Sprint deep into a season of changes: caps hot-spot data plans, launches 3 devices on Oct 2nd
Sprint’s weekly Playbook magazine for its external dealers has arrived and we have the latest news surrounding the carrier. The magazine gives details about a “Season of changes” and usually it’s changes that we don’t like as most recently Sprint has increased its upgrade fees and has cut down its return policy to only 14 days. So what’s in for us this season?
Changes include some data caps, but luckily only for the $29.99 Mobile Hotspot service, which - starting October 2nd - will be capped at 5GB, down from unlimited. Now, we have to clarify that this won’t affect your tablet or phone’s data plan, which is still all you can eat, but only affects hotspot usage.
Starting November 1st, users a 4G Mobile Broadband plan will no longer use unlimited data. The new tiers for 4G mobile broadband would be 3GB, 5GB or 10GB with overage fees.
From October 2nd, the Now Network is also eliminating its 1-year new and 1-year upgrade contracts and eligibility for customers.
The carrier has also confirmed it’s launching three new devices on the same date: the $99.99 LG Marquee, a Sprint-branded version of the LG Optimus Black, the $79.99 BlackBerry Curve 9350 with BB OS 7 and the Kyocera DuraMax with Sprint Direct Connect. The Now Network has also confirmed its slashing the price on the Kyocera Milano to $29.99 starting then.
That’s also when the Plantronics Voyager PRO HD Bluetooth Headset hits the carrier for a price of $99.99. With its Smart Sensor technology the headset automatically answers or transfers calls after you place it on your ear.
Finally, the magazine includes some details about the mysterious Direct Connect-enabled Motorola Admiral. It seems that the fact sheets about the device are ready, but Sprint is not going to ship them just yet as there are some delays with the QWERTY handset.
Bottomline seems to be that Sprint is tiering and capping data everywhere except for those sweet Unlimited Everything plans for phones. And that’s what most users care about, isn’t it? How do you feel about those new changes at the carrier?
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