Comments on: Sprint Offers the Treo 300 for $99

Beginning today, Sprint is offering customers the opportunity to save $300 on the purchase of a Treo 300 with service activation. This brings the cost down to $99 after a service credit.
Return to Story - Permalink

Article Comments

 (13 comments)

The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PalmInfocenter is not responsible for them in any way.
Please Login or register here to add your comments.

Comments Closed Comments Closed
This article is no longer accepting new comments.

Down

600 coming soon. . .

sub_tex @ 8/12/2003 10:52:03 PM #
Nic deal. Quite a bargain for what you're getting. If I was looking for a new contract I'd get one in the meantime until the 600 drops in price.

This is a deal?

Timothy Rapson @ 8/13/2003 8:01:38 AM #
This is what most color phones go for when first introduced. A quick check of any phone store will show you color screened phones WITH cameras that sell for $99 after two year sign up.

What is in PDA/Phones that make Samsung, HandSpring, or anyone else thing we will pay $700 ($500 with contract) for them?

RE: This is a deal?
a3 @ 8/13/2003 8:06:03 AM #
Well I agree with you to some extent: the PDA/phone hybrids are pricey but the ability to have only one device during my trips keeps me waiting for the Treo 600 launch with an almost empty credit card... besides the Nokias, Motorolas and other phone makers offer some agenda functions but IMHO they'll never match Palm's functionality.
_____________________________________________________
Huge fan of the Tapwave Zodiac, Tungsten T3 and my Clie
RE: This is a deal?
Khris @ 8/13/2003 10:43:08 AM #
I have a BlackBerry 6750 through my work and although it's not a Palm device, the principle of only having one item strapped to your belt instead of having to wear a Bat Toolbelt is so much nicer.

All your contacts, emails, addresses etc are in one device which sure beats bringing out the Palm or other address book and then dialing your phone with the number you need.

Getting emails with other email addresses or phone numbers in the message is as simple as scrolling to the highlighted info and clicking on it. It either dials or emails right away. This is a HUGE time saver as well as convenient.

I would much prefer to have a Palm device, however since I'm not paying for it I really can't complain! :)

monthly fee?

kisrael @ 8/13/2003 10:59:16 AM #
What's the monthly fee run for one of these?

Sometimes I've gotten the impression that there's some wiggle room in setting the monthly rate. This guy my dart team played against talked calling up and asking for "customer retention" dept., playing hardball and threatening to leave if he didn't get a good rate...

RE: monthly fee?
lemketron @ 8/13/2003 11:40:42 AM #
That can often work if you're an established customer who has gone "off contract". That is, if you signed a one or two year contract but that term has expired, then you're essentially going "month to month" with them. You're a "free agent" meaning you can switch carriers if you want in order to get another "free phone with contract" deal. In this case, your carrier generally doesn't want to lose you as a long-term customer. If you call them and ask for their "customer retention" department, you can tell them that you're considering switching carriers and want to know what they can offer you to stay. Typically they'll offer you a good deal on a new phone (similar to what "new customers" might get), in exchange for going back "on contract".

I've done this a few times now with AT&T (to upgrade from a Nokia 2160 to a 6160i and then to a 6160m). Now that I'm "off contract" again, I'm hoping to do this again to move to either a 6310i (GSM/Bluetooth) or to a Treo 600 (once either is available at a reasonable price).

This is a win-win for both sides -- you get a good deal to stay with your current carrier (new phone, possibly better service plan, and you keep your same phone number) and they get to keep you as a customer.

RE: monthly fee?
lemketron @ 8/13/2003 11:52:27 AM #
BTW, $99 for a Treo 300 sounds like a GREAT deal on a pretty cool device (too bad it's a two-year contract though - it would be nice if a one-year option was available). Details on this special offer can be found here: http://www.handspring.com/promos/sprint_rebate.jhtml

Another interesting point... If you go to http://www.sprintpcs.com/ and look for service plans, you'll see that 300 minutes with unlimited data is listed at $50/month. Or, you can get 500 minutes for $60/month, and add a second phone for $20 more (to share the minutes, and presumably also with unlimited data).

However, if you look for a plan on the Handspring site using (for example) this URL:
http://www.handspring.com/products/communicators/findaplan.jhtml?prod_cat_name=Treo300
you'll notice that the same 300 minute plan appears to be listed for $35, and the 500 minute plan is $45. Plus, you can add a second line to the $45 plan, meaning that you can get two lines sharing 500 minutes with unlimited data for $65/month. (That's about what I'm paying for two phones on an AT&T shared plan with *no* included data.)

