Sprint buys 30.5M iPhones from Apple for $20B in 'bet-the-company' move - Page 4

Originally Posted by TBell

If BGR is correct, the reverse will be true. Sprint will get a six month exclusive on the 5, and the other two will get the 4S for six months.

Originally Posted by TenoBell

It makes no sense at all. Sprint has a small fraction of the customer base of ATT and Verizon. We nearly have a duopoly in the US.

Originally Posted by solipsism

I hope this is true because I've been camping out in front of my Sprint store for the last month.

Originally Posted by Corporate

Then at the end Steve Jobs comes out and says 'Oh and 1 more thing....here is the iPhone 5 with the same specs as the 4S for those of you who want a bigger screen. And we mananged to keep the retina display too!"

Originally Posted by cykz

'And we have a new message service. It's for free. And face time does not count towards your data usage. And we actually eliminated the carrier networks. So you'll have endless call time.
Oh, and it works great with AppleTV. Now you can watch your favorite movie while on a conference call with your friends from over the world. And conference video call as well. And while you're on the phone, just send your photo or file immediately. No need to create an email or sending a mms parallel to your call.' (just bumping out of bounds with my mind)
'One more thing: this is how you pay with your phone. With iCoins'

Originally Posted by stelligent

Why do we assume that this is a bad deal? Why don't we assume they have done the math and see it as a reasonable risk?

Originally Posted by boeyc15

Are you saying is a Sprint Wimax iP5 MUST come out the same time as a Verizon and ATT LTE iP5?

IF your presumption is that the Sprint phone is LTE also, yes makes sense Apple would not delay ATT/Verizon iP5 just for Sprint. But what if they are not all 3 LTE? I know, I know, but what if?

Originally Posted by boeyc15

What you say may be true if it is correct.

But for some on here its just having some fun speculationg back and forth... waste time at work

Originally Posted by cameronj

Because the deal, as stated, IS a bad deal for Apple.

It'd make perfect sense for all parties if they dropped the exclusive bit, and that's why that's the true story.

Originally Posted by ezduzit

apple should just buy out sprint, in total, and while fixing their network, slowly convert all the at&t's and verizon's to the new player in the game.

apple surely has enough money. it will be sticky at the start but it would be revolutionary and eventually let at&t and verizon know that the game can be played in many ways.

Originally Posted by ezduzit

apple should just buy out sprint, in total, and while fixing their network, slowly convert all the at&t's and verizon's to the new player in the game.

apple surely has enough money. it will be sticky at the start but it would be revolutionary and eventually let at&t and verizon know that the game can be played in many ways.

Originally Posted by stelligent

I agree, to an extent. Ergo, it's more sensible to assume something is wrong with the details of the story, rather than the accountants being stupid.

Originally Posted by lilgto64

Oh yeah - and Betamax is better than VHS, just you wait and see.

Originally Posted by stelligent

Wonder if Obama already has the new iPhone 5. He got the iPad early from Jobs.

Originally Posted by Akac

Personally I think it makes sense. LTE chip sets are not near being usable yet. The iPhone 5 may already be ready, except for LTE. Sprint has had WiMax for a long time now so their chipsets are more mature.

We already know there is no LTE iPhone coming until next year. So at best all this does is give Sprint a 4G iPhone sooner.

Originally Posted by cameronj

Then it would STILL be INCREDIBLY stupid for Apple to accommodate Apple by devoting scarce production resources to making a less profitable device rather than a more profitable one.

Originally Posted by tt92618

Guys, there is nothing 'cool', 'smart' or 'savvy' about this. A move like this would be, if Apple actually did it, one of THE most idiotic business moves of the year if not decade. That said, it's just a dumb idea and a really bizarro story that somebody dreamed up. Just think about it. In order to believe this is true, one has to accept that:

1) Apple would spend the last 16 months developing a new and groundbreaking design, and then intentionally tie it to a carrier who represents < 18% of the subscriber market in the US, AND:

2) That Apple would do this just because that carrier promissed to buy 30.5 million phones over a four year period (just 7.6 million a year), DESPITE:

3) The fact that AT&T and Verizon sell about 24 million iPhones a year, which would be 116 million devices over the same four year period (as opposed to 30), and DESPITE:

4) The fact that it would immediately anger millions upon millions of customers who are currently locked into contracts with Verizon and / or AT&T but who would otherwise be eligible for early upgrades, and DESPITE:

5) The fact that it would massively alienate their current carrier partners.

It's just a stupid, STUPID story, with a capital 'S'.

Originally Posted by cameronj

Yep - or stated more forcefully - more likely that unnamed sources being quoted by amateur writers on a rumor website are incorrect than business people paid millions to make the best decision about billions of dollars.

Originally Posted by JONOROM

Well, I am not sure Apple still has "scarce" production resources. More than 25M devices (current capacity) a quarter is hardly scarce, and I assume they are still increasing capacity.

At this point they are probably seeking additional opportunities, and a guaranteed order of 30M/$20B, ON TOP OF THEIR EXISTING VOLUME, would make any manufacturer, even Apple, drool. That is the size of an entire large corporation - bigger than all of Apple for most of its history.

Apple will find a way.

