Comments on: Sprint takes gloves off, aims for Apple's chin

It's on! In a new ad campaign, Sprint is pointing out not just that its plans are cheaper overall, but that its Palm Pre can do things Apple's first-gen iPhone can't.

[puterhead]

I can't comment on either phone as I am currently a Verizon user with a Samsung Omnia, which by the way I did not get to be a iphone copy, it was just the best smartphone of the Verizon offerings for me at the time i purchased it as i do not care for the Blackberry phones. I stepped up to a smartphone to do push email with my companies exchange server but i didn't want a strickly business type phone for my personal phone.

More to the point, I switched to Verizon from Sprint because the wife and I absolutely hated the crappy coverage and even crappier customer service. My company had an AT&T contract for all our business phones at the time. So I went from carrying a Sprint and AT&T phone all the time to a Verizon and AT&T phone all the time. I can tell you in all of the four state area that I worked in they all had crappy coverage, but Sprint was far worse than the other two.

Finally the company decided to go to Verizon also and I now have two verizon phones and an aircard for the laptop. I would love to try a pre or an iphone , but i would not go back to AT&T or Sprint for either of them at this point. If they ever come to Verizon I am so there though.

[seven7dust]

One problem for sprint is that long time iPhone users are probably not very likely to switch.

Most IPhone users already have a large investment in apps and also into the way they work with their phone. Most people find that change difficult

I don't expect too many iPhone to Pre converts,
other than those that genuinely need multi-tasking and a real keyboard
which is probably needed only in very few instances now that push notifications
is working well

plus the Pre has a few problems of it's own like no Copy and paste
no proper universal search , no Voice dialing , bad browser compatibility
and only a handful of apps plus etc.

it's also funny how Palm and sprint are now taking cheap shots at Apple
Considering that without the iPhone the pre would have never existed !
biting the hand that feeds , bad palm !!!

[cvaldes1831]

seven7dust is correct.

Most of the alleged advantages of other smartphone platforms have preceded the appearance of the iPhone (MMS, multitasking, voice dialing, physical keyboard, blah blah blah). If these were really a priority, you wouldn't have purchased an iPhone to begin with.

By definition, many iPhone users are those who don't consider the lack of those aforementioned features to be a showstopper. Heck, many iPhone users gripe about crappier phone service (from AT&T) and yet they still stick around.

Again, it's the apps that are the key. Even if you didn't pay a dime for your apps, it's about the overall user experience.

Any random schmuck can say, "I have all the apps I want on my ----phone from ----carrier and I'm happy because I can multi-task/blah blah blah" but in the end, APPLE USERS HAVE THE HIGHEST CUSTOMER SATISFACTION SCORE. Despite all the bungling Apple has done with their App Store and product launches. Despite AT&T's shoddy coverage and weird lack of feature support.

[simoro1]

*** the pre can cut and paste. Know your stuff

[skiguy330]

These two comments are by far the most insightful comments I've read yet about the iPhone. Over 21 million iPhones have been sold to date. That's 21 million people who DON'T CARE that it doesn't have a physical keyboard, or that it can only multitask with some applications, or that it can't do tethering or MMS. 21 million people who bought the phone knowing full well that the battery wasn't user-serviceable, the memory wasn't expandable, and that it couldn't do copy and paste or edit documents or search email. And yet they bought it anyway. I'm certain some of them only bought it because it was an Apple product and I'm sure there were others who bought it and didn't like it at all, which still leaves a significant amount of people who just don't need a physical keyboard. Millions of people who love their iPhone DESPITE what non-iPhone owners believe to be shortcomings. Some people need tactile response, I get that. Personally, I love the fact that the keyboard on my iPhone adjusts itself to suit the application that it's being used in.

Then there's the simple fact that there have been more updates and feature additions to my iPhone than all of the updates to any of my other phones put together. Admittedly, some of those features would have been nice to begin with. But again, it goes back to the fact that people were happy, even eager, to buy the iPhone even when they didn't have those features. When it comes right down to it, iPhone owners in general get the impression that Apple cares about the long-term future of the iPhone. How many Blackberry or LG or Motorola owners can truly say that about their phones? Will the Palm Pre still be getting better/faster/stronger in a year or two? Or will Palm have abandoned Pre owners and moved on to their next project?

[SteenMachine]

Agree that it is hard to switch b/c of the investment in apps, but don't forget that you could let your contract run out and still use the iPhone without the cell service (a la iPod touch), and the apps would stay around.

User experience and brand loyalty are also big factors. So I don't foresee too many switchers.

And although the timing of this add is right at the 2yr point, if you're in good standing with ATT, they let you upgrade as early as 18 months. So I'm guessing most eligible iPhone 2G owners have already upgraded to the 3GS, leaving very little actual consumers for this ad.

