Comments on: In defense of Sprint and the Palm Pre

An internal AT&T document attacks the Palm Pre for being inferior to the Apple iPhone, but CNET editor Bonnie Cha defends the Pre--and Sprint.

[Aggie1295]

I keep hearing the IPhone described as the "Jesus Phone" and as this great, ultimate mobile phone that everyone has to beat, yet the few people I know who actually have IPhones tell me they have terrible battery life, limited 3G coverage and frequent dropped calls. Basically the IPhone is supposed to be the ultimate cell phone that performs very weakly as a phone. The IPhone does have some appealing aspects to it, but there are a lot of things I prefer in my current Palm Treo and I see those same things in the Palm Pre. People are going to prefer different things in their phones and having some choices is the key thing. In any event, regardless of how good the IPhone is, at the moment to use one I have to get AT&T, which I have no interest in doing. If Apple was smart, they would allow the IPhone to be used on all carriers. I fail to see how the money they get from the exclusive agreement with AT&T is better that increasing the market share by allowing the IPhone to be used on different carriers.

[girlinthecurl]

So true about Apple letting it be used on all carriers. They picked the worst cell phone company for such an amazing product.

[girlinthecurl]

I have many friends that work for AT&T, and know many people that use AT&T as their cell phone service. I must say that EVERYONE I know that uses AT&T as their cell phone service, can also vouch when I say this -- AT&T HAS THE WORST 3G NETWORK EVER.

Many friends of mine that work FOR AT&T have admitted that they receive special sim cards that enable their phone signal/service to be better than the average customer that walks in and DOESN'T work for AT&T.

Not only that, AT&T has their b*ll**** claim of having the "fewest dropped calls." That is the biggest load of DOODOO I have ever seen whenever I see those commercials. How are they even allowed to make those ridiculous claims?!?! I can make a phone call on one side of my bed, roll to the opposite side and the person on the other line cannot hear a word I am saying. Yet, when I call to complain about losing service in my own home, they have the nerve to tell me that I have "4 towers" by my house. Oh really? Can they explain to me why I lose service when I move my body 180 degrees? AT&T has the worst customer service.

Yes, I am using this article to vent my anger with AT&T because I am extremely unsatisfied with AT&T. Moreover, how EXCITED I am to be switching to Spring at the end of next month!

THANK YOU FOR FINALLY CALLING AT&T OUT BONNIE!! It's about time someone did :o)

[girlinthecurl]

Sprint* :)

[jafarm66]

I never jumped on the IPhone bandwagon initially due to Lack of 3G then when IPhone 2.0 came out they had all the issues with the 3G chipset and/or firmware. Also since the IPhone is a pain to "unlock" and keep unlocked unlike all other GSM phones it just doesn't appeal to me. Why should I have to buy a POS phone in a foreign country when I could use an Unlocked Samsung/LG/Motorola with the foreign Sim. Finally I'll never go back to ATT for cell service as I don't like waiting on hold forever to speak to someone. As for Sprint, their service is good once you get past Claire their automated operator but their coverage in my home (no landline just cell) is not good. I just moved from Verizon to TMobile and the G1 simply because TMobile has affordable Smartphone plans that include messaging, internet etc.

[nefetola98]

Does anyone notice that it says the Palm Pre has "plastic casing"? I will point you to this news story for details:

http://www.intomobile.com/2008/07/14/iphone-3g-isnt-plastic-zirconia-ceramic-casing.html

[question4seller]

SPRINT is the very worst carrier. They have continued to loose customers by the hundreds of thousands every quater and is the worst rated wireless provider in the US. Just google sprint to see the horror stories and how the continuously screw over their customers... ATT on the other hand is the 2nd worst rated wireless provider... Verizon and Tmbobile usually come in first in most categories... Sprints plans are barely cheaper than the competition, and based on their history i would never switch to sprint unless their plans were mucccchhh cheaper...

I'ld rather go with Metro pcs or BOOST mobile for around $50 a month and no contract than go with rip off sprint...

[ya_dig]

Sprint owns boost moble.lol

[Tararichelle]

So funny...... You say to google sprint and read the horror stories, if you google any of the carriers you will find horror stories..... Also the prices are alot cheaper, esp if we are talking about the AT&T vs Sprint, tryto get a 450 min plan with unlimited messaging and data with nights andweekends starting at 7pm at any other company for only $49.99 or any of the other plans, yeah you may be able to find the same minutes for a comparable price, but not with all the add-ons that sprint offeres included, ohh and like ya_dig said "Sprint owns Boost mobile"

[orangeneptune]

Does this remind any of a certain desperate attempt from Helio to compare their Ocean with the iPhone? Not that I'm saying that AT&T or the iPhone is even remotely in the same situation that Helio was in when both the iPhone or the Ocean launched, but Helio came out with a similar comparison chart. In fact, they still have it!

http://compare.helio.com/

While the Pre/iPhone chart points out a few good points of difference, the verbiage that really implies failure on the Pre's part just kind of make me shrug my shoulders and go, "Meh." It was the same way with the Ocean/iPhone comparison. But I guess every company's got to train the troops any way they can to up against something perceived to be a threat, even if it means teaching them to parrot strange half-truths and below-the-belt punches.

