T mobile overtakes Sprint as the number 3 carrier in the US

[anon(661246)]

T-Mobile overtakes Sprint as No. 3 smartphone buyer in U.S. - Chicago Tribune

NEW YORK (Reuters) - T-Mobile overtook Sprint Corp as the No. 3 smartphone purchaser in the United States in the first quarter, according to a report, as the company used aggressive discounting to add more new subscribers than any other U.S. wireless operator.

T-mobile bought 6 million smartphones in the first quarter, compared with Sprint's 5 million, according to Neil Shah, analyst at Counterpoint Technology Market Research.




Smartphones account for 87 percent of total handsets in the United States but their numbers are growing at a crawling pace. In this nearly saturated market, companies are relying on promotions to lure subscribers from one another.

T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T recently launched device installment plans that separate the cost of devices from the cost of service, prompting more customers to switch from basic to smartphones.

While T-mobile still trails Sprint in total subscribers, the numbers show that T-Mobile's price cuts and promotions are working, Shah said.

"Sprint doesn't have that much demand to sell into," Shah said in an interview. "They will have to up their strategy".

Apple and Samsung captured more than two-thirds of the smartphone purchases in the quarter, with Android making up 59 percent of shipments.

Apple phones were more popular with the two largest carriers, AT&T and Verizon, while Samsung was the best performing brand at T-Mobile.

Android's popularity with the smaller carriers is partially because T-Mobile and Sprint were the last two major wireless providers to carry Apple's iPhone, so their existing customerbase is more familiar with the android phone, said Shah.

(Reporting By Marina Lopes)

 

[raino]

The article is not saying what this thread's title is.

 

[Shadow-CNY]

Sounds like they're saying what the few of us that have Sprint already know...Win, place or show goes to Verizon, ATT and T-Mobile. The "Now Network" is no longer in the race. Sprint's network has been bad for a very, very, very, very long time.

 

[zorak950]

Sprint seems to be making a real effort to get back on the horse, but they've got a lot of work to do. That's no reason to write them off, though. We were all saying similar things about T-Mobile a couple years ago, and they've managed to step up their game quite impressively.

 

[Shadow-CNY]

Part of the problem is that Sprint has been using mules instead of horses for years. Just moving along very slowly. All of the other carriers have moved past the horse and buggy and are using the automobile -- and the use of the jet plane is just around the bend. When is Sprint going to finally get it all together? Too many mistakes have been made: Nextel, WiMax, limited 4G, bad coverage, no coverage, now we're promised Spark. I've had Sprint for years and I'm the only one on my family plan that is willing to hang in a little longer. The rest of my "Framily" has had enough of the empty promises and they're ditching Sprint when the current contract is up.