Poll: Did Sprint drop the ball on pricing??

[perf]

KILLED THEIR DAY ONE SALES

I have been with Sprint for 7 years and had full intentions of getting this phone on launch day...at $349, then you have to wait for a rebate, then you'll need accessories??? NO WAY.

If the phone is the best option on the market I still wouldn't pay that. With new phones coming out weekly they may be heading for "extra stock on hand" and giving them away in a couple months.

I think they are solely counting on the 4g hype and the decent launch they had on the EVO...this is not the smart way to go.

ATT is giving their Galaxy S away already.

 

[cr3amy]

Come June when my upgrade is due I will probably look into the Epic. Provided it has at least been rooted so I can load Wireless Teather for root users on it. I don't like the idea of paying $30 a month for the hotspot feature when I use it at most once every other month. Until then, I will continue to drool over the Evo and be happy with my Hero.

June? As in June 2011? I'm sure something cooler will be around by then, dude

 

[drizek]

Come June it probably will be no longer for sale.

Talked to a couple friends of mine in product marketing at Sprint. This cost is to avoid cannibalizing sales of the EVO 4G.

Once EVO supply issues go away, the EVO will probably drop a bit in price on a 2 year contract ($149-$179) and the Epic will fall to the magic $199 price point.

Sprint isn't stupid, they are trying to balance the needs of subscribers, the needs of their OEMs, and the pressures from the competition.

Especially with probably what, another 2-4 Android handsets coming to Sprint between now and the holidays?

If that is sprints strategy then that is even worse. The incredible has been sold out since march, and verizon did the smart thing by giving people the option to get a droid x instead. Sprint on the other hand has decided to screw up the nost deisrable android device ever, and the only one without supply issues, out of some loyalty to a phone that is running what is, at this point, obsolete hardware.

Sent From My Samsung Intercept

 

[cr3amy]

I have been with Sprint for 7 years and had full intentions of getting this phone on launch day...at $349, then you have to wait for a rebate, then you'll need accessories??? NO WAY.

So go get it at Best Buy or RadioShack so you don't have to wait for the rebate, wtf?

 

[PopsGG]

Here is what I do not understand.

Apple: iPhone4 16gb
Full Retail Price $599
After Discounts $199

Verizon: Droid X
Full Retail Price $569.99
After Discounts $199.99

Sprint: Epic 4G
Full Retail Price $499.99
After Discounts $249.99

Regardless of if the phone is worth the money or if $50 is a lot of money, they are not being price competitive on the hardware. When you are trying to catch up and gain more customers, you need to be price competitive in every aspect.

 

[frankos72]

sprint will never get the ads right ...

Maybe, that's what the extra money going to AT&T and VZW Pays for.... lots and lots of advertising.

 

[biggbrother2]

You guys got a keyboard, camera flash, and front-facing cam, and 4G speeds, in addition to all the same features on the other Galaxy S phones.. and your complaining about an extra $50?

Do you also complain at the car dealer when the car trims with better options are also priced more expensive? Sheesh.

 

[biggbrother2]

Here is what I do not understand.

Apple: iPhone4 16gb
Full Retail Price $599
After Discounts $199

Verizon: Droid X
Full Retail Price $569.99
After Discounts $199.99

Sprint: Epic 4G
Full Retail Price $499.99
After Discounts $249.99

Regardless of if the phone is worth the money or if $50 is a lot of money, they are not being price competitive on the hardware. When you are trying to catch up and gain more customers, you need to be price competitive in every aspect.

Does the iPhone4 have a 4-inch screen... or a keyboard or 4G speeds?

Does the Droid X have a keyboard or front facing camera or Super AMOLED screen...or 4G speeds?

What other phone on the market right now compares to the Epic 4G in terms of specs? The answer is none. So sounds to me like Sprint priced the phone at exactly what people would pay. Besides, you know that 3rd party re-sellers will have them cheaper.

 

[anon(19803)]

Don't get me wrong, it looks like its a really good phone. But in this day and age, in order to charge $250, you must really have a phone worth that much; something that stands out from every other phone out there, something leaps and bounds ahead of the rest. Unfortunately, this is not really any of those. Yes, its fast, has two cameras, 4G, and Android, but so does the Evo, and I'm sure there will be plenty to follow.

