. Add 4 months of service, for $2,455.98.

 

 

Now, let's go with Sprint One Up instead. You put $0 down at point of sale, less sales tax (which again, not including). You pay $36 on your first bill. You'll pay that again when you upgrade at 12 months, so that's $72. Your service is $80, you have a phone payment plan of $27, but you get a discount of $15 because discounts, meaning you're paying $92/month. At 24 months, plus the two activation fees, that's $2,280.

 

 

That's a total savings of $175.98. Not a huge amount of money, to be honest - but it is a savings. And, in my mind, there's one huge advantage to this - you don't have to deal with the extra hassle of trying to sell your old phone to recoup the cost of buying a new one.

 

Fair Market Value of the iPhone 5 was obtained from www.movaluate.com. It's interesting to note that the AT&T and VZW iPhone 5's FMV is approximately $100 better than Sprint's.

 

 

MATH ROUND TWO

 

Let's assume you're going with the HTC One, instead, and will be upgrading to a similarly priced phone in one year. $199.99 regular price, $549.99 MSRP.

 

For regular: $80*24 + $36 + $199.99 + $549.99 = $2,705.98. Your HTC Android phone is, unfortunately, going to depreciate in value faster than almost anything else you own. I'll assume you can sell it for $130 (what you can get for the HTC EVO 4G LTE right now), for a total spent of $2,575.98.

 

For One Up: Your "phone payment" is $549.99 / 24 ~= $23. $88 * 24 + $72 = $2,184 spent, for two phones over two years. That's a total savings of $391.98. A much better deal.

 

 

Last example, the Galaxy Note II (to a similarly priced device such as the Note III), a $299.99 device on contract, $649.99 MSRP.

 

For regular: $80*24 + $36 + $299.99 + $649.99 = $2,869.98

For One Up: Same as the iPhone 5S, $2,280.

 

That's a total savings of $589.98. Less being able to sell your Note II for $300, that makes it $289.98.

 

 

So, if you're the type to want to buy a new phone every year, especially devices that are brand new and have just come out, it's a pretty good deal, and will save you money. If you're frugal and are willing to buy used devices and ride a little behind the technology curve, this is a terrible deal - but it wasn't designed for you. For the Apple consumer, like my first example, it's almost a no-brainer; you don't have to put any money down, and always have the best phone you can get.

[halcyoncmdr]

"10/11/13: Expiring Everything Data/Messaging Rate Card"  

 

"Expired" has previously meant once its gone, its gone.  Hmm.  Baiting us off the Everything Data plans. 

 

"Expiring" refers to the plan codes becoming sales-expired. They can't be added anymore. It does not remove them from the billing system, and it does not force customers with those plans onto other options. If you already have an old Everything plan, it will stay. After they expire, they will not be available again, for any reason, period.

 

Now whether the old plans will allow for upgrades in the future, that's a different story.

[JeffDTD]

"Expiring" refers to the plan codes becoming sales-expired. They can't be added anymore. It does not remove them from the billing system, and it does not force customers with those plans onto other options. If you already have an old Everything plan, it will stay. After they expire, they will not be available again, for any reason, period.

 

Now whether the old plans will allow for upgrades in the future, that's a different story.

Yes, thats what I meant. Sprint will not be kicking anyone off it. The inconvenience is answering 1) can new lines still be added? 2) can current data or phone connect lines be merged into an everything plan ? In addition to our upgrade question.

 

Looked at that chart again... Sprint's choice to not include their $36 activation fee in the graphic is deceptive if this is supposed to be an honest comparison.

 

Im also very interested to understand how hard they will be on the devices traded in. Lets say a customer has 3rd party insurance like square trade or decides to replace a damaged device with an identical model... will the esn history be reviewed on all customers without tep?

 

Sent from my Note II. Its so big.

 

 

[Nrbelex]

"10/11/13: Expiring Everything Data/Messaging Rate Card"

I'm taking Everything Data Share is going away? :/

 

This would seem to be the bigger news here. Will Sprint force those on legacy contracts to switch any time soon? e.g. by denying legacy contract customers the option of adding 800Mhz phones to their account?

[HTCandroid]

With all these 'deals' the cell companies are offering, we'll need to take a special mathematics course just to understand the 'savings' we'll all get.

 

This is another bad one.

More like accounting. The math is easy. It is knowing when to add and subtract which can be tricky.

