cletus

Where I live the affiliate stores pawn everything they can off onto the corporate store anyways. They are happy to sign you up but any problems or questions they just tell you to go to the corporate store. I honestly feel there are too many brick and mortar Sprint stores to begin with but maybe that is just near me. I have 3 within 5 minutes from my house.

What about posting the link to google for the full article like http://lmgtfy.com/?q=SoftBank%27s+U.S.+Cellphone+Strategy+Takes+Shape /edited because the link is broken otherwise

Well, yeah, but the Moto G is like $180, The LG Optimus F7 is $250, the OnePlus one is $299, the Moto X and Nexus 5 are $349, Galaxy S4 Mini is like $400, Iphone 5C is $550. So in my eyes this phone is slightly better than the Optimus F7 and Moto G but if it is priced any higher then it runs into really stiff competition. And even at $250 the Moto G becomes a pretty attractive phone by comparison.

Ah, I was confusing when the chipset was announced rather than when it was available. I see this phone as being good enough for Japan and good enough for the US but to me this looks like a Moto G with a slightly newer chipset and a edge to edge screen. Not that it would be bad necessarily but it would not be something I or most of the people I know would be interested in. Even a year old G2 is, specs wise, more impressive than this phone. I'm not sure where it fits in to how phones are traditionally offered in the US. To me mid-range phones are pretty pointless when you have either value seekers/low end buyers who will get the Moto G or higher end Nexus 5 buyers who look off contract. Otherwise contract subsidy people look for the best phones on the market or the free phones. Maybe I just don't get the purpose of a mid-range phone when there seems to be downward pricing pressure for higher end phones from the Nexus 5 and the OnePlus One.

I hope it does get upgraded specs. 720p resolution? MSM8974 Wasn't that released over a year ago? 1.5 GB of ram and only 8 GB internal storage? I have to admit it DOES look pretty neat with the edge to edge screen.

Posted in the Sprint - T-Mobile thread How difficult is it for T-Mobile to add this to existing networks? Is it new hardware on the ground or just adding a panel or just updating software? I don't follow T-Mobile buildouts closely enough to even know if it has phones that can support this.

You mean like where Sprint changed how discounts on family plans went to only primary line, then went to data only? Sprint might as well do the same and get rid of it altogether.

Flesh-bites are a reality. The T-Mobile trolls are already on internet going "LeeeGERREEEEE...braiinnsssssssss...uncarrierrr...euhghhhhhhh"

I am eagerly waiting for changes to plans or framily structure. I can easily see myself coming back to Sprint (from Ting) if they make some small tweaks.

Yeah, because T-Mobile still has an offer from Illiad and possibly other companies are interested and is thus fairly stable for now while Sprint not only canceled the merger but also replaced their CEO. Not that I necessarily agree with the negative outlook for Sprint but I did feel that a merger with T-Mobile was the quickest and easiest way for them to catapult forward.

This is correct. I believe even spotify @160kbps uses ~ 1.2 MB/Min. Basically at 1 hour a day you are around 2ish GB of data/month. That being said, I definitely still have sites here in Austin where the speed is so low I cannot even load a single song.

"The plan now is for Sprint to be a "price leader" later in the year, the Sprint executive said." Sounds good to me.

Interview with S4GRU?

Who wouldn't want free service? Flippant questions aside, I want a competitive Sprint and right now their framily plan loses to the current T-Mobile 4 lines @ $100 for 10 GB data (2.5 GB each line). Even with a 7 person framily you would only get 4 lines @$100 for 4 GB of data (1 GB each line). So in my eyes Sprint either needs to revamp framily or entice users to purchase higher data limits with better pricing/discounts there. In addition to that the burden for a new user to get that $25 line is higher at Sprint than T-Mobile as a direct comparison would have the Sprint customers paying either $160 for 4 lines @ 1GB or $200 for 4 lines @ 3GB each. By some metrics Sprint DOES have worse service already and as a customer I expect pricing in line with T-Mobile rather than the superior networks that AT&T and Verizon offer. The massive profits in the industry will continue to be divided 3/4ths or more between the duopoly and leave Sprint and T-Mobile fighting for the rest until they can offer a truly competitive network. T-Mobile is much further from this than Sprint in terms of a true nationwide network but they absolutely do have a blazing fast network in core metro areas.

