Sprint Pays the Price

Back in June, when Verizon announced the end of their unlimited data, I posted an article comparing Sprint to Verizon based on MY usage.  One of Sprint's strong points was "no limits".

One of the devices I wrote about was my Dell 11Z notebook from Sprint which was a month old at the time of the post.  It came with a 2 year contract for unlimited 4G and 5GB of 3G.

A lot has happened in six months.  Actually it only took a few months after I raved about Sprint's unlimited 4G for them to take it away.

That's right, just a few months into my contract, Sprint rewrote the contract and decided that my unlimited 4G for my notebook was now 5GB of combined 3G/4G use.  They claim that the contract allows this and since raising my monthly bill doesn't cause "an adverse material effect", I'm stuck paying the higher data rate for two years and am not entitled to a no-penalty early contract termination.

Ok, so they didn't raise the price of the plan.  But in the last month that I had the plan before finding out about the "new" contract, the data I used over their new cap would have cost me $500 for the month!  Yes, they charge $50 per GB for everything over 5GB of data.

Now, they can and did say, "We didn't force you to use that much data."  And they're right.  However, if I'd known that I'd have limited data on my new work notebook, I wouldn't have bought that one and certainly not from Sprint.  Since most places I use it has WiFi available, I'd have used it instead.  Well, IF it wasn't such a P-I-A to get the notebook to actually USE WiFi vs Sprint's 4G.  To switch involved running several different programs and changing settings.  All of which reverted after a reboot or suspend.

Bottom line, I posted about this everywhere (but strangely enough, not my blog), wrote letters to the FCC and FTC (Even after they changed the plans, Sprint was still promoting unlimited 4G for that notebook on their website, many forums and made sure that everyone I knew thinking about going to Sprint knew what happened and that they can't be trusted.

Sprint's contracts seem to be only binding for us, the customer, not binding on them.

What did I do?  When I could get no help at Sprint (at least a few others managed to cancel their contract without an early termination penalty) and being politely told by one Sprint Customer Service Rep to go have carnal knowledge with myself, I cancelled the contract on the notebook and paid the $180 early termination fee.

I still have two lines with Sprint:  My wife's plain flip phone on their minimum plan, and my HTC EVO 4G on the 450 minute, 'Unlimited Data" plan.

Now, as smart phone plans go, I guess my Sprint plan is pretty good:

450 "any time" minutes a month

300 bonus "any time" minutes

Unlimited any mobile to any mobile minutes

Unlimited Texting

Unlimited 4G data

Not too bad for $69 + $10 for having a smart phone + $8.48 for various Sprint "surcharges"

OTOH, That's a lot of money for an average monthly data use of 220MB and 364 minutes (only 67 of which are "anytime" minutes.)  It works out to about $1.30 per minute based on "anytime" minutes or about 24 cents per minute total.

Now one interesting thing… since last August, I've used ZERO "anytime" minutes.  This makes no sense as I know that I talk to my mother at least three times a week and usually several times a day and she's on a landline.

By comparison, since my last post in June, I picked up an iPhone 4 from Verizon which got me grandfathered into the unlimited data plan.  The same plan from Verizon: 450 minutes anytime, unlimited mobile to mobile, unlimited texting and unlimited data, costs $93.60 including surcharges or roughly $6 a month more than Sprint.

Granted, a new customer today wouldn't get the unlimited data from Verizon, but I think that most folks would use less than the capped amount anyway.  Plus the CEO of Sprint has said several times that their unlimited data is not etched in stone, that it isn't IF it goes away, it is WHEN.

So, why did I title this: "Sprint Pays the Price"?  Because they've lost my business.  They've already lost 20 months of my data contract for the notebook and when my EVO 4G contract is up in June I most likely won't renew it.  They don't have any new Android phone to compete with the Google Nexus or Droid Razr and I just don't trust them to honor their contracts.  My wife's plan doesn't expire until May of next year.  At that point I'll switch her to Verizon for either the Senior Citizen plan or an iPhone plan.

Either way, Sprint has lost me and many of those I know as a customer.

 

 

A Real World Comparison of Verizon vs Sprint

With both Gizmodo and C/Net reporting the July 7 death of Verizon unlimited data plans , I decided to take another look at Verizon.

