Sprint still has cold feet with Windows Phone 8

Can't speak to whether they're in love with the iPhone, but when they got it, the news was that they'd have to sell lots for several years before it would pay off for them. So selling lots of iPhones appears to be a matter of survival for them.
 
[What Daniel said ;-) His response wasn't there yet when I clicked reply]

I think that maybe they'd have had better luck with WP7 if they had another phone and supported it with the provided updates. The people that have the Arrive, myself included, seem to love it. There just seems to be a complete lack of support for the platform from updates to advertising. I have looked into switching over but I still have a year on my plan and the other providers are actually the same or a little more expensive for what my fiance and I have at the moment.

Actually according to the article many people who got an Arrive didn't seem to love it:
 
"was one of the more returned products in the company’s recent history"

The phones ratings seem to say otherwise, I think he is talking out his arse, grasping for any excuse to justify their attitude toward WP.

He was. The arrive is one of the highest rated phones on sprints website. Percentage wise there weren't anymore 14 day returns than we've seen with the iPhone.

This is a bummer. My contract with Sprint is up in October and I was planning to renew with a new WP8 LTE device since my city should be getting LTE by the end of the year. But if this is true, I can't wait another year for Sprint to assess the market while putting up with .01 Mbs speeds.
Why is Sprint always late to the party? A year late with LTE, 4yrs late with the Iphone, and now they won't be on the forefront with WP8.  Yet they waste their time with boot-to-gecko. Sigh.

O sprint.... Why did you sell your soul

Ok. Sprint!  I see how you do!  You know who knows how to use my HTC Arrive?  My 9 yr old son.  You know who is better than him at my phone?  My 4 yr old daughter!  They both hate my wife's Android phone (Epic 4G) and I can't keep them off of my phone!  I'm being honest and not making this up.  This makes no sense!  It's bad enough that we have to wait to get any glimpse of what a WP8 phone will look like but having our carrier of choise flat out bash it is disheartening!  I REALLY hope this is a bluff because they want people to get their stupid iPhone.  With more good reviews than any other phone on their network I don't see how the returns make any sense.  Screw you Sprint!  I may try to buy out of my contract early.  It ends in March.  Man!

my kids whom are young love my phone, hate my wife's android. However, they love my ipad too

This proves my point.  If kids can use WP without hassel why can't these "people" he mentions? Are these real "people"?

I couldn't believe it when they said the main reasons people return the Arrive is because people find the WP OS hard to use. WTF are those people smoking!? Every OS has a bit of a learning curve, but Windows Phone is MUCH more user friendly and easier to look at than Android.

I don't get that either.  It is VERY easy to use.

Hi have sprint and the HTC Arrive. I have been waiting for a good phone like the nokia.  When wp8 comes out and Sprint doesn't get a high end phone, I'm gone.  Even without the data plan i'm done with them.
 

Wasn't there an article just posted showing that the Arrive has one of the best customer satisfaction rating on Sprint? Someone should've called BS.

I think that poll was among customers who actually still had the phone.  Not based on those who returned it.

Sprint is full of crap.

My first reaction was the same as a lot of other people's - I'm dumping Sprint and heading to AT&T where I can have my choice of Windows Phones! Honestly, tho.....I'm thinking of dumping the platform and returning to Android. My wife got a One X/Evo LTE, and it's a remarkable piece of kit. If I'm being honest with myself, the multitasking is better, browser is better, form factor and screen are WAY better, camera is WAY better etc., etc. than my Arrive.  Sure, Sprint will get 1-2 WP8 devices. And if I left for AT&T, I might be able to access 4-6 (assuming Samsung, Nokia and HTC each put out 2 WP8 devices each). But the same problems would remain. Carriers (including AT&T) are still lagging on updates about as badly as Android. That means when the next "disappearing keyboard" caliber bug shows up, I have to live with IT for an indefinite amount of time as well. The browser gets refreshed MAYBE every 6-12 months with no alternatives. The audio degradation bug when you go to Search as music is playing still exists. Zune/Zune Pass is pretty much the only thing keeping me on this platform right now as I am a serious music fiend. But between getting Metro with Windows 8 and my Xbox (and maybe a Surface), I'm not so sure the phone component matters anymore.  Let's face it....WP hasn't been a success on any carrier, and I doubt Sprint would make it one had they somehow magically had the Focus S, Lumia 900, or Titan II when they launched. After all, not one of those has been a top seller for AT&T, has it? Why would they be for Sprint who has even less invested in WP? I love a lot about this OS, but right now, I can only be excited about its future in broad, high-level terms as I have no idea what devices are dropping or when or on which carriers. Nor do I know if they'll block upgrades in that "promised 18 month" window or not. Meanwhile, awesome Android updates and hardware are dropping everywhere pretty much every 3-6 months. Mog or Spotify aren't quite Zune worthy, but....

