Sprint has really been pushing their "unlimited data, unlimited minutes, ...unlimited everything" plan they call "Simply Everything." It's $99 per month and honestly, we are pretty big fans. It's not SERO (their not-so-secret discount plan), but it's not bad. Sprint told us that they're going to "Instinct the Pre", which basically means they plan to throw a ton of marketing muscle behind it. It may also mean something else and that something else has been a (perhaps mistaken) assumption of ours: as with the Instinct, it's possible that Sprint will require the Simply Everything plan for all Pre owners. We all know that there is a lot of downward pressure on price for smartphones ever since the iPhone 3G came in at $199 after contract, and Sprint's best method for assuring a low cost for most customers is requiring the SE plan.
Not so fast, says TreoCentral forum member intro, a quick look at Palm's product page and at Sprint's Pre press release reveals some different languages. Palm says that "A data plan is required" while Sprint counters with "Data: A $0.03/KB charge applies without a data plan." If Sprint is printing warning about how much data would cost without a Data plan, it stands to reason that they may let you buy it without one. Maybe.
It's engendered quite a discussion over in our Pre forums but the bottom line is this: it's highly likely that Sprint and Palm haven't even made the final decision on price and require plans yet. Our hunch is still that Simply Everything will be required, but we'd be relatively happy to be wrong.
Comments
When Sprint refers to a phone as requiring an "Everything Plan", as was the case with the Samsung Instinct, it doesn't mean that it has to be the $100 SE Plan. There are $70 and $90 for 450 and 900 minute plans, as well as family plans (~$130 for 1500). If you know someone from Sprint, you can also use Everything Plus (the new SERO) which is $60 for 500. The "Everything Plan" requirement, however, is still a worst-case scenario. Here's hoping the Pre gets along with SERO.
What is SERO?
(No Sprint in Canada)
...Lisa
I was just about to say the same thing. It's an Everything plan, not Simply Everything. If you go to Sprint.com now and select the Instinct, it allows you to choose an Everything Data plan instead for $69.99 or $89.99. I'll be getting the $69.99 version when this comes out because I don't use voice all that much.
I will be extremely disappointed if it requires a Simply Everything plan. I've been on a SERO plan for about 2 years now. It was pretty much the only reason I switched to Sprint. I've been using a terrible Motorola Q for those two years despite numerous problems with the phone.
Like everyone else, I've been really excited about the new Pre. My contract should be up right around when it's released (if not a little sooner) and I hope to get one. If Sprint requires the SE plan however, they can count me out. There's no way I'm going to be paying double what I pay right now for the privilege of owning a Pre. I use maybe 100-150 minutes a month, fewer than 20 text messages, and less than 10mb of data. That's not worth $60 a month or whatever the increase is.
I think the Sprint Simply Everything plan is the best plan for power users currently available on any carrier. I went to Sprint to get this plan when the Instinct came out and it ended up being a big mistake because the Instinct sucked... But, I will definitely be checking out Sprint yet again for this great plan to use in conjunction with the Palm Pre. Even if the Palm Pre isn't on iPhone level, I will still probably get one and use it with the Simply Everything plan. I use A LOT of minutes, text, data, and gps, so this would be the perfect plan for a person like myself.
But if it does require a SE plan.... it'll still be a better value than anything out there... the cheapest se plan is $69.99 .. go to another carrier and try to get something comparable.. you can't... the cheapest Iphone plan will cost you $69.99 for 450 min not including texting! You want unlmt texting with that... it'll cost you 90 bucks!
there is alway prepaid though... if you wanna go that route ..(bleh)
OMG! i'm sick of people saying you need an iphone plan for the iphone. i was really content with my sero plan. i thought it was crazy that you needed a special plan for the iphone... but i never really looked into it. now my contract is up and i'm waiting for the pre. in the meantime, i did some research on the iphone. it does not require a special "iphone plan"! it requires a data plan... aka internet plan which is required with any phone.. that costs ~$30.. cheapest voice plan is ~$40.. text is additional. so yes that's ~$70 but you would pay that for ANY phone! so i'm waiting for the pre.. if it requires a new plan, i'm gone!
The whole reasoning behind sprint requiring the SIMPLY EVERYTING PLAN is basically down to the network. SE plan includes EVDO 'REV A'. The power vision network is a bit slower and does not have a constant communication via the phone to network. The palm 800w which i have is backwards compatible with REV A and the POWER VISION. The PALM PRE may follow the same footsteps and lets HOPE cause if not forget it if ur a SERO or any specialty plan which sux ass!
If they make the entry level plan any more then the original iPhone plan was 60/20 they will loose out huge on getting switchers. Frankly I think the everything plan is a rip off and they completely over value the incidental services/features. Minutes, data (and lets face it SMS is data) is all that should be in play.
