After 10+ years with them, we recently made the switch from Sprint to Verizon for no reason other than better phone selection and service. We still follow the company and from a creative standpoint, we're not really big fans of the spots featuring Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. This morning we came across this spot co-directed by Superfad for Goodby, Silverstein & Partners. What a great spot! This is the direction that Sprint should be going in. If only they can get better phones!

[ via: fubiz ]

As you know Apple will neither confirm nor deny any rumors prior to Macworld, but, if it is, it sure is sexy! Now all we're waiting for is for other carriers besides AT&T to start carrying the iPhone.


[ via: Neu Black ]

While we're one of the few customers amongst our friends  and colleagues who's actually happy with our Sprint service relative to our monthly fees, we know there are some out there that are eager to break it off like a bad relationship in order to snag an iPhone from AT&T or the Blackberry Storm from Verizon. Here's a smart way to do it without incurring the dreaded early termination fee.
The Consumerist reported two days ago that "on January 1, 2009, Sprint will increase the Administrative fee to $.99 per line. Because this is what is known as a "materially adverse change of contract," and because of the basic contractual principle that you can't change someone's contract without their explicit permission (not the tacit, "opt-out" kind), you can use it to argue that the fee renders your contract void and you can end service without a termination fee."

Here's the fee notice: "Administrative Charge Effective Jan. 1, 2009, the Administrative Charge will increase to $0.99 per line. For details on surcharges, please see Sprint Terms & Conditions or visit sprint.com/taxesandfees

If Sprint focused more on their business, customers and expanding their selection of phones instead of producing nice black and white commercial's, they might not be in this quandry.

For more detailed information on how a Sprint customer broke it off, ETF free, visit: www.consumerist.com

Leica recently announced the introduction of the first camera in its new S-System line, the weather-proof S2. In essence, the S2 is a medium format camera in a 35mm DSLR body. The S2 camera has a specially designed 30 x 45 mm CCD sensor specially desiged by Kodak for Leica complete with a  37.5 mega-pixel resolution. Leica claims that the S2’s metal body is smaller and easier to carry than similar models from other camera brands and that it's nearly twice as fast thanks to Fujitsu's ultra modern processor technology.
According to Leica, "this camera is a must for every professional photographer who is looking to upgrade from a standard 35mm SLR systems."

At 20,000 Euros for the body alone, this camera is obviously aimed at the high-end photographer.

With all of the media related hoopla surrounding the new iPhone's release ($199 for the 8GB & $299 for the 16GB), we've been thinking about possibly switching from our Sprint enabled Blackberry's to Apple iPhone's given that the new version will be operating on the 3G network and all. So after going on AT&T's site in search of pricing plans to compare and finding it all a bit vague, we decided to do a Google search and here's an excellent pricing breakdown we found courtesy of the folks over at Apple Insider. It succintly compares the costs of the original iPhone to the new 3G one including monthly SMS charges. Click on the chart below for a larger view.
AT&T is also requiring that all current iPhone subscribers pay an additional $18 to upgrade to an iPhone 3G account.

Lastly don't forget to factor in miscellaneous usage charges, taxes and fees that added on to wireless bills each month. According to Apple Insider, "these charges added nearly $20 in June to an individual AT&T account in New York that was subscribed to the $109/1350 minute iPhone plan."

For now, I think we'll stick to our Blackberry.

[ via Apple Insider ]

Check out the forth-coming Blackberry 9000 a.k.a. Bold. According to the Wall Street Journal, the phone will first launch overseas this summer with AT&T getting the exclusive on the phone when in drops in the U.S. later this year.

This lipstick style mobile device with touch screens on all four sides doesn't exist yet, but we definitely know  some women who wish it did.
For more info visit: Alexei Mikhailov

(Source: www.idealist.com)

Source: Mobilemedia 

As many of you may or may not know, Google announced last week that they are creating their own software platform called Android for mobile phones that many have already dubbed the G-Phone. The software will most likely run on future phones created by Qualcomm, Motorola, Samsung, LG and Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile.

You knew it was only a matter of time before imaginations would run wild and we would start to see concept images from across the Google-sphere of what this G-Phone platform would look like. Here are some of the first:
Source: www.photo-and-image.blogspot.com 

Well, it has been a long honeymoon for Apple since the days of that infamous hammer throw by the Big Blue slayer.  On that day Apple embarked on a quest to create a sub-culture of brand evangelists from all walks of life who were ready to break out of the non-conformist movement and into a space they can call their own.  Since those early days Apple has had some product hits and misses, but through it all, the brand loyalists have remain steadfast and proud of the brand they called their own. Many have even grown accustomed to paying a premium for product emblazoned with the Apple logo. It was a badge of honor that stated clearly to everyone “ I am different”…”I think different”…”I am who I am”.