You are comparing a new phone to the arrive, over 18 months old phone. But, you either love the os or you don't

The fact the hardware is old is understadable. But the software hasn't been upgraded to match either.  The Evo4G LTE's Burst photo feature is a SOFTWARE component of Android 4.x, and it's amazing when trying to take a decent pic of a squirming 1 year old to send to the grandparents. Same for our 4-year-old. The choice of browsers on Android with great features like desktop sync, text reflow and such...that has nothing to do with a phone being new or old.  Their notifications shade/center....a software advantage.
We COULD have these things on Windows Phone, but the features aren't being added quickly or competitively enough. And even if they were, would Sprint allow such an upgrade? Would even AT&T? Meanwhile, you can get all of them on a Nexus S, which came out a month BEFORE the Arrive. It came to Sprint a few months afterward.  Yes, Sprint has a vendetta against anything not Android or iPhone, but with the slow speed that WP, BB10, and other supposed challengers move at, can you blame them?

I have burst shot on my Nokia lumia 900

Except that the Nexus line is more of an exception than the norm. Updates on Android are still awfully slow and a general doubt remains over whether or not you will get the update. Microsoft has been considerably better at pushing the updates to most people (I've had all the updates delivered to me on time). Now granted, many people have had terrible experiences with AT&T but the same goes for all the Android devices so to me this looks like a "the grass is greener on the other side". I recently tried out the SIII and came off very impressed but it'd be downright foolish to diminish other platforms before comparing what they have to offer in the next update.

I've had Android, so I'm not just speaking from some myopic grass-is-greener perspective. I'm simply saying that a lot of things Microsoft didn't get right the first time - in this case, exciting carriers- they still aren't getting right. WP8 drops in the next 60 days or so, and there is zero consumer excitement, but rather hurt feelings over the 7.8/8 situation.

Shut up and get a wp8 when it comes out... You can't compare arrive to HTC one x..

That photoburst is no more than a a standard app. Anyone can do that with an app on any platform. Please learn the difference between hardware, software and firmware. Fact is the camera on the new evo isn't substantially better than any other flagship device. We sell 10x as many GS3 than Evo because none of the HTC enhancements stack up to Samsungs.

True,there is no way for the Arrive or its equivalent on WP8 to compete with an HTC One X/EVO LTE. Sprint either gets a high-end WP8 phone or WP8 will be dead on Sprint until 2014...at which point its WP9 or bust. 

Which is very sad.  I've learned a lesson here though.  NO MORE CONTRACTS!  As a Sprint fan since 2001 I haven't had any issues staying with Sprint.  Now?  We got 1 WP while AT&T got 4-5 really nice devices (HTC ARRIVE is nice but could be better) and now we may not get anything until they see how it performs on the other carriers?  I'm out!  My contract is up near Tax Return so I'm buying my next phone outright on another carrier.

You have points i must agree to that, but im not sure I can lea e WP now, invested a lot in apps and I still like the shape of the OS. But still lacking and may keep doing it is indeed a issue. Been looking at the Gqlaxy Note my self since I love big screens...but Metro has put a spell on me....hmm

Go ahead and leave so we won't have to put up with your dumb comments anymore.

Wow....stay classy.

but with wp7.8 and wp8 the updates will be ota by MS and not carrier dependent.

is that actually confirmed or are they just talking about being able to update ota instead of plugging into Zune (still with carrier dependence)
 
scary though updating over wifi bricking my shiny new pureview phone because the wifi signal got disconnected :)

