“This is an important day for people who love their iPhone but can’t stand the pain other carriers [Ed — a.k.a. AT&T] put them through to own one,” said John Legere, president + CEO, T-Mobile USA. “We feel their pain. I’ve felt the pain. So we’re rewriting the rules of wireless to provide a radically simple, affordable iPhone 5 experience — on an extremely powerful network.”
In addition to T-Mobile’s extensive 250 city HSPA+ network, the carrier now offers LTE in seven metros — Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose and Washington, DC.
According to Engadget, T-Mobile will be selling an upgraded iPhone 5 (Model A1428) that works on the carrier’s AWS HSPA+ network. That bad news, however, is that existing iPhones can’t be updated to run on T-Mobile’s red-headed 4G network.
T-Mobile iPhone 5: Compelling?
Where T-Mobile’s revitalized offerings fall down a little is the one-size-ish-fits-all Simple Choice Plan, which provides subs with unlimited talk, text and 500MB of data for $50. Subs can add 2GB data for plus $10 a month per line or get unlimited data for an additional $20 per month per line.
Add a second Simple Plan line for $30 a month with each additional line costing $10 monthly.
From now on, when you buy a smartphone at T-Mobile, you BUY the phone. Yes, the carrier does offer specials, like the $99.99 iPhone 5 + $20 per month for two years (ditto that for the HTC One, Galaxy S IV, etc. in May), but the new deal is you pay retail for the device and ultimately save big on the plan.
Also, there is free but limited (2.5GB) tethering. Lastly, if a customer drops their sub before two years is up, the unpaid balance is due.
Are you liking T-Mobile’s new no contract + “full-price” smartphone offerings? Where do you think the carrier falls down, if at all?
Sound off in the comments below…
Source: T-Mobile USA