That is actually possible too, since Sprint's market cap is only $12.8b, and Apple's is $135b. A deal that is part cash, mostly Apple stock would probably go down well with current Sprint shareholders (the ones I know are fairly pessimistic about Sprint's future, but are holding in the hopes that the Pre helps, or it gets acquired for a premium).
Sprint definitely has a history of horrible customer service, which maybe Apple could finally slay. I live in their home market (KC), so obviously coverage is great here, but not sure if it would be sufficient nationwide to be worth it to Apple. That said, Amazon apparently thinks coverage is sufficient for the Kindle.
Definitely an interesting idea... who knows if Apple really wants to bother running the network though. It could take a while to raise network and customer service quality to meet Apple-customer expectations (ie. perfection), tarnishing Apple's hard-earned brand name along the way. Claiming all the successes (the device) and blaming all the problems (the network) on AT&T could be convenient.
Sprint definitely has a history of horrible customer service, which maybe Apple could finally slay. I live in their home market (KC), so obviously coverage is great here, but not sure if it would be sufficient nationwide to be worth it to Apple. That said, Amazon apparently thinks coverage is sufficient for the Kindle.
Definitely an interesting idea... who knows if Apple really wants to bother running the network though. It could take a while to raise network and customer service quality to meet Apple-customer expectations (ie. perfection), tarnishing Apple's hard-earned brand name along the way. Claiming all the successes (the device) and blaming all the problems (the network) on AT&T could be convenient.