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Sprint buys 30.5M iPhones from Apple for $20B in 'bet-the-company' move - Page 2

post #41 of 181
10/3/11 at 1:58pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ddawson100 View Post

Typical Appleinsider news story

1. Read article on the web
2. Add a bit of context
3. Profit

Wish I thought of that first!

They could add in the ZDNet approach and have six writers rewrite the same story six times.

Face it mate, this is media in the 21st century.

"The cobbler's children have no shoes", is a saying that applies a lot to companies who provide products and services. -KDarling on Google Search.

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"The cobbler's children have no shoes", is a saying that applies a lot to companies who provide products and services. -KDarling on Google Search.

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post #42 of 181
10/3/11 at 1:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post

According to his own words, Obama is totally clueless on technology.

In a commencement speech to students of Hampton University last May, Obama admitted to not knowing how to work Apple's iPod or iPad, or Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation game consoles. Obama had also referred to the devices as turning information into a "distraction, a diversion," and "a form of entertainment" that kept people from empowering themselves.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20...#ixzz1ZklDVxmU

A strong case that technology is the new "bread and circuses" of the digital age. Can't see that he was too far off the mark.
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post #43 of 181
10/3/11 at 1:59pm
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. So give Sprint exclusive iPhone 5 access for 6 months - that lets LTE chipsets mature and then give AT&T and Verizon an iPhone 5 with a more mature LTE chipset.

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.
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post #44 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

Er… deal with it?

Until then, expect the same draconian plans, data caps, and throttling from every carrier the iPhone ever graces.

I agree with everything as typed. I'd also expect heftier connect/disconnect fees when that day comes. Right now, connect fees are wave a.k.a. rolled into the contract and paid over time.
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post #45 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Akac View Post

Sprint has had WiMax for a long time now so their chipsets are more mature.

No way would there be a WiMAX iPhone
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post #46 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:02pm
Quote:
...agreed upfront to purchase 30.5 million iPhones over the next four years, a commitment of nearly $20 billion.

Mmmm.... who at Apple could have negotiated a deal like that?

...Wonder what kind of precedent it will set?
"So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world."
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"So at the end of the presentation, Steve came up to me and said: Is the iPhone worth criticizing? And I said: Make the screen five inches by eight inches, and you’ll rule the world."
– Alan Kay –
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post #47 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stelligent View Post

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

Doesn't Sarbanes-Oxley, legislation he supported, require he use a RIM-job?
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post #48 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stelligent View Post

It is, but .... According to them, Sprint would have exclusivity to Assistant. That is doubtful. Would Apple put their next great revolution (as some are touting it) in the hands of the 3rd carrier in the US alone?

It would be for just 3 months.
Quote:
Also, the spec division would have the 4S retaining the Retina Display and the iP5 getting a 4" screen (with lower than RD resolution). That's contrary to Apple's way of marketing.

Even if the pixel count remained the same (which I would expect), resolution would still be in the RD range - less than a 15% reduction in density along any one axis.
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post #49 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shadash View Post

A strong case that technology is the new "bread and circuses" of the digital age. Can't see that he was too far off the mark.

If the case, we should see iPhone included in any new SS benefit.
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post #50 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:14pm
as a T-Mobile customer ... if Sprint has a good deal on the new iPhone AND unlimited data/phone ... I am going to jump. No way do I want to become a customer again of AT&T
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post #51 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stelligent View Post

It is, but .... According to them, Sprint would have exclusivity to Assistant. That is doubtful. Would Apple put their next great revolution (as some are touting it) in the hands of the 3rd carrier in the US alone?

Also, the spec division would have the 4S retaining the Retina Display and the iP5 getting a 4" screen (with lower than RD resolution). That's contrary to Apple's way of marketing.

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'.
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post #52 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cpsro View Post

It would be for just 3 months.

Even if the pixel count remained the same (which I would expect), resolution would still be in the RD range - less than a 15% reduction in density along any one axis.

That depends on the definition. Apple's definition is iffy to begin with. Regardless, I don't completely disagree. According to this (http://bit.ly/rrKpCH), it will drop to 288 dpi, which is still quite good.

But what I find contrary to Apple marketing is making a customer choose between a larger screen or higher resolution. Apple rarely create dilemmas like that.
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post #53 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:19pm
30 million iPhones is really only 15 million customers. Every Sprint user will need to buy 2, one for voice, one for data, since CDMA can't do both at the same time.
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post #54 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gordon Werner View Post

as a T-Mobile customer ... if Sprint has a good deal on the new iPhone AND unlimited data/phone ... I am going to jump. No way do I want to become a customer again of AT&T

I expect them to follow the trend; keeping the unlimited long enough to get the first burst of customers signed. Then it'll go by the way side as it did with AT&T. . . then Verizon. I'd suspect my grandfathered plan will be killed one day by some legalize.
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post #55 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by noexpectations View Post

30 million iPhones is really only 15 million customers. Every Sprint user will need to buy 2, one for voice, one for data, since CDMA can't do both at the same time.

