We previously reported that the Sprint Unlimited Plan would be required to use the upcoming iPhone-killing Samsung Instinct launching on Sprint in June, but the bad news continues. Today Sprint announced that the Unlimited Plans would be required with their new device, ending all rumors that those of you using SERO plans and similar would be able to join in the fun. According to ComputerWorld.com, they have confirmed our earlier predictions that the Samsung Instinct would release June 20, 2008 and at the same time adding in some additional details. There are two options for the Samsung Instinct, either opt for the $69.99 Unlimited Plan or the more expensive $99.99/month plan. With stock prices so low and $100 million in advertising going towards this much anticipated launch, we can’t help but be disappointed by the latest move by Sprint.
In case you have never heard about the $69.99 unlimited plan, it is unlimited for everything except voice minutes. The voice minutes are limited to 450 minutes with the standard 7pm nights and weekends being unlimited. At this point, we are just disappointed by the news from Sprint and praying that a PR campaign comes through to clarify their announcements today and rectifies the problem immediately. It looks like everyone on those SERO plans is going to need to find a good corporate discount.
| Unlimited Plan $69.99 | SERO 500 Min Plan | |
| Minutes | 450 minutes | 500 minutes |
| Nights/Weekends | Unlimited 7pm | Unlimited 7pm |
| Data | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Text | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Visual Voicemail | Unlimited | None ($9.99/month ?) |
| GPS | Unlimited | $9.99/month |
| Total Cost | $69.99 | $30 + $9.99 + $9.99 |
So with the above scenarios your minutes are pretty much the same with 500 or 450 and the 7pm nights and weekends are unlimited. The big difference here is the final cost which is about $20/month if you factor in the additional cost of adding visual voice mail as a feature and unlimited GPS navigation (Sprint Navigation). The only way that makes sense if in fact SERO plans are not eligible for the Samsung Instinct is to get a solid corporate discount of around 25%. With the 25% off you are looking at $69.99 – 25% = $52.49/month. Not a bad price if you were going to end up paying $49.98 on the SERO plan with the added features.