HTC Hero earns FCC approval with CDMA, Sprint launch rumors more solid than ever
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Aug 20th 2009 11:03AM
posted Aug 20th 2009 11:03AM
posted Aug 20th 2009 11:03AM
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Of 200 iPhone 3GS users polled in August, 2009, 99 percent termed themselves "satisfied," with 82 percent saying they were "very satisfied."
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Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My Treo 700p is lookin' pretty sad these days...
Kinda was hoping Sprint would get a Magic/MyTouch because it look's cooler and less boxy, but I'll take the better specs of a Hero. I'm all over this. Sprint I love you! Anyone have ANY idea on what pricing should be like??
The Hero looks WAY better than the Magic in my opinion.......No word on pricing yet!!
I'm ready for this now. My Blackberry 8330 knows it's coming to the end of the road.
You are aware the Aries Comes out Nov 11th Right?
Yeah, but outside of messaging, Blackberries and their browsers suck. I like the MyTouch 3G on T-Mobile and the Hero will just be better. So, I'm willing to make the jump over to Android.
I don't care what it costs, I've been waiting for the Hero for what seems like a lifetime. I can't wait!
See, and its that mentality that may create the artificially placed "Everything Plan" requirement.
If its exclusive enough that people will do anything to get it, they'll extort that from us on grandfathered or simpler plans.
Mobile Enthusiast-
You can't get any simpler, or fair, than the Everything Plan.
If you believe Sprint's pricing to be unfair, then I shudder to know what you think of comparable PDA Phone / iPhone plans from Verizon or ATT.
For example:
Sprint's Everything Plan with unlimited talk, data, text, voice-guided navigation, Sprint TV = $100/month
ATT iPhone unlimited talk, data, text, navigation, voicedial = $165/month
If $100/month (or ATT's $165/month) is too much, then perhaps you should desire a phone to match your plan....unless of course you want to be like some iPhone users who pay $135/month for 450 anytime minutes instead of unlimited minutes......wow, that's still $35/month more than Sprint...and the Sprint phone will do more!
My Mogul is approaching end of life (battery lasts about 3 hours if I don't use it, about an hour if I make a phone call). Needless to say, the Hero can't come fast enough.
My Mogul battery is okay, but most of the buttons are now dead. I'm surprised you're not waiting to jump on the Touch Pro 2?!?
I have never wanted a phone more than the Hero.
It will be THE revolutionary device for Sprint. Talk about pulling them into the 21st Century!
I absolutely cannot wait. I've been calling cell phone fanatic friends like myself all morning letting them know, and we've all been drooling for hours now!
Question is- is Sprint going to alienate grandfathered users with that "Everything Plan" requirement like they did the Pre and Instinct?
There is a lot of speculation both ways, some good points brought up here about the other Android device coming to Sprint:
http://www.mopocket.com/2009/08/instinctq-pics-leaked-confirmed-sprint-and-android.php
What are the terms and pricing of the "Grandfathered" plans you speak of?
Does the said plan included unlimited talk, data, messaging, voice-guided navigation, Sprint TV, NFL Mobile, etc?
Or are the "grandfathered" plans the old Power Vision plans with added-on features and pricing?
It is difficult to place any value on your statement without the facts/terms/pricing you speak of.....especially since phones like the HTC Hero are best coupled with Everything type plans...so that you can really take full advantage of the phones designed features.
I had Sprint's original grandfather plan & pricing...along with the phones, the Everything Plan today is a major step up.
For example, I have the Individual Everything Plan with a monthly fee of $75/month (includes a medical employee discount) for my HTC Touch Diamond....I laugh at the iPhone/ATT fanboys.
Bambi- That's ridiculous.
Since when is it a "requirement" that everyone be able to use every feature on their phone??!
What about the folks who don't care about Sprint TV or Telenav (Sprint Navigation)?
What if someone only uses ~400 minutes a month, and just wants data?
Many people who've been on Sprint for years have plans that work PERFECTLY for them. My current plan includes all the minutes I need, has unlimited data and messaging, and my phone can do pretty much anything I want it to. Oh, and I pay less than $40 a month.
I don't need more than that, but I wouldn't mind setting Windows Mobile aside for a bit to try on Android. But I would be doing the same things on the phone, so why should I be paying MORE?!