[lordsutch]

Looked at that chart again... Sprint's choice to not include their $36 activation fee in the graphic is deceptive if this is supposed to be an honest comparison.

The activation fee is included on the comparison chart under the "walkout price" row, at least in the version AndroidCentral has.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

[iansltx]

I probably won't go for this.

 

On the one hand, I like new tech. On the other, the only reason I'm upgrading off of my S III prior to two years is that the "destination phone" will be tri-band.

 

Point being, I only feel the need to upgrade "out of cycle" when the tech merits it. Which has happened once already (10/x/10 to the release date of the S III). And is happening again due to tri-band. But unless Sprint turns on PCS-H or DC-band-41 a year after I get the Nexus 5, One Up doesn't make sense. Particularly if I have to buy a locked Nexus 5 (or a G2) rather than an unlocked one.

 

Then again, probably the major reason I'm not interested is that $65 is a higher MRC than my SERO-P plan. So there's that. But that's definitely a special case.

 

I'm definitely glad that Sprint is acknowledging that One Up takes their subsidy out of the MRC, so they reprice plans accordingly. Too bad it doesn't include insurance...

[centermedic]

I don't see this being beneficial unless you are the type of person who will buy a phone at srp just to get keep the newest device.  All of these plans have to same feel as a $0 down car lease.   

My other question is how does this effect EFTs?  If you view the MRC as including the subsidy cost of the phones, then aren't we really just paying extra for the phone?

 

You know what, it think I just figured out why Sprint is giving the $15 credit until the phone is paid off.... that is close to the amount of the subsidized price.

 

I'm thinking currently that a phone with a srp of $649 would cost us $199 up front.  Leaving Sprint to cover the other $450 over the 2 year contract which would be $450/24 = $18.75 per month.  I guess the extra $3.75 per month is a rounding error from the additional sales tax we pay on the full srp of the phone instead of subsidy price.

 

I hope this makes sense to someone else, it is kinda difficult to reverse engineer "corporate accounting" and figure how Walter White is gonna cover up Hank's death at the same time.  (Breaking Bad is on)

Its exactly like a car lease. They are double dipping. $12 times 12 is 144 dollars vs the 199 dollars you would usually pay. The difference is they get the device back with no compensation and then they sell it off again as either a refurb, a boost/virgin phone or some other MVNO.

[HTCandroid]

I probably won't go for this.

 

On the one hand, I like new tech. On the other, the only reason I'm upgrading off of my S III prior to two years is that the "destination phone" will be tri-band.

 

Point being, I only feel the need to upgrade "out of cycle" when the tech merits it. Which has happened once already (10/x/10 to the release date of the S III). And is happening again due to tri-band. But unless Sprint turns on PCS-H or DC-band-41 a year after I get the Nexus 5, One Up doesn't make sense. Particularly if I have to buy a locked Nexus 5 (or a G2) rather than an unlocked one.

 

Then again, probably the major reason I'm not interested is that $65 is a higher MRC than my SERO-P plan. So there's that. But that's definitely a special case.

 

I'm definitely glad that Sprint is acknowledging that One Up takes their subsidy out of the MRC, so they reprice plans accordingly. Too bad it doesn't include insurance...

 

Only thing we need now is the ability to easily swap devices such with devices such as manufacturer unlocked versions...which I know CDMA does not work that way.

[MacinJosh]

Check this out. Softbank offers 4G/LTE smartphone buyers a discount of 1480 yen. According to Google, it roughly translates to $14.958.

 

 

Google link to currency exchange for yen to US Dollars: https://www.google.com/search?q=1480+yen+dollar&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

 

It was the perfect opportunity to pull a "Softbank" here in the US. The transition has begun!

[maxsilver]

You sign up for 24 payments of $27/month. This also gives you a discount of $15/month off. So you pay $12/month extra for this.

 

I have no idea why they're doing it that way. Is that discount going to be promotional?

My (totally wild and unsupported) guess would be yes.

 

It looks like it's there to fight the people leaving Sprint for T-Mobile in cities. Sprint's willing to temporarily price cheaper than T-Mobile (since T-Mobile has a competitive advantage at the moment, and to try to convince people to stay with Sprint)

 

But Sprint needs their network to look like it's valued higher (which is why this is a temp discount, and not a lower priced plan).

 

Then, in a year or two when network upgrades have calmed down and the networks fairing a little better, Sprint can pull the promotional price for new / upgrading customers, and not fear people switching away as much.

