Sprint to Sell Samsung Tablet for $400

October 26, 2010 Leave a comment

By ROGER CHENG, WSJ.COM

Sprint Nextel Corp. said it plans to sell Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.’s Galaxy Tab tablet computer for a third less than Verizon Wireless.

Several major news organizations are lining up behind a new tablet device from Samsung Electronics Co. built on Google Inc. software, in order to broaden mobile readership beyond owners of Apple Inc. popular iPad. Jessica Vascellaro reports.

Sprint will sell the device for $399.99 in exchange for a two-year commitment to a data service plan. Sprint will begin selling the Galaxy Tab on Nov. 14, three days after Verizon Wireless.

Verizon Wireless said last week it would sell the device for $599.99, but offered a prepaid data plan without the requirement for a contract. Sprint will also offer the tablet for $599.99 without a contract.

For any mobile product, getting the proper marketing and subsidy support from a carrier is crucial to a successful launch. A subsidized device can dull much of the sticker shock that comes from seeing the actual retail prices. Carriers are willing to offer a discount because they can lock customers into multi-year service agreements.

Verizon Wireless’s decision to sell the product without a subsidy had some industry analysts speculating that it wouldn’t fare well against the iPad, which the carrier also plans to sell for as little as $629.99.

Consumers who buy the Galaxy Tab from Sprint have to sign up for a monthly $29.99 plan that includes two gigabytes of data, or a higher end $59.99 plan with a limit of five gigabytes of data.

For consumers who don’t want to sign up for a contract, Sprint customers can pay $29.99 each month for 2 gigabytes of data. Verizon Wireless, in comparison, offers 1 gigabyte of data a month for $20.

Sprint plans to support the device a marketing campaign to promote the new category of tablets, according to David Owens, who is runs the carrier’s marketing for product launches. “It’ll be a substantial campaign and an important part of our holiday theme,” he said in an interview, but the effort wouldn’t be as strong as its marketing for flagship smartphones, such as its Evo 4G.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab is the electronic makers’ big push in the mobile business for the holiday season. Having launched its Galaxy S line of phones on all of the major U.S. carriers, it has followed up with the Galaxy Tab. AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile USA, a unit of Deutsche Telekom AG, are expected to sell the tablet as well but haven’t yet announced pricing.

Samsung’s entry into the market represents a chance to make up for lost ground. Product executive Hankil Yoon has said he expects the Galaxy Tab to ship 10 million units and take a third of the global tablet market this year.

The Galaxy Tab is the latest product to attempt to tap into the explosive growth of the tablet market, first sparked by Apple Inc.’s iPad. Many device makers, such as BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd. and Hewlett-Packard Co., have recently announced tablets to rival Apple’s popular product.

The Galaxy Tab runs on Google Inc.’s Android software. It’s smaller than the iPad, which has a 9.7-inch screen. Unlike Apple’s device, it supports Adobe Flash, enabling it to show more video found on the Internet. It has a camera on each side and a slot for expandable memory, among other features.

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CTIA E&A: Android moves down pricing scale at Sprint Nextel

October 7, 2010 Leave a comment

October 7 2010 – 11:02 am ET | Dan Meyer | RCR Wireless News

-LG Optimus 5-Sprint NextelLG Optimus 5

Photo credit:Sprint Nextel

SAN FRANCISCO – Android mania is in full effect at this year’s CTIA Enterprise & Applications event in San Francisco with mobile operators, handset makers and application developers virtually tripping over themselves to introduce new products and services tied to Google Inc.’s mobile operating system.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this Android love-fest is the move to broaden the operating system’s reach and thus increase penetration by bringing devices running the OS down the price chain. What had been a standard feature for smart phones in the $150 and higher price points, is now set to push into the double-digit tiers as well as broaden its reach into no-contract offerings.

Sprint Nextel Corp. is a prime example of this expansion with the carrier announcing three new Android-powered devices that will slot in at the $150, $100 and $50 price points, all after rebates and a two-year contract. The carrier does currently offer devices at the $150 and $100 price points, but the new devices up the ante with newer versions of the OS as well as Sprint Nextel’s latest Sprint ID, that bundles content-related applications to ease consumer interaction with the growing monstrosity of application stores.

The Sprint ID service, which the carrier made a considerable amount of noise about at the show, will be limited to the newly launched devices to start. The application packages include content from a number of well-known brands, including Amazon.com, Blackboard, Comcast Corp., Disney, E!, Electronic Arts, eBay, ESPN, HSN, LatCel, MTV, Notre Dame, Oprah Winfrey Network, RadioShack, Weather Channel, Where and Yahoo.

The $150 device is the Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Transform that features a 3.5-inch touch screen, slide-out QWERTY keyboard, and both front and rear facing cameras. The device will ship with the 2.1 version of Android when it launches on Oct. 10, but is set for an upgrade to the 2.2 specification later this year.

Moving down the line to the $100 price point is the Kyocera Communications Inc./Sanyo Zio that also includes a 3.5-inch touch screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera, onscreen virtual keyboard and will ship with the 2.1 Android OS. The device is similar to the Zio that launched recently at Leap Wireless International Inc. and is set to be offered by Sprint Nextel on Oct. 10.

The final rung on the new device line up is covered by LG Electronics Co. Ltd.’s Optimus 5 that will retail for $50 after rebates and a two-year contract when launched on Oct. 31. The device includes a 3.2-inch touch screen, onscreen virtual keyboard, 3.2-megapixel camera and will run the latest 2.2 version of the Android OS.

For Sprint Nextel the lure of smart phones, touch screens and application stores on consumers should prove a windfall as all of the new devices require customers to sign up for a rate plan of at least $70 per month, which in a day and age of carrier average revenue per user in the $50 range should be a positive on the bottom line.

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