Maybe, and that's a big maybe, if Spring had exclusivity on the Galaxy S phones, could it get away with charging this, but probably not even then. Even the HTC Touch Pro 2, which has sold for $300 for quite some time, only costs $200 now. Sorry, Sprint, I'm going to have to say yes, you dropped the ball, and it shattered. If you want to expand your subscriber base, don't pull s*** like this.

 

[TheOnlyMorgan]

No Sprint didn't drop the ball on pricing. I think supply issues with AMOLED screens may have led to this.

 

[TripleAgent]

Does the iPhone4 have a 4-inch screen... or a keyboard or 4G speeds?

Does the Droid X have a keyboard or front facing camera or Super AMOLED screen...or 4G speeds?

What other phone on the market right now compares to the Epic 4G in terms of specs? The answer is none. So sounds to me like Sprint priced the phone at exactly what people would pay. Besides, you know that 3rd party re-sellers will have them cheaper.

John Q. Idiot-Consumer may very well just see an extra 50 out of his pocket and pass, is what he is getting at. Especially if they aren't on Sprint. Also, some people just don't care about some of these features, especially 4G since most people don't have access yet. Sprint could be missing a big opportunity here.

On top, they are charging 10 extra a month, they could have ate another 50 to get people on the bandwagon. I personally would have made the Evo 20 cheaper just to undercut the hell out of Verizon and AT&T. The positive PR alone could have been tremendous.

 

[Mattism78]

Don't get me wrong, it looks like its a really good phone. But in this day and age, in order to charge $250, you must really have a phone worth that much; something that stands out from every other phone out there, something leaps and bounds ahead of the rest. Unfortunately, this is not really any of those. Yes, its fast, has two cameras, 4G, and Android, but so does the Evo, and I'm sure there will be plenty to follow.

Ok, let me go through the checklist of what makes a phone "ahead of the rest".

• Fastest CPU Available
• Fastest GPU Available
• ONLY Next Gen Android Device with QWERTY
• Best Screen Available
• No FPS Cap

I'm curious as to how many more things are required to make the phone worthy of it's price tag? I guess they could paint it like a Star Wars character. That would probably justify the price in it of itself.

 

[biggbrother2]

But in this day and age, in order to charge $250, you must really have a phone worth that much; something that stands out from every other phone out there, something leaps and bounds ahead of the rest. Unfortunately, this is not really any of those. Yes, its fast, has two cameras, 4G, and Android, but so does the Evo, and I'm sure there will be plenty to follow.

So I ask again. Right now, what carrier has a phone with a physical QWERTY keyboard, screen comparable to the size and quality of the Epic, and a front-facing camera. Not to mention other things that the average consumer is not going to know enough about to consider (i.e. humming bird processor, DLNA support, HD Video Output through a usb-to-HDMI wire)?

The EVO doesn't have the processor, super AMOLED screen, or the physical keyboard. The screen is bigger, but I would think that would be more of a drawback to most non-techie people, who will like the compromise of the 4-inch screen, because it looks more vivid and fits easily in a purse or pocket.

I'm in partial since I am a Nexus One user and I use T-Mobile. So I don't plan on owning the Epic. But it's tempting.

 

[npark]

Huh? Much more. maybe $100 more than capticte, whcih would mean $150 more in retail price
Do you think Research, development, support, testing and all kinds new potential problem liabilities as they implement 4g don't count? Are you seriously looking at just the wholesale cost of the chip (which maybe more than that anyways since it is new and not in good supply)?
Does the capitave even have a flash for its camera?
Does captivate have a keyboard, whcih is not only a design (expensive) and parts, and minimization of the entire device (expensive) issue but a major warrant liability cost/risk.

Dude, it's the same R&D. It's the same phone. It's the same bunch of developers in NJ making builds for the Galaxy S series. It's the same factory in Korea doing the manufacturing for all of them. They do minimal customization for each carrier and each phone's nuances.

From the ground up, Samsung designed the phone to be modular to satisfy multiple carriers. Then they gave each carrier the option to pick and choose the phone design. Adding on CDMA, or GSM, or WiMax is already factored in. It's not 4 independently developed phones on 4 carriers... it's 1 phone platform distributed on 4 carriers.

 

[bucc0303]

I agree that the 50 dollars more is a bit stretching it. Maybe if we let our voices heard something can change. I doubt it though. Not a good move to attract new customers. You really aren't getting much more than the EVO when comparing the two. To you and I you can see the differences but to average customers it is deff. a look twice at the phone. Maybe since the EVO is the flagship phone sprint is going to push this at that 199 price to keep sales up. But with the shortages of the EVO still looming I believe this is a horrible dicesion on their part. This is only my opinion.

