http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/ Engadget Comments for Sprint acquires Virgin Mobile USA for a cool $483m http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 8:46AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:21AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 1:20PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/
Anyone can change a Boost iDen account to a CDMA account, getting EVDO capable data and unlimited everything for the same price, as long as you can find a 'Clear to be activated' Boost CDMA phone (or even a Sprint branded phone in certain cases).

]]>Jul 28th 2009 1:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 11:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 8:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 8:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Thats what she said....]]>Jul 28th 2009 9:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:05AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:20AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:39AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 12:51PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 8:58AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:03AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 30th 2009 6:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/So who cares? Look how your "big" car industry ended up.]]>Jul 28th 2009 9:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/I don't see Sprint buying U.S. Cellular. Sure it would give them just over a 10% boost in subscribers but when people wake up to how much they're actually paying for their plans with AT&T and Verizon compared to Sprint they'll be bring on loads of new customers all on their own. U.S. Cellular is a nice regional provider with great customer service. Sprint has certainly done a 180 to bring their customer service up a few levels too over the past couple years. So customer service would merge nicely. But I just don't see U.S. Cellular selling out anytime soon. Free incoming calls compared to just the first minute on my Sprint plan however would be nice.]]>Jul 28th 2009 1:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 8:59AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:19AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:06AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/
Branson needs some money to support his skydiving habit?]]>Jul 28th 2009 9:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/
Bell's own alternative brand, Solo Mobile, is a failure; unlike the secondary brands of Rogers (Fido) and Telus (Koodo), few people have even heard of Solo Mobile.

Virgin Mobile, on the other hand, did manage to garner a lot of mindshare. I suspect that Bell wants to position Virgin as their new alternative brand, maintaining the tradition of Canadian telecoms of keeping a semi-independent brand on the side for the low-budget crowd. These alternative brands usually have independent customer service, and vastly different pricing options when compared to their parent companies.

For example, Fido offers a 2000 minutes for $40 plan, while Rogers doesn't have anything vaguely similar (or nearly as cheap per-minute).

I think Virgin's continued success will all come down to how independent Bell lets them remain; Virgin had won awards for their customer service, and Bell has some of the worst customer service in the industry. If Bell lets them keep doing their thing, it could be a very profitable relationship.]]>Jul 28th 2009 3:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/
There is no brand loyalty: network loyalty, possibly (coverage in your 'home' area is important!) but I couldn't care less what the name on the SIM card or whatever is: I just want decent service at a fair price. If anything Virgin Mobile Canada is proving by how much all the other carriers in Canada are OVER CHARGING. Period. If Virgin Mobile can afford to offer the above plan in Canada, so can Bell, but they don't want to.

So, I fear VMobile's days (and that great rate) in Canada are numbered.]]>Jul 28th 2009 10:41AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 10:10AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 11:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:31AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:33AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:47AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 9:53AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 11:46PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/
Tracfone uses CDMA & GSM dumbass]]>Aug 1st 2009 4:03PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 10:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 10:27AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 11:35AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/
What will happen to us Helions?]]>Jul 28th 2009 1:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/
Ditto on the Pre as long as the build quality increases on those things. The Ocean 2 crashing even more often than the Fin was a big let down. At least the original Ocean was solid as a rock in terms of stability.]]>Jul 28th 2009 2:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 2:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/
Hey, I can dream, can't I?]]>Jul 29th 2009 6:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 10:34AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 12:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 10:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 10:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 10:51AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 12:01PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/
Cheers to Sprint! Stick up for Sprint, without them we'd be left with primarily two mega wireless providers and a couple smaller ones.

-Joe]]>Jul 28th 2009 12:11PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/28/sprint-acquires-virgin-mobile-usa-for-a-cool-483m/Jul 28th 2009 1:11PM