Uber is beginning to test a new feature that will make it easier for family and other close-knit groups to share an Uber account. That means that your family could use a single credit card for Uber across several devices, making it easy for parents to pay for their kids or other family members, for example.
Sprint today announced a new $22/month upgrade option for iPhone users allowing them to pick up a new iPhone at anytime through a plan dubbed “iPhone Forever”.
iPhone users can now opt to pay an extra $22/month on top of any individual unlimited plan or family share pack plan and when a new iPhone is eventually released, they simply bring in their old device to upgrade to the latest entry-level iPhone model. Here’s how it compares to options from the other carriers…
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AT&T on Tuesday announced that it will be introducing a longer Next 24 monthly installment program on November 9th alongside its Next 12 and Next 18 plans for financing an iPhone or other smartphone. AT&T customers on Next 24 will pay $0 down and make 30 equal monthly payments between $10 to $50 depending on the device purchased.
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Sprint has debuted a new iPhone-exclusive plan that allows users to “rent” an iPhone for two years, then upgrade to the newest model for $70 a month (via Bloomberg). The plan allows users to get the latest Apple smartphone for no money down and no tax, then pay $50 a month for unlimited data, texting, and calling, plus $20 each month for the phone, for a total of $70 monthly.
After two years, users will be able to switch to the newest iPhone model. However, because the phone is only being “rented” from the carrier, it must be returned in at the time of upgrade, where customers on a typical two-year contract would be allowed to keep the device after they paid it off.
T-Mobile announced today that it’s adding a new data option to its Simple Starter plans that will let users quadruple their data for much less than the competition.
Currently the company’s Simple Starter plans start at $40 for unlimited talk, text, and 500MB of LTE data. Starting early next month, the carrier will let customers on the plan bump up to a total of 2GB of data for just an extra $5 per month. T-Mobile is promoting the option as a better alternative to overage fees charged by other carriers.
CEO John Legere compared the option to his competitors noting that if you “get Verizon’s $50 plan and use just one gig more data, and the price jumps to $65. It’s crazy.”
“People who use loads of data use T-Mobile,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile. “And it’s no wonder. The old guard telecoms punish people for using more data on their networks with crazy overage charges and fees. Get Verizon’s $50 plan and use just one gig more data, and the price jumps to $65. It’s crazy. At T-Mobile, we designed our network data-strong so our customers could use the hell out of it. And that’s just what they’re doing.”
T-Mobile notes that the deal is a limited time offer and subject to change, so you’ll want to add the data to your plan before the promotion ends to take advantage. The promo officially kicks in on September 3.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission has fined Apple approximately US$670,000 for its attempts to influence phone pricing set by distributors and service providers in the region. According to a statement from the commission, Apple was forcing at least three carriers to submit pricing plans for iPhone ahead of offering the devices for sale:
“Through the email correspondence between Apple and these three telecom companies we discovered the companies submit their pricing plans to Apple to be approved or confirmed before the products hit the market,” it said in a statement.
The report adds that Apple could face an additional fine of NT$50 million (around $1.7 million US) if it doesn’t change its current methods of negotiating iPhone pricing plans with carriers:
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Update: It turns out this deal doesn’t provide much of a savings in the long run. T-Mobile is raising the monthly installment from $20 to around $27, so while you won’t have to put any money down up front, you’ll still be paying off the full cost of the device over the 24 month installment plan period.
According to a leaked internal memo posted by TmoNews, T-Mobile is going to be dropping the upfront price of both the iPhone 5s and 5c to $0 down on its usual instalment plans for Black Friday. That cuts the usual down payment for the iPhone 5s down from $149 and the iPhone 5c from $49. The deal will officially kick off on Friday and last through Sunday, but the report notes that “a select number of stores will be accepting orders from Thursday evening.” After getting your iPhone for $0 down, you’ll pay around $20 a month for 24 months on T-Mobile instalment plans.
Some regionals carriers are also gearing up for big discounts this Friday. Appalachian Wireless announced it will offer the 16GB iPhone 5, 5C or 5S for a penny on contract today only and nTelos will also have the iPhone 5c for $0 on Friday. Appalachian is also advertising the penny deal for Black Friday on its site, but no word if iPhones will be included after today. T-Mobile definitely beats Walmart’s best deal with the iPhone 5c for around $45 on contract, but we’re thinking other retailers and carriers might announce iPhone discounts for Black Friday too.
Regional carriers are starting to announce availability for cellular models of Apple’s new Retina iPad mini just as the company today started offering the device to walk-in customers.
