Sprint Confirms It Will Offer Unlimited Data Plan for iPhone

Sprint will indeed offer unlimited data plans when it starts taking iPhone orders later this week, AllThingsD has confirmed.

“We will be offering the benefit of our unlimited plans that start at just $69.99,” said spokeswoman Michelle Leff Mermelstein. Sprint’s $69.99 plan includes unlimited data and 450 voice minutes as well as unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling. Unlimited calling and data costs $99.99 a month. (Update: Those prices don’t include a $10 per month surcharge for smartphones, so iPhone users will really be paying $79.99 and $109.99 for their unlimited plans)

Sprint is counting on unlimited pricing to help it stand out from AT&T and Verizon — which will also carry the very same iPhone 4S. In addition, Sprint and Verizon will have the iPhone 4, while only AT&T will have the older iPhone 3GS to offer for free with a new contract.

Both AT&T and Verizon offered unlimited data plans for the iPhone in the past, but have since shifted to tiered pricing for new customers.

As for whether Sprint will be able to handle all of that traffic, Mermelstein said, “We have every confidence in the ability of our 3G network to handle the influx of devices we expect to get. It certainly hasn’t been an issue to date.”

Although a mention of the iPhone still has yet to appear on Sprint’s home page, the carrier is indeed very excited about the ability to finally offer Apple’s smartphone. The company appears to be just making sure all of its proverbial ducks are in a row before shifting into iPhone overdrive.

Apple Introduces a New iPhone, With a Personal Assistant

CUPERTINO, Calif. — For its next act, Apple is turning the iPhone into a personal assistant.
The company on Tuesday unveiled an eagerly awaited new version of the device, the iPhone 4S, that comes with a “virtual assistant,” Siri, that recognizes voice commands by users to schedule appointments, dictate text messages and conduct Web searches.


Although the new phone is virtually indistinguishable on the outside from its predecessor, the iPhone 4, the company says it is packed with better technical innards, including a more advanced camera. The phone also includes a more powerful chip known as the A5, the same microprocessor that acts as the brains inside the iPad.


The company also said the new phone would run on two kinds of cellphone networks, GSM and CDMA, allowing its operation worldwide.


“When you think about it, only Apple could make such amazing software, hardware and services and bring them together into such a powerful, yet integrated experience,” said Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive officer, who introduced the new phone at an event here at the company’s headquarters.
Despite the new features and the improved technology, Apple fans expressed disappointment on Twitter about the lack of a design change. Investors reacted as well, sending the stock down 5 percent.
Preorders for the iPhone 4S start on Friday; the phone goes on sale on Oct. 14. Prices start at $199 for a model with 16 gigabytes of storage.


Apple will continue to sell its older iPhone 4 through its wireless carrier partners, which will drop the price to $99 from $199 when customers commit to a two-year contract. An even older model of the device, the iPhone 3GS, will be free, instead of $99, with a two-year contract.


The new phone will be available on the AT&T, Verizon and Sprint networks.


Mr. Cook’s appearance was his first at an event introducing a new Apple product since he took over as chief executive from Steven P. Jobs in August. Mr. Jobs was a master pitchman for Apple’s new products, captivating audiences with introductions that seemed off the cuff but were always meticulously rehearsed.


Mr. Jobs, founder of the company, left the top job for health reasons, and became chairman of Apple’s board.


Since the first iPhone was unveiled in 2007, Apple has come out with a new version each year, usually with an eye-catching new design, speedier technical performance and a fresh operating system packed with new features. While Apple generally has released the new versions in June, this one is coming out much closer to the crucial holiday selling season.


With every new iPhone, Apple faces the challenge of how to entice its legions of fans to upgrade to the new device and to convert the much larger pool of people who don’t yet own one. The second task is the more difficult one, as mobile phones running the Android operating system by rival Google have flooded the market, with wider distribution from wireless carriers, more hardware choices and often cheaper price tags.
When the previous iPhone update was released, in June 2010, Apple and Google each accounted for about the same share of new smartphone sales. Since then the market has shifted dramatically in Google’s favor. During the second quarter of this year, Android devices accounted for 43.4 percent of new smartphone sales to Apple’s 18.2 percent, according to the research firm Gartner.


