IntoMobile » T-Mobile

Outrageous: T-Mobile USA will not upgrade the Nokia Astound (rebranded C7) to Symbian Belle

Stefan Constantinescu — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:04:50 +0000

Back in September 2010 Nokia announced a Symbian^3 smartphone called the C7. It can best be thought of as a Nokia N8, but without the fancy high end camera, and in a body that’s much more fashionable. Half a year later (April 2011) it hit American shores courtesy of T-Mobile for just $80 with a two year contract; they rebranded it as the Nokia Astound (see video below). When Nokia started pushing out Symbian Anna, an update to Symbian^3, many people rightly assumed that the Astound would also get the update. It did, but whereas most of Nokia’s devices got Anna in August, owners of the Astound had to wait until November. Better late than never, right? Well now it’s 2012 and ~~Symbian~~ Nokia Belle is the talk of the town. Earlier this week Nokia started pushing the update out to nearly everyone with a smartphone running Symbian Anna, and again, people started asking when would the Nokia Astound get the Belle? We have some bad news. According to Nokia’s Twitter account the Nokia Astound will not be getting Belle.

Thanks for your patience @bittersw8regene. Unfortunately the Nokia Astound on T-Mobile will not be updated to Nokia Belle.

— Nokia US (@NokiaUS) February 8, 2012

It would be easy to slam Nokia right now over this, but we know better. It’s not their fault, it’s T-Mobile’s. When Symbian Anna came out it was nothing more than an over the air update that weighed in at around 10 MB. Belle on the other hand requires that you connect your phone to your PC and download a 250 MB software update. We can imagine the thinking within T-Mobile’s office went something like this: “Do you have any idea how much money it’s going to cost to not only tell people about Belle, but also the support costs in case people screw the update up?”

It’s a shame really, and we hope T-Mobile changes their mind.

[Via: Unleash The Phones]

T-Mobile Valentine’s Day sale includes free phones, tablets

Marin Perez — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:32:16 +0000

If you’re looking for a new smartphone or tablet on T-Mobile, you should probably go into your local store this Saturday (Feb. 11) because T-Mobile is having a Valentine’s Day sale which includes free 4G devices with a new contract.

All of the smartphones or tablets will be “free” with a mail-in rebate and a new, two-year contract on a qualifying Classic plan. T-Mobile is pretty much making every one of its desirable smartphones and tablets available during this sale, as you can pick up a Galaxy S II, Lumia 710, HTC Amaze 4G, BlackBerry Bold 4G, HTC Radar 4G, T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide and more. On the tablet front, you can look forward to picking up the T-Mobile Springboard.

Sure, the rebates can be a hassle and the up-front costs of a device isn’t really that much when you consider what you’ll be paying over the life of the two-year contract but if you’re planning to pick one up anyways, you may as well save a few bucks on Saturday.Be sure to check out T-Monews and its breakdown of what you’ll actually be paying during this Valentine’s Day sale.

[Via T-Mobile]

UK: Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S Advance available for pre-ordering; Three, T-Mobile and O2 to offer it, too

Dusan Belic — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:57:33 +0000

The newly announced Galaxy S Advance is heading to the UK, with phone retailer MobileFun and Clove already taking pre-orders for the unlocked device. Those of you who want the mid-to-high end smartphone will have to pour out some 350 GBP (around $550) to be amongst the first ones to get it. We’re hearing the first units will be shipped at some point later this month, with Clove listing February 27th as the first shipping date.

If you, however, want to get the Galaxy S Advance along with a carrier contract, you’ll be able to choose between 3 options – Three, T-Mobile and O2. Unfortunately, they failed to mention the exact launch date, though we guess it’s safe to bet that will happen in early March (or at the end of February).

As a reminder, the Samsung Galaxy S Advance comes with a dual-core 1GHz processor, 4-inch curved WVGA Super AMOLED screen, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and 8GB of internal memory.

[Via: EuroDroid]

T-Mobile UK launches “The Full Monty” unlimited everything plans, prices start at £36 per month

Stefan Constantinescu — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:17:10 +0000

T-Mobile UK has done the unthinkable. In today’s world of constrained networks and operators looking to buy up as much spectrum as they can, these nutters just announced the return of unlimited everything plans. They’re called “The Full Monty,” which conjures up some disturbing flashback from the film of the same title, but they really do give you everything you could possibly want … at least sometimes. Let’s start with the basic plan, which goes for just £36 per month. That gives you unlimited talking, texting, and data, but “only” 2,000 minutes of talk time to people not using T-Mobile’s network. The next tier is £41 per month, and that really gives you unlimited everything. There are two more plans that do the same thing, one is £46, the other is £61. What’s the difference between the last three? The subsidy you get on your device changes, so the more you pay for month, the less you have to pay for your phone up front.

