I have had a Sprint account for 9 years. I got my first “smart phone” in 2004.
A couple years ago the iPhone was released on AT&T. I really never could consider it because there was next to no AT&T coverage here in Nebraska. As of right now we have the fastest AT&T coverage in the world (according the AT&T reps) because we have the newest AT&T towers.
But I have been waiting to see what Sprint would come out with that was comparable.
They miss the boat on getting the Blackberry Bold…
They miss the boat on getting any of the HTC phones….
So I wait until the big thing came a couple weeks ago… the Palm Pre.
Been playing with it for the last week… its junk…
I give up.
I got a new iPhone 3gs this morning. Unreal…
Its only been 1 day but… I am very happy and we will be moving all of our lines over to AT&T in the next week.
About the author...
Jeremy Schoemaker – who has written 2414 posts on ShoeMoney.com.
Hi I am Jeremy Schoemaker and ShoeMoney.com is my blog. 99% of the post here are done by me but you will see others occasionally make guest posts. This blog is fun to write but for my day job I run several online companies.
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{ 102 comments… read them below or add one }
Welcome to the family. I still have a first gen iPhone but am moving to the 3gs soon.
That tells us everything we need to know about the Palm Pre. Reports have been mixed but you gave the no bull review.
Oh? He didn’t explain his stance. He simply called it junk without elaborating on why.
The reality is that the Palm Pre is one of the hottest phones around.
I recall someone saying the iphone was a toy and should never be used for business. Hmm…
I’m in the market for a new phone and I really don’t know what I want. Maybe I’ll get the iphone now that you have.
Welcome to the Iphone world! Its worth it I still carry a blackberry but can’t live without the Iphone and its internet/apps the best around!
Yeah I know what you mean. I finally gave in the Iphone a few months ago. Best cell choice I ever made.
Hmm… does Apple at least PAY you for your fanboy-ism, or are you just a blind sheep like the rest of the iPhone world?
Palm Pre junk? That’s amusing to me, as one of the few iPhone users who did NOT cling to his iPhone like religion and made the switch to the Palm Pre… I thought the exact same thing about the iPhone… hated the keyboard and lack of BASIC features that Apple simply acted “too cool” to include in their phone. Now they have video and everyone’s going crazy? Please.
The Palm Pre? A lovely device. I will never own another phone that does not multi-task like the Pre. Physical keyboard great… I can type MUCH more quickly and with greater accuracy than I ever could on the iPhone. MUCH better calendar on the Pre. Removable battery. GPS navigation. WebOS. Contact synergy. Discreet notifications. Quick browser (faster than 3GS… see the CNET video).
… NOT TO MENTION that with Sprint you save LOADS of money. People are so dense that they don’t realize the cost of your carrier is almost more important than the phone itself.
… But you? You’re opting for a MORE expensive (yet inferior) phone on a MORE expensive (again… yet inferior) network with AT&T. … Have fun with your new compass.
I’ve heard nothing but good things about the Palm Pre. Why didn’t you like it? I’ve been considering buying one and I don’t want to be turned off without more details!
The one I tested froze up 5 times the first day and I didn’t even really use the actual smartphone features.
Palm has been dying for a while now. This is the nail in the coffin.
3GS really is amazing..
nice shoe..
for features, value, and reliability you just cant beat the iphone.. (not to mention just about all palm phones are junk)
shoemoney tools app anyone?
Congrats on the move! You will not be sorry.
Welcome to the dark side Shoe!
The iPhone is amazing.
Now you can develop a SM Tools app for the iPhone!!
I have Sprint too, you will regret AT&T as soon as you head to other places on the plane.
My suggestion is to wait and make sure your iPhone still works in your favorite show locations.
AT&T is so horrible here in SF Bay Area, it’s ridiculously slow.
I don’t have any of those phones. I don’t make enough money…yet.
In the meantime, it’s crappy Verizon for me.
I don’t use any of those popular phones like iphone or blackberry either. I just need a phone to make calls and that is it. I reply other things on my computer
Please be sure to let us know if you move from Charmin to Quilted Northern, too.
So morale of the story … if you can not deliver the latest technology and latest update to your clients … there are high chances that you will miss them.
Another indirect teaching post from you
So you understand what Shoe wanted to say here. Quite good.
Shoe welcome to the new family. I am sure Sprint sales executive will come to you for reconnection and better facility.
This is the first time I saw something resourceful on your blog (except the archives), otherwise you aren’t posting content lately.
Has no one told you how badass the iphone is?
I’m glad you’re up to speed now.. it’s seriously the best gadget I have EVER bought.
Something I use every single day..
