Sprint & Verizon have dominated the Mobile Internet field since about 2004. They have gone back and forth several times in regards to who has the best coverage, pricing, broadband cards and so on. But, that said, they are fairly similar. They both cost $59.99 a month. They both use the same exact technology with the same top speeds. They both have a 2 year contract in order to get the Broadband Card for a decent price.

Recently, a new competitor has emerged that does offer something different. some for the better, some for the worse.

Let’s look at the advantages of Cricket Broadband first:

1) no Contract – Month to Month service

2) no credit checks and no deposits

3) only $40 a month for Unlimited service vs. $60 a month for Sprint or Verizon

4) Rev a service in most areas – up to 3.1 Mbps downloads, but in reality Cricket’s coverage is much more spotty than Verizon or Sprint. Actual speeds are usually 300Kbps to 1000Kpbs.

Now for the downsides:

1) Coverage Cricket is limited to only select cities in the USA. if you are a frequent traveler outside your home city, you will want Sprint or Verizon since they have MUCH more coverage throughout the USA. But, if you just want something that works in your city, and Cricket has coverage there, itcan bea decentchoice.

2) Customer Service. Cricket can be very hard to get technical support from – especially when it comes to a Broadband card.

3) Technical issues. We have heard of people having trouble getting on some websites, while other sites are no problem, in addition to slower that expected speeds for some customers.

bottom Line:

I would not recommend Cricket for frequent travelers, or for use in an RV as the coverage is just not there. However, if you are lucky enough to live in a city where Cricket offers service, then Cricket iscould be analternative for you. Just beware of the lack of coverage nationally and the problems you may face if technical issues arise.Verizon, while moreexpensive, is a much more stable and sure fire choice, especially if youare running a business or handling critical tasks with your service. Additionally, a benefit for either service is you don’t have to buy a $6 coffee to get unsecure WiFi internet at a cafe

Cricket Broadband Vs Sprint & Verizon Mobile Broadband – Which is Better?

When Apple failed to release a full-blown, redesigned version of its iconic iPhone last October, many industry watchers predicted it to be only a moderate success. Boy, were they wrong.

Backed by the introduction of Siri – the voice-recognition software – the iPhone 4S shattered Apple’s own smartphone sales records, thus becoming the hottest selling device of all time, still topping all other phones in monthly sales at AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

So when Apple delivers what is presumed to be its first iPhone (iPhone 5, sixth-gen iPhone, next iPhone, whatever you want to call it) compatible with speedy LTE wireless networks later this year – be it summer or fall – it would be no surprise if the Silicon Valley giant topped its own marks again. And today there is some evidence to back up that forecast.

PCWorld/Macworld did a survey that found a whole lot of people are planning to buy or upgrade to Apple’s next smartphone – with 4G LTE being at the top of their list of reasons why. Seven in 10 MacWorld readers obsessed with Apple gadgets said they would get one; almost half of those said they wouldn’t wait for it to show up in stores – they’ll preorder it. only 15 percent of the PCWorld readers were on board – natch – but blend the two together along with a sample of people polled who don’t read either publication, and you still get about 40 percent who say they’ll plunk down $200, $300 or $400 for a sixth-generation iPhone.

AT&T was a winner in the survey. About four in 10 respondents said they would choose the Dallas-based carrier for their iPhone, compared to three in 10 who picked Verizon Wireless.

Many so-called industry experts predicted Apple would include LTE functionality in last year’s iPhone, but almost no one is betting against it this year since the company’s third-generation iPad, released in March, is LTE-compatible.

LTE iPhone 5 Potentially Apple’s Best Seller to Date

I noticed a problem with the sprint website which i would like to report. when you are on the shop page / phones tab, if you check the pre-owned filter box it will instantly filter all the phones and only show you the ones which are preowned. Click on one of the phones to see the device details (f.e. lg optimus preowned). Afterwards, click the “back” key in your browser (i’m using chrome) which will take you back to the page with all the phones.

Notice how your “pre-owned” filter box is still checked, but the website it’s showing ALL the devices not only the pre-owned ones. This creates confusion as untrained users will believe that all the devices are preowned.

The functionality of the filter box should be adjusted.

Thanks,

Sprint Community: Phone filter drops functionality

This post is sponsored by Sprint.

