Sprint.com Store will return shortly!
The website updates are *soo* close to being doing for the current phase, and to be able to complete some needed maintenance, the online store, housed on nextel.com will be down from 2AM-6AM this morning!
So hang tight and don’t get too antsy – the Pre is only going to be available in retail channels initially anyways, so it’s not like you’ve got anything to order, right ? Well, if you do it’ll be up in just over 4 hours.
Since there are quite a few in the wild already, and we’re just over a week away from launch, I figured it’d be as good a time as any to give a preview of what activation/first use will look like on the Pre, and field any questions that may come up in the process.
There’s been a new way of activating phones here at Sprint for a month or so now, and while you may occasionally run into a few agents who manually program phones out of habit, there’s simply no need for it anymore. Almost all the phones can now be programmed via Hands-Free or One Touch Activation, and the Palm Pre is no exception. The one exception to the Palm Pre is that it can’t be programmed manually, so Hands-Free activation is required.
Update: Coal has acquired & posted a full Palm Pre User Guide at SprintGurus here
On the Palm Pre, this is found in 3 places:
All the steps and screenshots included, after the jump…
Whoops – I was off by one on the launch date, sorry folks – sometimes even I get the slip, ya know :) It was never my intention for my blog to be all about the Palm Pre, just my sometimes mundane life at sprint. But, hey – what can I do lol. We’ve been working in our own departments and in others the past few weeks, gearing up on all fronts – hence my lack of posts. Like I said though – ISN isn’t about the Pre, it’s about Sprint – and though I have blogged mostly about the Pre lately, well… quite frankly that’s been the biggest thing going on, so it’s only appropriate, right?
Ok.. ok… so I did mention goodness, right? If the blog stats are any indication then you’ve ALL been craving some new info… yea, i see ya hitting refresh every hour or two to see if I’ve posted. Get a feed reader, already – lol :) So who am I to disappoint.. here’s some goodness I doubt you’ve been exposed to. Enjoy.
Oh.. and while you’re here, in case you’re new, check out some of my non-pre posts too, like: Overage Relief Minutes, where you can get 100 minutes for $5 (sure beats .40 cents a minute for overage, right?) oh yea..back to the palm pre, boys…. and you may already know this – quite frankly I’ve been so caught up in it all at work, I forget what’s been figured out, and what hasn’t.
How about some official accessories, price plans, and device info (including battery life)? Full size images after the jump!
After the jump: Palm Pre Service Plans, Featured Accessories, & More…
Just a quick note for all of you wondering what’s going on with Sprint.com and why you may not be able to login… this will hopefully be completed by Friday evening, but could roll over into Saturday. Here’s the note we’ve posted to care…
Customers are unable to access their My Sprint account or the Digital Lounge thru sprint.com due to the site being splashed. Customers will not be able to log into thier MySprint account to manage their account including checking usage, paying or viewing bills or swapping phones. The Digital Lounge is also splashed and customers will not be able to make a purchase thru sprint.com. Customers ARE able to access Sprint and Digital Lounge thru thier handsets.
Just remember you can always dial *2 or sprint.com/chat for any issue you have for a quick resolution, or manage your account via your handset. Sorry for the downtime, but it’s necessary to keep great things coming down the pipeline!
Due to all the fuss about having to swap to a new plan (for some) in order to activate a Pre, here’s a breakdown of the plans it can be activated on – both with the standard price AND the price with a NVP/Employer discount. As posted before, anyone can qualify for the credit union member NVP discount automatically, which is a 10% discount no questions asked – but you can of course qualify for much more, by having a different employer’s discount – Not that I advocate being dishonest about your employer for discount purposes, but a LOT of companies do business with Sprint/Nextel, so many people are very surprised to know they already qualify for 15%, 20%, 25%, or 27% already.
Here’s how the plan pricing looks, standard and with discounts. Yellow is the standard MRC (Monthly Recurring Charge) and then the NVP Discounts to the right, with 27% first, all the way to the 10% in the final column.
Palm Pre Data Plans
If i left anything out I’m sure someone will let me know, but this gives you a general quick-reference when looking at your options. enjoy!
At the suggestion of a few folks, I’ve decided to sign up for Twitter. If that should interest ya, you can follow me ‘InsideSprintNow’ – no promises that I’ll have the time to update frequently but we’ll see how it goes. Also, I’ll make my email address a bit more prominent for the folks that were unable to find it.
Twitter: InsideSprintNow
Email: inside.sprint.now@gmail.com
There’s been a lot of hype about the Palm Pre, and as we get closer to June the questions about it get more frequent. Here’s some of the more popular questions that I’ve encountered and am able to answer.
The backup feature, does it cost anything more?
Nope, it’s all included for free as a part of the service provided by Palm included with your Pre.
What happens to my phone when it’s in USB Mode?
All calls are routed to voicemail when the Pre is in USB Mode. Slight downer, I know – but how often are you really gonna have the Pre in USB Mode? And even then, not more than a couple minutes @ a time.
