Sprint

The argument over which carrier has the fastest network speed in any given location in the United States is still up for debate. Putting network speed comparisons aside, which are often not an accurate representation of speeds, you will receive in your specific area, a new app from startup SwayMarkets aims to provide a more realistic comparison.

The app, CarrierCompare, allows users to test the network speed of their current carrier against the two other major iPhone providers. CNNMoney went hands-on when the app released last month and just posted the user data it obtained that compares major iPhone carriers in multiple locations.

Analyzing user-generated data from Boston, New York, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, these were the results:

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When 9to5Mac brought you the story about Tim Cook convincing AT&T to unlock an iPhone on a customer’s behalf, we knew it would cause a bit of controversy because of AT&T’s questionable unlocking policies. Confusion among consumers regarding inconsistent policies for unlocking iPhones that have finished contractual obligations is nothing new. As witnessed in our original story, the carriers often make special exceptions for some customers while redirecting others to Apple. In many cases, they simply flat-out refuse to unlock iPhones.

It is not clear if AT&T is getting ready for a full-fledged policy change, but it looks like your best shot at getting an iPhone unlocked is by emailing Apple’s chief Tim Cook. A significant number of readers reached out to us since our original story that confirmed AT&T is continuing to unlock iPhones at the request of Cook’s office.

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While noting its March numbers indicate continued growth for the iPhone’s marketshare, Canaccord Genuity analyst Mike Walkley (via AllThingsD) said the iPhone is currently outselling “all other smartphones” at both AT&T and Sprint together. He also said Verizon is selling roughly as many iPhones as all Android phones combined:

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A new report from AllThingsD citied a study from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners that gives a breakdown of iPhone percentages sold through each retailer, including Apple and the carriers. The survey targeted iPhone buyers over a three-month period from December 2011 to February 2012 and found approximately 76 percent of iPhones were sold through brick-and-mortar stores. The other 24 percent of iPhones were purchased online. Those numbers obviously shift with a high number of preorders during product launches. The report noted the iPhone 4S’ s launch saw 67 percent sales conducted online, while only 33 percent were in-store.

The full breakdown for each retailer (in the United States) not surprisingly shows the carriers clearly dominate iPhone sales: AT&T captured 32 percent, Verizon came in at 30 percent, and Sprint with 7 percent. AllThingsD said Best Buy came out on top among retailers—other than Apple and the carriers—with 13 percent of sales compared to Apple’s 15 percent. Reports are quick to mention Best Buy is selling almost as many iPhones as Apple, but it is worth noting Best Buy has four times as many stores…

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According to an in-store iPhone advertisement in at least one Target location in Orlando, the store is offering $25 off the 8GB iPhone 4 and both the 16GB and 32GB iPhone 4S models until the end of the month. A tipster sent the image above showing the deal is offered for upgrades or on a new two-year contract available through AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint depending on your location.

(Thanks L. Nielsen!)

We are also noticing some of the best prices ever on iPad 2s. When Apple dropped the price of the iPad 2 by $100 (now starting at $399) after the introduction of the new iPad, retailers immediately started slashing prices even further on the last-generation device. We already saw the 16GB entry-level iPad 2 go for as low as $360, and today 9to5Toys pointed us to a 32GB model in white or black for $449 from Go4Computers through eBay Daily Deal. That deal includes free shipping and no tax (outside Florida), and the same goes for the 8GB iPod touch, which is usually $199 but now goes for $169.

If you live close enough to swing by a local Micro Center, it is currently offering the 16GB Wi-Fi only iPad 2 for $359.99.

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Reports from the Wall Street Journal last October revealed Sprint’s Chief Executive Officer Dan Hesse convinced the company’s board to take on a staggering commitment of approximately $20 billion to purchase 30.5 million iPhones over four years. At the time, Hesse said Sprint “would likely lose money on the deal until 2014. ″ He also claimed not having the iPhone was “the No. 1 reason customers leave or switch.” In an interview with Mobile World Live (via BGR), Hesse defended the decision and claimed, among other things, that iPhone users are “more profitable than the average smartphone customer.”

“ Subsidies are heavy for the iPhone. This is the reason why a high percentage of new customers is important… But iPhone customers have a lower level of churn and they actually use less data on average than a high-end 4G Android device. So from a cost point of view and a customer lifetime value perspective. They’re more profitable than the average smartphone customer.”

Hesse went on to claim that Sprint was “pulling a lot of customers” from AT&T and Verizon during the fourth quarter by noting four out of every 10 iPhones the carrier sold were new customers. According to Hesse, that is around double the rate of the other carriers.

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Verizon is set to announce shared family data plans for smartphone and tablet users.

PhoneArena obtained a leaked screenshot (above) that indicated Verizon plans to launch its shared family data plans soon. The service will allow customers to pay one data fee for the entire family and all their devices.

As seen in the screenshot, family data usage is calculable for e-mail, web surfing, and other data tasks extending to 30 GB and beyond. Pricing and other details are not revealed in the leak, but it seems like Verizon is just weeks away from debuting the new system. Now let’s hope fair rates launch with the carrier’s upcoming strategy.

