uSprint Reportedly Ditching New 2-Year Contracts Starting This Fridayr

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  Nearly three years after T-Mobile became the first of the four major wireless carriers to ditch the two-year contract business model, Sprint is now the only of these companies to still offer these traditional plans to customers. But a company insider claims that Sprint will join the rest of the pack and ditch contracts later this week.

  This is according to a post from late last night by a verified employee on the Sprint subreddit.

  The employee writes that, starting Friday, Jan. 8, new Sprint customers will not be able to get two-year contracts and the cheaper, subsidized phones that come with them.

  Instead, customers will have to pay full price for their phones, either by purchasing them outright or by leasing through Sprint.

  Like the other carriers, Sprint has been offering this sort of contract-free plan for quite some time, but it has also continued to allow consumers to sign up for traditional contracts.

  Unlike AT&T, which is ditching new contracts altogether this week, the employee says that Sprint will allow existing contract customers to re-up their deals when their obligation expires.

  The employee also says that the change does not affect Sprint’s wireless plans for tablets, but that the company will soon begin offering incentives to nudge contract tablet customers into leasing their devices when their contracts expire.

  As the employee notes, wile contracts might offer you the cheaper sticker price on devices, customers may be able to save more by going contract-free and leasing their phones.

  We asked Sprint for comment on the reddit post and a rep for the company provided a statement that still lists contracts as an option, but doesn’t explain whether they will still be an option after Jan. 8:

  “Sprint continues to offer customers choices to obtain their new device in a way that best fits their budget,” reads the statement. “Customers can choose to lease a smartphone – the most cost effective way to obtain a new phone. Customers also have the choice to pay for their device through Sprint Easy Pay (installment bill), pay full retail price or sign a two-year agreement.”

  We’ve asked for further clarification on this issue and will update if we hear back.

  [via DSLreports]

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uYahoo Hit With Class-Action Lawsuit Claiming Messenger Service Sent Spam Texts To Some Usersr

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  When you sign up for one kind of message service, you might not expect, or want, messages about that service elsewhere. As such, Yahoo is facing a class-action lawsuit that claims the company’s Messenger service spammed some Sprint cellphone customers with unwanted texts, which could put it on the line for costly fines if it loses in court.

  U.S. District Judge Manish Shah ordered that a lawsuit originally filed by an Illinois resident in 2014 now applies to all Sprint cellular customers in the U.S. who received a certain kind of text message from Yahoo in March 2013, reports the Wall Street Journal. That could mean more than 500,000 members, the judge wrote.

  The complaint claims Yahoo violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 by sending unsolicited text messages — or spam texts — from Yahoo Messenger. It essentially took instant messages and translated them into texts that could be sent to a cellphone, including a “welcome message” that urges the user to respond.

  The lawsuit wants Yahoo to pay at least $500 for every violation of the rule, which bars unsolicited automated texts, phone calls or fax messages, and allows the recipient to sue for damages of $500 to $1,500 per violation.

  Yahoo isn’t commenting on pending litigation, but says that the texts aren’t spam at all, they’re a good thing — because they’re “not the type of annoying, intrusive mass communication” barred by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Instead, they simply alert recipients that they’ve gotten a message from another user, say what that message is and gives them actions to take, one of which is blocking future messages.

  Yahoo Faces Class-Action Suit Over Spam Texts [Wall Street Journal]

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uChick-fil-A’s “Mom’s Valet” Aims To Take The Stress Out Of Dining With Childrenr

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  A simple trip for fast food can become anxiety-inducing when you throw a carful of excited kids into the mix. In an attempt to quell this chaos, Chick fil-A is testing a new service dubbed “Mom’s Valet.”
  

  The service, Business Insider reports, enables parents with children to order their meals via the drive-thru, then come inside with their brood to eat.

  Once an order is placed and paid for at the drive-thru, a Chick-fil-A employee will prepare a table for them and bring their order to them.

  David Farmer, Chick-fil-A’s vice president of menu strategy and development, tells Business Insider that the idea for the service came about after employees noticed how hectic the ordering process could be for families.

  The service, which will be advertised on participating restaurants’ drive-thru signs, is part of the company’s focus on “taking the stress out,” and making the dining experience more relaxing for all customers.

  Chick-fil-A is making an unprecedented move to hook millennial moms [Business Insider]

  
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by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist

uPay Tolls Directly When Renting A Car, Or Face Modest Yet Annoying Feesr

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  Last year, I rented a car while mine was off having damage fixed. The danger in renting a car and then going about your normal routine is that you may forget that the rental car doesn’t have a toll transponder, and breeze through the EZPass lane as you normally would. I knew what was coming: a $25 bill for my 60¢ toll. Reader Allen didn’t know, and had to pay $35 for a $1 toll. Let these experiences serve as cautionary tales.

  The good news is that you aren’t going to be hit with a substantial fine for zooming through an automated toll gate without paying. The booths instead charge the toll to the registered owner of the vehicle, or some rental companies will rent you the necessary local transponder. Either way, you’re going to pay an “administrative fee” for the service.

  Allen, for example, drove through a toll gate, but didn’t know that by using this toll service he would then activate PlatePass for his entire Hertz rental period. “I learned, much to my dismay, that Hertz now uses a service called PlatePass that will charge you a fee for each day in which you rent a car, even if you only use the service once,” he grumbled to Consumerist.

  Yes, even though he only used toll roads on one day of his rental, the daily service fee applied to each day that he had the car.

  Compared to the total bill when you rent a car, being charged $4.95 per day plus actual tolls isn’t so bad. Yet it’s frustrating to receive a bill for something that could have been prevented if you only had a dollar handy, or hadn’t chosen the automated lane out of habit.