[seven7dust]

ok to all the ignorant trolls
I have checked my facts
the pre doesnt have a proper copy and paste
you cant copy stuff of web pages or emails
only in editable fields , so check your own facts
the Pre doesn't have proper universal search too , cant search emails or messages only contacts and apps
the pre also cant forward messages and no video recording too

overall the pre is a great phone that I'm a big fan of
but it has it's own shotcoming as well
so get your head of palm's behind , it's not a perfect phone !
no phone is perfect BTW

[protagonistic]

It all comes down to what I have stated previously. Apple understands that most people do not buy a product because it has every feature possible to cram into it and is faster than anything else on the planet. People buy devices that look good, do most of the things they want it to, and is so easy to use you don't have to carry a manual around to figure out the features you don't use every day.

I have been working in electronics since the mid 60's and I just bought an iphone because I don't mind reading a manual when I am getting paid for my time. I do mind having to waste my personal unpaid time reading through the help to try and figure something out. Apple gets this and the rest do not seem to understand this concept yet. Until they do Apple will continue to lead the pack.

[fearghail]

Sprint sucks, buy at your own risk.

[quixel1]

WOW and it is stil far better then ATT but still in your NARROW minded thinking you stay with an inferior carrier. AMAZING you can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time.Too bad the Iphoney can't do 2 things at the same time.

[protagonistic]

quixel1

Wow, such an intelligent comment. If I want to do more than one thing at a time I will be home at my desktop where I can pretty much do as many as I like and a heck of a lot faster than your phone will. I hate to be the one to break this to you, but the average user couldn't care less if their phone can only do one thing or many things at a time. Kind of reminds me of the "Windows has so many more applications for it then the other OSs do". Last time I looked most computer users only use a handful of applications and most, or their equivalent, are available on almost any platform.

Besides, most people are so busy driving they wouldn't be able to handle more than one at the same time anyway. Besides, even service that is not all that good is better than service that is almost non existent. Neither Sprint nor Verizon have decent coverage in my area. And I have to say I have really not had any problems with AT&T here.

[MarkHernandez]

The Pre can multi-task, and why do I need that?

On a daily basis I use Quicken, OmniFocus, 1Password, BofA, TweetDeck, Weightbot, Facebook, RunKeeper and watch Rachel Maddow... I often play Bejeweled, Enigmo, Labyrinth, Zenbound, Hangman, and occasionally use Shazam, Skype, Amazon, Ebay, AccuFuel, consult my full Collins French dictionary or star charts... and all my contacts, calendars and bookmarks are always in sync with my two computers. This is besides the things that both phones can do like maps, program my TiVo and pick movies in NetFlix, and read my 10 email addresses, keep up with news and look things up.

I can have my cake and eat it to, with no end in sight with all the apps and games available now and coming down the road, all totally useful WITHOUT multi-tasking. It's worth any extra cost to me, to have all that capability NOW.

[Perry_Clease]

Can you use the cell phone and surf the web at the same time? I am not trying to be a wise ass, but because I heard that about the Pre.

[ckh1272]

"by quixel1 June 27, 2009 12:16 AM PDT
by Perry_Clease June 26, 2009 9:32 PM PDT
Can you use the cell phone and surf the web at the same time? I am not trying to be a wise ass, but because I heard that about the Pre.
?????
Since I ahve seen you say that over and over again I wil take that as you are a LIAR and an APPLES TOOL. Only a wise ASS maybe like sevendusty would keep reopeating the exact same thing."

@quixel1- Talk about the pot calling the kettle black? I have seen you repeat your BS at least five times on these posts. You just can't stand when someone has a opinion that is not your own, can you?? Oh, and that "butt buddy" slam earlier definitely shows your mentality, which is much like a 3rd grade retard. Just quit while you are woefully behind.

[professionaladventurer]

Uh, not a smart phone war, it's a MARKETING war. Every phone and service provider will NOT do something you wish it did. Who cares or believes what commercials say?.

"God must love the common man, that's why he made so many of them" - Ab Lincoln.

[Spanwite]

You are right!
Just a marketing war, this Wireless Company's are Sharks and we are just the appetizer for them.

We the Costumer have to be happy with what the Wireless Provider serve us in this Country.
Don't have a choice, do we?
We don't get what is technically possible, just a fraction of it!

[Dan7637]

the palm pre has only one thing on the iphone and that is the multitasking, but by next years release Apple would probably address multitasking and then what will the joke of palm do

[stanley0301]

All well and good--BUT the real money to be made is by acquiring these folk WITH their iphones--why would anybody want to loose two years worth of apps? But a new cheaper carrier would be great. I wonder if Palm Pre even has a clue how many apps run on an iphone?? with the economy keeping the just fine thank you old phone is a real winner.