Yeah, Sprint lost me about 6 years ago…
Their customer service suck, their phones suck, they couldn’t even replace my phone after the contract got expired. Wanted me to buy a new one instead for pretty close to full price. Since then I had Cingular/ATT but they suck too coverage wise across the country. Its been almost 4 years since I am a happy Verizon customer. 
In nutshell they are suck people who provide suck telecommunication service.
The way Sprint treated my girl’s account I would never ever go with them period. Their reputation is horrible.
Shoe new things will keep hitting is on daily basis & i am sure being a gadget freak you will like to test new i Phone 3gs.
Just to share with you it has real cool features and one can manage most of things online. By the way congrats on your new phone.
So you have bought new apple 3G as well. Would love to see your reviews and photo on your blog
I thought you didn’t like phones that don’t have a physical keyboard as you originally posted when you were against the iphone?
I rarely travel with my laptop anymore. My iPhone is my computer. It was pretty much life changing.
Oh, and love the new Internet tethering feature for when I do need to fire up the laptop and no wifi is available. Tested it lastnight and it worked like a charm. Over Bluetooth no less!
AT&T was always the best for me atleast.
A nice example of the importance of good service.
In today’s customer-focused market, service and quality service is what every customer looks for. He can get the same products with multiple sellers, hence the quality of service that he gets determines which seller he is going to choose. Pretty much the same way, a blog that keep churning out quality content attracts visitors, but if the quality drops the visitor count will also drop because the same visitor will get a similar content with better quality at some other blog.
I got rid of Sprint four years ago and switched to Verizon. Best move I ever made. I may pay more monthly, but the quality of customer service cant be matched.
We really like to have customer like you in our internet business as well.
Who care for quality not for price.
Ironic that a company named Sprint (a word with the connotation of speed) in reality lags so far behind a relic AT&T that was a market fixture of the generation of grandparents.
AT&T rocks although their prices is so damn low.
I would personally stay away from the iphone. There are plenty of other, more capable smart phones out there.
And what would the names or those be…
I love my iPhone… My wife is jones’n for one and I hope to get her one when her Sprint account is out of contract.
There is no better phone!
good for you bro, i’ll be joining the iPhone love next week – just can’t take it anymore….everyone’s out-tweeting/blogging me on that thing
Nice. If I still lived in Lincoln I’d be doing the same thing. It’ll probably be serveral years before we get AT&T in the south central part of Nebraska.
We’ve got 3G service but not through AT&T.
hmmm…Thanks for talking me out of the Pre. I couldn’t get it anyways because I’m on SERO, but I definitely lusted after it….until this post.
Hahah, C’mon man, I wouldn’t take shoe’s simple “it’s junk” statement as something that should talk you out of the Pre. Check it out for yourself, I’ve heard a lot of people absolutely love their Pre.
lol! At least if I take Shoe’s advice then it won’t hurt so bad to not have it.
Do you have one, Justin? Thoughts?
I finally beheld the Pre in all of it’s glory…I want one.
Can you elaborate on what’s wrong with the pre?
why don’t you expand on why you think it is junk? i am stuck with verizon for now, got the new envy touch, it is no iphone but it’s a cool phone. leo laporte loves the pre…so why don’t you? i am honestly just wondering why…i have never even touched a pre but the reviews are pretty good all over the web…of course the iphone wins everything, but at&t isn’t an option for some people…
Sprint does have HTC phones.. you been living under a rick over there? I have a HTC Touch Pro and love the thing.. I will say Sprint lacks a bit on service, but the price of their plans can’t be beat, I have 4 lines with 1500 shared minutes, nights and weekends at 6, unlimited internet, texts, picture mail etc and I only pay $140/month.. for the one time a year I have to call them I just suck it up and deal with it. I have been happy otherwise with the coverage and phones.. to each their own I guess.
I’ve got the Touch Diamond and my brothers both have the Touch Pro. I hate the Diamond…no physical keyboard. Makes me want to die sometimes.
Seriously, though. Shoe must be nuts. Sprint has released quite a few HTC devices.
Because of plan many people stuck to them and I think that’s why they do not bother to improve their service as they know the weak nerve of their users.
Perhaps.
Have had att & tmobile over the past 10 years and will never return to att again. Horrible customer service and prices + they agreed to basically spy on customers when asked by the National Security Agency (read the suit) when t-mobile told NSA to take a hike.
That said, I am a mac person and have wanted an iphone forever, but refuse to pay the $$ for an unlocked one. I have the G1 and love it (lots of free apps), but am very disappointed that they seem to have completely lost visability in the market. I am wondering why this is. When the palm came out there was no mention of the g1 as a competitor. It’s as if they no longer exist in the marketplace…
That’s strange. I’ve heard nothing, but good things about the Palm Pre. The only real knock I’ve heard is that there are no apps yet, but that’s expected…
What exactly don’t you like about it? Or were you just itching to get a 3Gs?