  SEE ALSO:
  Watch Out For Car Rental Companies’ Convenient Service To Pay Tolls
  Hertz Alienates Longtime Customer With $10 Convenience Fee For 75 Cent Toll

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist

uSamsung Debuts Fridge With A Larger Screen Than Most Laptops, Washing Machine With Forgotten Sock Doorr

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• Remember the refrigerators of your youth? Far from sleek, shiny, or Internet-connected, they were at least magnetic, which meant they doubled as the home’s bulletin board for reminders, calendars, and shopping lists. Now that everything is stainless steel, Samsung thinks it has a substitution for those old fridge magnets, by way of a 21.5″ touchscreen on the front of its newest refrigerators.

  With a touchscreen that’s larger than most of your average laptops, Samsung’s Family Hub fridge isn’t just a place’s not just a spot for calendars, to-do lists and notes you might’ve slapped on the fridge with the magnets Great Aunt Sally always brings you from her cruises, but includes three built-in cameras that take photos from inside the fridge every time it’s closed. A companion app will also alert users when they’re running low on things like eggs, milk, or whathaveyou.

  

  Which, for people who might forget to check what they’re out of before going to the store, or maybe just want to think about what they’re going to eat before they actually make the move to go get it, could be a handy thing.

  Or, if you’re the type that doesn’t actually want to go anywhere to buy groceries, Samsung has partnered with MasterCard for a new “grocery shopping experience” that lets you order food online from either Fresh Direct or Rite Aid, for now, with plans to expand with MyWeb Grocer in the future.

  All items end up in one common cart no matter which grocer you use, so shoppers can check out all at once. The fridge accepts all U.S. credit and debit cards, though of course, noted Betty DeVita, chief commercial officer of MasterCard Labs during today’s presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show, MasterCard would love it if you use one of their cards.

  On top of those food bells and whistles, there’s also a built-in speaker for playing music that includes Bluetooth so you can play it on other connected speakers in your home, and a TV mirroring capability so you can see what everyone in the living room is watching on the Samsung Smart TV while you’re cooking.

  Elsewhere in the world of smart appliances, Samsung introduced a new feature for its front-loading washing machines called AddWash, which, aptly enough, allows users to add something to the washing machine that they’ve forgot by pressing a button. I’m calling it a sock door, because that’s what it is — you left a sock out of the load, and cannot bear to complete the rest of the load knowing that its mate will be clean while it, alas, is not.

  And lest you’re worried your child might decide they also need to get into the wash after it’s started going, the feature comes with a child lock.

  
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by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist

uNew Dish DVR Lets You Record Up To 16 Shows At Once, Watch 4 Channels Simultaneously In HDr

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• Do you feel the need to watch everything on TV all at once? Then Dish might be the TV provider for you. The satellite company is coming out with a new DVR that features 16 different tuners for people who just can’t get enough TV.

  According to Dish, the Hopper 3 — the latest DVR in Dish’s Sling-powered Hopper series — is seven times more powerful than its current DVR, resulting in a faster and improved interface.

  It can also be connected to up to six different “Joey” receivers around your house, meaning a total of seven TV sets can be pulling from the same DVR at the same time.

  That’s one of the reasons that the Hopper 3 has the 16 tuners. If each of those TVs has an owner who wants to record something, it never hurts to have a ridiculous number of tuners.

  The other big reason for the 16 tuners is a feature that Dish informally dubs “sports bar mode,” which allows users to view up to four programs simultaneously on the same screen.

  Where this multi-channel viewing option is a big deal is on 4K ultra-HD sets. The Hopper 3 supports 4K video, which is four times the resolution of current HD TVs. So when you split your 4K screen into four smaller screens, each one will still be showing in full HD.

  

  Speaking of 4K video, Dish is upgrading the Netflix app on the Hopper 3 so that it can access the streaming service’s 4K content. Some of those videos will be broadcast via satellite; some will stream over the Internet.

  As an adjunct to the Hopper 3, Dish will also be releasing a small device called the Hopper Go. It’s a portable device that lets you carry around up to 100 hours of recorded content for playing anywhere, even in places where there is no Internet connection.

  The Go creates its own WiFi cloud that can be accessed by up to five devices simultaneously. So if your whole family is taking a long train ride, you can each wirelessly stream recorded content to your phones and computers without using anyone else’s WiFi or a cellular connection.

  The Hopper 3 is coming out this month. Dish says that eligible new and current customer won’t have to pay an upgrade but it will cost you $15/month.

  The Go is coming later in the spring, says Dish. It will sell for a one-time charge of $99.

  

  
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by Chris Morran via Consumerist

uAdvances In Candy Technology Mean More Edible Conversation Heartsr

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• Never underestimate human ingenuity. It was just a few short years ago that if you wanted to eat conversation hearts, your only choice was to crunch or suck on some chalky, hard candies. Today, there are even more alternatives available for people who enjoy word-laden sweets, and the latest is conversation kisses from Hershey.

  

  Really, the maker of a candy called “kisses” should have thought of this decades ago, but people who like to communicate using candy have it now, and that’s what’s important.

  Last year, Brach’s introduced conversation jelly beans and gummy hearts, which was an amazing way to diversify Valentine’s Day candy offerings while also extending the jelly bean season. (That’s not to imply that that jelly beans aren’t on stores shelves in January to begin with, but these are seasonal.)

  Last year, red velvet was the Unofficial Flavor of Valentine’s Day. This year, it’s strawberry shortcake. So far, the flavor has showed up in M&Ms, Dove Promises, and Oreos will probably be next. If not, someone over at Nabisco is probably running to the flavor lab right now to plan for 2017.

  I’ve always associated strawberry shortcake with early summer, when strawberries are in season where I live, but what do I know?

  
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by Laura Northrup via Consumerist