Disclaimer: I used Verizon for many, many years.  I left them for Sprint because I was tired of them crippling phones to force us to use their services (picture uploads, ringtones, etc.) and their lack of a data plan.  In my opinion, Verizon had decided to market solely to teens.  I'm on my 4th or 5th two year Sprint contract now, have just as good connectivity, no billing issues, etc.

Ok, let me tell you where I am with Sprint as that'll be my baseline for looking at Verizon.

My account currently has three lines.

1. My HTC EVO 4G WiMax Android phone, $350 after rebate with a two year contract.  This was just over a year ago.
2. My wife's Samsung flip phone, free with a two year contract as of last month.
3. My Dell 11Z notebook with integrated 3G/4G WiMax, $150 with a two year data contract as of last month

My EVO plan is $90 a month plus tax.  That includes 450 "Anytime" minutes, unlimited nights and weekends, unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes, unlimited texting and unlimited 4G data.  3G data is limited to 5GB a month.  I also get some kind of bonus of 300 Anytime minutes.  I'm not sure what that entails but it sounds like I actually get 750 "Anytime" minutes a month.

To get the same plan from Verizon would also be $90 a month.  With the caveat that unlimited data plans will no longer be available after July 6th.  So instead of $30 a month for unlimited data, it'll be $30 for 10GB of data.  The second caveat is that instead of unlimited mobile-to-mobile, you only get unlimited Verizon-to-Verizon, though you can add up to five out of network numbers to talk to free if you boost to a 900+ minute plan..

Now even I probably don't use 10GB a month on my mobile devices.  It is hard to say because since 4G is unlimited use, my 4G data usage isn't tracked (or at least not where I can see it). As for 3G, I'll use about 250MB this month extrapolating what I've used so far, 2/3rds into my billing period.

So as it currently stands with unlimited data plans, Sprint and Verizon are a tie for my EVO.

My wife rarely leaves the house as she's now retired and enjoying being "just" a house mouse.  However, I insist that she carry a cell phone "just in case".  She's on Sprint's least expensive plan... 200 "Anytime" minutes a month with unlimited nights and weekends.  She doesn't text, do phone based email or anything web related.  The camera might as well not be in there either.

With Verizon, this same plan is $40 a month, though in a few years when she turns 65, Verizon will charge her the same as Sprint does now.

As for the Dell 11z? My Sprint data plan is $65 a month for unlimited 4G use and 5GB of 3G use.  With regards to hardware, Verizon offers nothing similar.  The closest thing they offer is a USB modem for your existing notebook.

While Verizon offers a number of USB modems ranging from free for a reconditioned one to $50, the user ratings on them are pretty bad with the exception of the free one.  Worse though is the data plan.  Even now you can't get an unlimited data plan.  Instead, You're going to pay $50 a month for up to 5GB of usage, or $80 for up to 10GB of usage.

Bottom Line:  For me to have the equivalent setup with Verizon, it would cost me about $25 a month more than with Sprint.  Instead of unlimited data, I'd have limits.  I see no compelling reason for me to switch to Verizon.  Not even the iPhone 4, iPad 2 or Xoom 3G.

 

 

How Screw Up An App Store

Making good app stores are easy. Apple showed the way with the iTunes Music Store cum bookstore cum app store cum Blockbuster clone cum whatever-they-think-of-next.

Yes, there were online "stores" offering apps long before Apple.  Tucows.com was the first one I used on regular basis maybe fifteen years ago.  There were several I used like Handango for Windows Mobile 5/6.  They worked, but the user interface usually left a lot to be desired.

So along comes Apple expanding the iTunes Music Store into an app store for the iPhone as well.  And they did a great job.  Easy to search, easy to find what you want, good descriptions, screenshots, customer reviews, integrated buying, etc. etc.

Google's Android Market and Amazon's Android App Store are very good Just-different-enough clones so their stores are easy to use as well.

Since Apple set the standard for mobile app stores, when they released the Apple App Store for OS X, I expected a similar service.

Well, we pretty much got it.  However, let's look at the things that I feel that Apple not only didn't do right, but screwed up.

MarsEdit.  That's the OS X program I've been using for years to write blog entries.  The only app even close to MarsEdit on ANY OS is Windows Live Writer for, well, Windows.

