5 things to know today…
1. Sprint will no longer offer subsidized pricing or two-year contracts to new customers. The move comes less than a week after AT&T said it will stop offering contracts. Sprint said back in August it would stop offering contracts by the end of 2015, so it is just a few days behind schedule.
Sprint said a “majority” of its customers are selecting its Easy Pay device financing or Sprint Lease arrangements when signing up for new service. Sprint is expected to allow customers with contracts who want to upgrade their phones to renew their contracts and get their new phones at subsidized prices. But new smartphone customers will not be able to sign contracts or get subsidized pricing. Verizon Wireless has taken a similar approach, reserving contract pricing for renewals only.
2. The name that dominated the high end of the mobile phone market 10 years ago is about to disappear. Motorola, which Lenovo bought for $2.9 billion from Google in 2014, will continue as a division of the Chinese company, but its name will no longer appear on new phones. Lenovo will brand its high-end Android handsets as Lenovo Moto smartphones and will retain the bat-shaped “M” logo.
3. BlackBerry appears to be headed for a future as an Android smartphone maker. Its Android-powered Priv smartphone saw good uptake by U.S. carriers, and now CEO John Chen says BlackBerry is working on another Android phone. Investors would apparently rather see BlackBerry focus on its software business. News that the company is planning another smartphone launch sent its shares plummeting, with BlackBerry down 8% Thursday, while the NASDAQ overall was down 3%.
4. Apple has also had a rough ride on Wall Street as investors worry the iPhone cannot maintain its momentum. More evidence iPhone orders are slowing came to light this week as Apple suppliers Qorvo and Cirrus Logic both trimmed revenue projections for their fiscal third quarters.
5. Samsung plans to use Microsoft’s Windows 10 platform as it develops connected devices for the “Internet of Things.” IoT represents a huge opportunity for Samsung, which makes chips, network infrastructure, home appliances, smart TVs and of course smartphones. Those smartphones have relied on Google’s Android operating system, but for IoT devices Samsung is apparently casting its lot with Microsoft.
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