Bluegrass Cellular announced today that it is now offering the iPad mini Wi-Fi Cellular models in-store and online. Available on the carrier’s website now starting at the usual $530 for the 16GB model, the carrier is also offering all three models (16GB, 32GB, and 64GB) on its no-contract “Freedom, Expanded” plan. That allows customers to make 12 monthly payments to get the device they want with the ability to trade-in and upgrade to a new device after a year. That plan will run $26.50/month for the 16GB model on Bluegrass, $31.50/month for the $630 32GB model, or $36.50/month for the $730 64GB model. The carrier appears to only have Space Gray models of the device available, at least online, and the Freedom Expanded plans are only available in-store. Another regional carrier, C Spire Wireless, will begin selling the Retina iPad mini over the next week. Update: U.S. Cellular has also begun cellular iPad mini with Retina Display sales today on its website.
In other Retina iPad mini news, we’ve just received word Apple has just started selling the device to walk-in customers in its retail stores following an initial launch for Personal Pickup orders only.
Earlier this month we heard reports that Sprint was readying its own upgrade program to combat recent initiatives introduced through the other major carriers including AT&T’s Next, T-Mobile’s Jump, and Verizon’s Edge program. Today Sprint has officially announced the “Sprint One Up” plan and explained exactly how it works:
Sprint One Up, a new upgrade program that gives customers unlimited talk, text and high speed data while on the Sprint Network plus the ability to upgrade their smartphone every 12 months starting at just $65 a month – a $15 per month savings off their Unlimited, My Way standard rate plan and Sprint’s guarantee of unlimited talk, text and data for the life of the line of service. Sprint One Up is also available for smartphones on the My All-in plan as well as on tablets in combination with tablet plans starting at just $5 a month.
Sprint notes that the upgrade every 12 months will require a new 24 month instalment plan with no down payment, while cancelling your service will cost you the remaining balance on the device.
The new Sprint One Up plan becomes available starting today, lining up with retail iPhone launches around the world.
Sprint One Up Along With Sprint Unlimited Guarantee for Life Available to New and Existing Customers on Sept. 20
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (BUSINESS WIRE), September 20, 2013 – In continuing its commitment to offering customers the best value in wireless, Sprint (NYSE: S) announced today Sprint One UpSM, a new upgrade program that gives customers unlimited talk, text and high speed data while on the Sprint Network plus the ability to upgrade their smartphone every 12 months starting at just $65 a month1. The new program is available Sept. 20 to new and existing customers on Unlimited, My WaySM and My All-inSM plans.
Sprint One Up offers customers an affordable option to upgrade their device more frequently. With Sprint One Up, participating smartphone customers get unlimited talk, text and data for an introductory rate of $65 per month – a $15 per month savings off their Unlimited, My Way standard rate plan and Sprint’s guarantee of unlimited talk, text and data for the life of the line of service2. Sprint One Up is also available for smartphones on the My All-in plan as well as on tablets in combination with tablet plans starting at just $5 a month.
To participate, customers simply purchase an eligible smartphone or tablet and agree to 24 monthly installment payments for the device. For a limited time, customers can enjoy no down payment for the device. After 12 consecutive payments, customers can give back their current device and upgrade to a new smartphone or tablet.
“Sprint One Up is the best value in wireless,” said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. “The new program gives Sprint customers the ability to upgrade every 12 months and unlimited talk, text and high speed data for just $65. And, unlike other carriers, Sprint guarantees the unlimited talk, text and data for life. No other plan can compare.”
Sprint One Up for Existing Sprint Customers
Existing customers meeting upgrade eligibility requirements also can participate in Sprint One Up. In celebration of this significant launch, Sprint is rewarding current customers with the opportunity to join Sprint One Up through the holidays. Sprint customers who are not yet upgrade eligible, but have had their current phone for 12 months, can give back their current eligible phone and sign up for Sprint One Up, provided they meet the credit qualifications3.
Best Value in Wireless
Sprint continues its commitment to offer the best value in wireless with Sprint One Up and Unlimited, My Way and My All-in plans. Sprint One Up features:
Single Line Smartphone Comparisons
Sprint customers also will see significant monthly savings — up to $45 a month – compared to similar plans from AT&T and Verizon4.
4G LTE
Sprint continues to bring a better wireless experience to more customers across the country as it builds out its all-new 3G and 4G LTE network and is projected to provide LTE to 200 million people by the end of 2013. For the most up-to-date details on Sprint 4G LTE, visitwww.sprint.com/network. Customers can also check www.sprint.com/coverage for updated coverage maps.