As much as we want to applaud T-Mobile for trying something daring, we really have to give credit to Three. Back in March of last year they launched the “One Plan,” which gives you unlimited data, 300 minutes of talk time, and 3,000 text messages, all for just £15 per month. Better yet, unlike T-Mobile’s “Full Monty,” which requires you sign a two year agreement, the “One Plan” from Three is pay as you go. Now yes, you’ll have to bring your own phone to the network, but in the long run you’ll save money.

Of course it’s difficult to recommend one operator over the other since it hugely depends on how good coverage is in your neck of the woods. It’s best to ask friends and family about their experiences, that or just run some speed test in all the shops in your town.

[Via: Mobile Industry Review, The Verge]

Operation T-Mobile/AT&T spectrum transfer: Engaged

Blake Stimac — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:55:38 +0000

AT&T and T-Mobile have filed a request with the FCC to begin the $1 billion spectrum transfer AT&T promised to hand over to T-Mobile if the merger failed. Well, it’s time to pay up with AWS goods and the first step has officially been taken.

With the merger failed and behind them now, T-Mobile needs this spectrum desperately. The only major US carrier that lacks and LTE network, (Sprint’s network should be lit up in select markets by mid-year) Magenta needs to keep up with the Jones’ as best as it can.

Tom Sugrue, T-Mobile’s senior vice president for government affairs told the Wall Street Journal the following about the upcoming transfer:

“This additional spectrum will help meet the growing demand for wireless broadband services,” “We hope the FCC will move swiftly to approve the license assignments.”

We also hope that the FCC approves the spectrum transfer as soon as possible, just so we never have to hear anything about the mess that this turned into again. Still, that doesn’t mean T-Mobile isn’t looking for some sort of lasting partnership, but for the moment, the country’s fourth largest carrier should soon be reveling in spectrum is so desperately needs.

[Via: BGR, WSJ]

T-Mobile UK to start selling the LG Prada 3.0 in February

Dusan Belic — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:44:26 +0000

We’ve already talked about the LG Prada 3.0‘s quest to the UK. The sexy device has already been announced by few phone retailers, which will offer it either unlocked or with a carrier contract. Now we have the first mobile operator joining the game – T-Mobile.

Unfortunately the local branch of Deutsche Telekom hasn’t revealed the exact launch date (it just says “February”) and price at its “Coming Soon” page, only the phone’s highlights – including “Stunning Prada style,” bright 4.3-inch touchscreen and Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). In addition, we’ll add that the LG Prada 3.0 also rocks HSPA+ and Wi-Fi connectivity, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, front-facing one (for video calls), GPS, Bluetooth and so on. In a nutshell, it’s one of the best-lookin’ Android smartphones on the market today and with the addition of Prada logo, definitely in the top lists of many British fashionistas…

Finally, in case you wonder, T-Mobile’s “Coming Soon” page also lists 2 RIM devices – BlackBerry Bold 9790 and BlackBerry Curve 9380, both of which will be released later this month.

[Via: Unwired View]

Walmart and T-Mobile debut unlimited data plan for families

George Tinari — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:49:28 +0000

Wal-Mart and T-Mobile have had their unlimited talk and text plan for families in place for a while, but today they are expanding it to include unlimited access to the Internet, too. This makes T-Mobile one of the first carriers to have a shared data option for families, albeit you’ll have to shop at Wal-Mart to get it.

Wal-Mart brands the plan as FamilyMobile and it includes unlimited talk, text, and web for a very reasonable price. The first line is only $45 and each additional line is an extra $35. That means families of two would pay $80 per month, families of three would pay $115 per month, families of four would pay $150, and families of five would pay $185. Some carriers — *cough* AT&T *cough* — easily charge nearly the same price for talk, text, and web for one person that you’d pay for a family of three with Wal-Mart and T-Mobile.

Oh, but there is a catch. You will get unlimited data for families included in the plan, but it’s not as fast as one might hope. Families get access to T-Mobile’s 3G network for the first 250MB of usage. Then, for the rest of the month, you are forced to mosey along on 2G speeds. If you are in a family of five, you’ll probably drop to 2G speed within a week. Plus, you can completely forget about any HSDPA+. (Editor’s note: It should be noted that the plans provide 250 MB of data per line, so it will likely take you longer to go through that. Additionally, new activations until March 16 will get the first 5 GB of data per line up to 3G speeds until March 31.)

Though Wal-Mart and T-Mobile’s unlimited talk, text, and web plan is still a good value, if you want to shop around other carriers for shared data plans, Sprint has its Everything Data Family plan and Verizon Wireless is shooting for a 2012 release. AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega recently commented that the carrier is “still working on” its offering.

[via Walmart]

UK: T-Mobile Vivacity now available for just 89.99 GPB on PAYG

Dusan Belic — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:42:20 +0000

Remember the T-Mobile Vivacity, the carrier-branded mid-level Android smartphone we talked about in November 2011? It was launched with the 99.99 GPB price tag and now the Deutsche Telekom-owned operator decided to slash its price by 10%. In other words, interested users can grab the ZTE-made Vivacity for just 89.99 on pay-as-you-go tariffs. No contract signing required, though you’ll have to buy a 10 GBP top-up with the device, which you’ll need anyway.