As other people have said, I find it odd you're comparing a low-midrange phone released 18 months ago to the top of the line HTC phone. The actually builds of the phones won't be comparable. In the last 18 months, HTC has probably launched a dozen or more phones, making subtle improvements to each one. Hopefully for your sake, something other than HTC is launched (although my understand is that the Titan II is quite nice). Samsung and Nokia seem to get a bit more attention than HTC in my opinion.
One thing that makes your point moot about updates is that, with Windows Phone 8, Microsoft will be doing them all, very similar to iOS. Again, I don't know if it's an HTC thing or not. I didn't have any real big issues with the disappearing keyboard bug on my Lumia 710. Yes, it disappeared sometimes, but I could always get it back. I also did the update a month before T-Mobile said I could and that was a while after you could take the steps to force it yourself.
I agree with you. The Lumia 900 only accounted for 1/4 of all non-iPhone sales at AT&T. That's just totally and completely unacceptable. You might be interested to read some of the articles at BGR where Verizon and AT&T are rumored to put the blame for higher rates, tiered data, etc. squarely on the shoulders of the iPhone. In another article, AT&T managers are supposedly suggesting to their employees to stop pushing the iPhone. Whether any of these articles are factual or not, I can't really tell you. I would say that we keep hearing these things though, so there must be some truth. If half of people already have experience with an Android device and don't want to come back to it, but the two biggest US carriers stop pushing the iPhone (now they get double incentive since they already have the higher rates set to start), what are they going to push? I would say that Sprint will start picking up a lot of iPhone users while the other three carriers start moving a LOT more Windows Phones come the holidays.
One thing I would ask you do is to remove your rose-colored glasses regarding Android updates. I read all the time about how this device still hasn't received an update, how another device is no longer getting an update as promised, or lastly that devices are only getting updated to ICS and not Jellybean (probably suggesting they won't get updated). Last I heard, the majority of users are still running 2.X, which is really kind of sad. And there are still "new" phones being released with 2.X, which makes it all the more pathetic. You seem to forget that the average user doesn't really know nor care about actual OS updates (not firmware or patches). There is very little incentive for carrier-pushed updates.
On that note- no one really knows how the general, world-wide public is going to react to Windows 8/RT devices. This more than anything is going to impact Windows Phone 8 sales tremendously. If it's a hit, I reckon sales will soar over time. If it's a total dud, sales won't change much at all. I tend to be of the mindset that initially, people will need their learning curve and people will need to get a new device (how many millions still use XP devices?). This will boost developer incentive to reach more customers over time, too. I also have to think that a ton of apps from major brands (banks for example and games) will WANT to release on Windows 8 and since the port will be so easy to Windows Phone 8, you'll finally see the Windows Phone Store start catching up to iTunes and Google Play.
I would think of all the times to be considering a Windows Phone, the next 4 months will be the most exciting time. I know a number of people that have been waiting for Windows Phone 8. The hardware will be comparable to your Android devices and you'll have virtually seamless integration across all Windows/Phone 8 devices. Sounds like something the competition just can't do.

All of the reasons you're giving for excitement or to stay are things that MIGHT happen.  MAYBE with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 using the same core, app parity (where's Angry Birds in Space, Flipboard, Instagram, etc.?) might happen. There's no guarantee. MAYBE hardware for WP8 will be comparable to Android devices, but then again, maybe it will just be comparable to Android handsets from 6 months ago. and won't be refreshed very often. MAYBE Sprint will get a high end WP8 device. Maybe they won't. MAYBE T-Mobile or Verizon will. Maybe they won't. AT&T is the only guaranteed shot, and seeing as how my work Blackberry is on AT&T and it drops calls and connections regularly in my area, I don't think I want to switch my primary service to them. Not like they're implementing updates in a timely fashion anyway. I don't have rose-colored glasses when it comes to Android. Some Android handsets have these exact same problems and are also neglected. Even Jelly Bean isn't some perfect OS, and indeed they don't have a music experience that touches Zune/Zune Pass yet. That being said, the sheer choice of Android handsets across all carriers means I can circumvent most of these problems myself. I want to give WP every chance and will most certainly wait until WP8 launches. But WP8 versions of the HTC One X or Galaxy S III won't be enough for me. I have real problems with both Windows Phone hardware AND the software. Doesn't look like either are going to be solved with handsets on Sprint. 
 

I love how people are all sad about sprint, but no one mentions how badly att have handled WP. Show of hand, who is still waiting for an update? They may have phones but that's about it. Verizon has one phone. I left Verizon hoping for greener pastures, but att is just not up to par.

do you actually know what the update will entail or are you just vocalizing a complaint just because you haven't gotten an update?