Now, I am not a dramatist by any stretch of the imagination…(well..I guess it depends on who you ask;-), but in my heart of hearts, within my marketing gut, my chakra of branding instincts can’t help to think that Apple’s recent iPhone debacle has done more to damage brand loyalty than anyone would admit.   Last week’s price drop was the culmination of a series of missteps of the iPhone that was on a collision course toward the mundane from the very beginning.

Let’s start with the initial pricing scheme (and I do mean scheme).   I, as so many other early adopters, felt the price was far too aggressive for a phone that did not have 3G technology, no video capability, no email search functionality, etc. (just to name a few), but as the true loyalist I “was” who might I mention have been part of the brand since the days of the Apple 2C, I bought it because it was Apple and of course it looked so damn good.  So I along with hundreds of others, waited on line for hours and forked over my hard earned cash, agreed to sign up with ahhhh ATT Wireless (that’s a whole other story) just so that I could get my hands on a revolutionary phone that many others could not get or, quite frankly, afford.  Of course, I was content with that because I did not want everyone to have one… I wanted to relish in the glow of exclusivity.   So there I was with so many other cult followers looking at my shiny bright phone as the chrome sparkled in the sunlit Soho skies of NYC.  I felt like a Cesar Milan (Dog Whisperer) pack leader!

Fast forward to day 3 of the release, I went into the Apple store to get a $30 case for my chic $600 phone I just brought and noticed from the corner of my eye iPhones stacked as if they were cans of spam behind the cash counters and suddenly I did not feel all that special anymore.  For something that was suppose to be exclusive and hard to find all of the sudden it was stocked into a pyramid for all to see, touch, feel and buy!  Then I said to myself “well those boxes must be merely for decoration purposes, there can’t be in product in them..that would be stupid to do that…I mean this is Apple right?”  So I walked over to a teenager with a badge and an Apple tee and asked “Are those boxes for show?”…as she answered it almost felt like she was speaking in slow motion….”no sir..those are 8G iPhones available for sale…are you interested in purchasing one?  At that point I looked at my girlfriend Angela who was with me and I said to her…This is not good!   How could Apple get exclusivity marketing 101 so wrong?  Hmmmm let me see..does Nike stack their new limited edition dunks in the store front of the local Kicks Spot for all to see and buy?  Does Mercedes Benz park a truckload of S600’s in front of their dealerships for all to see and purchase?  Does Bose stack their Quiet Comfort Noise Canceling Headsets at the local Brookstone like it was a sample sale?  In fact, has Bose ever dropped the price of any of their premium products?  Ahh people….have your ever stood in line for the opening of the latest NYC hot spot…sometimes the door person has to say it’s  too crowded and we cannot let anyone else in…when in fact there is plenty of space inside. It was at that point when I knew the iPhone was in for a bumpy ride.

Fast forward again….well really only a few weeks after the debut….we read an announcement that Apple is dropping the price of the iPhone a whopping $200!!!! Wow!  Just when you thought the brand could do no more wrong…they followed insult with injury!!! All those great commercials, all the teasing, all the poor product demos on Morning Shows all across the Nation…and then….a resounding thump.

So rewind to that day (not too long ago I might mention) when I was in line anxious to get my hands on that sleek iPhone that no one else could get, afford, comprehend…etc, etc. Today that feeling of enthusiasm, glee, joy, exclusivity is official gone and with it a bit of that Apple wonder that I had grown to admire and respect.

Then came the sorry $100 credit to buy yet another Apple product.  Sorry Mr. Jobs….I’m not in a hurry to buy right now.  In fact, I’m not sure when I will be in a hurry to buy again…because I don’t like getting burned…do you?...good luck in rejuvenating your loyal crew of early adopters….I don’t think they will be early adopting anytime soon since you have made it clear that you will not hesitate to cut prices weeks after any new major product debut.

Hmmm Steve…I wonder why you sold some of your Apple share days before the announcement of the price drop.  I wonder why you were so quick to offer a store credit instead of the $200 rebate that you really should be offering us.  (which would be okay if Amex accepts $100 Apple store credits in lieu of payment) it almost seems like this was all premeditated…hey…don’t get me wrong…I am no conspiracy theorists…well, I guess it depends on who you ask.

Phil Colon
Founder
Project 2050 Inc
www.p2050.com