Ponderable: Did Palm Make the Right Choice going with Sprint? 40
Just the other day I was asked by a business associate what I thought about Sprint for the Pre? She has been using a Treo 680 on AT&T. I had to pause.
For sure, I felt AT&T was bringing up the rear. If having a GSM phone were not a requirement, then I’d recommend either Verizon or Sprint. I also said that in the ideal scenario, Verizon would buy Sprint and then we’d be able to confidently play on the best network with what promises to be an awesome, iPhone killer.
Why Palm selected Sprint is pretty obvious to me. AT&T has the iPhone. Verizon has committed a lot of resources to the promotion of the BlackBerry Storm. And Sprint… Sprint is hungry and probably a lot more motivated to partner up with a company that has an “eye of the tiger” determination to get back into the ring and be relevant.
But circling back to the question, it comes down to that equation again:
Quality Calls + Cool Phone + Affordable Pricing Plan = Customer Win
Can Sprint and Palm deliver? Now that is the real question! Hopefully we’ll find out the answer soon.
40 Comments
They forgot 1 more item.... Device pricing! How much will this thing cost?
You know what puzzles me? Why do you all have to call customer service so much that you actually have an opinion about how good or bad they are? I've never had to call them but maybe twice a year. Seems to me that once your service is set up, then that's it. Also, plans like Simply Everything makes it even less necessary to contact them because everything is unlimited. I've been with Sprint for 10 years with very few problems with CS. Maybe it's just me but I like it that I need to call them on such a limited basis.
Don't you think it is long past time to stop this sort of Sprint bashing? They tied with Verizon for number one in network quality. ATT came in last. Shouldn't you be asking if Apple's choice of ATT was wise?
Are you suggesting Apple's lost revenue from my refusal to use ATT is not noticeable? :P
Sprint is also the only carrier without a flagship smartphone yet. AT&T has the Bold and the iPhone, Verizon has the Storm, T-Mobile has the G1 and the 8900.
Sprint has a few WM devices and the Instinct. In other words, they'll be able to go all out to promote the hell out of this thing because they don't really have anything else competing with it.
Sounds like fanboyism to me but i aint mad at you. Sprint has done fine by me for over 10 years. Their plans can't be touched by any of the other major carriers out there. That's the kicker. As a Palm Treo user since the 280 (i've had them all) the data plan is the biggest selling point there is. Call quality is hit or miss with ALL of the carriers, depending where you are but as a business user, being able to get online at true 3G speeds, text, receive corporate emails and everything else in between, Sprint has no equal. Spoken by a true fanboy... but i'm also a realist!!!
Hey Annie, my name is BJ DeHut and I am a representative for Sprint. There was a recent webinar held by both Sprint and Palm. During the questions and answers portion this question actually came up. Here is a video from the webinar where they answer this question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfJFV29a5aU