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Cricket/Leap Wireless Reports iPhone Sales Weaker Than Expected

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Six months after it started carrying the iPhone, U.S. regional prepaid carrier Cricket reports that it will only purchase half of its first-year commitment of iPhones by June 2013, reports BGR.

Back in June 2012, Cricket started carrying the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S after committing to buy at least $900 million worth of iPhones from Apple over the life of its deal with Apple. It got the iPhone 5 a week after it launched on the major U.S. carriers.

cricket logo

The carrier revealed that it is on pace to purchase only half of its first-year commitment from Apple through June 2013. The information in the filing contradicts earlier statements made by the company’s chief financial officers Jerry Elliot. The executive previously said that “sales of Apple devices were pretty good in the fourth quarter” and the carrier wasn’t concerned about meeting its commitment with Apple.

Cricket is generally considered one of roughly half a dozen "super-regional" carriers in the United States, with more than 5 million customers. The carrier offers a nationwide network through roaming agreements and its prepaid model offers simple pricing with no activation fees or overage charges.

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Top Rated Comments

QCassidy352 Avatar
QCassidy352
175 months ago
I like my iPhone 5...BUT. It is starting to feel stale. Meanwhile, Samsung keeps pushing the envelope with the Galaxy series (Note, S3)....the Lumia's are somewhat interesting, and I'm also curious to check out what the new Blackberry has to offer. I'm not surprised by this type of news, there is a lot of great competition out there now, and we as consumers (not fanboys) all benefit.

EDIT: and yes, who the F is cricket?

Wow, what an original and helpful comment. Totally not just stirring the pot with exactly the same sentiments that get repeated a hundred times in every thread that mentions the iPhone. Well done sir.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
K
komodrone
175 months ago
Well...I guess all they heard were...(puts on sunglasses)...crickets. YYYYYYEEEAAAAHHHHHH!!!!
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
D
DavidFulero
175 months ago
Lol, it's a famous, expensive phone, on a small regional carrier that (let's face it) exists to service people with an income level too low to require or afford a national service plan with a major carrier. We are surprised by this?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
G
GuitarDTO
175 months ago
I like my iPhone 5...BUT. It is starting to feel stale. Meanwhile, Samsung keeps pushing the envelope with the Galaxy series (Note, S3)....the Lumia's are somewhat interesting, and I'm also curious to check out what the new Blackberry has to offer. I'm not surprised by this type of news, there is a lot of great competition out there now, and we as consumers (not fanboys) all benefit.

EDIT: and yes, who the F is cricket?
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
3N16MA Avatar
3N16MA
175 months ago
I like my iPhone 5...BUT. It is starting to feel stale. Meanwhile, Samsung keeps pushing the envelope with the Galaxy series (Note, S3)....the Lumia's are somewhat interesting, and I'm also curious to check out what the new Blackberry has to offer. I'm not surprised by this type of news, there is a lot of great competition out there now, and we as consumers (not fanboys) all benefit.

EDIT: and yes, who the F is cricket?

Apple has sold a record number of iPhone 5. This is more of a reflection of Cricket than the iPhone 5.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
ArcaneDevice
175 months ago
Give the proles filet mignon and they'll demand Burger King. This is the crowd that's happy with $49 Android phones running Froyo.

Oh please. The idea that somehow the iPhone is the toy of the elite is total crap. It's the most common phone I see, in the hands of everyone from schoolkids to technophobe grandparents to street kids who think they are part of G-Unit.

Especially since most contract plans give away the 4 for free now.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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