MarsEdit is available on the Apple App Store.  For those who buy it from the App store, they're notified of updates and get an easier install/upgrade.  Well, OK, Instead of clicking a link to download, having the DMG file mount and dragging the app to your applications folder... you just click the link and then double click the downloaded file.  Not much easier really but just go with it for now as I'm trying to find customer advantages with the app store.

Anyway, So there is MarsEdit sitting on the App store.  It currently has 4 out of 5 stars from 18 people having rated it.  Only 18?  The most used blogging software on the Mac?  Why?  Because only 18 people have purchased and rated MarsEdit from the Apple App Store since it opened.

Well, as you'll see, Apple, in either their ignorance or arrogance has assumed that no one ever purchased apps until THEY saw fit to give us an app store.

You can only rate an app IF you purchased it from the Apple App Store.  Never mind that you've purchased it and a dozen upgrades in the past twelve years.  If it didn't happen in the app store, it didn't happen.  So your opinion doesn't count.

Ok, I can see where that can help reduce the author/supporter of a competing app from leaving a one star review.  Then again, if it means that much to the scummy competitor... it might be worth the $10-$40 to buy this competing app just to give it a low rating.  That's why I say it'll "help reduce", not "eliminate".

So buy buying software and supporting the author before the app store existed, the app store does nothing for me as far as that software goes.

What if the author is now selling solely via the App Store?  I can no longer get upgrades unless I buy the app again.

Or how about this one.  I've been running the beta of Reeder for OS X since it came out. (Reeder is a very good news aggregator/rss reader that is better than the free NetNewsWire in some respects, worse in others.)

The beta has expired.  Now normally, I'd click the button to get a new copy... be taken to the author's website where I'd download and install a new version.  Since it already exists, I'd have to confirm the replacement. Since it is out of beta, I'd expect to get a "trial use" window with an option to buy/register the full version.

That's three clicks plus registration.  And I can even download to my Windows or Linux machine and transfer to and install it on the Mac later.

Here's what happens in reality:

1. I click the button to get a new copy
2. I'm sent to the author's website
3. I find that there is no new copy to get.  Instead I have to click the button to go to the Apple App Store
4. The Apple App Store Preview page comes up in my browser
5. That launches the App Store app
6. I click to buy Reeder
7. I'm told that I can't buy it as a newer version (the expired beta) is installed on my computer.

I haven't even BOUGHT the durned thing yet and it's already more than twice the work of the old way.

Ok, so now I have go to the applications folder, delete the old copy and start over.

Ok, it's delete.  Oh NO! Hazel just popped up and I inadvertantly let it delete the data files for the Reeder I just deleted (Hazel is a great AppleScript thing that lives in my menu bar.  One of the things it does is to remove all of the junk files left behind when deleting an app.)

So no only do I start the purchase/download/install cycle again... but now I have to do a full setup of my news reader again.

In summary, there are three of the problems with the way Apple has set up the Apple App Store.

1. If you bought it before the App Store existed, you don't count
2. If the author moves solely to the app store, you don't count
3. Updating can take double the effort than the normal 'old skool' way

Plus If the author later dumps the App Store, you're probably hosed for upgrades, etc. as well

Now... back to the Reeder app.

• $10 for it on the App store.
• NetNewsWire is free (with little ads showing)

 

• Reeder supports Readability.
• NetNewsWire allows me to clip directly to MarsEdit

$10 is a fair price.  Which will I use more, Readability or MarsEdit?

MarsEdit wins.  The fact that I save $10 and don't have to deal with the App Store is the clincher.

Sorry Reeder Author, you and Apple both lose.  You lose the sale, Apple loses their $3 cut.

 

 

New Blog Site

For those who care, I have another blog I'm developing.  I'm hosting it on my own server and am using Wordress.  So far I really like Wordpress better than Blogger though they are both good.

It is pretty much a mirror of this one, though I think that it looks more professional.  It also has a lot of features that Blogger doesn't have.

One of the main reasons for the new site is to divide it up into more defined categories.   I want to put more emphasis on reviews of software and hardware, etc. while leaving an area for the more political and crotchety old man posts too.

Anyway, if you feel like it, please check out www.ineedit.com/ramblings.