Perhaps not intentionally but you bring up a good point. Aren't dual mode CDMA/WiMAX able to do voice and data at the same time? Some Sprint customers are used to this functionality.
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post #56 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AdonisSMU View Post

Bloomberg

Quote:
Originally Posted by mstone View Post

In other news, Verizon to acquire Sprint for $14 billion.

There, Adonis, your snark addressed.
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post #57 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tt92618 View Post

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 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'.

I think there's fire behind this smoke. But I agree that I don't see Apple trusting their best technology in the shakiest pair of hands. The deal is likely a fact. The devil is in the details.
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post #58 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChristophB View Post

Perhaps not intentionally but you bring up a good point. Aren't dual mode CDMA/WiMAX able to do voice and data at the same time? Some Sprint customers are used to this functionality.

So would dual-mode CDMA/LTE. The benefit there being the phone could be used on 4G networks that will exist in more than in twenty cities (ever) in one country of the phone's market.
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post #59 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChristophB View Post

Doesn't Sarbanes-Oxley, legislation he supported, require he use a RIM-job?

He does have a BB, apparently one with beefed-up encryption.
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post #60 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stelligent View Post

I think there's fire behind this smoke. But I agree that I don't see Apple trusting their best technology in the shakiest pair of hands. The deal is likely a fact. The devil is in the details.

I'll believe it when I see it.
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post #61 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tt92618 View Post

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'.

I agree with every point of logic and common sense you wrote....
BUT we will see tomorrow morning....but in the meantime Sprint's stock took a dive

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post #62 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Akac View Post

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. So give Sprint exclusive iPhone 5 access for 6 months - that lets LTE chipsets mature and then give AT&T and Verizon an iPhone 5 with a more mature LTE chipset.

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.

That might be it - Wimax before LTE. That's enough of a distinction for Sprint but no serious compromise for Apple.
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post #63 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:25pm
Not saying i believe this rumor, but you know if att/verizon continued to play hardball on a phone that can transfer from one network to another, I would do stuff like this to show them who is boss.
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post #64 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tt92618 View Post

I'll believe it when I see it.

Just believe! You'll see it if you believe it.
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post #65 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by noexpectations View Post

30 million iPhones is really only 15 million customers. Every Sprint user will need to buy 2, one for voice, one for data, since CDMA can't do both at the same time.

Not true for WiMAX or LTE.
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post #66 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevetim View Post

Not saying i believe this rumor, but you know if att/verizon continued to play hardball on a phone that can transfer from one network to another, I would do stuff like this to show them who is boss.

Twitter is full of similar echos. Dan Hesse must be smiling now.
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post #67 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

So would dual-mode CDMA/LTE. The benefit there being the phone could be used on 4G networks that will exist in more than in twenty cities (ever) in one country of the phone's market.

btw LTE is CDMA
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post #68 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:28pm
So is that going to be the big announcement tomorrow? This year's phone is basically last year's phone but all the carriers will have it? If that's the case, okay, it's better than nothing.

I just hope when all these carriers get the iPhone, competition will set in and monthly rates can go down. I love my iPhone, I just don't always like paying a minimum of $85/month to have it.

If there is no iPhone 5 tomorrow, and just a 4s, the one big thing they can do to save face is make everything dirt cheap.
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post #69 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tt92618 View Post

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 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'.

Hold on quick draw... keep in mind this is NOT an either or story, but a first to market (by about 6 months)story. Lets see, GUARANTEED sale of 30.5million phones from Sprint AND 6 months later NEAR GUARANTEED sales from ATT/Verizon .. in exchang I (apple) spend ~ 500 million on the inerds for sprint... VS just do LTE inerds and maybe later... on my own dime do Sprint. Seems pretty smart business decision by Apple, if true.
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post #70 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cpsro View Post

btw LTE is CDMA

Nope. Not at all. I once thought the same.
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post #71 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by stevetim View Post

Not saying i believe this rumor, but you know if att/verizon continued to play hardball on a phone that can transfer from one network to another, I would do stuff like this to show them who is boss.

Wait... you are saying that as a CEO / business leader, you would permanently alienate a huge portion of your customers, lose out on device sales to a tune of nearly 4 to 1, and permanently alienate the two largest carriers in the nation... to prove you are a macho head honcho?

Silliness.
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post #72 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shen View Post

Hard to see a move like this from any company for an Android phone...