Funny thing to me is, though, that all the other networks - AT&T included - are going to get some sort of iteration of the Pre if Palm launches it successfully with Sprint first. Seriously - wait and see what happens if the Pre launches successfully. You'll be walking into an AT&T store some day and there will be a shiny new WebOS phone sitting next there next to the iPhone and the salesperson won't care which one you buy.

[ColbertPutin2012]

The only thing I think that really works against the Pre is that its exclusively on Sprint's network errr Sprint's leased network? Didn't Sprint have to sell off their cellular tower network and then lease them back because financially they were in such a bad way? Does anyone have information to confirm or disconfirm that? Also as spotty as AT&T's 3g coverage can be I don't know anyone who has Sprint who is particularly thrilled about their connectivity. Isn't that why they have their $99 dollar for unlimited everything package, to offset the overall crappiness of their wireless network. Honestly the more the Android and Pre push the envelope the better because it will only force more innovation for future iphone models. I'm just confused as to why they would choose Sprint as an exclusive carrier. Does anyone have a rundown as to how they came to that particular decision?

[make_or_break]

Sprint probably offered Palm a superior deal than anyone else. All services have areas around the country where their coverage could be better; it's hard to make legit generalizations in that regard. Sprint's problems have been well documented, but most of dissatisfaction seems to be with their past customer service and account practices rather than with any significant problems surrounding their cellular or data connectivity.

[AppleSuxLeo]

The Palm Pre looks and I`m sure feels much more ergonomically correct. In fact it can mostly be used one-handed as the demos show , where the user has to hold the iPhone in one hand and poke at the screen with the other. Also notice that the Pre is more pleasing to the eye as well whereas the iPhone looks like a slab.
Palm really broke new ground with the U.I. The iPhone looks like sometning ported over from a home computer...oh yea , that is what Apple did. That is why the iPhone`s memory footprint is too large to multi-task.
A fresh new OS designed for a small handheld device is just what Palm has delivered. And exceeded the iPhone. Also the apps for the Palm Pre will be sold by many vendors...none of that Apple walled-garden crap here. Also a Palm OS emulator has already been released. Look at the % increase in "S" and "PALM" in the last few months and what the analysts are saying. Palm is the future.

[AppleSuxLeo]

PALM $1.42 TO $10.36 in a little over 4 mos.
TY PALM !

[JustNotEverybody]

Who cares which phone is better. The great thing about this is it gives customers a choice. You can pay way too much on a crappy carrier for the iPhone, or you can get a phone that does practically the same things (I said practically) on a better carrier with better plans.

You have your hip wanna-bes vs. think for yourself intelligent people.

It's good for the economy.

[JJMilez]

C'mon now, way to bifurcate the smartphone-buying masses. I haven't been following the Pre, I'll admit, but I'm a mac user who would like my future smartphone to sync with my calender, address book, and so forth. If the Pre doesn't do that it's useless to me. So just because between the iPhone and the Pre, my only viable choice is the iPhone, I suddenly become a "hip wanna-be?" I don't buy phones because of how "cool" they are, I buy a phone because it provides features and services that I need/want.

I'm also a bit confused about the 'way too expensive' plans talk. At the moment, if I was impatient and sprung for the iPhone now instead of waiting to see what comes out this summer, I'd be spending $89.99 a month. With Sprint, getting the same features would cost me $69.99. Is $20 seriously that big a deal to some people? I mean, yes, it adds up over time, but in the grand scheme of things it's inconsequential as far as I'm concerned.

[santihossni]

Who said the iPhone's casing was metal? It's plastic as well! Only the first iPhone was metal! Cnet has become so biased towards Apple... how much are they paying you?

[santihossni]

Reread the article, my bad, the table wasn't Cnets... still you're incredibly Apple biased!

[nanotech]

The ONLY way the Pre or ANY phone can succeed: Launch the phone with at least 2,500 high-quality in-house developed FREE apps and encourage development through commission-free sales of third-party apps and weekly or even daily prizes for most innovative apps (in case the apps don't sell, that way developers can still at least win a prize of let's say a daily $1,000 prize for their efforts if that app is that good).

Apple has changed the game, it's no longer the phone, IT'S THE APPS!!!

(I really hope somebody influential at these companies reads and understands this, because I don't want to be succumbed into buying an Iphone as well.)

[naturalsister]

@NYTechie | rapier was using sarcasm. DUH!

[Austinite007]

Funny that AT&T does not have any advantages to mention about their own monthly service plan offerings for the iPhone vs Sprint's service plans for the Palm Pre. Oh...wait...I know...thats because AT&T is way more expensive than Sprint...hmmm...a struggling economy...price of the device and monthly on going service plan costs will be most people's number one issue. I have been a Sprint customer for 7+ years, I will admit that I have had issues with their customer service years ago but it has definitely improved within the past year. I never left them because of their great monthly plan pricing, great network, and excellent 3G coverage. If Apple/AT&T undercuts the price of the new iPhone I do not care because I know that in the long run it will be cheaper to have a Palm Pre on Sprints network with their monthly plan rates vs AT&T's more expensive monthly plan rates. This is something more people should consider when comparing these 2 phones.

Let me start by saying. Does everything in the world need to be compared to the Iphone? Yes, I love Apple products and would get an Iphone but I also happen to be a longtime faithful user of Palm products. I find it interesting that when someone comes out with something that has a feature similiar to the Iphone. Imediately they are compared. Maybe just maybe, they didn't intend the Palm Pre to be a Iphone killer. Maybe just Maybe, Palm was trying to make money with something that they thought folks would like and buy. Novel concept huh?

[mamyint]

I've had some frustrating moments with Sprint Customer Service in the past, but recently, they've been very good to me. I am in the market for an upgrade to my existing Treo 700p and was thinking about getting a refurbished 16 GB iPhone for $149.
I called Sprint to inquire about canceling my account and transferring over to AT&T. Their response? "We see you've been a valued customer for 7 years...we understand why you might be interested in trying out another carrier...Here's what we can do for you..."
They DROPPED the $15/month fee for unlimited DATA, gave me 500 free text messages, AND offered to substitute the mail-in rebate for an upgrade with an instant rebate.
To say that I was overwhelmed by this offer is an understatement...Basically, I'm getting the same kind of service that it would cost me almost $90 (before taxes and fees) per month on AT&T for $39.99 (taxes and fees) on Sprint.
Simply put...I want an iPhone, but not enough to warrant spending TWICE the amount of money on my plan each month. I was incredibly excited about the release of the Palm Pre. I'm convinced that the future of both Palm and Sprint depend on the success of this phone. I agree with many people that Sprint does not offer the kind of "head turning" hardware that people covet. But the truth is...Sprint is cheaper...by at least $20 a month in many cases, and I would argue that Sprint has the best 3G network of all of the major carriers. IF they don't have the best 3G network, I would definitely argue that the other networks aren't 25% better...
I think Palm is banking on this phone to save their company. I'll be there on day 1 to support it. Unless it costs like $400...if that's the case, then Palm and Sprint deserve to fail. But I don't think that'll be the case.

[Tru_Stylz]

I read somewhere that the Pre doesn't support picturemail, sprint music and the digital lounge. That doesn't make sense to me since you need the simply everything data at the very least to even use the phone. Any insight on this? is that a foopa on someone's part or is it really the case that the phone won't support those aspects of sprint it. That is just counter productive

[ya_dig]

Doesn't have to support those. Pre uses Amazon.mp3 and pics are sent directly to the phone instead of having to download from a website

[Pinkertonfloyd]

The iPhone has its issues too, in fact it barely works as a phone, while in the past palm usually does a great job on the phone part.

I have a iPhone 3g, and simple stuff such as bluetooth doesn't work on any device I've tried, AT&T doesn't want to help, telling me to contact apple... who sends me back to AT&T. Dropped calls, "Call Failed" is a constant issue, running the latest software/firmware as of 4/09... just want to dump the phone, but AT&T says I can't for one year. (Oh... and my SIM card is stuck in the unit, and nobody has been able to remove it (AT&T, Apple Genius Bar). The stuck SIM card is what keeps me from dumping the phone on ebay.

Why, oh why does AT&T not have any protection contracts available? The only thing I can think of is they know the phone is such a trouble-prone device that they couldn't find a company to underwrite the policy.

[enough2bdangerous]

First of all I would love an IPHONE but will buy a PRE because of the network and the rates. I am a MAC user and this is the reason that the IPHONE will still be around. It integrates with a Mac seamlessly. Sprint called the Instinct an iphone killer. Nothings going to kill the iphone. Look at the ipod and its market share. Palm has been the only other company to come close to integrating with a Mac. Moving everything to the web is brilliant. I use to have .mac account and now I have a gmail account, didn't enjoy paying for email. Anyone who integrates all of our favorite web aps is going to win. I think the Pre will effect the sales to people who don't want ATT and don't have a mac. It gives them another option. It will probably change the way other manufacturers build phones going forward. No more windows mobile yuck.