Sprint asks dealers to give odd 'no comment' on iPhone 5
updated 09:30 pm EDT, Sun August 28, 2011
Sprint fuels iPhone 5 rumors through new policy
Sprint did little to quell talk of an Sprint-ready iPhone 5 after it issued a dealer note on the weekend giving shops talking points on how to respond to customers. Store staff are told to not only give a direct "no comment" response to customers, SprintFeed saw, but to do the same even when asked by family. If pressed, they're supposed to acknowledge that they read rumors but to add only that they "don't have any information to share," the note says.
The leaked memo only lends support to the iPhone reaching Sprint rather than dismissing it. If Sprint genuinely lacked an iPhone, it could tell staff to flatly deny the claims and avoid raising customers' hopes. Likewise, no mention is made at all of telling dealers to promote Android or BlackBerry hardware instead, which would be more likely if Sprint either had a significant amount of lead time between an iPhone launch or it had no deal at all. Most anticipate the iPhone being ready by mid-October, or just six weeks away.
Executives themselves have been cautious on language surrounding an Apple deal. Much of their phrasing is the same Verizon used when it had a deal months ahead of time but didn't want to jeopardize short-term Android sales.
If tips have been accurate, Sprint will get its iPhone day-and-date with the AT&T and Verizon models. It should get both the iPhone 5 as well as the 8GB iPhone 4 as its peers.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Aug 2000
Either way
You can spin this either way.
If they have a deal, they don't want to jeopardize sales or having the deal cancelled.
If there is no deal, they don't want to ruin the chance to finalize such a deal.
Either way they would want to appear to be a good customer for Apple, and a trustworthy partner.
The only way they would likely want to come out and say something explicit is if there is no interest in selling the iphone at all and there is no risk of offending their famously touchy potential partner.