Sprint: We're Bullish On LTE, Not Windows Phone

[madhouse1616]

Personally, this is the motivation to move me to AT&T



Sprint: We're Bullish On LTE, Not Windows Phone | News & Opinion | PCMag.com

Windows Phone Isn't Doing Well (maybe because they spent mucho money on promoting iphone and its not doing as well as they thought???)

Sprint is looking at giving Windows Phone another stab in the "August-September time period," Owens said, but he couldn't muster much enthusiasm for the platform.

"We have a Windows device in our lineup, but honestly, it hasn't done well enough for us to jump back into the fire. We told Microsoft: You guys have to go build the enthusiasm for the product. We'll train our reps on why it's great...[but] the number-one reason the product was returned was the user experience," he said.

"We want to participate in the market, but we can't build that brand by ourself," Sprint director of product development Lois Fagan pitched in. "We're cautiously optimistic, but [Windows Phone] just hasn't taken off."

Google's Android OS and Apple's iOS may have the market locked down, Owens mused.

"There's a tremendous market momentum that Apple has...and I think Ice Cream Sandwich, and what Android's doing, will continue to have momentum. It squeezes down to such a small subset what's left," he said.

Sprint also carries RIM's BlackBerry phones, but sales of those are in decline.

 

[Dave Blake]

I dropped my 12 year old Sprint family plan where I was paying about $300 + per month and moved to at&t couldn't be happier. So long Sprint I bet you lose more customers just because of statements like these.

 

[jalb]

I guess in some ways you can't blame them, they can't afford to take risks being in last place and not even allowed by the government to sell their failing company.

 

[madhouse1616]

I guess in some ways you can't blame them, they can't afford to take risks being in last place and not even allowed by the government to sell their failing company.

I don't like it because it was Sprint, not Microsoft that bet the farm on the success of iPhone with a $15 billion purchase over the next four years...and now that it is not doing the business they were hoping for....they are trying to shore up the bank accounts by pushing it and the android platform...they are the ones who picked the hardware to run WP7 on...and haven't been standing behind as been evidenced on this forum and others

To me it sounds more like they want MS to spend more money marketing the WP7 "Sprint" phone "for them" and >then< they will start to support it better

 

[koolkid09]

I don't like it because it was Sprint, not Microsoft that bet the farm on the success of iPhone with a $15 billion purchase over the next four years...and now that it is not doing the business they were hoping for....they are trying to shore up the bank accounts by pushing it and the android platform...they are the ones who picked the hardware to run WP7 on...and haven't been standing behind as been evidenced on this forum and others

To me it sounds more like they want MS to spend more money marketing the WP7 "Sprint" phone "for them" and >then< they will start to support it better

Sprint is losing money. They can't to take a chance on a unproven OS. They will more than likely wait to see how it performs on AT&T and see if people actually want it before they get devices. With what they went through in the Palm situation, I can't really blame them.

 

[sketchy9]

Yes, I'm getting the f out of Sprint as well. Their service is abominable (we have billing issues every single month for a plan that hasn't changed in 24 months), their phone selection sucks, and their nework is slow. I feel like I need a shower just thinking about AT&T, but there's no denying that they are superior in terms of phone selection and data network (I live in LA where their LTE rollout has occurred).

-R

 

[palandri]

...(we have billing issues every single month for a plan that hasn't changed in 24 months)...

That must be pretty hard for Sprint to explain.

 

[sketchy9]

That must be pretty hard for Sprint to explain.

To be fair they rescind the phantom charges immediately but it's a waste of my time to call them. And it's not an exaggeration, there have been mysterious charges every month for the last 6 months; I had to disable auto-pay because the bills are so reliably unreliable.

-R

 

[madhouse1616]

Sprint is losing money. They can't to take a chance on a unproven OS. They will more than likely wait to see how it performs on AT&T and see if people actually want it before they get devices. With what they went through in the Palm situation, I can't really blame them.

but this isn't that situation (palm)...this isn't like ms has asked sprint to take a gamble and it failed...this is they blew their money on iphone and it is failing them...so they take it out on the windows phone...many have already said how >sprint< isn't pushing the platform even to the point of not training their own people...to me its just a piss poor excuse for performance on their part because they have to push the iphone more and have had to change direction over to LTE

http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/12/29/sprint-still-worth-4-25-despite-iphone-deal-debt-concerns/

 

[snowmutt]

I do not get Sprint even a little. With Blackberry losing sales and more and more feature phone users switching to smart phones there is a ton of opportunity for WP to take off. Sure, we are biased here, but it is pure simple numbers. WP is well reviewed and the users who adopt it are extremely likely to stay with it. I know Android and iOS are the top dogs, but they are not infallible. Why not hedge your bets on a promising, strongly improving OS. It doesn't take a huge investment to bring a single up to date device to their network. If WP takes off, which it will, the third place network has a hit on their hands.

