Sprint’s new All-In plans give you a standard $80 monthly rate no matter which smartphone you buy

Sprint today had a couple of new plans to announce. The first is All-In, which is the company’s new pricing structure that makes it easy to understand and buy new smartphones and service. Sprint’s fuel against competing carriers is that those fancy “ all you can eat” plans are often advertised without mentioning the other monthly charges tacked on, such as Verizon’s infamous access fee, or the cost of paying for your smartphone.

The idea is that you get one easy-to-understand monthly rate for the cost of service + buying your smartphone, no matter which smartphone you buy. The starting rate is for unlimited talk, text and data + per month for covering the cost of your device off-contract, which amounts to a smooth per month.

That’s the idea. The reality is as follows (as noted in the fine print that they never want you to read):

• You can only choose between the 32GB Samsung Galaxy S6, HTC One M9, LG G4 or iPhone 6, with no further options hinted to be on the horizon.


• There is a one-time activation fee, but there are no other upfront costs.


• The per month smartphone payment is considered a “lease.”


• If you can’t go the full 24 months, you have to give the phone back and pay the remainder of the lease period.


• Sprint notes you have the option to “purchase” the phone at the end of the 24 month leasing period or at time of termination, but we’re not yet sure if any previous payments made through leasing will go toward that. We’ll reach out to confirm.


• Note that you also have the option of simply continuing to pay the per month lease beyond 24 months.


• Sprint says the “offer” for the plan ends August 6th, so this pricing may not even be a permanent option.

That’s just what we know from the fine print, but it doesn’t sound all that amazing on paper (sure does make for a sweet way to advertise, though). We’ll be looking to clarify every nook and cranny of this new plan and we’ll be sure to update you on anything we hear.

Regardless, Sprint is excited about it — so much so, in fact, that they’ve teamed up with David Beckham to advertise it. Nothing like having one of the most famous men in sports talking up your new plans.

Also on tap is a new plan in conjunction with Best Buy. It’s the Best Buy One Family Plan, which gives you and another soul unlimited everything for a cool 0 per month. That doesn’t include any possible smartphone payments, and adding more people will add an additional per month per line. Not amazing, but not bad.

Both the All-In and Best Buy One Family plans (only available when upgrading or buying new service at Best Buy Mobile) are available starting today. Be sure to consider your options carefully before jumping in!

Google Opinion Rewards survey asks users if they have a “Google monthly movie pass”

A strange question from Google inside their Google Opinion Rewards app is leaving some scratching their heads. During one of Google’s many surveys, they ask users, “Do you have a Google monthly movie pass?” Google+ user Hugo Seijas saw this and quickly posted the above screenshot to his page wondering if he perhaps stumbled upon something. Why is it so weird? Google is essentially asking users if they have a subscription to a service that doesn’t even exist — but why?

Before you read too much into the question, our own Derek Ross remains skeptical. He points out that Google often times plants test questions in Opinion Rewards just to make sure a user is answering honestly and not just tapping any answer in hopes of gaining a reward as quickly as possible. We’ve also seen reports from other users who have been asked if they’ve ever visited fictional places and other planted questions.

Still, this seems different in that it’s so vague. It’s simply not a very good test question to check if someone is paying attention in that a casual Android user could easily mistake this for Netflix running on their “Google phone” or something similar. Now, we’re not saying this is a hint of things to come, but if Google really was planing an actual Google Play Monthly Movie Pass, it certainly would make for some interesting competition. Can’t let Netflix have all the fun, right?

Thanks, Jerry!