Loyalty
Will you switch to Sprint for the Palm Pre?
You could make a pretty strong case that Sprint is in the worst shape among the big 4 wireless carriers in the US (although they are currently 3rd based on subscriber base). And Palm’s struggles have been well documented over the past few years. So can this marriage (centered around the Palm Pre) payoff for either of them…or for customers like us?
The first big test was passed with flying colors when Palm announced the Pre at CES. The hype has been significant and speculation about finally having a true ‘iPhone killer’ has never been stronger. Seems to me that the next big test will be whether or not Sprint can pull customers away from Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile so that they can get their hands on a Pre ASAP.
Dan Frommer referenced a Morgan Stanley survey the other day that said for every 1 customer Sprint lured away from Verizon in Q4, Verizon was able to take 10 away from Sprint. With all 3 of the other major carriers already shipping a new generation of touch devices (ATT – iPhone; Verizon – BlackBerry storm; T-Mobile, G1), Sprint is likely to continue losing not only customers in general but more specifically smartphone customers who are willing to pay extra for data plans, text messaging, etc.
All of that could change, however, when the Pre is launched (first half of ‘09). Can the Pre have the type of pull that the iPhone had, causing many customers to forget any type of loyalty they may have had to their previous carrier? Early numbers after the iPhone hit the market said upwards of 25% of iPhone buyers were ‘switchers’ from other wireless carriers.
This could end up being the most interesting part of the Pre launch: finding out if the average smartphone buyer’s loyalty lies more with their carrier or a device. Are customers really loyal to their wireless carriers or are they only loyal out of necessity (thanks to 2 year contracts with stiff penalties for leaving and early upgrade subsidies on new phones)? Now that there will be a fancy touchscreen option available to customers using any one of the big 4, will they just go with the one that’s most readily ‘available’ for them on their current carrier and wireless plan, or will they break away and get the phone they want most? I don’t have the answer but like I said before, we’re pulling for Palm and their off to a good re-start. Soon we’ll see if Sprint can do their part to get the Pre into the hands of the masses. Feel free to comment with your thoughts on this!
Comments
@Jay, I heard in one CES demo that the Pre will work with iTunes. Just though you might wanna know ;-p
Posted by: JayCanuck | February 9, 2009 11:04 AM
Not a chance... no iTunes, no sale. I am anxiously awaiting Docs To Go for my iPhone.
Posted by: Jay | February 7, 2009 7:50 PM
I'm from Canada, but I plan on switching from Rogers to Telus (who are rumoured to be getting it). I've been waiting for a killer Palm smartphone like this for a very long time. Though one major deciding factor will be availability of DocumentsToGo for the webOS. Any comment on that DataViz? ;-p
Posted by: JayCanuck | January 26, 2009 7:41 PM