Availability
Sprint One Up is available in Sprint company-owned stores to new and eligible existing customers on Sept. 20 (program currently not available in Florida and Washington, D.C.). Visitwww.sprint.com/oneup for more information.
AT&T <a href="http://www.wap.org/journal/iphoneeverywhere/">Line</a>
Following major announcements from T-Mobile and Sprint (and rumors about big device upgrade changes at Verizon Wireless), AT&T has made its “network related” announcement that it teased last week. The company has introduced a new program named “AT&T Next.” Similar to T-Mobile’s new “Un-carrier” offering, AT&T Next allows users to upgrade their smartphone or tablet device each year (T-Mobile, though, allows this to happen twice a year).
“With AT&T Next, customers can get the newest smartphone or tablet every year with no down payment. That’s hard to beat, and it’s an incredible value for customers who want the latest and greatest every year,” said Ralph de la Vega, president and chief executive officer of AT&T Mobility.
In a change from the typical ways of purchasing a phone upfront with no contract or at a subsidy with a contract, AT&T Next allows a customer to purchase a smartphone or tablet with $0 down payment and pay for the device with a monthly cost. For example, according to AT&T, a customer who wants a Samsung Galaxy S4 can purchase the device with no down payment and pay an extra $32 per month (on top of their standard monthly service bill). More details below:
In a move that follow’s T-Mobile’s recently launched “un-carrier” initiatives, Verizon Wireless plans to debut a new “VZ Edge” program aimed at retaining its customer base, according to a leaked presentation slide posted by Droid-Life.
Specific details on the new approach are currently slim, but, based on the slide, it seems that the essence of Verizon’s plan is to merge T-Mobile’s new JUMP and pay-for-a-device-overtime programs. T-Mobile’s JUMP program, with a $10 monthly fee, allows users to upgrade to a new handset twice a year.
Marketed as a plan to “stay on the leaning edge of technology,” this new Edge program seems to be similar. T-Mobile also allows customers to put a down payment on a phone and then pay the cost overtime, and Edge seems to provide a similar solution.
Edge will also allow customers to upgrade to a new phone once the device if 50% paid off, and this seems to be similar to T-Mobile requiring users of the JUMP plan to have already paid 6 months of service for their current device.
UPDATE: As people noted in the comments, the unlimited $69 a month data plan is really a $79 value because Sprint threw a $10 tax. The $10 smartphone surcharge is also applied to the $99 plan. Let’s not forget about the obligatory $36 activation fee, too. Also, the fine print on Sprint’s web site mentions a 15 percent surcharge and notes that the offer ends October 30, 2011.
Sprint has confirmed with Phone Scoop that they will be offering an unlimited data plan alongside the iPhone 4S. When it goes on sale next week, users can pickup a $69 a month unlimited data plan which includes 450 voice minutes and unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling, or a $99 plan which includes both unlimited voice and data. Sprint will be the only US carrier offering an unlimited plan, after AT&T and Verizon dropped theirs, making the deal very tempting. Sprint will also offer the hotspot tethering service but it will have a 5GB cap on that.
Sprint will also sell the iPhone 4 8GB but only AT&T will still sell the free iPhone 3GS.
Meanwhile for those of you interested, SprintFeed has gotten their hands on Sprint’s internal press release for the iPhone 4S. Interestingly, Sprint still doesn’t have the iPhone 4S listed on their site. Check it out after the break:
If you haven’t heard by now, plans for construction of Apple’s 175-acre “Spaceship” campus are well under way. A meeting hosted by Cupertino mayor Gilbert Wong to address any community member’s concerns is scheduled for tonight.
However, it now looks like Apple may have plans to build another campus, as Wong told Mercury News that Apple execs have already approached him with plans for a third campus:
Wong said Apple executives have told him the company is expanding so fast that it expects to start working on Apple Campus 3 at an unknown location after they finish the second headquarters in 2015.
An Apple spokesperson declined to comment. We’re not sure if this is just really early planning for a potential third campus in the future, or if the company has more specific plans. We already know that Apple’s proposed Spaceship campus will be home to 12-13,000 employees.
Perhaps Apple will start moving employees out of Infinite Loop once the spaceship is complete and rebuild a ‘satellite’ campus at that location?
The report from Mercury News also notes that city officials have suggested a sculpture of Steve Jobs be placed on the campus to “honor his contributions as the iconic leader of Cupertino’s biggest taxpayer and cache-maker.”
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