[cvaldes1831]

What are you talking about? You can use your old iPhone apps on your new iPhone. In any case, many iPhones apps are free.

And Apple has repeatedly claimed that they use the App Store as a way to drive customers to their high-margin hardware. Apple Inc. does not expect to make a large profit from the iTunes Store or App Store.

Sorry, your comments makes almost no sense.

[tmsmqwx]

With respect to the keyboard, I really think that's a non-issue at this point. The Pre will be attractive to folks that have used Blackberrys and are used to a physical keyboard. For someone who's been typing on iPhone's virtual keyboard for 2 years, I doubt that the Pre keyboard is any big draw, so there will not be any rush of 1st generation iPhone users making the switch, at least not for that reason.

Of course, being Sprint, their marketing is misguided. The battle here is for the millions of "dumb" handset users who constitute low hanging fruit for smartphone makers. They have been painfully banging out their text messages on cramped telephone keypads and would probably be esctatic to get there hands on a QWERTY of any kind, physical or virtual. These are the folks Palm and Sprint should be stalking. The more of these users Palm/Sprint allows to slip away, the more of them may become indoctrinated into the physics of virtual typing, at which point it is a much larger, more expensive fight to convert them back.

[imrational]

Sprint is recognized as having the WORST customer service of all the cellphone companies.

Sprint has disabled tethering on the PRE (no phone as modem), which AT&T and the iPhone are now allowing.

Sprint has a long way to go before they can be a substantial challenger.

[chrisx1]

Mutltasking is important.
If you use the TomTom or AT&T Navigator app on the iPhone can you answer the phone without quitting the navigation? If you can't, it isn't worth it.

[ptgn123]

Yes you can. the tom tom app comes with an adapter that has a speaker and charger. When a call comes in you can use the dock to talk to the person and the go back to the app after the phone call. This is from the keynote demo. the app hasn't reached the app store yet.

[viethoaitran]

Here's the thing you guys don't realize. The ad doesn't add up to $1200 unless you compare apples with apples. They're advertising about the pricing so here it is.

Here's a breakdown to the ad. (I'm only highlighting the biggest key points)
Sprint's Simply Everything Plan includes unlimited voice, data and messaging along with GPS = $99.99

ATT's Nation unlimited + unlimited text + data + ATT GPS service = 99.99+20.00+30.00+9.99= 159.98

SO Sprints 2 year contract BEFORE tax equals 2399.76
ATT 2 year contract BEFORE tax equals 3829.52

Difference is..... *drum roll* 1439.76!!!!

So...you can save as much as 1439.76 for the term of the contract!!!

[ptgn123]

Again I pay 150 a month for 2 iphones and a blackjack2. unlimited text, unlimited data on the iphones. and you won't need the att gps service when the tom tom app comes out.

[amigosito]

Competition is a GOOD thing. Yay for having choices!

[ptgn123]

exactly. the pre will only make the iphone better.

[seven7dust]

yup gotta agree with that !

Come On!! Give it up. Palm and Sprint combo, very weak. There will never be a competitor to the Apple iPhone. They will forever be leaps and bounds ahead of the competition. Sprints service is HORRIBLE, rated as one of the worst customer service and I have personally been there done that with them.

Pre's application availability, do I need to say more. They had enough nerve to say the other day, its not about quantity but quality. Give me a break, like there are not quality apps out of Apple's 50,000 applications?????

I am so tired of people saying, "Oh, I have an iPhone too." Then they pull out some piece of imitation junk from a competitor like Sprint Pre. If it doesn't have an Apple icon on the back, then you don't have an iPhone!!!

[torrymurray]

Remember the huge Samsung Instinct push last year and all the wonderful ads that compared it to the iPhone? I certainly do, as I wanted an iPhone like device that wasn't attached to AT&T. Sprint created some type of application creator's contest and offered a cash reward to those that submitted worth while apps for the phone. Then the company changed its mind. That pretty much left me with a $199 dollar iDud (Instinct), and some of the worst customer service I have ever experienced outside of a KFC. Maybe Sprint will back the Pre a little better, who knows? As for me, I decided to longer purchase iPhone imitators and just buy what I have been wanting for two years now. So far I am happy, but I'm still in the honey moon phase with this phone. I loved the Instinct for a couple of weeks too.