Its extortion...
Bambi, thanks for the corporatw spin. May I suggest trying it somewhere where people donn't know anything and not on Engadget mobile, whereeeveryone here knows why Sprint has lost millions and millions of custoemrs, and why Verizon and ATT have gained tens of millions in the past few years.
Peopel are leaving Sprint in droves and have been for a reason. That is why price INCREASES such as forced "Everything" plans will mean more losses of customers for Sprint.
I have a three line family plan. The corresponding "Everything Plans" represent double the price per month for me and for huge bunches of Sprint users.
You can't compare Sprint and ATT or Verizon as you just did since they have twice as many customers and that means you use half as many minutes.
"Apples for Apples Sprint actually gives less service.
You have to answer the question of why with the numbers you gave, which you seem to think are compelling that the rest of America doesn't find them compelling and leave Sprint anyway?
The fact is forced plan price increases from 50% to 100% in customer cost with teh Everything plans is a HOT topic on Sprint discussion forums and has caused a large amount of animosity since there is no legitimate reason.
What is the reason why an Android phone would use more resources than a windows mobile handset? (answer: none, it doesn't.)? The power users choose windows mobile. yet they get to use the most advanced windows phones, touch pro2, treo pro, touch pro etc on SERO, Friends and Family, Free and Clear, etc while there is talk of doubling the costs of tro customers who wish to use android?????
Sell the line somewhere else, we are talking about a proposed huge price increase for customers.
SD,
I wouldn't go as far as to say its the reason people are leaving.
However, it IS preventing some people from upgrading. A perfect example- almost everyone I know in the mobile dev world (forums at xda-developers or PPC-geeks) have been drooling over the Palm Pre before its launch... when they found it they had to pay for an expensive plan just to have it, they backed out. Subsidized prices are one thing, but even if you paid full retail for the phone, they won't let you activate it on a cheaper plan, just to have minutes (maybe you don't want data, etc... maybe you just like the phone and want to make phone calls on it? TOO BAD)! In the end, not one of those people I know switched. They just stuck with their windows mobile handsets instead.
Bambi-
"If you believe Sprint's pricing to be unfair, then I shudder to know what you think of comparable PDA Phone / iPhone plans from Verizon or ATT."
Hah- perhaps you didn't get the memo- most of us are under the impression that VZ/ATT's prices are highway robbery. I've always considered VZ the big bully of the cellular world- they can charge whatever they want because they don't think you'll leave. ATT is catching up, especially with their outrageous iPhone plans. If I were with them, I would never be able to justify an iPhone plan.
Meanwhile, my Windows Mobile phone has unlimited messaging and unlimited data and GPS enabled, which means I can do all the web browsing, streaming youtube, slingbox, Google Maps, Bing! turn by turn directions, exchange push email, etc. that I want. In other words, the only thing I can't do unlimited on my phone is use Sprint TV (slingbox is better anyway) or telenav (Tom Tom and Bing! are FAR better anyway). I have enough minutes for me, and I pay less than $40.
So what, exactly, would I be gaining from this new plan? The "right" to have a new phone? That's asinine, I'm sorry.
"Since when is it a "requirement" that everyone be able to use every feature on their phone??!
What about the folks who don't care about Sprint TV or Telenav (Sprint Navigation)?
What if someone only uses ~400 minutes a month, and just wants data?
Many people who've been on Sprint for years have plans that work PERFECTLY for them. My current plan includes all the minutes I need, has unlimited data and messaging, and my phone can do pretty much anything I want it to. Oh, and I pay less than $40 a month.
I don't need more than that, but I wouldn't mind setting Windows Mobile aside for a bit to try on Android. But I would be doing the same things on the phone, so why should I be paying MORE?!"
Mobile Enthusiast, I couldn't agree with you more! Excellent point! I also have the same plan: 400 minutes, 500 txt messages, and unlimited data for $40 a month and that's exactly what I need (actually I usually use around 300 minutes and less than 100 txt messages a month) I have Palm Centro and it does everything I need and yes, I want to try on Android and I would do the same things as on my Palm Centro, so why should I pay more?! Unlimited data is unlimited data! I'm so tempted to jump ship for the Pre but it's not worth it