In related carrier news, Sprint plans to offer its Total Equipment Protection coverage for the iPhone.

More information is available below.

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United States carrier Sprint, the nation’s third-largest wireless telecommunications network, announced today holiday quarter earnings containing a couple interesting tidbits related to Apple’s iPhone, which helped bring in most of its new customers. Sprint reportedly ponied up $20 billion to land Apple’s iconic smartphone last October, calling the handset launch in today’s statement “successful.”

Forty percent of Sprint’s 1.8 million iPhone sales in the fourth quarter were to new customers. 

This means some 720,000 Sprint iPhones went into the hands of new customers—once again highlighting Apple device’s proven ability to attract new consumers. Sprint only added 539,000 net additions to the postpaid base, so it would likely have lost around 200,000 customers without the iPhone in its lineup.

According to Sprint’s internal estimates, high costs associated with subsidizing the iPhone —combined with the impact of iPhone and Network Vision costs— are to blame for wider than expected short term loss, which reached an astounding $1.3 billion in Q4 2011 and $2.9 billion for 2011. These factors also reduced fourth-quarter adjusted operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) of $842 million by approximately $684 million.

Reuters reported in October 2011 that Sprint paid about 40 percent higher subsidy to Apple than the industry average, amounting to $200 more per device.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has some nice words for Apple’s phone:

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Sprint is showing its loyal customers some appreciation in the coming weeks with SprintFeed informing us that starting Feb. 5 select customers will receive a discount up to $100. The discounts will come in $25, $50, and $100 and will be offered to select “upgrade eligible customers that are at high risk of leaving Sprint” through email and snail mail. So the deal does apply to eligible upgrades, but it will require a new two-year commitment. Yes, this is a great way to get you sorted with a less expensive iPhone.

The promotion is running from Feb. 5 to March 18, so you might want to check if your account is flagged for the discount.

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Since the iPhone 4S landed on Sprint in October, users have not had access to an official Sprint iOS app to manage their account similar to what other iPhone carriers provide. Now the carrier has launched its new “Sprint Mobile Zone” app (via SprintFeed) that allows users to manage their online accounts, access promotions and Sprint news, and more. Despite account access seemingly just serving websites from the carrier’s existing browser experience, in contrast to the un-installable carrier apps on Android, this is how all carrier apps should be.

In addition to the features mentioned above for Sprint customers, both Sprint and non-Sprint iPhone users will be able to access “Device Info” with the usual battery statistics, data connections information, and available resources. There is also an Apple and Sprint store locator and quick links to Sprint support and Apple Care. Get the free app now for iOS devices running iOS 5.0 and up (iTunes link).

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Leading up to the New Year, Sprint is running a limited time promotion that allows customers of the soon-to-be discontinued Premier service to access an early upgrade, according to internal documents obtained by SprintFeed.

The promotion is not advertised, but according to the report – all Sprint CDMA devices are eligible. Sprint will apparently check to make sure your account is in good standing, and this will of course replace your next available upgrade. The promotion is already available now through Sprint brick-and-mortar stores and will expire before the end of the year on Dec. 31.

In other Sprint/iPhone news, a minor update to the Google Voice iOS client yesterday brought one major feature: the ability to send GV calls to a Sprint iPhone’s native dialer.

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If you’re still trying to get your hands on the Sprint iPhone 4S, you’ve now got another outlet. According to internal documents we’ve obtained, RadioShack will be adding Apple’s latest handset to their Sprint lineup this weekend. Some stores should have stock now and many more will be getting it over the coming days. Unfortunately, if you want the 32 or 64 GB models, you may be out of luck, at least for now. According the documents we’ve seen, there is no indication that those models will be available at this time at Radio Shack.

The 16 GB model will be available in both black and white, and will be available at all stores that currently carry the iPhone, and stores that don’t typically carry the iPhone should be able to order it in. RadioShack has carried the iPhone 4 on Sprint since they started selling the 4S on Verizon and AT&T last month with a note that the Sprint 4S would be available at a later date, due to inventory issues.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bkeXPZhxBk]

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According to Localytics, AT&T continues to be the dominant iPhone carrier in the US, even with the Verizon entering the market strongly last year, grabbing 40% of the users in half the time.

As the 4S was launched on Sprint as well with truly unlimited data plans, one would have thought more of AT&T’s marketshare would have been diminished.  However, it appears that sprint is taking more away from Verizon.

Sprint’s share of the 4S market now stands at 12% according to the figures.  AT&T, though coverage is spotty in urban areas like New York and San Francisco, does have a significant speed advantage over Sprint and Verizon’s 3G as well as the ability to talk and use data at the same time.

Looking at iPhone 4 distribution as a comparison, Sprint seems to have eroded more of Verizon’s market share than AT&T’s – of the previous-generation handset, 60% are on AT&T versus 40% on Verizon.