 

[npark]

So I ask again. Right now, what carrier has a phone with a physical QWERTY keyboard, screen comparable to the size and quality of the Epic, and a front-facing camera. Not to mention other things that the average consumer is not going to know enough about to consider (i.e. humming bird processor, DLNA support, HD Video Output through a usb-to-HDMI wire)?

The EVO doesn't have the processor, super AMOLED screen, or the physical keyboard. The screen is bigger, but I would think that would be more of a drawback to most non-techie people, who will like the compromise of the 4-inch screen, because it looks more vivid and fits easily in a purse or pocket.

I'm in partial since I am a Nexus One user and I use T-Mobile. So I don't plan on owning the Epic. But it's tempting.

The Evo is not as big and imposing as many people make it seem. It's actually a very good size.

It's amazing that the Epic is not much thicker--albeit with a shape (no beveled edges) so it'll seem bulkier.

I'm on the fence about this $250 price though. Not because it's not worth $250, I think it is still a good deal... it's just that I expected it to be $200, and I'm simply surprised they would do this. I think most people would actually not do any of the rationalization done by folks in this thread. The newest, and best smartphones have cost $200 for the last 2 years (the exception being the Touch Pro 2, and look at where that phone is now). More than $200 is not an issue of value or worth, but simply a break from the status-quo of what a top notch phone should cost.

It's a brave move by Sprint. However, this forum group notwithstanding--because this group is more knowledge and intentional about phone purchases, would this go over well with the masses? I know it's good to have a phone that is not the bandwagon, but let's face it... the wider the adoption of a phone or phone platform is, the more updates, responsiveness from the company, attention to the platform, and jazz that customers would get. It's in the phone's--and your--best interest that a lot of these puppies sell.

 

[thatguitarguy]

There aren't Super AMOLED shortages for the Epic because Samsung is the one that makes it. It's short for everyone else because their phones get first dibs.

the iPhone has a mindshare that it is just quality, and honestly, in terms of hardware quality (not specs), it is better. It's made of metal and glass. It just seems like a "higher end/quality/luxury" phone because of that. Holding it in your hand is a treat.

While the specs are about the same, or even better in some areas, it's not worth $50 more when you're #3 and trying to at least move up to #2. It's just a bad idea for them to do that.

As an investor in Sprint, I'm actually a bit disappointed. I didn't think they'd pull a Dell Streak and price it at a ridiculous price point that asks for failure. I laughed the moment I saw the Dell Streak pricing and just thought they were out of their minds. Apparently Sprint is the same way.

We have to realize that people aren't smart enough to look at the overall cost of the plans over time + phone price. They think it's a worse deal because the phone is more expensive. While we may be "smarter," the majority of people are actually pretty stupid, unfortunately.

 

[messiah143]

I looked at this a long time ago and I knew that the Samsung Galaxy S Epic 4G would cost a little more than it's cousins on other networks. Some people need to understand that this phone has more features than it's cousins which are the Captivate, Vibrant, and Fascinate Galaxy S phones. The Samsung Galaxy S Epic 4G has a front facing camera and a back 5mp camera with a LED flash, slide out full functional physical keyboard, swipe keyboard technology which is standard on all Galaxy S phones, pre-loaded multimedia movie downloads and rental from Samsung, pre-loaded video game (Asphalt 5), Super-Amoled 4 inch Screen, the fastest processor right now(Hummingbird A8), DLNA technology, and more. Why complain for a measly $50 more for one of the best smartphone and the fastest smartphone in the world. $250.00 for this amazing smartphone makes a whole lot of sense.

 

[MissJennell#IM]

A lot of my friends who are not techy at all have recieved text messages about this phone from sprint and they are people who would never spend more than $50 on a phone. They are willing to buy it. Even at $250. They have gotten the texts and googled the phone and were very impressed. I now have 4 of them with reservations for a phone in at the same store as me so we will be carpooling. I don't think the $250 is enough to deter a lot of people. Will it deter some? Of course.

 

[DaEXfactoR]

I will pay it gladly...simply because it is HOT!!! I voted yes, because I felt like pricing was going the other way with Android and smartphones in general, not to say that it is not worth it,,,but Sprint needs to attract customers...you cant do that with prices higher than everyone else...Keep in mind tho...in many respects...at the end of the day you come out cheaper with Sprint!!!!