Sprint tends to make big bets like they did on Wi-Max, webOS and now the iphone. Unforntunately the all or nothing mentality means Windows Phone has essentially gotten nothing out of them. When ATT and Verizon pave the way, assuming they do, Sprint will be forced to do an about face but not until then.

Sprint keeps making big bets, and it keeps biting them in the ass. How did Wi-Max turn out? Badly. WebOS? Badly. iPhone? Certainly not setting the world on fire with it... neither is Verizon. Sprint (and Verizon) has done very well with Android, but that's about all that's keeping them afloat. Their network sucks. Their rate plans sound decent until you factor in the bogus $10/month "premium data charge" on top of their supposedly "unlimited" plan. If they're going to keep betting the farm, they might want to make sure they still have a farm to bet.

Actually they're doing quite well selling the iPhone - it's just that the subsidies are front-loaded so it will take time for the revenue stream to build. From their 2nd quarter earnings report:
 
The company says it sold 1.5 million iPhones in the quarter, some 40 percent to new postpaid customers. That is exactly level with the number of iPhone sales it had last quarter. The iPhone push helped contribute to strong postpaid net additions of 442,000, double the number Sprint reported last quarter and the same quarter a year ago.
 
One positive metric came in the form of postpaid net subscriber additions. Sprint added 442,000 of these typically higher-spending customers in the quarter, up 68 percent sequentially and “driven by best ever quarterly churn performance of 1.69 percent,” Sprint noted.

They had a bad experience with webos, guess they wanted to play safe from then on... As a former webos user, it's funny I read very similar things with WP as I did when I was using the Palm Pre/Pre2... Hopefully things will end up differently
BTW (offtopic), I wish we could manage multitasking as webos did, that's what I miss the most along with the gesture area and the swipe from the top to bring adjustments like brightness, plane mode, WiFi, Bluetooth... What a great OS that was... Anyway, I'm glad WP 7 came along, it would have been tough deciding which other SO to move to

I'm in the same boat.  Former Pre user who switched to the Arrive as soon as it was clear webOS was dead.
 
Everything about webOS is better than its Windows Phone equivalent...interface, notifications, multimedia, browser, email, messaging, hacking community...everything except for two factors: 1) Lag.  2) Ecosystem.  But those two factors are huge.
 
With respect to the former, there was no evidence lag was ever going away on webOS, and it was deadly.  With respect to the latter, WP has been orders of magnitude more successful than webOS ever was at attracting developers, but without a serious uptick in sales, that advantage is going to quickly fade.  Oh well.  I do hope I can get my hands on a shiny new WP8 device this fall, but we'll see.
 
I joined the webOS world because I simply can't stomach either Google or Apple's business models (spyware, game-console for the rest of your life).  That left me with the convicted, but much reformed, monopolist in MS.  It's a real shame.
 
Firefox OS might just get my money, after all.

"Everything about webOS is better than its Windows Phone equivalent...interface, notifications, multimedia, browser, email, massaging, hacking community...
 
Uhhh, what? There's no way you seriously believe webOS' multimedia, browser, and email are better than WP7's. The other ones, especially notifications, yeah you could make a case for them,  but those 3 in particular? Not so much. WebOS' media player was bare bones, its email only passable, and its browser is laughable. How do I know? I'm a former Pre user, current HP Touchpad user, and current HTC Arrive user. 
Neither OS is perfect, but let's not fall into the trap of looking at webOS with nostalgic, rose-colored glasses.

As someone whose used a TouchPad, I'd say they're both tied for Multimedia (the lack of proper file format and codec support in both WP and WebOS is downright pathetic) but the browser and e-mail client are leagues better on WP than in WebOS. The e-mail client is one of the  things I hated most about that tablet and the browser was a crash happy POS. Even running on far superior hardware I could render full desktop pages faster on my old crappy Arrive than I ever could on my TouchPad.
 
WebOS had some absolutely brilliant (and I do mean brilliant) user interface innovations, but the actual OS itself was quite lackluster.

Thing is though that Palm was a company on its last legs trying hard to gain a foothold in a very different market than it first started out. Their new OS and 2/3 phones they got to the market were a last resort for them and it was a do or die situation for them...couple that with the fact that they barely had any hardware/advertising going for them and you can see why the platform didn't succeed. The story with Microsoft is different though - phones aren't their only business and as long as they keep making money off everything else (which, they undoubtedly will), they'll keep pouring it into the mobile space. Not only that, the ecosystem looks very strong for Microsoft so to me, it is a no brainer to at least offer WP8 devices because the carrier stands to benefit the most from it. Sprint just has been awful at managing itself, honestly.