Aaron unboxes and does a quick review of the Sprint Samsung Galaxy Nexus.  Barring some minor design changes like darker chrome and a different battery door, the Galaxy Nexus packs the same features as the Verizon version, including a 1.2 GHz dual-core TI OMAP processor, 4.65-inch Super AMOLED HD (720p) display with PenTile technology, 5-megapixel camera with 1080p HD video recording, 4G LTE (once Sprint rolls it out), Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), and a 1,850 mAh battery.  it goes above and beyond by offering Google Wallet and Google Shopper.  It’s available now for $199.99 with a two-year agreement.

Sprint Samsung Galaxy Nexus Unboxing

Sprint plans to announce its Q1 2012 earnings on Wednesday, April 25th. we will be closely watching the company’s net postpaid subscriber additions for the quarter as well as the postpaid churn numbers to see if the management is making good on its iPhone plans.

The iPhone’s debut quarter at Sprint was a good one as the smartphone helped it post a net postpaid subscriber gain for the first time last year. That move, however, took a heavy toll on margins as the company posted its largest quarterly loss in three years. Sprint started offering the iPhone on its network at the start of the fourth quarter last year becoming the third carrier in the U.S. to offer the device after AT&T and Verizon.

With the holiday quarter behind us, we expect to see Sprint’s margins improve but it will be interesting to see how it manages balancing margin pressures with postpaid adds going forward.

See our full analysis of Sprint’s stock here

The iPhone conundrum

Sprint has been incurring heavy annual postpaid subscriber losses for a long time now, and its decision to carry the iPhone came as a solution to that problem. however, since Sprint was a tad late in jumping on the iPhone bandwagon, it had to make a huge upfront commitment of nearly $15.5 billion for the iPhone over a four-year period. This was a massive bet considering that the company already has a highly leveraged balance sheet, with about $26 billion in debt on its books compared to a market capitalization of only around $7.5 billion.

However, the wager seemed to have paid off as Sprint added 161,00o net postpaid subscribers last quarter. however the figure was lower than what Sprint had guided for at the start of the quarter. we will therefore be looking for any signs that management may have been overly optimistic with the iPhone deal or not, while taking into account that a majority of the postpaid churn will still come from Nextel’s legacy iDen network as it is gradually decommissioned.

Margin recovery

Although the iPhone helped Sprint post a net gain in postpaid subscribers, 40% of whom were new to Sprint’s network, the 1.8 million iPhones Sprint had to subsidize in the process cost it almost $630 million, or about $350 per phone. This brought the company’s OIBDA margins down by more than 700 basis points (7%) compared to the previous quarter. we expect to see a seasonal slowdown in smartphone sales compared to the holiday quarter, so margins should recover somewhat from the last quarter’s shock.

Also, the higher data ARPUs that the added smartphone customers will generate over the life of their contractual period (two years) should help margins in the long term.

LTE update

With Verizon and AT&T far ahead in the LTE race, we will be expecting an update on Sprint’s LTE plans. Verizon’s LTE network covers about 200 million Americans currently and AT&T’s about 75 million. Sprint needs its LTE network up and running in at least a few key cities before the iPhone 5 launches (which we expect will be LTE-compatible), otherwise it runs the risk of losing a lot of new potential customers to its rivals. (see Sprint’s LTE Plans are Coming up Short as iPhone 5 Approaches)

Understand How a Company’s Products Impact its Stock Price at Trefis

Like our charts? Embed them in your own posts using the Trefis WordPress Plugin.

Sprint Could Spring To $3.60 If iPhone Bet Pays Off

You should consider following three key elements if you want to have a fruitful Spring planning meeting.

1. Preparation
2. Negotiation
3. Mechanics

1. Preparation

Well, the preparation occurs ahead of the planning. however, it is of paramount importance.

Product Backlog grooming is the main ingredient of the preparation. the Product Backlog grooming helps the Team and the Product owner to

• Get a solid understanding of the Product Backlog items, especially ones at the top.
• Save valuable time in the Sprint planning meeting. they can avoid long and often times painful discussions.
• Understand and prepare for the resource requirements

The Sprint planning is a time-boxed meeting.the Team needs to discuss, understand and agree on the Sprint Goal within this time-box. it needs to devise an initial Sprint Backlog. the Scrum Team will find it hard to wrap up the discussion if it doesn’t prepare well. it will struggle to agree on the scope of the Sprint.

