- 17,600
- Posts
- 19
- Years
- Seen Apr 21, 2024
For years T-Mobile has been the odd man out when it comes to offering the iPhone in the U.S. Not anymore: Today T-Mobile, billing itself as the "Uncarrier," announced it would begin selling the iPhone 5 on its just-launched 4G LTE network beginning April 12.
T-Mobile is selling the iPhone starting at $99 up front, no contract, followed by 20 months of $20 payments on top of monthly pre-paid data plans. This is a sharp contrast to AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, which all require two-year contracts after you purchase a subsidized iPhone. You can also purchase the iPhone at full price on T-Mobile and nix the $20 monthly fees.
In addition to the iPhone 5, T-Mobile will begin selling a number of other big-name 4G devices: the Samsung Galaxy S4, BlackBerry Z10, Samsung Galaxy Note II and HTC One. T-Mobile will also begin selling its own wireless hotspot, the Sonic 2.0 Mobile HotSpot LTE.
T-Mobile's 4G LTE network will debut in seven major markets: Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose, and Washington, D.C. It will cover 100 million Americans by mid-year, and double that by the end of 2013.
T-Mobile's announcement wasn't entirely unexpected. Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company, confirmed in December that T-Mobile would begin selling Apple products in 2013. The carrier also announced that it would launch its 4G LTE network this year. And a report Monday indicated that the iPhone would play a prominent role in today's "Uncarrier" event.
The iPhone originally launched as an exclusive with AT&T in 2007. Verizon began selling the iPhone 4 in January 2011, and Sprint began selling the iPhone with the launch of the 4S in uphill battle to retain subscribers. The carrier hopes that its "different" approach to selling Apple's flagship handset — that is, with no contract and no subsidy, with customers merely making a small initial payment paired with charges on top of their monthly service plan.
Is it too little too late? Time will tell, but with each new iPhone that's announced, it anecdotally seems that more and more are defecting from AT&T to Verizon and Sprint. Now T-Mobile can get a piece of that action, too.
T-Mobile is selling the iPhone starting at $99 up front, no contract, followed by 20 months of $20 payments on top of monthly pre-paid data plans. This is a sharp contrast to AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, which all require two-year contracts after you purchase a subsidized iPhone. You can also purchase the iPhone at full price on T-Mobile and nix the $20 monthly fees.
In addition to the iPhone 5, T-Mobile will begin selling a number of other big-name 4G devices: the Samsung Galaxy S4, BlackBerry Z10, Samsung Galaxy Note II and HTC One. T-Mobile will also begin selling its own wireless hotspot, the Sonic 2.0 Mobile HotSpot LTE.
T-Mobile's 4G LTE network will debut in seven major markets: Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose, and Washington, D.C. It will cover 100 million Americans by mid-year, and double that by the end of 2013.
T-Mobile's announcement wasn't entirely unexpected. Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company, confirmed in December that T-Mobile would begin selling Apple products in 2013. The carrier also announced that it would launch its 4G LTE network this year. And a report Monday indicated that the iPhone would play a prominent role in today's "Uncarrier" event.
The iPhone originally launched as an exclusive with AT&T in 2007. Verizon began selling the iPhone 4 in January 2011, and Sprint began selling the iPhone with the launch of the 4S in uphill battle to retain subscribers. The carrier hopes that its "different" approach to selling Apple's flagship handset — that is, with no contract and no subsidy, with customers merely making a small initial payment paired with charges on top of their monthly service plan.
Is it too little too late? Time will tell, but with each new iPhone that's announced, it anecdotally seems that more and more are defecting from AT&T to Verizon and Sprint. Now T-Mobile can get a piece of that action, too.