Both companies’ mobile businesses are growing swiftly as they steal share from rivals like the maker of the BlackBerry, Research in Motion, that have fallen behind their technical innovations.


The iPhone is the most critical product in Apple’s line-up and the largest source of its revenue, accounting for more than $13.3 billion — almost half of total company sales — in the most recent quarter.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
Correction: October 4, 2011


Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article incorrectly said Apple introduced the phone on Wednesday. It was Tuesday.

iPhone 5 - AT&T, Sprint and Verizon

Even as Verizon discounts its iPhone 4 in order to draw down inventory ahead of the iPhone 5 and Sprint can barely manage to bite its lip with excitement regarding its impending iPhone 5 addition, original iPhone carrier AT&T remains publicly indifferent. Most notable is that even as AT&T serves up discounts this week on dozens of smartphones from rivals like Samsung and HTC, not a penny has been shaved off the price of its iPhone 4. This kind of indifference has come to be expected from AT&T customers, who watched the carrier respond to its impending loss of iPhone exclusivity by eliminating popular unlimited data plans and not lifting a finger to compete with the Verizon iPhone 4 which arrived in the spring. That leaves AT&T iPhone customers in the position of going carrier-shopping with the launch of the iPhone 5 (but not to T-Mobile, which admits it won’t have the iPhone this year), with various factors marking the pros and cons of doing so. For those iPhone 5 buyers who are looking at marking the occasion by moving to Verizon or Sprint, here’s a look the ups and downs of it…

The first factor is a financial one. Verizon’s plans cost roughly the same as that of AT&T, while Sprint offers pricing which is cheaper for most users in most instances. However, any AT&T customer who bought their last iPhone less than two years ago is looking at having to pay off the remaining portion of their early termination fee if they’re going to change carriers at the iPhone 5 launch. There are actually three groups here. The first are those whose current iPhone is more than two years old and are already post-contract: they can change carriers without regard for cost. The second are those who are eligible for upgrade pricing (typically twelve or eighteen months after purchase) but aren’t yet out of their contract: it’s cheaper for them to remain with AT&T because the iPhone 5 will cost the same no matter who they get it from, and leaving AT&T will require an ETF payment. The third group faces a different fate: those who aren’t yet upgrade-eligible will find themselves facing a $200 surcharge for an AT&T iPhone 5, and may come out ahead by buying a Verizon or Sprint iPhone 5 at standard pricing and using the savings to pay off their AT&T ETF…

Network quality is a significant factor but one which is tricky to quantify on a local level. For those who aren’t globe trotters, less important are national network quality rankings and more important are signal strength at ones home, place or work, favorite hangouts, and routes in between. A longtime AT&T iPhone user could be living in the middle of a Verizon dead spot and not know it; switching to a Verizon iPhone 5 could then become a nightmare. The way around this is to invite friends with Sprint and Verizon phones to come visit, and then check their reception while they’re over.


Network speed is another beast entirely. Both Verizon and AT&T have embarked on 4G LTE nationwide networks, but Verizon is much further along in that regard; neither one is anywhere close to being nationwide as of yet. The iPhone 5 may or may not even support 4G LTE, which won’t be confirmed until the device launches. Sprint offers a 4G network which is nationwide, but it’s significantly slower than the 4G LTE being promised by the other two carriers. It’s not yet known whether the iPhone 5 will support Sprint’s 4G, either.

Neither Verizon nor AT&T is offering unlimited data plans to new customers. Sprint is doing so, but reserves the right to revoke it down the road. Longtime AT&T iPhone users are still on an unlimited data plan if they’ve so chosen, and would lose this plan if they move to a Verizon iPhone 5. Then again, they could eventually lose the plan if AT&T revokes it later. Unlimited data plans mean you can surf the web as much as you like; those on limited data plans are in store for sizable overage fees if they go past their monthly limit. Here’s more on the iPhone 5