[The Dave]

My (totally wild and unsupported) guess would be yes.It looks like it's there to fight the people leaving Sprint for T-Mobile in cities. Sprint's willing to temporarily price cheaper than T-Mobile (since T-Mobile has a competitive advantage at the moment, and to try to convince people to stay with Sprint)But Sprint needs their network to look like it's valued higher (which is why this is a temp discount, and not a lower priced plan).Then, in a year or two when network upgrades have calmed down and the networks fairing a little better, Sprint can pull the promotional price for new / upgrading customers, and not fear people switching away as much.

I think it may stay. Doesn't it make more sense that the $15 just takes away the built in device subsidy so the customer doesn't double pay it with their monthly payments? That would explain why it goes away after it is paid off.

[norsairius]

I'm curious to see more of the fine print on this. The phone you trade in at the 13th month has to be in good working order and in good condition (no cracks, etc.).

 

What are your options to upgrade early? What if the phone is damaged? Are you SOL? What if you want to keep the phone? Do you have the option of paying off the remainder of the device at that time?

 

I'll be eligible for this based on the amount of time I'm in to my contract, but the phone (HTC EVO 4G LTE) I got when I started this contract term has suffered screen damage that I believe will not make it eligible for this program - it has pixels that appear to be discolored or as black spots on the screen. I did get a replacement device (iPhone 5) for myself, though not from Sprint, but I don't see much reason to upgrade to the 5S.

 

I'd be interested in doing this sooner rather than later if I can ditch the EVO LTE, but not for the iPhone 5. I'm eligible for an upgrade in April anyway and the iPhone 5 is more than good enough to hold me off until then and even beyond that, really.

 

Aside from that though, I think this is a good option. It's not really ever going to be a fantastic deal for the customer one way or another. No company is going to develop a program like this unless they've determined that they can make money off of it. The house will always win. However, there are people out there who are willing to pay more for the convenience and flexibility to upgrade early and I'll admit I am one of those people.

Edited September 16, 2013 by norsairius

[irev210]

The one thing that Sprint fails to mention when comparing against T-Mobile is that the T-Mobile JUMP! program includes insurance.

 

I agree with the other comments - these upgrade plans are confusing.  This is not what Dan Hesse promised when he said he was simplifying plan structures.

 

At any rate, everyone has embraced leasing phones - just like cars and other things.

[Johnner1999]

Maybe I'm not understanding these plans correctly, but they don't seem confusing.  

 

that said....

 

Question - I want to pay the ETF on my current line and add a new One Up line once rolled out.... Question is if I have both active together can i swap my current number to the One Up line and then cancel the old line of service?  

[The Dave]

Maybe I'm not understanding these plans correctly, but they don't seem confusing.  

 

that said....

 

Question - I want to pay the ETF on my current line and add a new One Up line once rolled out.... Question is if I have both active together can i swap my current number to the One Up line and then cancel the old line of service?

 

You can switch to the new plan from an existing Sprint plan without any penalty or having to renew your existing contract.

[IamMrFamous07]

After thinking about it I might jump ship to this plan in the future. There's no device IMO worth getting right now. Yes the LG G2 will be Triband but they won't have TD LTE in my market for awhile and I don't see the need to invest in a Triband device now.

 

Plus I'm eligible for an upgrade in June so I can wait almost a year and most/all high end smartphones will be Triband starting next year.

 

I recommend this program for people who recently signed a contract and got maybe a 4s or any other smartphone that wants to get a Triband device quicker. Again you have to be on your current contract for 12 months to qualify for this offer

[Johnner1999]

You can switch to the new plan from an existing Sprint plan without any penalty or having to renew your existing contract.

but I'm not 12 months in... actually only 3 months in :-)   

[The Dave]

but I'm not 12 months in... actually only 3 months in :-)

 

The Unlimited, My Way plan can be switched to at any time. But from what I read, the actual Up program requires you be at least a year in. You won't have to pay an ETF fee to switch plans, but in order to get a new phone, you may need to wait another 3 months and see about utilizing the Upgrade Now program.

[Johnner1999]

The Unlimited, My Way plan can be switched to at any time. But from what I read, the actual Up program requires you be at least a year in. You won't have to pay an ETF fee to switch plans, but in order to get a new phone, you may need to wait another 3 months and see about utilizing the Upgrade Now program.

wouldn't it be 9 more months?