AT&T has some of the best features & excellent support I love my Iphone AT&T is going to be giant leader in cell phone industry for years to come all affiliates have Iphone’s surprised you just got one shoe!
I picked up the 3G S yesterday too… very pleased with it thus far. Can’t notice that much of a speed increase from the 3G model, but all is good so far. Just wish the data plans here in Canada weren’t so expensive.
Shoe can you please write a post telling us your experience on the iphone?
Hopefully you will come back with a review in a week or two. I have been considering an iphone but have not been able to pull the trigger. Let us know what you think Shoe.
Wicked Post, will subscribe.
i really agree with the guy who said you have not been posting “content” recently.
i really like my pre. there are some first gen os and hardware bugs unfortunately but i am sure they will work through them. data network is great, pricing is better than ATT- not sure how you could call it junk unless you were experiencing the slider problem.
Yup! I love my new 3gs! It’s superb!
(Minus the activation problems.)
I just bought my iphone 3gs. Soo many possibilities with that phone. It literally feels as if “The world is at your fingertips”. And btw shoe, you can unlock that phone in order to use it on different networks. And dont forget to check out my website for advertising!
I’ve been waiting for the Palm Pre since it was announced. About the iPhone 3G, I find it not so interesting.
Jeremy,
I’m sitting here looking at my Pre and trying to understand what part(s) of it is junk. I’ve used it everyday since June 6th and have yet to have the first problem with it. It does everything that I tell it too.
I’ve had Treo’s, Blackberry’s, iPhones, and some others over the years and find the Pre meets my needs better than any.
My question is what is your definition of junk as it applies to the Pre.
Thanks,
Jim
I’m inclined to agree with you here, Jim — I’d love to hear what Jeremy says about this. It’s not Sprint’s fault that Apple and AT&T have this special deal till next year (though CDMA is not ideal and we probably will never see an iPhone on Sprint ever).
HOWEVER, all that said, the ONLY reason why I’m staying with Sprint (and I’ve been with Sprint since 2001) is because I am on their original SERO plan. There is no carrier (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, etc etc.) that has a plan that is remotely similar (unlimited everything except for 500 anytime minutes which I hardly use for $30).
If Sprint forces me off SERO because I want to upgrade my phone, I might as well just move to AT&T and join the ranks of millions of people who already have a kick-ass phone. At this point, I’m compelled to go with an iPhone over a Pre–especially since I’d have to upgrade my service on Sprint to get a Pre.
As it is, Sprint’s not doing so well–I think their best way to win back their customers is to come back with plans that totally rock.
Hey, all. I’m Justin Goldsborough, social media manager at Sprint.
First, I want to let everyone know that if you have questions about or issues with your Pre or anything else having to do with Sprint, you can contact me anytime — http://www.twitter.com/jgoldsborough or justin dot goldsborough at sprint dot com.
Second, Tamar, I totally agree with you. Having plans that rock and provide the best value has been Dan Hesse’s strategy since he came to Sprint. For instance, Shoe will pay $1,200 more over two years for an iPhone and an AT&T plan than a Pre and a Sprint Simply Everything plan. Billshrink did an analysis of this just the other day:
http://www.billshrink.com/blog/iphone-versus-palm-pre-versus-android/
Third, Jeremy, I would be interested in your feedback on the Pre and what specifically made you feel it was “junk.” We ask people for feedback like this all the time so we can relay it to our product folks and work to improve our phones.
Thanks,
Justin
amazing how fast someone at sprint responds when its time to save face.
I will be doing a in depth follow up post.
Not sure what pricing model you are comparing me against but we are saving over 5k/yr with ATT/iphones.
The Pre is junk? I love mine. The iPhone is good as well if you don’t mind iTunes. However, I hate iTunes on an epic level.
I would love to know specifics on why the Pre is junk.
Use your words Shoe. Don’t throw a tantrum.
I have been a sprint customer for about 6 years now and am budging towards making the switch for the iPhone. I upped my plan from my $30 a month Sero plan to teh $60 a month same plan so I could get the Samsung Instinct and although the phone is good it lacks an App stores. Spring promised me an app store from it and then they launched a contest, then killed it half way. Epic Fail. Ready to bail on my contract to actually get the features I want on a phone.
Hey Shoe.
What happened to the iPhone not being a serious business phone? Have you changed your mind?
I’d be interested to hear what you have to say on this issue. All the business men I know who have the iPhone say it is a POS because you have to fiddle around with tiny buttons and it just takes too long to get anywhere. Most people are still using the Blackberry for serious business.
What you think?
Ramsay
I was a sprint customer for some years now until 2 years ago when i made a switch for the iPhone. I love my iphone cause of its great features.