Oh absolutely. They were perfectly happy being #2 in speed but slightly cheaper when bundled than TWC for about 15 years. Considering they had a nearly 30% revenue gain from Uverse last year I am not surprised they are fighting to keep competitive. It won't work though. Anyways, I am happy the bid fell through even though it would have been pretty awesome for Nexus 5 users like myself. I hope Sprint goes back to the drawing board with their framily plans and either makes the $25 threshold lower or makes the whole process less weird. I also wish corporate discounts were applied differently rather than just to the extra data portion.

From the perspective of someone in a city where U-Verse is expanding: Absolutely. AT&T is going gangbusters here upgrading the entire U-Verse network. I expect them to be more competitive with Google Fiber (when it arrives) than Time Warner actually. Right now they are rolling out 300 Mbps with an upgrade to 1Gig down late this year/early next year. I think Austin is pretty unique though.

I recently switched from Ebay buying/selling for phones to Swappa. I tend to troll around the internet to flip phones now and then. Sprint phones are an easy target as they generally sell for less than the other carriers. I find I can buy them cheaper and if I am patient I can unload them for a decent profit. Anyways my reasons for liking Swappa are: 1) I tend to get slightly higher prices from Swappa 2) The process is much better for buyers AND sellers 3) The quality of the phones tend to be higher 4) They do the ESN/IMEI/ETC checks for free as part of the process.

Yeah. Basically just like couponing it lets you have access to a new tier of customers but it does not improve brand loyalty or long term sales. In many cases it actually lowers your overall brand loyalty because these new customers are discount seekers who will remain only as long as the discount is in place AND a competing product is not discounted more. The only saving grace here would be that there is resistance to change on the mobile market due to having to buy new handsets to move to a new carrier if it is on a different network. Then again, I stayed on the Sprint network (I use Ting) because the used handsets on Sprint are cheaper than any other carrier. I am absolutely one of these not loyal customers and like my purchasing of toothpaste, frozen veggies, etc.. I don't see my mobile purchases ever going back to being on a contract or paying more out of historical use of a carrier. I just can't justify the cost difference now.

I feel like I have seen a post like this every quarter that I have been on this forum.

I KNEW IT! You 'legacy' users are the one holding up the backhaul on Sprint's towers!

Nice thanks!

This is correct. In Austin we have "TWCWifi" and "CableWifi" and I've only signed into them once on my phone and now I no longer need to sign in anymore. Also, if you share an HBOGO login from TWC with anyone you can use that to login as well (same login).

Personally I would rather the implementation be more like what Time Warner does here in Austin. They setup high speed WiFi in popular locations for free using your TWC login. So, around the city in areas with bars or shops there usually is a TWC WiFi with pretty good speeds around. Most likely they are offering business customers a discount to host these wifi hotspots or something but shoving it on to normal customers and making them specifically opt out of it is pretty shitty. I may be in the minority though as I bought my own router and modem because 1) $5.99/mo to $7.99/mo for a modem? really? 2) My equipment is better.

I think it will be the opposite. In my experience faster speeds = more data usage. With a reliable and fast LTE network people are more apt to stream video more often or do bandwidth intensive tasks. As the network gets stronger unlimited will be a better and better deal. Just look at all the Verizon grandfathered unlimited people who would never leave even when they have to pay full price for their phones and lines.

Family plans: 1GB for $20 per month 2GB for $30 per month 4GB for $40 per month 6GB for $50 per month 10GB for $60 per month 20GB for $100 per month 30GB for $130 per month 40GB for $150 per month 60GB for $225 per month For the 1GB to 10GB allotments, the line fee is $25 for a smartphone, while the 20GB or higher plans come with a $15 line charge. Framily Plans The plans starts at $45 per month, $10 less than the standard Framily plan, and go down to $25 per month with 5 users instead of 7. Sprint is also offering annual upgrades for unlimited data customers in Buffalo and Philly, while Providence-based users will pay $5 per month for annual upgrades. Individual Plans Sprint is trying out a new individual plan in Chicago, Minneapolis and West Michigan. The plans include a $40 plan with unlimited talk and text and 3GB of data or $50 for an unlimited offering.