Money talks, bullshit walks.
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post #73 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

So would dual-mode CDMA/LTE. The benefit there being the phone could be used on 4G networks that will exist in more than in twenty cities (ever) in one country of the phone's market.

OUCH! Still feels like AT&T is in a good position UMTS/HSPA/HSPA+ parlay.
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post #74 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lilgto64 View Post

I am sure the Android fans will claim that Sprint is simply caving in to the media created frenzy in order to market an inferior product (the iPhone) and that only by shoring up their portfolio with the 87 different varieties of Android hardware and software combinations will Sprint survive or remain relevant in the US market. I mean, come on people, Android based devices have a larger screen, a removable battery, AND more buttons on the front than the iPhone, so they are clearly superior. Oh, and don't forget that you have the freedom to try to figure out just where the heck you are supposed to get apps to load on your Android device that are safe and won't be rendered obsolete in 3 months when the Tootsie-Pop version of the OS comes out - no, wait I mean the Fruit-Roll-Up version - no, no wait, the Pop-Tart version.

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

You're just as bad. Not a single fandroid has chimed in and you didn't even add a positive/negative comment on the article. If it wasn't for android you'd have nothing to say.
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"Just because something is deemed the law doesn't make it just" - SolipsismX to whom I bid farewell.
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post #75 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by boeyc15 View Post

Hold on quick draw... keep in mind this is NOT an either or story, but a first to market (by about 6 months)story. Lets see, GUARANTEED sale of 30.5million phones from Sprint AND 6 months later NEAR GUARANTEED sales from ATT/Verizon .. in exchang I (apple) spend ~ 500 million on the inerds for sprint... VS just do LTE inerds and maybe later... on my own dime do Sprint. Seems pretty smart business decision by Apple, if true.

So why would they release it for 6 months to Sprint only? In the same mentioned 6 months if released on all 3 (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint) they would sell a lot more than 30 million devices especially during the holidays coming up. Also all the repots say that almost half of the people who own smart phones want to upgrade to the IP5 whether in contract or out of contract. So this reports makes no sense from a logic standapoint and from a sheer numbers standpoint. Sprint can guarantee they will sell 30 mil IP5 but those numbers are already guaranteed and more if released to all 3 top carriers....

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"The future is Apple, Google, and a third company that hasn't yet been created."


 


 

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"Eventually Google will have their Afghanistan with Oracle and collapse"

"The future is Apple, Google, and a third company that hasn't yet been created."


 


 

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post #76 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cpsro View Post

btw LTE is CDMA

Wrong, LTE is GSM based. All of VZWs LTE phones have a SIM card.
"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject" - Winston Churchill
"Just because something is deemed the law doesn't make it just" - SolipsismX to whom I bid farewell.
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"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject" - Winston Churchill
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post #77 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:40pm
I think Sprint will get limited exclusivity, which will not include AT&T and/or Verizon. So, the only carrier it will effect is T-Mobile.

Quote:
Originally Posted by stelligent View Post

For this *rumor*, all so-called sources trace back to a WSJ article. WSJ tends to get accurate scoop when the 12th hour approaches. This also explains the pattern of *leaks* about 4S, to some extent.

On the other hand, is $30B enough to buy Apple?

I wonder if what Spring gets is an iPhone that looks different but otherwise has the same features and specs. Or, perhaps, it's a limited period of exclusivity (say 6 months).

And, how does this shake out in other parts of the world?

Regardless, if this is true, the center of gravity may be shifting.
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post #78 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:41pm
30.5 million phones on 4 years for $20B, that's $655 / phone if i didn't get lost in all the 0. That doesn't sound like a big discount... And isn't the price of the IP5 going to drop in 12 month like all old IPs ?
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post #79 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by geekdad View Post

So why would they release it for 6 months to Sprint only? In the same mentioned 6 months if released on all 3 (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint) they would sell a lot more than 30 million devices especially during the holidays coming up. Also all the repots say that almost half of the people who own smart phones want to upgrade to the IP5 whether in contract or out of contract. So this reports makes no sense from a logic standapoint and from a sheer numbers standpoint. Sprint can guarantee they will sell 30 mil IP5 but those numbers are already guaranteed and more if released to all 3 top carriers....

Because its the deal.
Art of the negotiation.. sprint comes to Apple and says we need the iphone; Apple probable said... 'go pound sand'. ... 'errr... unless'.
Sprint was losing marketshare... what to do, what to do.
So as you point out, Apple alreadys knows they have the sales to Verizon and ATT, now or six months from now... so leverage Sprint to the hilt. Masterful... if true.
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post #80 of 181
10/3/11 at 2:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post

Nope. Not at all. I once thought the same.

you're right. LTE uses OFDMA, as can WiMAX.
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