Sprint CEO says Pre deal is longer than six months
The Palm Pre will be in consumers' hands starting Saturday.
(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)Update 7:55 a.m. PDT: Comments from Dan Hesse's presentation at the press event here have been added to this story.
NEW YORK--Verizon Wireless's claims that it will be offering the Palm Pre within six months are not accurate, says Sprint Nextel's CEO Dan Hesse.
"They need to check their facts," Hesse said in an interview at a press event here to launch the Palm Pre. "That just is not the case. Both Palm and Sprint have agreed not to discuss the length of the exclusivity deal. But I can tell you it's not six months."
Last week, Lowell McAdam, CEO of Verizon Wireless was quoted by Reuters as saying that over the next six months consumers could expect to see devices "like the Palm Pre and a second-generation Storm" on its network.
AT&T's CEO Randall Stephenson also said last week that he hoped to have the Palm Pre on the AT&T network when the exclusivity deal with Sprint ended.
The Pre, which was announced in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is expected to be Sprint's flagship smartphone. And the company has high hopes that the device, which will be sold only on Sprint's network starting Saturday, would help the troubled carrier improve its image and retain customers who might be tempted to defect to AT&T for the iPhone. Early reviews of the product have been positive with many reviewers, including CNET's own Bonnie Cha, calling the phone a good alternative to iPhone.
But claims that the Pre exclusivity deal with Sprint would only last six months had undermined expectations about what the Pre could do for Sprint.
Indeed , there is a lot riding on the success of the much-hyped Palm Pre for Sprint. The company has struggled over the last year to repair its badly damaged reputation as a wireless provider that offers poor customer support and unreliable network performance. But Hesse said during his presentation here at the launch event that the company has improved on all fronts over the past year. And he called the Pre launch the debut of a transformed Sprint.
"We are very different company than we were 12 months ago," he said. "And the Pre is the coming-out party for the new Sprint that shows off our fantastic data network and rate plans."
Hesse told the audience of customers and press that for 15 consecutive months consumers' satisfaction with Sprint's customer service has gone up. And he added that the company has refocused attention on improving its network and has actually been cited by independent consumer surveys as the most reliable 3G network on the market.
Hesse also emphasized Sprint as a value player in the market. Specifically, he said that subscribers signing up for Sprint's $100 Simply Everything Plan could save up to $1,200 over competing plans for smartphones offered by AT&T and Verizon Wireless.
But he also acknowledged that Sprint has a long way to go to convince the public that it has turned a corner. He cited an internal survey that found that subscribers who used the company's service within the past year rated the service very positively. But subscribers who hadn't used the service within the past year had a somewhat negative perception of the service.
"We have this gap," he admitted. "(But) if you look at the changes in what we provide to customers in terms of the quality of the network and the customer experience, as well as, the rate plans we offer, this is a very different company than it was a year ago."
See also:
• Poll: Will you buy the Palm Pre?
• CNET Review: Palm Pre
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie. 
It's how some people think, its truly loathesome to deal with people like that. I suspect we'll find that the exclusivity arrangement was for 2009 -- a 7 month period, not 6 months.
So, just modify the statement to say 'about six months' instead of '6 months'....until I hear otherwise, the 6 month figure is essentially the true one.
frankly people behave a certain way, usually for a reason. He would have greatly benefited by mentioning the 1 year timeframe, if such a timeframe existed, he'd have no reason to hide it, he just made an excuse and didn't do it....since he chose not to reveal any precise information, he expects us to make our best guess....so, I did exactly that...namely that its quite close to 6 months.
I agree with you that if its 7 months, then stating 7 months is naturally a better thing to say. But, when ballparking it to make a purchase decision, 1 month more or less, is fine, imho. For my purposes 6 or 7 months is exactly the same, because it has no bearing on my decision. If I can wait 6 months, I can wait 7, typically. Maybe someone could argue they need to know if its out by Christmas or not.
Hesse is playing word games. Six months and a few days.
So for now Apple wins, my iPod touch is just going to have to work for me along with my cruddy verizon phone. I despise Palms decision on this!!! I want to upgrade my treo 650 so bad I could scream. AT&T also doesn't exist here in montana, so no iPhone either.
I thought that was only the case with the 1st gen Iphone. I don't know for a fact, but with the 2nd gen Iphone, but I think Apple charges AT&T more for the phone than a consumer buying it from AT&T (with AT&T getting their money back with the monthly charges).
People aren't leaving Sprint by the bus load in hopes of finding a better phone selection, they are leaving because Sprint doesn't have a usable network.
Maybe Verizon and AT&T and planning on Sprint being gone in 6 months.
Sprint's EVDO (data) network is top dog in most parts of the country. Period. You simply can't beat it.
