This summer is different. At least that is what Sprint’s CFO Robert Brust would have you believe. Every other year, the major cell phone companies suffer from defects moving to ATT for the latest and greatest iPhone during the first month or two after its release Brust explains at an investors conference. But this year, Sprint is hopeful that their first 4G phone, the HTC EVO, will provide some stiff competition and keep the company from loosing as many customers as they have in the past.
He went on to describe how the company has worked up to this summer, how they provided the Pre for those who didn’t want an iPhone before, and how they now have the EVO, a true competitor to the iPhone. He hopes that between the the EVO’s huge, hi-res touchscreen, its 8-megapixel camera, its Wi-Fi hotspot functionality, and its 4G connectivity people will see the EVO as a compelling competitor to the iPhone 4.
Brust went on to talk about ATT’s poor coverage and their tiered pricing structure. He highlighted how much flack ATT has been receiving lately and used the opportunity to confirm that Sprint has no tiering structure planned for their network to include 4G. Sprint’s Clearwire coverage reaches 44 million people right now will reach 120 million by the end of the year. Even without 4G coverage, EVO users see vastly better coverage and speed than ATT customers see, that fact on its own is compelling.
The HTC EVO has sold quite well across the country regardless of 4G coverage. The company first estimated that the EVO’s first day sales were three times higher than the Palm Pre or the Samsung Instinct, but revised that statement to having the EVO’s sales equal to the combined three-day sales of the Pre and the Instinct. Either way, the phone is selling well in spite of the iPhone’s unveiling, and hopefully Android will finally have a few strong competitors to pit against the new iPhone 4 this summer! If anything we are on a good path.
[via cnet]
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