If these plans are still valid, then it really pays to sign up through the Handspring web site if you're looking to get a $99 Treo 300 (or two). The Handspring site also lists 888-565-9393 as a phone number; it might be worth a call if you have further questions and want to talk to someone about them.

RE: monthly fee?
Scott R @ 8/13/2003 11:37:01 PM #
This is where Sprint's rates really shine, IMO. If you only have yourself to worry about, the competition's rates are pretty good and may even be better in many instances. But if you're looking to buy two (or more) phones and are also interested in the unlimited data plan, I don't think anyone can beat Sprint's rates. As hinted at above, if you get a Vision plan and an add-a-phone option, the additional line also gets unlimited data. T-Mobile, which is about the closest competition in terms of offering unlimited data at a reasonable price, would charge you the full $20/month for each additional line for unlimited data. If I'm wrong here, feel free to correct me.

Scott

http://goodthatway.com
- featuring PDA/smartphone news and FREE MONEY!!! -

RE: monthly fee?
Scott R @ 8/13/2003 11:41:40 PM #
BTW, thanks for pointing out the bit about requiring a two-year agreement lemketron. Quite frankly, even if they were giving these away for free I don't think I could recommend that anyone lock themselves into a two-year agreement. Instead, I'd suggest paying the extra $100 and getting it from Amazon. Or, if T-Mobile coverage is good in your area and you don't plan on buying more than one (and hence, don't need the better Sprint family plan rates), you could get the Treo 270 for $50 after rebates from Amazon.

Scott

http://goodthatway.com
- featuring PDA/smartphone news and FREE MONEY!!! -

RE: monthly fee?
mojo @ 9/17/2003 1:56:13 AM #
Warning -- I believe that the Handspring site is very misleading about the monthly cost of Sprint services! The Handspring website listed about seems to indicate that you can get 300 minutes of "PCS Free & Clear with Vision" for $35/mon while the Sprint website has this listed as $50/mon, while $35 gets you 300 minutes without the "PCS Vision" services (i.e., things like mail and web access). But if you click on the Details link on the side of the plans on the Handspring website and then click on the "Select this plan" button, you will see that there is an additional $15/month fee for the "PCS Professional Pack" (the PCS Vision services that will give you the unlimited Web Access) which is preselected for you. If you unclick this option, you will be back to a $35/mon rate, but you will no longer have your unlimited web access as you'd expect to get with a Sprint PSC Vision plan.

I believe that the Handspring site is extremely misleading since it labels all the Sprint plans as "with Vision" when you do NOT get these services without paying an additional $15/month on the plans. Note that if you get on a Sprint plan of at least $100/month, all the PCS Vision services are included without the additional $15/mon fee. I'd also like to point out that Sprint has been offering a 2 month free trial period for PCS Vision -- so it looks like if you can use this promotion, you could get 300 minutes of PCS Vision service for $35/month for the first 2 months and then it go up to the $50/mon rate of PCS Vision service.

It took me a while to figure this out. I called both Sprint and Handspring today asking about the apparent pricing differences and I didn't get any good explaination. It was only after I did some more checking around on the website that I found that you do indeed have to pay $50/mon for 300 minutes of PCS Vision service even though the Handspring website really makes it look like you only have to pay $35/mon.

Joe

RE: monthly fee?
mojo @ 9/17/2003 2:35:07 AM #
> As hinted at above, if you get a Vision plan and an add-a-phone option, the additional line also gets unlimited data.

I forgot to point out in my last post that you currently need to pay an additional $7.50/mon per line to share the Sprint PCS Vision services (i.e., unlimited data) with each additional line being shared with PCS Add-a-Phone. Also note that the Add-a-Phone option currently costs either $20/mon (for plans with between 500 and 1100 minutes) or $10/mon (for plans with at least 2000 minutes) for each additional line. Thus to share the "unlimited data" on additional lines, you need to pay an additional $27.50/mon for most plans and $17.50 for the high end plans for each additional line.

Joe

TREO

southbound747 @ 8/13/2003 11:14:22 PM #
I just bought the treo for $299. after a $100 discount at time of purschase. (it originally was $399.)this was 2 days ago. I am a little pissed off now to see that I overpaid $200. What are my options....just return it to sprint or try to haggle with them? I think here in NY....legally they may have to give me the difference if it is within a certain time frame...

suggestions?

RE: TREO
Scott R @ 8/13/2003 11:35:43 PM #
If you just bought it two days ago, you should have no problem as you have a certain number of days to return it (not sure how many, though). If your local Sprint store seems inept at switching you to the better deal, just get a refund and start from scratch.

Scott

http://goodthatway.com
- featuring PDA/smartphone news and FREE MONEY!!! -

Top

Account

Register Register | Login Log in
user:
pass: