SprintPremier
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Sprint axes Premier program, no more annual upgrades for Gold customers
Well, hope as you might that it was untrue, Sprint has killed off its Premier program and is putting an end to annual upgrades for Premier Gold customers. Premier subscribers will still be able to take advantage of the perks provided by their accounts through the end of the year, but once the calendar flips to 2012 you'll be thrown back in with the rest of the riffraff. Gold members, who previously enjoyed discounted handset upgrades every year, will have through the end of 2012 to take advantage of one more subsidized phone. But, after that, they'll be on the same 22 month schedule as everyone else. Sorry folks, dem's da breaks. Check out the FAQ at the source link for more details. [Thanks, Eric]
Kyocera Echo available right now for Sprint Premier customers, tests your patience
If you're a Sprint Premier customer and are planning to purchase the company's eccentric dual-screen Android smartphone, listen up. Yes, it's due to launch in just three days, but the wireless company is now offering its loyal customers a chance to order the Echo right now. If you decide to jump the gun, you'll be happy to know that Sprint is waiving upgrade fees and will ship you the device for zero bucks. So, if this offer sounds tempting -- and you qualify -- hit the source link to get a 72-hour advantage on everyone else. [Thanks, Eric]
Sprint Premier getting new premium tier on April 1st, many customers won't get early upgrades?
Launched in early 2009, Sprint's Premier loyalty program has been one of the more generous (and easy to understand) perks programs in the American wireless industry: just keep a certain minimum spend per month or stick around for ten years, and boom, you're eligible. Most importantly, Premier customers are currently able to get new contract pricing after just a single year into their existing contracts, which makes gadget freaks on the network far, far less likely to go bankrupt. Well, mirroring some of the other early upgrade changes we're seeing in the business lately, it looks like these guys are planning on dialing things back come April 1st (and no, the irony is not lost). Though some Premier customers will still get upgrades after a year, that privilege will be dialed back to members of the new Gold tier which will require ten years of service with Sprint. Yes, that's right: you'll have needed to have a line on these guys since before the Matrix Phone came out to get the biggest benefit of the program. If you don't qualify, you still could get in on the Silver tier, which gives you miscellaneous perks like accessory discounts... but not the full upgrade discount after a year. Instead, you'll need to wait 22 months, which -- at the current rate -- is about 47 major versions of Android. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in] Update: As before, you'll be able to skirt the 10-year requirement with a minimum spend and at least six months of service; that minimum will be $89.99 a month for individual lines at $169.99 a month for family plans. Whew!
Sprint contest promises ten lucky jerks HTC EVO 4Gs before everyone else
You know what they say about Sprint Premier, the carrier's VIP program for loyal customers: membership has its privileges. Actually, that's the tagline for something completely unrelated, but we think it certainly applies here -- especially now that we've learned that Premier peeps have been invited to apply to win an EVO 4G before the superphone's general release. It's not as simple as dropping your name in a hat, though: you've got to tell Sprint in at least 150 words what you can do "really fast," presumably with the goal of making the judges laugh, cry, and generally love you. Ten winners will be notified on May 18 that they've been selected, at which point you'll get a phone, a year of free service, and a job as a blogger on an official Sprint site about your experiences with the handset through August 31 (hopefully using a contest management system that's compatible with Eclair's not-always-awesome browser). What's more, four of those ten will get "long summer weekend" trips to a Sprint 4G-enabled city; it's not Venice by any stretch, but hey, the EVO's the important thing here, right? [Thanks, nickb]
Sprint 'about to serve up something big'
Sprint Premier customers are being told that the carrier is "ready to change the game once again" with some sort of big announcement tomorrow morning, though it's anyone's guess what it is. It clearly isn't the Pixi (if it is, someone forgot to give the Premier department the memo), though the note's mention of Simply Everything and Right Plan Promise suggest that the news is going to be plan-focused, not hardware-focused. There's a curious "anymobile" subdomain dug up by a Boy Genius Report tipster that could have something to do with it -- right now it just leads to a "Coming Soon" page -- but otherwise, your guess is as good as ours. Free unlimited data for everyone, perhaps? Ooh, a sudden reversal of strategy with a move to LTE? [Via Boy Genius Report, thanks Matt G.]