This potentially can ruin the whole Sprint.

2. Negotiation

The Product Owner wants certain Product Backlog items completed during the next Sprint. She want to ensure that the project remains on track. the Product Owner puts her ideas and requirements forward during the Sprint Sprint.

But, this is the start of the discussion between the Team and the Product Owner. they negotiate on the items and the Sprint scope. the Team members ask questions to clarify the scope of the items. they want to reduce ambiguity.

Many times the Team finds out that

• The Product Backlog Items proposed by the Product Owner will require more work than the Team can do within a single Sprint
• The Team will need to do additional work to deliver items required by the Product Owner. this stems from technical, design, and feature dependencies.

So the Scrum Team negotiates the scope and many times the order of the Product Backlog Items. it adds more information to a few items. it reduces the scope of certain items to enable the Team to complete them in a Sprint. this is the negotiation that occurs during the course of a Sprint planning.

3. Mechanics

Sprint planning meeting is a critical meeting. So the whole Scrum Team participates in the meeting. this means the Scrum Master, the Product Owner and the (Development) Team. the Scrum Master facilitates this meeting.

• The amount of work it can deliver in a Sprint, called Velocity
• Planned vacations etc. calculate Team capacity and availability for the Sprint

The Scrum Master facilitates this meeting. Sprint planning consists of two logical parts.

I: the Team and the Product Owner discuss and agree on the scope of the Product Backlog Items aimed for the Sprint. Then they agree on a Sprint Goal. the Team refines (or defines if they have just started the project) the Definition of Done. this is the what part. they have agreed on what needs to be done.

II: the Team creates a plan to deliver the selected work, the Sprint Backlog. this is the how part. the Team usually breaks down the selected items into small tasks.

And the Sprint gets going.

Three Key Aspects of a Sprint Planning Meeting

Schneiderman's lawsuit is the first filed under the New York false Claims Act, which allows the government to sue over tax losses stemming from fraud. Since companies or individuals found liable of defrauding the government are charged triple the damages, penalties and attorneys' fees, Sprint could end up paying more than $300 million.

“The message of our office is clear – tax dodging is not acceptable and we will use every tool in our arsenal to make sure that taxpayers' money is protected, and that honest businesses and consumers are not placed at a disadvantage for collecting and paying their fair share of taxes,” Schneiderman said. 

The New York Tax Law, enacted in 2002, requires cell service providers to collect and pay sales taxes based on the full amount of monthly access charges for their individual calling plans. for example, if a customer pays Sprint $39.99 a month for 450 minutes of calling time, the New York Tax Law states Sprint must collect and pay sales taxes on the $39.99.

Schneiderman asserts that since 2005, Sprint has failed to collect and pay these taxes “on an arbitrarily set portion of its revenue” by “repeatedly and knowingly” submitting false reports and statements to New York's tax authorities. the Attorney General accuses Sprint of hiding this practice in an attempt to lure customers away from competitors like Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

If the Attorney General's statements are true, Sprint effectively made its service more than $4.6 million less expensive per month. yet, Schneiderman asserts that this illegality is ongoing.

“Sprint did not correct its sales tax practices when it was informed of its illegality, and it has not corrected them even today,” he said. “As a result of Sprint's unlawful actions, its underpayment of New York sales taxes is growing by about a $210,000 every week, over $30,000 a day.”

The Attorney General's investigation of Sprint reportedly began last March, when the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance investigated and determined the extent of Sprint's illegal actions. the Attorney General hopes to connect the bills Sprint was accused of not paying, and also looks to “protect Sprint's current customers to whom Sprint falsely marketed its wireless calling plans.”

“Sprint promised its customers that it would collect and pay the correct amount of sales taxes on their behalf,” said the Attorney General's office. “The Attorney General seeks to ensure that Sprint — and not its customers — will be liable for any back taxes, and to empower Sprint's current New York customers to terminate their Sprint contracts without having to pay termination fees.”

Attorney General Schneiderman and his staff will work with Menz Bonner Komar & Koenigsberg LLP to investigate the claims and handle the matter in court.

“This case shows that the New York Attorney General is putting to good use the tools provided by the robust New York false Claims Act that Attorney General Schneiderman expanded as a lawmaker,” said David Koenigsberg of the law firm. “We look forward to working with his office to pursue this case in court.”

Follow @redletterdave

To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: To contact the editor, e-mail:

Sprint Sued By New York For $300 Million; Service Provider Denies Tax Fraud

It looks like the Samsung Galaxy Note is headed to US mobile carrier Sprint, as the guys from TechnoBuffalo spotted a device on Sprint’s website which looks remarkably similar to the Samsung Galaxy Note.

You can see the device in the second photo below, Samsung and Sprint have yet to announce that the Galaxy Note will be available on Sprint, although we have heard rumors in the past that the handset may be headed to Sprint.

As soon as we get some more information on when and if the Samsung Galaxy Note is headed to Sprint in the US we will let you guys know.

Source TechnoBuffalo

.

Samsung Galaxy Note Headed To Sprint?

Ting debuted back at the beginning of February as an MVNO that utilizes Sprint’s 3G network to offer customizable plans, and the carrier recently made a big announcement concerning its plans for 4G on its official blog. The company says that it will offer 4G LTE service once Sprint’s upcoming LTE network goes live, which is expected to happen by the middle of this year. The same markets that’ll be receiving Sprint LTE coverage, which so far includes Atlanta, Baltimore, Dallas, Kansas City, Houston and San Antonio, will also have LTE coverage for Ting customers. as for which LTE devices Ting will have on offer, the company says that it’s got several products in the pipeline, including USB sticks, mobile hotspots and “some pretty spiffy smartphones.”

Ting allows customers a unique way to select their plan, giving users several different options for voice minutes, messages and data and letting them pick the amount that they need. Customers can be bumped up if they use more minutes or data than the bucket they selected, but they can also receive a credit if they use less than anticipated. It’s good to hear that Ting will be taking advantage of Sprint’s LTE network, and it’ll be interesting to see what kinds of LTE devices it’s got up its sleeve. have any of you signed up for Ting since it debuted?

Via Fierce Wireless, Ting

Ting to offer 4G LTE service once Sprint’s network goes live

• Tweet

• Tweet

After giving up on that WiMax network that looked so promising a couple of years ago, but proved to be a very uninspired idea shortly after, Sprint is finally ready to kick off its own LTE network. And after finding out the carrier’s plans for the next couple of years in terms of coverage, we today have confirmation on what will be their first ever smartphone to support 4G LTE.

Like I said, we now have confirmation, because we pretty much suspected for some time now that the LG Viper will in fact be Sprint’s first 4G LTE phone. We even had a leaked document a couple of days ago that mentioned the handheld’s exact release date, which now seems almost set in stone.

The guys at Sprint will start taking pre-orders for the LG Viper on April 12, which almost definitely means that the smartphone will ship from the 15th of this month. on the other hand, you should keep in mind that the information is not yet confirmed, so if you happen to pre-order the phone, and not get it after three days, please don’t come back here and complain, torches and pitchforks in hands!

While the LG Viper’s release date doesn’t come as a big surprise for pretty much anybody in the mobile market, the smartphone’s pricing could well be considered unexpected. the 4-incher will start selling at $99.99 on a two-year contract, which, no matter how you look at it, is pretty darn cheap.

Okay, this might not be the strongest Android-based gadget on the block these days, but it still comes with a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM, dual cameras (5 MP on the rear and VGA on the front), as well as NFC technology, and, of course, 4G LTE speeds.

As far as I’m concerned, the most disappointing features of the LG Viper are the screen’s low resolution (only 480 x 800 pixels) and the fact that it runs Android 2.3 Gingerbread. But then again, it’s possible for the handheld to be updated to Ice Cream Sandwich soon enough, so at least one of these two problems may eventually go away.

You also have to keep in mind that, soon after the LG Viper (on April 22, if we are to believe earlier rumors), Sprint should also launch its own Galaxy Nexus 4G LTE, so I think it’s safe to say that the carrier is preparing to get back on the map and once again challenge Verizon and AT&T’s leading positions.

How about you, guys? Would you go for a Sprint 4G LTE Android-based handheld anytime soon or are Verizon’s and AT&T’s offerings still more tempting these days? Before you answer my question, don’t forget to check out Sprint’s coverage map here, to see if the carrier is actually planning to roll out LTE in your area any time soon.

LG Viper, Sprint’s first LTE phone, to go on sale on April 15 for $99.99