I went over to AT&T for the iPhone in May, from Verizon. From day 1 it’s been a whole new world. Instead of bringing my laptop on travel now, i can run right off my iPhone. Amazing…
Hmmm … strong recommendation for AT&T
Been using iPhone from past 1 year and utterly bored with it. Palm Pre is the only option I can look out for and I will
. Hey “junk” here i come.
Ive been with Verizon for like 10 years. Although their service is far superior to AT&T I just got sick and tired of waiting for Verizon to come out with a decent phone. Friday I bought the iPhone 3Gs too. Phone is awesome, AT&T service is ehh.
i have the iphone but its all play i like the blackberry more the iphone but there is new iphone cuming out soon so cant wait
@Roberto actually its already out its called the iPhone 3Gs.
I have a 3g. I’m surprised it works for you. There is a coverage hole right near your house
Your endorsement of AT&T, along with your new iPhone3gs is bound to win AT&T loads of new customers. I hope they remember you when upgrade time comes around next!
Just walked to the Apple store this morning in Downtown Boston.
The New 3G S ROCKS!
i want an iphone, currently have an n95, does it have gps?
Sounds fun to me, I have a friend who just got a iPhone 3gs, too. I’m going to get one really soon
Steve,
How can you possibly call that a review? He told you absolutely *Nothing* about the Pre! Let’s try not to be the Blind Sheep that Vara411 spoke of in his comment.
Jim
My iPhone has completely changed my online pressence and the way that I do business…Glad to have you as part of the fam shoe!
Sometimes you just have to reach a breaking point. Life is short buy what you want.
My sentiments exactly.. I’ve been with Sprint for 7 years and am ditching out for the iPhone 3Gs. Sorry Sprint, but the BlackBerry is pathetic in comparison.
Blackberry, Matthew? Surely you know that the Palm Pre came out recently, right?
I was on Verizon for years and years, because it was the only service in some of the hills around here. But reception got better and I got an awesome price from Sprint last year, so now I’m locked into a new contract.
I like my Palm Centro a lot. I’ve had Palms for many years, going back to the Tungsten E. The desktop interface is a huge selling point, and whenever I need to upgrade all my data is still on my desktop waiting for me.
lol, the iphone is damn sweet! ~iam makin an apps for it as we speak
AWESOME!!! I bought my iPhone just two days ago also! I love it! The apps are amazing. I am using: Twitterfon, Mint’s App, Facebook, etc. but the best one is: Loopt. If you want to keep a close eye on your loved ones that app is awesome. It tells you the exact location in real-time of your friends or those you invite.
Wow, good for you for having an iPhone! Such an amazing and useful gadget…Have fun with your iPhone.
I’ve been with sprint since like 2000 and their service, as in customer service, does completely suck most of the time. But they do get decent phones and you just can’t beat the SERO plans.
I’d love to get an iphone but can’t see paying 2-3 times as much a month for the same, or less, of a plan. Yeah, maybe I’m cheap but if AT&T could offer the iphone with a plan that has everything I have for $30 I’d be there in a second. Instead, with the much higher plan charges it makes the iphone extremely expensive over the months.
I’m usually a phone or so behind the “latest” anyway lol. I recently got my HTC Touch Pro and really like it even though the Pre just came out and the Touch Pro2 is coming out.
Sprint better get their crap in order though…eventually the other networks are going to figure it out and offer some amazing plans with amazing phones and just take over the whole market.
You have joined the dark side.
I can’t wait for my Sprint contract to expire, I plan to do the same.
Nice one contgrats for your new iPhone 3G(s). I hope you are amazed with the new iPod. I am from Britain don’t knowo much about American telicom companies. But I think AT&T is the most famous one because I’ve heard of it.
It seems funny how cellular providers used to compete on coverage and price. Now the carrier with the hottest handset gets the customers.
I worked for Radioshack in the Lincoln gateway mall some time ago and we sold sprint phones, which I thought was stupid, and the sprint rep was a bitch and blamed us for NO one buying their stupid phones. sorry I try not to sell junk phones on a junk network.
If you see Sprint, Sprint away!
I am getting the iPhone 3gs soon, we are all in one group now
. I have really good reviews on the phone. Hope they were all right.
Good reviews from apple everyone else eh not so much…
i phone 3gs…well the reviews are good!
Sprint is awful, great choice to make the switch
How are you liking the iphone now? I really want the 3Gs but cannot find it anywhere.
Its really good… i should update my post
I sit here typing this from my brand new palm pre…I don’t understand how you didn’t fall in love with this phone. The keyboard is a wee bit small but its been all of three hours and I’m already used to it.
Beats the hell out of tapping on an onscreen virtual iphone or sprint diamond keyboard. & synergy is bomb. Wtf shoe? Wtf?