I have high hopes for wp8. My plan is to move to Verizon since sprint is being cautious. However, I will wait and see with wp8

Is there any way to email this David Owens Guy??? he is a complete IDOIT!!! why is this person always basing win phone, how did he get the most returned product from th #1 reviews from COUSTOMERS .... Give me a break.Sprint needs to Fire Him NOW>>>

The returned thing was a direct quote from Sprint. Don't put much stock in voluntary website reviews - the suffer from "self-selection-bias" and are quite unreliable.

I DO IT, I DO IT! =P

EVERY carrier is being cautious with WP8 and there are just three manufacturers, only one of which is fully committed. What's Microsoft's plan to ensure that WP8 doesn't turn out like 7, where a staggered release, meager selection with most US carriers, and slow and blocked updates sank it? I haven't seen it as of yet, and that scares me at this stage in the game. 

AT&T isn't that cautious...they launched with 5 devices and routinely updated with 3 new ones every six months or so...

For the WIN...dows Phone! =]~)

They can do whatever they want. I switched me and my family to AT&T.

I hate Sprint.

Never could understand the extraordinary love for carriers US users have. Personally was on Tmo, wasn't happy with what they had and switched for the Lumia. Really no need for the gnashing of teeth sprint users seem to have resigned themselves to when an alternative exists.

I agree, I've only ever had phones (no smartphone as of yet waiting to see what Nokia wolrd will offer up as gen 1 WP8 phones) through Verizon but I have no issues switching over to ATT. I have friends who are diehards for their carrier and I've never understood why they are. Its just a flipping provider for pete's sake.

Seems everyone complains about every carrier... So, who do I dump Sprint for??

As bad as AT&T can be they currently have and will have the best Windows Phone lineup and choices...

This why the HTC titans, Samsung Focuses, and especially the lumia 900 phones aren't making any headway.

If you want to get WP8 you can dump Sprint for any carriers beside sprint is loosing ground.

I left Sprint in April and took all 5 lines to At&t after 8 years with them. The Sprint rep asked me why I liked WP and after I told him he was quiet as if he couldn't believe I wasn't gawking over an Iphone or Evo.

iPhone is crap freezing most of the time. I finally used it as a baseball ball on a concrete wall.

Jaja do you have a YouTube video of that

I left Sprint for AT&T last Thanksgiving and haven't been unhappy with the choice. I have a great phone and great signal, and my data speeds are surprisingly good. The only place I've been with lousy coverage on AT&T is North Carolina, which I guess is a big Verizon territory. I can't see myself going back to Sprint.

They spent all their money blindly on iPhone so they don't have any money to support other platforms. They are Apple's b!0#ch now.

So I guess this means 1 sku WP8 with no other choices. Buh-bye sprint! The first 5 years of the last 14 were good but I'm moving on. Keep your droids and billion dollar apples.

Plain and simple, if Sprint doesn't have a new Windows Phone when my contract expires next spring, I'm leaving. Probably for T-Mobile.

So glad I'm on T-mobile, don't have to deal with pitiful unusable speeds anymore,not even when throttled. Sprint can go suck a donkey diçk.

LMAO!

Sadly its true. I work for sprint with a free line of service and I am thinking of porting my line out to Verizon because they have 4g compared to the .1mbs I get now.

and 11 years later...I'm done

Sprints service is pretty bad, but all of their phones as of now are all bad and overpriced. They have no lineup except the EVO series and iPhone, the available phones are pathetic for android too.

EVO line is android. Besides HTC sales have plummeted and especially so at sprint.

I'm leaving Sprint as soon as my contract is up as well, have been with Sprint/Nextel for coming up on 15 years now. That said, I want the Windows Phone and they don't like the Windows Phone...sooo... my 3 lines are saying so long to Sprint ASAP. It wouldn't have been so bad if Sprint hadn't thumbed me in the eye so many times in the last few years.. ie.. whatever excuse you want to give for the 10 premium charge per phone (the honest one would have been great), only one windows phone, next to no updates for it, the lie about when I will be getting those awesome speed increases in my area for my other two phones, the lie about them getting another WP shortly after the arrive (yes I asked because I wanted to know about them when they went 4g)... on and on. Anyway, no hard feelings really, i've just decided that Sprint kinda sucks and I no longer wish to deal with them.
I will however feel bad when they launch that one really cool WP8 (only because they have to in order to retain WP users). Oh well....
edit - also i'm pretty put off by them considering they can barely support WP's yet are going to come out with a mozilla thunderbird phone.. Really.. really?