 

[stevenmcbeaven]

wow, that makes me a little angry that they stated this. They have not even given WP7 a chance. One handset? Android thrives mostly because of the variety of handsets. A customer looking to have access to applications and a full feature smartphone can do so for free as long as they sign a contract with an android phone. Not everyone wants, nor can they afford to spend $200 or even $100 on a cell phone. WP7 was not successful on sprint largely in part because they are only offering one handset.

 

[caliborn]

That August-September time frame actually works for me. That's when my contract is up and I'll be looking to replace my Arrive and my daughter's EVO shift. I really need them to get something worthwhile and in more than one flavor....

I like the keyboard on my Ariive so I'd would want to replace it with another KB model...but if they get a Nokia version of the 900 I'd go with that...

 

[straitda]

I wonder if we'll even get the 8107 update. I would really like to get the fix for the keyboard issue. Given this execs attitude I have a feeling Sprint is done with WP and will leave us hanging from here on out.

Where is our tethering and visual voicemail? If I had known Sprint was going to have this attitude towards WP, I would have stayed with VZW.

Sent from my T7575 using Board Express

 

[WPSteve]

I really really want to leave Sprint. I still wont forget the look the sales rep gave me when I confidently told him, -again- "No, I don't want an Android. Give me the Arrive please."

I'm just indecisive as to which carrier to jump to? I know VZW is just as bad, so it's either ATT or T-Mo. To be frank, I'd like to stay within the top 3, so I've been leaning on the fence towards ATT.

 

[madhouse1616]

I really really want to leave Sprint. I still wont forget the look the sales rep gave me when I confidently told him, -again- "No, I don't want an Android. Give me the Arrive please."

I'm just indecisive as to which carrier to jump to? I know VZW is just as bad, so it's either ATT or T-Mo. To be frank, I'd like to stay within the top 3, so I've been leaning on the fence towards ATT.

WPSteve...I feel ya pain...

I'm in the midst of paying off my sprint account
Calling to return my arrive (just got it on the 9 Jan, 2012, waited for update from CES but another 8/9 months and bad attitude?!?!)
Moving to ATT in March once the Lumia 900 gets here...the discount my employer has is on par with my current sprint so paying an extra $5 is worth it

 

[straitda]

I don't want to leave Sprint. I moved here when the Verizon CTO dogged Windows Phone, before they announced the Trophy, and I paid pro-rated ETFs to VZW to make the move. The ETFs were offset by the Sprint $150 per line carrier switch credits.

I am paying less for full Sprint service on 4 smartphones than I was paying at VZW for 2 smartphones and 2 feature phones. I will pay significantly more for 4 smartphones if I leave Sprint for AT&T (just raised data rates) or VZW. I'm also hopeful that the Sprint Network Vision build out will provide significant advantage when they finish the upgrade.

I will hunker down for a while to see what happens. I'm under contact until 2/2013. If Sprint doesn't pick up some new WP handsets when they get their new (non-wimax) LTE 4g network built, I will begin to shop carriers.

My problem with AT&T and T-mobile is that their networks run on high frequency bands and have very little building penetration capability. All the people I work with that own AT&T or T-Mo handsets have to stand next to windows to get any signal. When they are at their desks they have no signal, roaming or otherwise.

We'll see.

 

[fishhead_soup]

AT&T recently announced yet another LTE WP. I like my Arrive, however I could use a bigger screen and wouldn't lose any sleep for not having a phyical keyboard. I've tried to like Android and IOS only holds my interest because of Siri. With only 1 of 5 lines out of contract (mine) we're somewhat tied to sprint until the end 2013.

Am I holding on to a pipe dream with Sprint?

Will Sprint get another WP phone?

Better yet, will there be a choice of WP phones on Sprint?