Text messaging has no problems whatsoever - unless we're talking about the iDEN network.
I don't know where you live, but most places in the country, Sprint's service rivals if not outperforms everyone else.
As for customer service, NO CARRIER HAS REALLY GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE. So if you think you're gonna get stellar service from Verizon and AT&T, you're kidding yourself.
Sprint's network, of course, works as well - and generally better than - any other US carrier.
Sprint's customer service is fast, friendly, and on target.
These sorts of comments only diminish the author's credibility, not Sprint's.
Not sure what you are smoking but that is the biggest load of bull....Their customer disservice is why they are going away soon.
I know some might not agree with me but statistics are my proof that individuals don't care about the features (some might but that's just a fraction of the total demographic). Corporations on the other hand don't care about the looks but want all the features. They might be the true target audience for Pre. But then unfortunately Pre is on Sprint, the worst network when it comes to customer service (again a fact). Verizon rules when it comes to nationwide network coverage.
There is always a hype before any high profile product is released. The true test will be after the first month of it's release when the actual user feedback is available, not just those people at WS who are just speculating at this moment because all they care about is the share price.
With that said I wish Pre and Sprint good luck but let's be realistic. Pre will definitely beat G1 for sure, Storm, a BIG MAYBE but the iPhone - HELL NO!!!
The Pre's app store offering looks interesting, but the track record isn't great for competitors there yet. And with a billion iPhone apps sold, that's a lot of iPhone lock-in.
App Store comes in second.
The problem for Hesse, when he makes a strong denial of something that was essentially true, but just was off by a hair in the correct wording, is that people will remember him as some kind of liar.
We aren't worried about the exact wording of the phrase, we were wondering whether we can get the Pre from someone else in 6 months OR SO...and the answer to that is YES!
Maybe if you are a lawyer you'll appreciate the deception, but otherwise, c'mon.
I was a subscriber for 2 years and cancelled it when my contract was up. Line quality was poor on the best day, consistently. Their customer service was abysmally bad.
All in all they are scum bags.
Sounds like spin. What devices are "like the Palm Pre"? Many smart phones are. While I have not read the entire comment in context, this snippit seems like a comment designed to keep the faithful where they are and not jump ship to Sprint for the phone.
I have used all three major providers (ATT, Verizon, Sprint):
1-Each have their own strong and weak locations, despite the advertising.
2-Cust. Svs. is a challenge for all of them.
3-Each are trying to steal from the others while assuming their existing customers will stay out of some misguided sense of loyalty.
Frankly from my perspective, all of them are overpriced.
I would think that in the exclusivity agreement between Sprint and Palm there is a number of how many Pre's need to be sold (Say, X number in 6 months). If Sprint does not meet that number, then Palm could go to another service provider.
If I were Palm I would want some assurance that my hardware would get sold, especially when dealing with Sprint.
Sprint has been losing customers and so, if they don't sell enough product in say, six months, then VZWs statement would be true if the contract is broken.
But if Spirnt does sell enough, then the contract goes for another six months. Sprint CEO is speaking truth.
Again, just my speculation
Drop the 5 Gig limit on use.
Second, open up your 3G networks to 3rd party applications and services, like Skype.
Third, stop charging for sending and receiving text.
Fourth, have reliable service.
So with these conditions it looks like all the carriers have poor customer service. Let's hope I'm wrong but i doubt it.
Unlike Apple, don't really expect that Palm will ship one and only one model of phone. There are already rumors of a model called Pixie ( a candybar style). The HTC G1 (that Tmobile is selling) had a follow on G2 model come out in less than a year ( that hasn't arrived in the USA yet but it is shipping. So HTC has multiple designes in flight. ) Palm is selling phones in multiple market segments now also. They are likely to sell phones in multiple segments in the future too.
Would make sense for Sprint to have a lock up on the "top end" phone, but the phone they release into the volume market? Why would Palm restrict that to just one carrier if want large numbers. Whether a "Centro" format phone will work the same way with the same apps ( will the apps work with a relatively much smaller screen? The centro is available on all three networks http://www.palm.com/us/products/phones/centro/index.html )
Palm is going to have to master keeping lots of balls in the air while keeping quality high if persuing the multiple device strategy.
- by alljoe99 June 5, 2009 2:58 PM PDT
- i've been a sprint costumer for almost 4 years, and i was and sprint costumer back in 2000, in those days sprint services was really bad now if i compare sprint with the past has improved alot, im really happy with the services i have with sprint reception and more happy now that the palm pre is coming out sprint really better plans with att or verizon no doubt so if you live in cities where sprint offers its servivce you,d better get sprint if you want to save money you wont get that on verizon or att $99.99 for everything you could use on your phone thats good i know sprint will be go better with this phone .
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