Palm should have gone with a carrier that was more open and willing to have people try their new phone. Forcing people to get certain monthly plans because of the phone they choose??? The only way these companies will stop these practices is if we stop buying. I don't want to use EVDO, I want to use the built in WiFi. For me, WiFi is available 95% of the time and that's fine with me. Everyone is different yet we all have to get the same mega plan. I'll do my part and not upgrade unless they give me better options. Hey Sprint...we're in a recession!!!
Your correct, we are in a recession, but Sprint is actually stepping up to the plate and providing their services at a lower cost to the customer. So we as consumers are benefiting from their aggressive pricing. Think about it, $99 for everything that the Palm Pre or any other Sprint smartphone can do. That is an amazing deal... I would love for you or anyone else to find me a better deal in the wireless industry today other than the new Boost Mobile $50 everything plan. And btw, Sprint is behind Nextel and Boost so really, naming that plan as a dispute to my claim isn't even logical.
Face it, Sprint is finally getting their act together and consumers will benefit in the long run due to the risks they are taking today.
And no, I am not currently with Sprint. I am with at&t, that was because of the iPhone/iPhone 3G, but now that I don't have my iPhone 3G anymore (Rockin' a BlackBerry Bold now) I am willing to give another, more open and more "in the cloud" smartphone a chance and the Pre might just be a winner due to it's pure ease of use, multi-tasking abilities, and great plan pricing.
You've missed my point. It wasn't whether the Everthing plan for $99 was a good deal or not. My point was that forcing customers to buy a plan because of the phone they choose is wrong.
Sure this deal is perfect for you, but I use around 200 anytime minutes a month and under 300 text messages. Is $99 a good deal for me? I would like to use this phone for the applications, Wifi web browsing, bluetooth, calendar...etc. I don't need Sprint to piggyback off a device that can do all these things without their service. If I would like to add services, I'll do it. I'm happy to pay Sprint for the calling package I choose.
I pay $60 for high speed internet and cable TV...now that's a good deal.
I THINK THE POINT IS:
The SE plan is $279 for 3 phones (includes unlimited voice and Direct Connect).
The Everything Data Plan (no Direct Connect and only 1500 minutes) is $149 for 3 phones.
I don't want Direct Connect and I use about 400 minutes of voice time per month).
WHY IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY... IS SPRINT MAKING ME SPEND $130 EXTRA EACH MONTH for two features I DO NOT USE?
I will not buy these phones to take on a CAR SIZED PAYMENT!!!
You will be losing customers.
I agree completely. I like sprint and been with them 9 years but them forcing me on plans is ridiculous...I guess they are not forcing me. I am choosing if I want this phone with that plan or I have to choose to leave Sprint. These are my choices and I would love the carrier I have been with for 9 years without missing or even late on payment would give me the chance to make the choice that is best for me. I get the fact that some people are stupid and probably a lot of people went over on there cell minutes with lots of complaints requiring you to either credit or get bad C-SAT results...but not all of us have. Simply put....Offer it, Inform and educate us of the benefits...and let us choose. I think the plan is very competitive against others but I won't be forced into a corner with a company I have been doing business with this long. To many other companies during this recession will work with me for my business....step up to the plate SPRINT.
Yes I have been with them 9 years....when I signed up they offered no deposit to anyone for any reason. If you can remember that promo then you will know I am telling the truth...I was in college then and could not afford a deposit. I got my favorite phone an LG 5250 which was silver with blue on the end and it did text messaging....years before the color screens came out. I even got a A-500 that was the first color screen phone that sprint put out and the slogan was Make down time fun time. Yeah it was fun it had 3 games in color....so yes I have had Sprint that long.
I am a Sprint Employee, we have 3000 minute plans for $30 a month, but we can't get the instinct unless we switch to customer pricing. I am hoping the Pre isn't like this, I won't get it if it is, in which case, I probably won't sell it as much.
Man, I got so excited after hearing about/checking out this phone...but if it requires me to pay 70 bucks a month instead of the 30 a month I currently pay, there is no way I will be switching from my Touch Pro. If they decide to do this BS, I'm not sure how long either Sprint or Palm will be in business. If they want to BEAT AT&T and the iPhone, they need to counter the few negatives that those 2 things have(i.e. requiring you to pay 90 a month for 450 mins, unlim data and text), or else there just won't be enough incentive for people to not get the iPhone.
It would be a huge mistake, IMO, and they would end up losing more customers and money in the long run.
Man, I got so excited after hearing about/checking out this phone...but if it requires me to pay 70 bucks a month instead of the 30 a month I currently pay, there is no way I will be switching from my Touch Pro. If they decide to do this BS, I'm not sure how long either Sprint or Palm will be in business. If they want to BEAT AT&T and the iPhone, they need to counter the few negatives that those 2 things have(i.e. requiring you to pay 90 a month for 450 mins, unlim data and text), or else there just won't be enough incentive for people to not get the iPhone.
It would be a huge mistake, IMO, and they would end up losing more customers and money in the long run.
But the cost will already be much less with Sprint/Prē via AT&T/iPhone. Have you looked at AT&T's prices lately? I honestly believe that the Prē is such a data intensive phone, that using it without an unlimited data plan may prove more expensive. The $90 plan AT&T plan you mentioned costs $70 over at Sprint. It's a $30 dollar savings but you want to save $60 instead. So would I, but you can't say Sprint is not countering the 2 negative things you've mentioned.
Yes AT&T still costs more, but I think the big deal to most people are for CURRENT customers. Even excluding SERO, there are many regular customers with unlimited data packages on their plans that cost less than a new SEP/EP plan. Personally I have an "optimized" plan for my usage based on the sprint site and it would cost me over $50 a month to switch.
I fully understand. I'm one of those customers. I'm not on SERO, but the SE plans cost more that what I'm currently paying for my family plan with 4 lines. I'm still hoping my current unlimited data will suffice for the Prē. All I've ever heard is that one needs unlimited data but I'm waiting to see what happens when it comes out.
Still, it's not fair to say that Sprint is not trying to compete when their plans are so much cheaper. For current customers, like myself, if it costs too much to upgrade, DON'T!!! At least that's how I look at it.
I agree, they are very competitive. And AT&T requires current customers to change as well for the iphone. However, I don't think the Pre has the steam the iphone had. At the time, it was one of a kind (still is in certain aspects). I'd say a good chunk of iphone users don't need what the Pre has to offer. That leaves Palm with mostly WM/BB users, which have devices that can do basically everything the Pre can without the ease/flash. Palm really has to hit the ball out of the park if their going to make people overlook the price. Risky considering the platform is far from mature and unproven (albeit promising).
I think Sprint is trying don't get me wrong and they are heading in the right direction but they need to focus on retaining current customers....by allowing them to upgrade without changing plans. Someone said if you don't want to change plans...DON'T UPGRADE! No kidding and I haven't upgraded for that reason but my phone is starting to crap out on me and if I am going to spend money I want the phone I want not one I am forced into because of plan restrictions. Keep going Sprint... just do it right!
I was set to buy the Pre as I have had plenty of past treo's. If they force a plan change to get the pre, I would have to say they are shooting themselves in the foot because I am sure like me, people won't do it. I have data, texting, etc now (on a centro)! A customer for 10 years now of sprint I would consider the iphone before I changed plans for a pre on sprint. I just think like every iphone killer that comes out, sprint should really make it accomodating to get. Could tank palm too if it doesn't take.
Heres the deal you can buy the phone you want then go online and get them to change the plan to what u want it to be (chating with an online rep.). U have to get the everything plan to get the instant rebates from the sprint store. Going to bestbuy to get a phone would be easy b/c they dont have rebates however if you get a phone from ebay or craigslist you wont even have to renew a contract!
I contacted Sprint yesterday and they were very clear that YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO USE THE SIMPLY EVERYTHING PLAN.
You will be required to use a data plan (like almost all other carriers already require).
Options are:
Simply Everything (unlimited voice and Direct Connect)
Everything Data (individual or family) (1500 and 3000 minute packages)
I am glad because I would like to get three phones and only use about 500 minutes a month and don't want Direct Connect. The difference between 3 phones on Simply Everything and the Everything Family Data is $279 compared to $149... a difference of $130/mnth.
AGAIN THIS RESPONSE CAME DIRECTLY FROM SPRINT. Their bottom line is that they will require what the currently require with their other smart phones.
I just came from the Sprint store about 1 hour ago and I am very confused. Why is it that I have to change the plan I am on just to own the Pre? I don't understand, because the sells people were not very helpful. PLEASE HELP...
I have what sprint calls a grandfather plan. I pay $55 dollars for 750mins, unlimited texting and internet. My phone is the lg lotus. I was considering changing to the palm pre, but when i talk to sprint they said i would have to quit my grandfather plan and change to a more expensive plan. This is insane. If i want to pay more for a phone I will go to AT&T and get a IPHONE. If sprint does not change the way they do things. They will be left by all there existing customers for the iphone. If you have this same complaints please email sprint at Jennifer.M.Fain-Ateman@sprint.com, eileen.marhefka@sprint.com, Sprint.TRSCustServ@sprint.com, connie.i.branch@sprint.com
The only way sprint will change is if there customers make them.
I have the same exact problem, and i talked to jennifer. She s unhelpful and very disrespectful. avoid her at all cost. sprint doesn't care about their old used to be loyal customers. IPhone is way way better anyway.
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