What IM services will the Pre support for real-time status indicators?
Google Talk (GTalk) and AIM at launch. Do you really know anyone without a Gmail address?
In the Calendar, can I choose my own colors for the appointments?
Yes! it’s easily selectable, or can sync with your Outlook category colors with Exchange.
What about the web browser, can I disable cookies?
Yep, it’s an option in the Web Preferences.
How do I get the calendar to do the cool ‘compress’ when displaying?
Simple! it just has to be a block of time that’s 2 hours or more.
Can you have multiple IM conversations going at the same time?
Yes, the possibilities are limitless – talk to everyone, share the Pre love!
Office 2007 – Any issues?
Nope. Go ahead, tell your boss about it, and bring it to work. Welcome to life with the Pre – it just works!
Can I use Pictbridge (wirelessly sending pics to a printer)?
There’s not a profile for it yet. Hang in there, grasshopper.
With the new webOS, what about virus protection?
The core is not open, and isn’t subject to any viruses, in other words, you’re covered!
What about Calltones?
Would you expect any less? It’s a network feature, so they’re 100% supported, no problems.
Can I save music as a ring tone for my Pre?
Sure, customize it all you want.
Family locator – can I track my son with his Pre?
While it’s great you’d get a Pre for your son (umm, sure!, lol), you won’t be able to track lil Timmy with it just yet using Family Locator.
Can I take videos with my Palm Pre?
Not at launch, but hang in there as great things are on the way, and as the Palm Pre uses the webOS, updates are just a gesture away!
Can I send pictures as a text message?
Using MMS, of course. You can’t however crop pictures yet, so be aware of any size limitations the receiving person may have with their device or carrier, or adjust the camera settings.
That’s all for now! Don’t forget about the folks over at SprintGurus, where you can discuss not only these Palm Pre FAQs, but anything Sprint related. I do monitor and reply to the comments here on the blog as time permits, but there’s a great community of people there that are very knowledgeable, and if you’re looking to discuss Sprint or the Pre, it’s the place to be!
Rumors aren’t the purpose of my blog, and as you can see there’s none here from me. No rumored launch dates, no rumors of the pricing, none of that where the Pre is concerned. But when a generally well respected blog posts a rumor that is SO far-fetched without even a ‘not likely’ disclaimer, I feel I have to speak up, so that folks waiting for the Palm Pre aren’t scared away – which hopefully most are smart enough to realize the insane figures being posted over at the Boy Genius Report (BGR).
So let’s take the post as it was stated:
“according to our ninja, Best Buy will be getting its hands on a limited inventory of Pre handsets for a trial launch on June 7th. Sprint will be direct-shipping the lot to arrive on the 6th and in total, about 4,500 units will be spread throughout Best Buy Mobile locations across the country. That might not seem like a lot, well, because it isn’t, but each and every Best Buy Mobile will be getting at least one Pre to hawk.”
Wow. I’m not sure where to even begin on this one – let’s start by saying that any release this big certainly isn’t going to be done with anyone ‘partnered’ in, other than Sprint and Palm. Sprint has thousands of stores across the country that are perfectly capable of launching a device – where we not only can tightly control the inventory pre-launch, but where we can also make money on the accessory sales in-store on launch day. To even think that we would miss out on that opportunity and turn it over to a ‘partner’ is simply crazy. Does this person know how huge accessory sales are for a Sprint retail store? Also – Each BB Mobile guaranteed to have at least 1 device? C’mon – I don’t care how bad I wanted the Pre, I would not get out of bed for that, because you KNOW that an employee of BB would have it purchased before the doors opened. Flunk.
“Speaking of hawking, our ninja has some numbers to report as well. Pricing is supposedly still being discussed but the probable points are as follows: New customers with a 2-year contract, $199.99. Existing customer upgrades, $299.99. Outright, $999.99. Yes, seriously.”
Seriously? I don’t think so. Flunk, again. $999 price point? Put Simply, no. Not in any combination will you find the $999 price point to be valid, contract or not. As to the upgrades for existing customers? Have you -ever- seen a single price point for an upgrade price? The answer is no, because the system is simply not set up like this. The existing customer price will be the standard $75 off for 10+ months into agreement, $150 off for 22+ months, and the full $150 off + any rebates for those that qualify and have have the same device for 24+ months, which is essentially new customer pricing. Premier & White Glove customers also qualify for essentially new customer pricing at the 12 month mark, just as with any other device. To hint that there would be a single price point for any customer that wanted to upgrade is simply incorrect, and anyone as familiar with Sprint as BGR should be, knows that the system just isn’t set up to allow for that.
Here’s how the Upgrade Eligibility works:
Some one sent me a message asking about the NVP discount that we offer to employees of companies that have accounts with Sprint. More specifically, this person received conflicting answers from many different employees as to whether or not the discount would apply to his particular plan. I began replying, however very soon the short note back had become several sections long and it was apparent that this would be a great topic that a lot of people may have questions about, or are maybe not aware of what exactly is involved in the process and why it can take up to 60 days (1-2 cycles) to reflect on your bill. Oh, and of course – which plans the discount does not apply to.
