In the hopes of gaining a smidge more market share in the US, Sprint has just announced that it will offer what amounts to unlimited everything (text, data, voice) for the life of service on any line.
Sprint’s latest take on unlimited mobile service is now official, and like rumors had suggested, the new plan arrives tomorrow. Known as Unlimited, My Way, the service combines unlimited talk, text and data for $80 per month for a single-line subscription. The new pricing tiers also include multiple line discounts, and the ability to combine feature phones and smartphones under the same umbrella. The My All-in plan is also on deck for arrival tomorrow, which runs $110 and adds 5GB of mobile hotspot usage on top of the Unlimited, My Way plan. Perhaps just as importantly, Sprint’s latest offering also includes a promise from the carrier known as the Sprint Unlimited Guarantee… which according to Dan Hesse, “Allows our customers to lock-in unlimited talk, text and data not for just the next two years, but for life.” Naturally, the caveat here is that prices may increase over the years, but it’s certainly a more dependable approach than you’ll find from the larger carriers.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile, Sprint
We just received a few more internal training documents that further explains the new Unlimited plans that Sprint will be launching this coming Friday. Of course, that Sprint Unlimited Guarantee is only available for the “unlimited” part of any plan you sign up for, and it doesn’t mean the rate won’t change over time. The guarantee is also only applicable to the new “Unlimited, My Way” plans, and not to the existing “Everything” plans, even if those “Everything” plans have unlimited data. It doesn’t apply to tablets, just phones, and is non-transferrable to another subscriber.
Existing Sprint customers who want to swap out their plans to the new ones may do so without extending their contract, though new lines do require a two-year service agreement. To those who have employer discounts, the carrier will discount the monthly data charge for each line rather than the primary rate plan. However, it also states that the My All-In plan (the one that bundles unlimited talk, text, data and a 5GB mobile hotspot) is not eligible for any discount, employer or otherwise.
Finally, the saga is over. All but a formality once the FCC approved, Softbank has merged with Sprint, and will own about 78 percent of shares in the new Sprint Corporation, while current Sprint equity holders will own about 22 percent. Initially announced last fall, things were suddenly complicated when Dish made its own bid for Sprint and Clearwire in the spring. But, that challenge faded, regulatory hurdles were cleared, Clearwire shareholders approved Sprint’s buyout and here we are, with Dan Hesse staying on as CEO of Sprint, and Softbank’s Masayoshi Son taking over as the chairman of the board of directors. The plan is for this to result in a “stronger, more competitive Sprint,” although we’ll have to wait and see if that happens all of the details are in the press release after the break.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Sprint
Source: Sprint
Leaked Sprint document shows new Unlimited, My Way and My All-In plans (update: confirmed, launches July 12th)
Posted in: Today's ChiliAccording to a leaked document provided to PhoneArena, Sprint might be replacing its “Everything” plans with new “Unlimited, My Way” options. At first glance, there looks to be a lot more choices than before, and certainly a bigger benefit to those with additional lines per household. For example, an individual’s unlimited talk and text plan would be $50 a month, but a second line would be reduced to $40, a third to $30 and a fourth or more to $20 a line. Unlimited smartphone data would be $30 on top of that, while data-sippers could opt for a 1GB plan that’s $20 a month instead. If you want unlimited everything with a cherry on top, there appears to be a “My All-in” plan that offers unlimited talk, text and data with a 5GB mobile hotspot for $110 a month. We’re not sure if the carrier is simply anticipating a challenge to T-Mobile’s looming announcement, but it does seem like the magenta operator might have a contender if this turns out to be true. Head on over to the source to see the leaked document in full.
Update: We just received Sprint internal correspondence via a tipster that not only confirms the new Unlimited plans, but also states the Now Network hopes to launch them this Friday, July 12th. The letter goes on to emphasize the Sprint Unlimited Guarantee as stated in the leaked document, declaring that customers who sign up for them will get the unlimited plans for life.
Filed under: Mobile
Source: PhoneArena
Your smartphone and / or tablet is just begging for an update. From time to time, these mobile devices are blessed with maintenance refreshes, bug fixes, custom ROMs and anything in between, and so many of them are floating around that it’s easy for a sizable chunk to get lost in the mix. To make sure they don’t escape without notice, we’ve gathered every possible update, hack, and other miscellaneous tomfoolery we could find during the last week and crammed them into one convenient roundup. If you find something available for your device, please give us a shout at tips at engadget dawt com and let us know. Enjoy!
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile
The Daily Roundup for 07.05.2013
Posted in: Today's ChiliYou might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
As expected and predicted, today the Federal Communications Commission approved the merger of American mobile company Sprint with Japanese mobile giant Softbank and broadband service company Clearwire. In its conclusion, the FCC writes, “approval of the proposed transactions, subject to the conditions set forth herein, is in the public interest.” This comes just a week after Sprint shareholders gave the thumbs up for proceedings to go forward, and a few weeks after the US Department of Justice did the same. Further, the conclusion goes on to say that the deal has “public interest benefits that likely would result from the proposed transaction, and thus we conclude that the transaction is in the public interest.”
The tri-company transaction is through the wringer of governmental bureaucracy, but still has to receive approval from Clearwire’s shareholders; that decision is expected on July 8th, and its board of directors have reportedly recommended approval.
Filed under: Cellphones, Handhelds, Tablets, Mobile, Sprint