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How Sprint really justifies the $10 add on

SprintFun

Android Expert
Mar 31, 2010
1,543
656
Columbus, OH
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And I hadn't seen the rest of these images posted on here yet either:

Sprint Playbook: EVO 4G is a high-end, awesome device
 
I don't mind the fee itself, it's just the reasons they list as selling the fee that are bothersome.

The device has a big screen? It has a 1ghz processor? I'm paying the 'premium data charge' for features related to the hardware itself and not the data.

I'd rather pay 400 for the phone and have no shifty luxury tax that has no real bearing on the actual data used.
 
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Obviously I have to pay to play, but it has to be the dumbest reasoning's I have ever heard for the charge......Simply put....STUPID!

So will all 4G phones going forward have this $10 charge, or only the ones with 4.3" screens? lol....Because, if the charge isn't purely for having a 4G enabled device, which I have no problem with that reasoning, what will be the reason for other 4G devices that won't quite have the specs as the EVO.

Why not just say 4G phone plans starting at $79.99. I don't think one person would have complained if they saw that, and Dan Hesse didn't make his stupid comments with 4G being cheaper to run!

And for people who say that 4G isn't available in there area so why should they pay, because the phone is capable and if they travel it will work in other places. You can go out and by an HDTV and spend good money because of it's HD features, but if you don't have HD channels in your house, they aren't going to reduce the price of the TV for you.....

It is pretty simple to see why Sprint is not a front runner in the cell industry and is being beat by providers who charge a lot more money for their sub par service.
 
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I don't mind the fee itself, it's just the reasons they list as selling the fee that are bothersome.

The device has a big screen? It has a 1ghz processor? I'm paying the 'premium data charge' for features related to the hardware itself and not the data.

I'd rather pay 400 for the phone and have no shifty luxury tax that has no real bearing on the actual data used.

I'm in agreement.

I think Sprint really wants to charge $10 for 4G but because it's not widely available they can't do that. The $10/mo should really be an option for those with access to 4G service. Doing that is obviously not the best business decision because judging from public response, demand for this phone ($10/mo or not) is fairly inelastic.

I wish they'd toss us a bone though and include some premium services. I saw on some other thread that EVO users would get the premium Pandora service included, but I don't think that's true. It would however, be a pretty nice addition. Other services that might actually justify a $10/mo addition include Rhapsody subscriptions, monthly Amazon movie rentals, hulu, Netflix streaming, and online storage.

One can dream.
 
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yeah I don't mind the fee at all, $10 a month is really not that bad, I just can't get over their justification for it. They are pretty much saying: "Because this phone is so awesome we're gonna make you pay a fee for it."

I agree, the justification is basically saying, we're dumb enough to believe it. For me, it's insulting in a subtle way.

If they allow free 4g tethering I have no complaints about the fee

Same here. Give me the hotspot and I'll be happy.
 
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If they rolled the charge into the plan cost then that extra $10 would be discountable. According to the docs I read, the $10 isn't discountable. I also read conflicting things in the same paperwork. One showed a total cost of (for the 450min plan) $69.99 with a breakdown of $59.99 for the plan and $10 for the premium data. But I have no idea what MRC stands for. Has something to do with discounts I believe. The $69.99 is listed as the Total MRC with the MRC breakdown as listed above. Kind of implies a price reduction, and they are listed as EVO price plans. But on another page it says Plan MRC at the current plan prices plus the $10 charge. And there is no reference to the EVO on that page. Wonder what the reduced price refers to. Couldn't get anything from my business guy about it.
 
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Obviously I have to pay to play, but it has to be the dumbest reasoning's I have ever heard for the charge......Simply put....STUPID!

So will all 4G phones going forward have this $10 charge, or only the ones with 4.3" screens? lol....Because, if the charge isn't purely for having a 4G enabled device, which I have no problem with that reasoning, what will be the reason for other 4G devices that won't quite have the specs as the EVO.

Why not just say 4G phone plans starting at $79.99. I don't think one person would have complained if they saw that, and Dan Hesse didn't make his stupid comments with 4G being cheaper to run!

And for people who say that 4G isn't available in there area so why should they pay, because the phone is capable and if they travel it will work in other places. You can go out and by an HDTV and spend good money because of it's HD features, but if you don't have HD channels in your house, they aren't going to reduce the price of the TV for you.....

It is pretty simple to see why Sprint is not a front runner in the cell industry and is being beat by providers who charge a lot more money for their sub par service.


While I like the comparison, the difference is, HD is available pretty much everywhere. Whethere you choose to have it and thusly pay
for it is another thing. It is not mandatory to have the HD service on and HD set, and in a lot of areas, HD is available over the air for basic channels. So those of us not in a 4G area are being charged for something we likely will never use. My .02 :D
 
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