Essentially (and in terms that don’t give away anything internally that shouldn’t be), here is how the NVP Discount program works & what the process is & some other info that may help to understand all about NVP Discounts:
What is NVP? It stands for Sprint’s National Value Program, and it allows business customers(& employees) to receive set discounts on their MRC (Monthly Recurring Charges) each month on their bill/invoice.
But I’m an individual, what gives with this Corporate Classiication? There are four primary account types that pertain to NVP Discounts: NOTE: Standard consumer/consumer accounts MUST be converted Corp/IL type accounts as a part of the discount process. You’ll see why later.
1. Corporate/Corporate Individual (i.e. someone who works for a company like General Motors or JC Penney’s whose company has a business agreement with Sprint, and has a Nextel device)
2. Corporate/Corporate Individual (CDMA workaround) (someone who works for a company like General Motors or JC Penney’s whose company has a business agreement with Sprint, and has a Sprint device)
3. Public Sector/Gov’t Individual (police officer, fireman, teacher, or someone in the public sector whose company has a business agreement with Sprint, and has a Nextel device)
4. Public Sector/Gov’t Individual (CDMA workaround) (police officer, fireman or someone in the public sector whose company has a business agreement with Sprint, and has a Sprint device)
NVP is synonymous with ‘Company Discount’, ‘EVP’, and ‘Employee Discount’ as different terms are used to describe the program in different areas, however they all reference the NVP Program/Discount.
Let’s start at the beginning. You have to get the discount added to your account. You can do this online (http://sprint.p.delivery.net/m/p/nxt/ais/wdyw.asp), via echat (http://www.sprint.com/chat) or via customer care (*2 from your handset). You can either tell the agent which company you work for and they can look up the NVP code for you, or you may already have the code from your employer/group.
It’s important to note that no matter what normal method you use to request your discount, it is not added real time. The agent will simply fill out a web-based form with all of your information, including the discount amount and code, and it is then submitted to a special back office team for processing. After the form is submitted the agent will read this to you(often paraphrased):
This is generally where the fun begins. In short, a special back office team receives the request in the form of a case/ticket and works them generally in the order received. Now, if you want to understand what goes on behind the scenes, here’s a good place to start:
To receive the discount, the customer’s account has to be attached to the sponsoring company’s ‘hierarchy’. This creates two common scenarios that customers are not often aware of:
Upon receipt, the discount form (now a ticket/case in the que) is assigned to be worked on the first day after the current billing cycle. This is what creates a lot of confusion, as if it’s toward the end of your cycle then your request will be processed in as little as a couple of days; or if you just started your billing cycle at the time of requesting the discount, it could be as long as almost a full month before your request is even processed. You won’t be able to speed this up, so as much as you don’t like it – it is what it is. You are told of this 30-60 day process when requesting the discount, and frankly no one you can speak with will have the ability to change it once the request has been submitted.
Once your current billing cycle ends, the very next day your request will be processed in the billing system. The account will be converted from an Individual/Individual account type to a Corporate/Individual account type. Your bill cycle will be matched to that of the sponsoring company. Since your billing cycle has just began on this day, that means if it happens to only be a day or two away, that you will receive a partial month bill for a few dollars for those few days on your ‘old’ billing cycle – this also means that if it’s almost a full month before the company’s billing cycle starts, that your partial month bill could be almost your full normal bill.
Here are the restrictions places on the NVP Discount Program Eligibility:
Here they are:
Even though a BAN has been qualified for a discount, there are certain price plans and charges that the NVP Discount will NOT apply to:
Q. If I submit a web form and the customer’s current bill cycle is today what will happen?
A. After the form submission the web form will be sent directly to the back office group for processing without any delay.
Q. What communication does the customer receive when we include their email address?
A. You can assure the customer that their email will NOT be used for any solicitation. Customer will receive a brief initial email (after you submit the form) thanking them for participating in the discount program and second and final email just before they get their invoice with any changes that were made to their account (i.e. account and/or bill cycle change, discount percentage).
Q. Do I give the customer the case number once I have submitted the web form?
A. No. From the customer’s point of view you have completed their request and they will get the discount on their next invoice. The case number is for internal purposes only.
Q. If the customer is already on a hierarchy, can I still use the web form?
A. Yes. The web form can be used for any consumer (wants to get a discount) or individual liable (wanting to change the company) customer. It does not matter that they are already on a hierarchy.
Q. Is this discount off the entire invoice?
A. No, the NVP discount is only applicable on the MRC for the plan.
If you have other questions regarding how the NVP/Employer discount works, comments are open! The process is fairly straightforward, and anyone can qualify for the Credit Union discount, which is a base 10% off with no verification, simply by saying you use a credit union!
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