[most7467]

my xv6800 does much more than the iphone and I don't need an app store, just go online and grab a program! oh yeah sends pics and video too! and my slide to unlock uses moving images...in fact my 6700 did it too, the iphone is really for people who can't use a pc, or want things packaged for them neatly. that is ok, however you sacrifice control, don't take that as a knock on apple, they have filled a niche for people who need things done for them. the sacrifice comes when you realize that you can't do some things, or that you must pay apple to do things you thought were natural, thus the app store...if I want a program that makes fart noises I make one or download it, no need for apple's permission, after all, I did pay good Money for the phone! I regularly go feature for feature with iphone users and win! I love watching their heads shake when
I show them my really old xv6700 (long since retired, AFTER being giving to my girlfriend, an apple head no less) doing things they can't!!!! in fact I find it odd that most reviewers don't note that with about 20 minutes of time you can convert any pocket pc to the same gesture base system as an iphone, heck I have the iphone interface on my phone just to laugh at confused iphone users! the great thing is I can flip back and forth (between interfaces) instantly, oh yeah and the memory is cheaper too!!! not to mention the network, at&t is a true headache to deal with and very slow! just letting you that apple hasn't really done anything new, just marketed it better as usual, shame on the others for missing the mark with marketing really! if I were verizon or sprint I would just partner with someone like spb software house and do a quick demo in a commercial, including sending pictures, which the new iphone may do, but, so did my $20 throw away flip phone, used for a second business line!

[kathycorby]

I?m an ER doctor. This morning, a 10 year old with a rare metabolic disease was brought in ?seizing and not breathing. Perhaps her mother was surprised to see me reach first into my white coat pocket for my iphone.
First, I needed a quick dip into Calculator to convert pounds into kilos. Next to Skyscape mobile 5 Minute Emergency Consult to double check drug sequences. The RSI (Rapid Sequence Induction) gave me precalculated drug doses for emergency intubation?all five of them that I needed, and all at once. Waiting for the nurses to pull the drugs, I dove into Eponyms for a quick overview of the rare condition?Refsum?s syndrome. Bingo. Off to Wikipedia for a few additional details. Epocrates ran my drug/drug interaction check. The ABG app helped me interpret her complex blood gas result. Without leaving the bedside, I could contact her specialist, could check weather conditions at the tertiary care referral center where the helicopter would need to land, could show the parents the path of the breathing tube in the Netter anatomy app.
Think the app store doesn?t matter? Don?t bet your life on it. Chances are your doctor doesn?t agree.

[ikramerica--2008]

Wow, good use of technology. Though not sure about checking wiki for life and death details... ;)

[DrtyDogg]

That really scares me.

[cvaldes1831]

@kathycorby:

Awesome.

I'm going to bookmark your comment and refer it to people who think this thing is a silly little toy, the App Store doesn't matter, or the world revolves around a desktop computer. The respective answers are no, no, and no.

[jbelkin]

Of course, Sprint is cheaper, it has to be - It's not the iPhone and it's the third cell network in the US ... as for the iPhone - what Sprint/Palm doesn't say is that what is the Pre after 2 years - a dead cell phone and of course, hopefully not a dead Palm ... what is the iPhone after 2 years? A "free" iTouch you can sell for $200-$300. Whatever it is, in life, you can always cheaper - because for some companies, that is the selling point - they have NOTHING else to sell on, they'll take a little less in hopes you are on a budget like buying insurance or dental care, if you cannot afford the best, there is always a look-alike that they hope you are okay that it's a look alike ... that's capitalism.

[iFone-user]

I have seen and played with Palm-Pre and its really nice!!Kinda got me thinking that if I do trade up for Pre I will still have a Iphone now Ipod to carry around.its about overall quality of service and product.Apps will come soon enough for it as I wait for Verizon to get it.AT&T is pretty good here in chicago over all.I want Slingbox and tethering so I may need to move!!

[canberra_photographer]

If someone really wants a physical keyboard, get one with a real one like a Blackberry. The rest will be fine with the iPhone keyboard which I find very good. The Pre has a physical keyboard but its too small to be of use, it's even more fumbly than any virtual one.

[aMaclover2]

I just purchased the iPhone 3Gs yesterday and I can honestly say that it is the best phone I have ever used out of the 4 smart phones that I have owned. I also have to say that I am pleasantly surprised how well AT&T's service is in my area. I live in a rural area of NC and did not expect great signal strength but I have had no problems so far and no dropped calls. The only negative thing I can say is that I wish I had got a iPhone earlier!

[Minotauro79]

I just left Sprint and got the iphone 3G s because #1: Sprint doesn't offer and doesn't plan to build a 3G network here in the Bossier/Shreveport area of Louisiana but AT&T has a ton of 3G coverage so here the Pre would be dead slow on anything requiring the cell network. #2: I had the Instinct which Sprint had said a year ago would be getting a app store. Yeah so there's like 20 apps for the Instinct and they all suck.

If people's contract are up from the first gen iphone then I guess a majority of them will be getting the ihpone 3G s without paying a ton of money. BTW according to Sprint's website last week their 4G network is only available in the Baltimore area and only then to broadband cards.