Hard to get used to?

I actually left Sprint for at&t when the Lumia came out and was considering returning to them if they got a WP8 Nokia device this fall. Looks like that won't be happening. So now I'm waiting to see who gets the best device out of the other 3 carriers. History tells me it will be at&t. Can't wait for Nokia World!...Damn you Sprint!!!

As far as SPRINT RETURNS GO..... I've had the Arrive since it arrived.
There are no longer any sprint stores within 250 miles of my house and I live in a city of 65,000 people in far northern California.. ANYTIME there is an issue with my phone,even ones that could be fixed in a store I have to RETURN my phone. Volume button was stuck-return
Speaker on refurbished one they sent me was blown-return
charger connection not working-return Along with once breaking the screen from dropping phone-return. The first three were HTC caused problems not wp,so are they counting the high return rate due to issues like those mentioned? Why wont anyone interviewing this douche bag ask more questions when he plays the "returned devices" card???? Email dan@sprint.com Tweet @sprint and/or look up the 15 or so people @sprint follows,most all are sprint employees/management and tweet them DAILY about lack of support for WP. Send them links to articles like this. I had a sprint rep tell me nothing will happen until more people call and complain,email complaints or get more petitions going

I have had the SERO plan for 6+ years and even gotten 4 others to join but after Sprints lack of interest and discontinuance of the SERO plan I left them last week. I have a used Focus I put on a prepaid and I don't know if I will go back to contract carriers. I want my Windows Phone and I want a good selection. I was willing to hold out on Sprint but after hearing SERO is gone I figured I might as well leave too.

Hah, that's exactly what I did. Cancelled my Sprint account and purchased a Focus Flash off of Amazon for like 100 bucks and went to Straight Talk.
 
Basically just a hold-over phone until WP8 launches.

Btw I loved my Arrive and it has high marks on customer satisfaction on the website so their comment is a joke.

Now I feel totally vindicated cancelling my account with them and leaving for Straight Talk and the amazing world of unlocked phones that don't have carriers determining when you'll get updates.
 
Worth every cent of the 100 dollar ETF. Wish I could say it was a good time Sprint, but what can I say? You suck.

Come on now.. We all know sprint will never back up wp8 because they sold their soul to apple.. We won't be surprised to hear apple is buying sprint.. I was a sprint guy since palm and winmo,and my experience was really bad.. Im glad I'm with att.... Lte is just gonna get better...

I truly wish that Sprint were a person, Sos I could slaps them in da face! >=P

Sprint is a joke... Return arrive.. He's fuck up in the head.. I wish them all the best..

He wont even support me with a Tango Windows Update, What a Dumb Airss. I'm gonna port my 5 phones over to Verizon where they get updates, Maybe I will try T-Mobile or AT&T where Windows Phones Gets some Love. If he wont do it Now, What Kinda Crappy Support will you get with a New Windows Phone? Its a Breach of contract on their part with no Update. I don't want to have to go through this anymore, I've done it for 5 yrs. Dave Thats why Sprint is Sucking Wind.

I got the Arrive the day Sprint introduced it. I was surprised there was no line (-: I'm going off contract in January and I expect the wave of Arrive owners in my boat will encourage Sprint to have a WP8 alternative, especially since the Arrive is rated EOL. I expect Sprint will keep pushing iPhone and Android and hiding Windows Phone.

This guy is a Windows Phone hater. WP is easy to use, not hard. The Arrive has high ratings every where.

WP8 can't get here fast enough to shut some of these people up.

Bleh. Had fun with the Arrive, but on to greener WP8 pastures in a few months.....

I work for sprint and can say upper management are morons. They passed on the iPhone.. Before apple approached att. They then proceeded to call the Samsung galaxy line of phones by ridiculous names like epic and missed any benefit of samsungs substantial marketing efforts for said line. Sprint would be more successful by taking these people's suggestions and doing the exact opposite.