Originally Posted by cykz

In spite of the ludicrousy of the idea that Sprint would have the iPhone5 exclusively for four years I do think it sounds logical.

Since the introduction of the iPhone it became immediately clear that mobile phone services were about to change drastically. First the iPhone introduced Visual Voicemail. A replacement for a succesful service then provided by carriers as an add on for which you had to pay extra. Visual Voicemail actually brought the data to your phone, which could be done by wireless connections as wel...

Then came the apps.. such as WhatsApp diminishing lucrative SMS services.
And Skype was among them, artificially prohibited on 3G networks but clearly capable in delivering mobile telephony at a fraction of the cost. At a certain point the iPod Touch became a serious alternative for having low cost telecommunication through local wireless networks.

Now... my guess is that the future of mobile telephony is internet only. Sure we need frequencies for that, but as long as carriers are not willing to ditch lucrative old fashioned services, Apple is not capable of innovating towards their (I guess unknown) vision.

So in order to improve this it might be an excellent strategy to team up with a carrier who has the guts and despair to innovate alongside Apple, who is large enough to gain traction and put competition in quality service back again for the top carriers. I'd say Apple single handedly is protecting competitiveness among the largest carriers. And I wish Sprint success in their desperate but bold jump back in the race. They might prove to be Apple worthy partners really innovating the telcom industry.

Originally Posted by poke

Here's my wild speculation: The iPhone 5 is a SIMless, data-only phone that uses VOIP and iMessage for voice and SMS. You only need a data plan to use it. Only Sprint was willing to sign up for this revolution but Apple is producing the less revolutionary 4S for reluctant carriers. The idea is that Apple is hoping lots of people will flock to the carriers like Sprint that have the iPhone 5, forcing the other carriers to give in to Apple's demands.

Originally Posted by poke

Here's my wild speculation: The iPhone 5 is a SIMless, data-only phone that uses VOIP and iMessage for voice and SMS. You only need a data plan to use it. Only Sprint was willing to sign up for this revolution but Apple is producing the less revolutionary 4S for reluctant carriers. The idea is that Apple is hoping lots of people will flock to the carriers like Sprint that have the iPhone 5, forcing the other carriers to give in to Apple's demands.

Originally Posted by mesomorphicman

Some are saying Sprint will get the new phone exclusively for 6 months before AT&T and Verizon. If true that worries me greatly, that's April. Does that mean their future iPhone release schedule will always be October-ish and not June/July?? If so, that stinks - to me!!! If I don't like this new phone I was hoping to get next years model next summer not next Autumn. I dont like late year phone releasing - This stinks (if true)!!!

Originally Posted by Tallest Skil

Not a single reason that you needed to quote the whole thing. Or any of it, for that matter.

Originally Posted by ConradJoe

Boo Hoo.

The release schedule is based on selling the most phones and making the most money possible. If they did this for Sprint (and I really doubt it, for many of the reasons others have given) then it was all well-calculated and will maximize Apple's realization of its goals.

Originally Posted by boeyc15

Thats very possible. But again, Sprint WIMAX is different than Verizon/ATT LTE... so thats the out for 6 months. I have no proof one way or another, but can see the wimax coming out different timeframe than the LTE.

Originally Posted by cvaldes1831

I can believe a purchase commitment of 1.9 million per quarter.

I just think this exclusivity thing is baloney. Let's face it, for Sprint to lock exclusivity of the handset, they would basically need to guarantee any potential revenue loss from other carrier sales.

They don't have the resources. How much revenue is Apple recording from handset sales each quarter? $13 billion? $15 billion? A number which is destined to climb?

This exclusivity thing is a joke.

Originally Posted by solipsism

I can see how that could happen if they still aren't able to ramp up production of the iPhone 5 at this point. But then I have to wonder what the hell could the iPhone 5 have in that would require nearly 2 years from the iPhone 4 release before it can be released completely.

Originally Posted by cykz

Well I agree, but perhaps a duopoly does Apple no good...and they know that.

Originally Posted by cameronj

Yes, that would be great. Profitability plunges, stock price cut in half, and ATT and Verizon stop buying iPhones.

You my friend are brilliant.

Originally Posted by cameronj

Because the deal, as stated, IS a bad deal for Apple.

It'd make perfect sense for all parties if they dropped the exclusive bit, and that's why that's the true story.

Originally Posted by Doctor David

I misunderstood. I agree this exclusivity deal is crazy talk riding into crazy town on a crazy horse.

Originally Posted by mesomorphicman

You're actually wrong. Although Apple never officially commented why this years phone was pushed back (I don't think they did) it was highly said that it was pushed back this year due to in part because of the Japan tsunami/earthquake and miscellaneous production problems. NOT because Steve Jobs thought to himself, "hmmm... October, we'll make more money and sell more phones if we release it just before Halloween than we would if we do it in July." You sound like one of those people if Apple decided to knock-down an orphanage in a low cost area to make office space, you'll say it was needed and they must do what they must to maximize profits. I like Apple, but I'm not a sycophant.

Originally Posted by Patranus

Sprint is only worth $9.21 billion.

If Apple was going to handicap itself by only offering the iPhone 5 on Sprint, they should just buy the company and roll out their own service.