Thats my whole point, I think Sprint is just beating everyone to the punch.
We all know Sprint has the bad rep. but look at what it has done in the past year.
1. Unlimited Mobile to Mobile calling.....thats a feature that can keep most people at minimum minutes on the cheapest plan. Hell the only landline I call frequently is my parents or the delivery guy. Agreed.
2. 30 Day guarantee.......yea good luck trying to get AT&T or Verizon to have you in a contract for 2 years and you get out of it scott free. Soon, others will match this.
3. $10(As it should be called) No Cap/Unlimited Data Charge which as of right now has no competition to compare to....but lets wait and see what Verizon and AT&T will do. Sprint has killed them here. The bar is so low that tiered data on already higher-priced plans isn't going to be well received at all. BIGGEST smart thing Sprint has done in the last 2-3 years.
4. EVO release, which going by what I have seen, is going to be huge for Sprint as a whole, and AT&T and Verizon are rushing to get even something remotely comparable to it. Still not handled as well as it could have been. Sprint's been too cautious - trying to avoid problems rather than shooting for wild success. No excuse for limited marketing. Should have included most features as "at no charge" through summer and then added Evo charge through remaining length of contract. Should also make sure full Froyo 2.2 just as iPhone and others get released. Combined moves = biggest/best deal on premium phone ever.
All in all, Sprint is carefully making moves that can help get them out of the red....maybe by the end of the year. Sure some of it doesnt seem right($10 charge) but lets see how it is a couple months from now. Yes. I don't care about the $10, but it's going to stand out more as other features and services get added on if they, too, come with additional co$t.
The only other thing I think Sprint should do is align themselves with Google/Android formally and become truly known as the value network. That kind of relationship would make Android development and deployment move even faster, and Sprint could gain from it by being the network where OEMs go to first release their products. You'd also see more app developer support and a bigger jump behind Wimax now with a smoother, easier inclusion - not transition - of LTE later.
That pretty much would leave AAPL with having to do something with both ATT & VZW, but I don't care if that happens.