BEIJING, June 19 (Xinhuanet) -- Sprint Nextel Corp. announced Wednesday that it's newest offering in the smart-phone market, the Samsung Instinct, will cost 129.99 U.S. dollars when it goes on sale Friday. The iPhone's least expensive model, which goes on sale July 11, will sellfor 199 dollars.
The Instinct's manyfeatures include access to a fast wireless data network and a GPS receiver. Sprint was unusually involved in the phone's development, and plans to promote it heavily.
The new iPhone costs half as much as the old one, since AT&T is now subsidizing the hardware, much like carriers do for other phones. Previously, Apple had a unique arrangement with AT&T under which the phone was sold at full price, but Apple got a share of wireless service revenue from the carrier.
Before the announcement of the iPhone price cut, Sprint had indicatedthe Instinct would cost more than 200 dollars. Afterward, it said it would match the price. Wednesday's announcement lowers the price further, and points to the intense competition in the smart-phone market, which has been very strong the last six months.
The Instinct's price is with a two-year contract and after a 100 dollar mail-in rebate.
The purchase price of a smart phone is only a fraction of the total cost of ownership, since the phones require a data plan. The cheapest monthly plan for the Instinct will cost 69.99 dollars, which ends up closer to 80 dollars with taxes and fees. The cost for two years of service is then about 1,900 dollars.
(Agencies)
