Sprint's big surprise to be unlimited calling, data, text, and MMS for $70 (update: official)
By Nilay Patel 
posted Sep 9th 2009 11:40PM
posted Sep 9th 2009 11:40PM
Update: The Any Mobile, Anytime plan is now official.
posted Sep 9th 2009 11:40PM
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
if you check the site it says that its unlimited mobile to mobile....so its not really unlimited minutes for $70....
No, the site says, Any Mobile anytime.
Yeah the title is misleading. It should be labeled unlimited M2M calling..... I'd hate to have customers coming to my store asking for unlimited calling for $70
Its called Any Mobile. What is your question ma'am?
Now, will this affect any of the unlimited family plans (lower price with M2M) I wonder.... Might have to keep an eye out for it, in case I am force to get a Sprint (Uninspired/Bland) Hero...
Sprint is changing the game. If you are a Sprint customer for 6 months or more with a plan 69.99 or higher or Sprint Premier customer YOU CAN GET AN $150 UPGRADE EVERY YEAR NOW INSTEAD OF THE 22 MONTHS NOW. That means I can upgrade every year a new phone comes out. Goto Sprint website! I'm a loyal Sprint customer for 11 years.
"meaning seven Hamiltons will get you endless mobile-to-mobile calling (TO ANY NETWORK, NOT JUST SPRINT), texts, data, and MMS" How's this misleading?
They're saying the title that Engadget gave to the article saying that you get "unlimited calling" implies that you get unlimited minutes just like the Simply Everything... so basically dropping the price from $100 to $70
HTC Hero $179 together with this $70 plan wow that's a great deal.
hmmm... I'm going to have to think about this.
While that extra $30 in my pocket sounds nice. More if I switch my other lines.
I tend to use Pandora on my road trips. That could hurt when roaming!
Bring on the official announcement!
I fail to see how switching from the Simply Everything plan at $99 to the Simply 900 or Simply 450 with any-mobile at $89 or $69 affects your Pandora service?
I like the Hero but I don't like Sprint and I don't care for forced high tiered plans. I bet you the Hero will require one of these expensive plans.
It's obvious Sprint is trying to pull themselves out of the gutter and I don't blame them but they are clearly trying to force high ARPU plans on people who really don't need them.
You will be able to use the hero with the $70 everything data plan. I don't see how $70 is forcing a high priced plan on a user. Sprint's $70 everything data plan is the cheapest plan of it's kind in the post paid mobile wireless industry.
HTC Hero is a phone for people who want/need the internet
if you don't need those features get a tracfone
Fo shizzle my dizzle! All my Sprint peeps in da hood say yeah!!!!!
Fo all ya'll axing questions about the pricing, Sprint service is not as bad as it used to be. I be recommending it.
I'd like to be the first to thank Dave for such an informative and well-thought-out comment. Moving on ...
This article really is quite confusing. "Unlimited mobile to mobile" is already included in all the Everything plans, so is this announcement promising unlimited calling period, or unlimited calling to any other cellular phone ("to any network, not just Sprint"), or what? We need some real clarification here, guys.
@VCI_Cell...think of this as a comparison to the MYFavs: Instead of picking 5 on t-Mobile or 10 on Verizon, you pick the 250Million US Subscribers in the U.S.
Minutes on the plan are the same (450 I think) and you get unlimited Text and Data as well. Meaning this will work prefect for you if a lot of your call are to cell phones anyways (free) and then land lines etc you have 450 mins. Perfect for people who are cutting the cord and sticking with just a cell phone. The next comparable plan is the $99unlimited everything plan with unlimited calls...so this is a great deal.
All their store employees are ghetto too. Most of them should be selling Boost not anything else. I don't like their attitudes and their poor grammar.
I think their coverage has gotten a little better but they still rely on a lot of roaming agreements if you go outside major metro areas. I think Forsee did that back in the day because people kept complaining about no service all over the place.
this is what's great about the internet. Its ok to anonymously make fun of the racial aspects of employment without retribution. Not that your wrong, but no one would ever admit it in public.
Yeah good attitudes are hard to find these days, I mean look in the mirror!
@ Tamkia: Who are you "axing" and why? LOL
You hood rats are funny!
Back on topic: I don't think the plan is that bad. It's just hard for consumers to justify that high price point for anything other than the iPhone. The Sprint brand obviously doesn't sit well with a lot of people no matter how good they offer things. Time for a name change or buyout if you ask me. Their rep is just too tarnished.
This package includes BIS access for Blackberry, so I would be saving at least $25 a month over my current TMo plan. This is quite the deal for heavy M2M users such as myself.
Yeah it's a bit confusing but I'm just saying what this article is saying that for $70 you get unlimited mobile to mobile to ALL NETWORKS not Just Sprint. I'm assuming that they are pretty much lowering The simply everything plan which is $99 to $70. To early to tell we'll see tomorrow I guess.
No they did not say anything about changing the SE for $99 that is still there, they are saying that those with or who want the SE Data 450 no have Any Mobile Anytime included, they never said anything about unlimted MINUTES for $70
I be liking this plan. Everyone I know wit Sprint did went to Verizon or T-Mo so at least I be calling them digits for free.
Sprint networks be fine you guys be whack.
Le Shaun,
Baltimore, MD.
I guess this is cool for Sprint customers who call a lot of people on other networks?
For me though I don't talk a lot anymore. 2 years ago yeah, but now with Facebook, Twitter, IM, SMS, MMS etc, I seem to do everything via text......
I'm hoping one day for a flat rate $ 50 all inclusive plan that allows for unlimited data. By that time, all voice and text will be sent via wireless IP so buckets of minutes and text bundles will be a thing of the past.
Wow, I didn't realize non-physical things could be homosexual. Fascinating...
I CANT BELIEVE AM SO HAPPY SPRINT JUST BECAME THE LARGEST MOBILE TO MOBILE NETWORK
WOW
GREAT THINKING SPRINT
I think Sprint needs to come to terms with one major, irrefutable truth:
They will only be able to attract so many customers (not many) by introducing new hardware, Simply Everything plans, etc. For many people the stigma with Sprint lies in their consistently and startlingly terrible customer service reputation. This is still something of an anomaly to me, because I have some friends who have been Sprint customers for many, many years and they have absolutely no problems at all and wouldn't even consider switching carriers. At the same time, other friends have echoed my own experiences with Sprint, some of which were downright nightmarish.
I am a total phone junkie, but I would be willing to settle for a phone that wasn't exactly what I was looking for if I knew the company had the best customer service in the industry and I would never have to fight incorrect bills, incompetent general and tech representatives, etc.
As enticing as a Palm Pre and a Simply Everything plan may seem to me, I will never get one with Sprint's customer service reputation the way that it is. Again - these new handsets and plans are definitely welcomed, but I think Sprint is focusing their time, money and attention at the wrong areas. Just my opinion.
I gotta say, I agree with most of your comments. However, I'm getting tired of the "customer service" line. I've had Sprint for many years and yeah... when I first signed up, I had billing problems. That was fixed after a few painful calls, but it was fixed. When I upgraded my phone and there were problems, it took a few painful calls to get it fixed. But in the end, everything got fixed. But you know what, when i was on Verizon, I had to go through the same painful calls. Maybe not as many, but they still happened. I haven't had to call Customer Service back since for anything on my account since. Any time I've called to ask questions or clarifications, they've been helpful lately, even giving me courtesy calls to see how everything is going. I had some complaints (no Pre on SERO), and they gave me a credit. Big deal.
I guess my point is, once you get through the initial pain of setting up your account and getting your billing right, you pretty much NEVER deal with Customer Service, so why should it affect your decision to go to Sprint if they are going to offer you a phone that you want for a damn good price?
I've been with Sprint over 3 years on a $50/mo SERO plan and love it.
Live in L.A. Switched from VZ and in virtually every place I can compare them, Sprint's signal strength is = or better than my more expensive former provider. The key for customer service is to call-in during normal east coast business hours. If you do, you will get a CSR in Virgina or the like. Later in the day, they switch to an off-shore phone room and the quality of the customer experience drops markedly. Bit of a pain but easily worked around.
the racist jokes are pathetic.. what are you guys trying to compensate for my friends with masters and my friends from compton dont talk like that.. smh.. which race did you truly marginalize and bring down.. lmao it wasnt mine
Ok now give me international webos or android phone and I'll switch.
October brings HTC hero with android
I just switched back to Sprint (had them about 5 years ago) from AT&T. I am in the Boston area and have a second home in the Winthrop Lakes region of Maine (usually terrible coverage). So far I am very impressed.
I get perfect coverage in Boston, which I feel is to be expected. I also get excellent coverage up in Maine, with AT&T I got dropped calls everywhere and 0 data coverage. The plan is cheaper than what I was paying with AT&T. The Pre is a great phone with huge potential. I have only spoke with customer service two times, but both times they were pleasant, knowledgeable, and AMERICAN. The last time I spoke with a CS person at AT&T the girl was an idiot and completely unhelpful.
I would say that anyone who hasn't tried Sprint in the last couple of years should give them a try. I have been very happy so far.
I'm confused.....
Who exactly are you insulting/making fun of? Or is this kind of a blanket cover insult?
Sounds to me like you're either part of the "Sprint trash" or the "iPhone carriers" Are you insulting yourself O_o ?
P.S. there's a pill for that :)
I'm trying to decipher the Sprint press release. Are they simply lowering the "simply everything" plan from $100 to $70? If so, why don't they simply say so? Or is this something different? If so, wherein does this discrepancy reside?
It's calls to other mobiles that are free all the time now. Calls to landlines will still count against minute usage.
Also wondering if this is a new plan, or if they just lowered the price of Simply Everything...? My corporate discount applies to everything except Simply Everything...if this is a completely new plan I'm hoping I'll be getting an additional 20% off of the $70/mo.
If you get a discount and call a majority of Cell numbers you would definitely want to switch to the 450 or 900 Data.
I have a 27% discount so that $70 quickly turns into $51/mo.
Some people will still want the straight unlimited calls but now with free calling to cell phone numbers the 450 or 900 Data plans will probably be the best choice for most especially those who get a discount since they DO NOT discount Simply Everything.
I am confused. Just spoke to two different sprint reps.they said the unlimited mobile calling is only to other sprint and nextel phones. Calls to any other carrier comes from your buckey of minutes. This plan isn't that great.
this is something sooooo new that most reps aren't aware of till today. for clarification, sprint is adding unlimited mobile 2 mobile calling to everybody on a everything data plan which the plans start at $69.99. THIS DOESNT MEAN THE SIMPLY EVERYTHING PLAN IS GOING DOWN IN PRICE. unlimited mobile to mobile is not to be confused with previous "m2m" which only meant ONLY sprint to sprint. this now mean you can call ANY DOMiSTiC mobile number on ANY network at ANYTIME for NO additional cost IF you are on a everything data plan INCLUDING the family everything data plan. if you are a current customer this will take effect on your NEXT billing cycle. anybody who signs up as of TODAY will get it today. any more clarification?
I received an email about the anymobile, anytime feature in my inbox earlier this morning. Good news to hear I guess. I have the 450 minute everything plan...I only use about a hundred anytime minutes a month as it is. Now i'm going to hardly use any at all.
Unlimited MOBILE-TO-MOBILE (any network) and DATA, SMS, MMS. Calls to LANDLINES will be deducted from your 450 ANYTIME MINUTES, all for $70. Not too shabby....
This plan includes
* Any Mobile, Anytime: Unlimited domestic calls from the Sprint network to and from ANY U.S. mobile phone regardless of carrier. Any network, any time.
* Unlimited data: Web surfing, email, BlackBerry Internet Services (BIS), GPS Navigation, Music Premier, TV Premier, NFL Mobile Live, NASCAR Sprint Cup MobileSM
* Unlimited Direct Connect: Direct Connect and Group Connect (for capable phones)
* Unlimited messaging: Text, pictures and video
* Talk: Night calling and weekends starting at 7 p.m., nationwide long distance and no roaming charges
this is directly from their site...
So you can data roam too, correct? Im assuming its okay since voice includes roaming...
I just switched my plan and am saving $20, I don't know anyone with a landline.. My decision to switch to sprint is ever so much sweeter now, except when I go to the Everglades where only ATT has coverage.. so I take the SIM out of my aircard and put it in an old Nokia. =D
This totally blows My-Favs, Verizons Friends & Family and AT&T's new plan out of the water, Sprint just virtually eliminated overages for these plans! Great job Sprint!!
And isn't his name like a combination of all of the Laguna Beach cast or something? I bet you he has MetroPCS =P
T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T "My Favs/A-List" - Pick 5 / Pick 10 free Mobile to Mobile callers and free Mobile to Mobile within network.
Sprint "Any Mobile Any Time" - Pick any of the 250 Million U.S. Mobile Phone Subscribers, and that wont count against your bucket of minutes, it will be FREE.
Your bucket of minutes will go towards landlines only now (non cell phones).
Before it was free Mobile to Mobile on Sprint Nextel within network. Now its FREE to any carrier network as long as the line is a cell phone!
GAME CHANGER, GREAT JOB SPRINT!