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Barron's reports on a new research note from Citadel Securities analyst Shing Yin claiming that the iPhone is likely to debut on U.S. carrier Sprint sometime before Christmas of this year. Yin notes that with Verizon shifting to tiered data plans beginning tomorrow, Apple likely has additional motivation to strike a deal with Sprint, which continues to offer the unlimited data plans preferred by Apple.
Timing may not depend on exclusives with Verizon and AT&T, writes Yin, as he thinks both carriers are unlikely to try and delay a Sprint introduction of an iPhone for legal reasons. Sprint would want the phone before Christmas, and "we see little reason for Apple to hold back."
Yin points to Sprint's competitive service plan pricing as a significant opportunity to draw in new customers, particularly if the carrier is able to launch with the next-generation iPhone simultaneously with AT&T and Verizon.
As always, analysts' comments should be taken with a grain of salt, and Yin's comments in particular appear to be based primarily on speculation and inference.
Yin is not the first analyst, however, to suggest that a Sprint iPhone may appear in the relatively near future. Back in mid-May, Jeffries & Co. analyst Peter Misek claimed that Apple will be bringing the iPhone to both Sprint and T-Mobile by the end of the year and an Apple job posting looking for a carrier engineer in Kansas City, Missouri near Sprint's headquarters has similarly helped fuel rumors of a Sprint iPhone.
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Case in point: I have a younger brother who's been digging Android phones for a couple years now. He was looking forward to some of the new models this fall, until I told him it was completely possible that there'd be an iPhone on Sprint this fall. Now when I ask him about new phones he's like "oh I'm gonna wait and see about the iPhone first." He'd take an iPhone over Android any day, he's just not hardcore enough to change carriers for it (esp. since he's on a family plan).
High notoriety, no experience needed. Must have ability to make up obvious assumptions and present them with authority. No credibility required. Must provide own pooper scooper.
Location, location, location. It's all about where you live. For me it's great, but I don't live in Brooklyn.
It would be nice if iPhone 5 wasn't carrier locked and had a dual network chipset for CDMA/GSM networks, meaning you could use it with any carrier.
I might miss begin able to use data and voice at the same time (Tethering) but I can deal with that if I am saving $10-20 a month on my phone bill.
Also, please give us unlimited data with free tethering :D
Every 'analyst' news turns out wrong in the end or are blatantly easy to 'analyze'. It's pretty obvious the iPhone 5 will be out before Christmas, and if there were to be a Sprint version, this would be the ideal time to present the product, rather than half a year later when the "oooh!" effect has worn off.
Unfortunate but true.
The real bargain on Sprint is for the SERO and Employee Plus Referral Plan customers.
I pay $46/mo for unlimited everything Blackberry on SERO-P. I am praying that the iPhone is eligible to be activated on this plan as well. Even if I have to pay another $10-20 in fees that I KNOW Sprint is going to create (iPhone Fee, Premium Data Fee, Premium Retina Display fee, etc...) it's still a bargain.