A likely driver for these differences is the fact that AT&T can mine its existing base of iPhone users. Because all Verizon iPhone users are in the first year of their wireless contract, the cost of upgrading will be high. However, many longer-term AT&T users, especially those holding iPhone 3GS and earlier devices, are off-contract or nearing the end of their contract. AT&T has been aggressively leveraging the iPhone 4S to sign these customers to new two-year contracts, and the data in this study suggests that tactic may be working.

That data strongly lines up with our poll which we’ve been tracking since before the iPhone 4S launch…

Out of the AT&T idea factory comes a new app that allows users to make calls via Voice over IP.  While it doesn’t say so explicitly, Verizon and Sprint users can use this VoIP app to make cheaper(?) calls on their iPhones even though they don’t use AT&T’s wireless service.  Theoretically, International iPhone users could as well.  The app is also available for Android.

The costs are billed directly to a credit card and not necessarily to an AT&T card holder’s account.

Just think of it as a more expensive Skype or (insert your favorite VoIP service here) with more limitations.

Also, while traveling in some countries, AT&T will allow you to use Wifi to make international calls over VoIP.

Here’s a few situations where this makes sense:

1. If you don’t have an AT&T signal but have Wifi – like Midtown Manhatten or the greater San Francisco area for instance.  T-Mobile already does this and it is a great service.  However, T-Mobile lets you recieve calls over Wifi too – which is awesome anywhere (including overseas) where a T-Mobile signal isn’t available.  T-Mobile’s is also integrated into the phone and is free — see where I am going here?  AT&T has a ways to go.

2. If you are travelling internationally and don’t want to get hit with International roaming fees.  Using Wifi saves some money here.

3. If for whatever reason, your Verizon or Sprint long distance calling service is too expensive.

4. International users may be able to get better rates f they can provide AT&T with an acceptable credit card.

Just think, a few years ago VoIP apps were being blocked and now the Telcos are doing it themselves.  Full App info below:

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Update: Full statement from Sprint below.

The Next Web is reporting that an internal email has been going around that both Sprint and Apple are working on a fix to the slow data speeds that are plaguing Sprint iPhone 4S owners. Sprint customers with an iPhone 4S have been experiencing slow data speeds since the iPhone 4S landed on the Sprint network October 14th. Ironically, many customers switched to Sprint for the fast unlimited data plan.

One possible temporary solution, as Don Southard points out, is a free AirRave 3G Airvana offered by Sprint to help with data speeds on the device.

Sprint (and Apple) also had a slip up today by offering the iPhone 4S off-contract for only $199 (supposed to be $650). A forum user explained earlier:

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Shawn Blanc (via The Next Web) calculated this morning that Apple is selling 16 iPhone 4Ss a second, or roughly 1,000 a minute. Blanc’s figuring comes after Apple announced this morning that there were 4 million iPhone 4Ss sold its opening three-day weekend. Figures are also expected to expand as the iPhone 4S is introduced in 22 more countries on the 24th.

Reaching this milestone, Apple is on tract to pass Microsoft’s Kinect as the fastest selling consumer device of all time. Microsoft sold 8 million Kinects in the first 60 days, a number Apple could theoretically pass in the first two weeks.

The success of the iPhone 4S is most likely helped by a few factors:

1. The availability on three U.S. carriers: AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint. AT&T and Sprint both announced opening day sales records on Friday. The iPhone 4 was only on AT&T in the US its opening day.
2. iPhone 4 was released in 5 countries. iPhone 4S was also available in Canada and Australia in addition.
3. iPhone 4 saw serious product shortages while it appears that Apple made plenty of iPhone 4Ss (OK, maybe not)
4. There was a longer than normal wait time between the iPhone 4 and 4S (15 months)
5. iPhone 4S is amazing.

We’re sure to hear more in Apple’s FYQ4 earnings call tomorrow afternoon.

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Sprint took a big risk on the iPhone, paying a rumored $20B up front to get the iPhone over the next four years (that is some pipeline!).

Mr. Hesse told the board the carrier would have to agree to purchase at least 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years—a commitment of $20 billion at current rates—whether or not it could find people to buy them, according to people familiar with the matter. In order to keep the price people pay for the phone low and competitive with rivals, Sprint would be subsidizing the cost of each phone to the tune of about $500, which would take a long time to recoup even at the high monthly fees iPhone users pay.

Directors debated what they had just heard. Some worried the payoff would be too long in coming. One member questioned whether the multiyear deal might outlast the iPhone’s popularity. To sell that many iPhones, Sprint would have to double its rolls of contract customers, convert all of them to the Apple device or a combination of the two.

It appears that the risk is already starting to pay off.

Today, spokeswoman Michelle Mermelstein told us:

Fared Adib, Sprint Product Chief, issued the following statement: “Sprint today reported its best ever day of sales in retail, web and telesales for a device family in Sprint history with the launch of iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. We reached this milestone at approximately noon CT/1pm ET. The response to this device by current and new customers has surpassed our expectations and validates our customers’ desire for a truly unlimited data pricing plan.”

Unlimited is a good thing.

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