Specs wise, T-Mobile’s baby comes with a 3.5-inch WVGA touchscreen, 3G and Wi-Fi connectivity, 5-megapixel rear-facing camera, GPS, Bluetooth, 3.5mm headset jack and a microSD expansion slot (with a 2GB memory card in the box).

So what do you say? Want to check out this low-cost Android smartphone? If so – click here to visit its dedicated page at T-Mobile UK’s website and take it from there.

[Via: Unwired View]

T-Mobile’s Chief Technology Officer on the iPhone 5: “The next chipset will support AWS”

Stefan Constantinescu — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:26:32 +0000

If you ignore the tiny regional players, it’s pretty much accepted that America has four wireless operators: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Three of them now sell Apple’s iPhone, yet T-Mobile doesn’t, why is that? It all comes down to which frequencies T-Mobile decided to use for 3G, namely the “AWS” spectrum. AWS stands for Advanced Wireless Services and it uses the 1700 MHz band for uploading data and the 2100 MHz band for downloading data. Right now there are only a handful of operators using AWS, the largest being T-Mobile in America and Wind Mobile in Canada. Most handset makers don’t bother creating devices that support the AWS band because the more bands a device can handle, the more expensive it’ll be. Now Nokia was one of the first players on the market to introduce devices that support all five 3G bands currently in use, and we’re pretty happy to see the Samsung Galaxy Nexus als0 supporting so called pentaband 3G, but what about the iPhone?

While we can’t say for certain whether the next iPhone will support every known 3G band on the planet, we do have a quote from T-Mobile’s Chief Technology Officer, Neville Ray, that makes us believe that T-Mobile will finally get the iPhone at some point this year. He simply states:

“The next chipset will support AWS. The challenge that existed in the past will go away.”

That’s a breath of fresh air, especially considering that T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network covers a heck of a lot of people and can deliver some stunningly good data rates. Looking forward however, 4G LTE is different. There are so many bands in play right now that we don’t know if they’ll ever be a global LTE device. There’s the 700 MHz band used by AT&T and Verizon, and Verizon has said that they want to expand 4G LTE into the AWS bands as well; in Europe there’s 800 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2600 MHz, and some operators are even converting their existing 900 MHz and 2100 MHz to 4G LTE; Sprint wants to use the 1900 MHz band; don’t even get us started about Asia.

Update: T-Mobile sent us an email to say that their CTO doesn’t have any knowledge of Apple’s future roadmap. That’s probably true, but then again what do you expect T-Mobile to say to escape the wrath of Apple’s vengeance?

T-Mobile intros Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G, Bobsled Messaging, and expands 4G networks

Blake Stimac — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:59:49 +0000

Today T-Mobile announced a new 4G phone, the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G. While all the juicy details have yet to be revealed, the handset should land on shelves sometime later this year. T-Mobile also announced the expansion of its 21 and 42 HSPA+ networks.

The Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G will rock a Super AMOLED display of an unknown size (likely 4-4.5 inches), HSPA+ 42 support, and a 1.5Ghz dual-core Snapdragon S3 processor. That’s about all we know about the handset as of now but more details will be revealed very soon.

“Consumers want the accessibility and entertainment capabilities that smartphones offer, and we’re committed to providing a range of 4G device options,” said Andrew Sherrard, senior vice president, marketing, T-Mobile USA. “The Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G is the latest smartphone that enables consumers to unlock the full potential of T-Mobile’s faster 4G network. With a compelling set of entertainment features, paired with our Unlimited Value and Monthly4G plans, we’re continuing to make it easy and affordable for consumers to experience the benefits of 4G.”

T-Mobile also announced updates to existing HSPA+ markets. 12 new markets will now be able to take advantage of the carrier’s HSPA+ 42 network, bringing the total to 184 million Americans in 174 markets. Moreover, Magenta’s HSPA+ 21 network was expanded in nine new markets, which brings coverage to 200 million people in 217 markets.

In addition to the new phone and 4G expansion, T-Mobile also announced updates to Bobsled. Bobsled Messaging is a IP-based group messaging application that allows users to message others without needing to be on the same platform or network.

Deutsche Telekom really wants to get rid of T-Mobile USA, may sell all their cell towers

Stefan Constantinescu — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:06:22 +0000

Deutsche Telekom, the metaphorical mother and father of T-Mobile USA, assumed that AT&T’s attempt to purchase their bastard redheaded child would go through without any issues. Turns out that the American government thought about consumers for a change and came to the conclusion that fewer operators would stifle innovation. This puts Deutsche Telekom in a tricky situation. For them, there was no “Plan B”, they wanted AT&T’s $35 billion to invest in their European networks. According to the Financial Times, Deutsche Telekom pours roughly $3 billion per year into T-Mobile USA, which puts AT&T’s severance package for T-Mobile into some context. AT&T agreed to a “break up fee” in case the T-Mobile didn’t go through that’s worth somewhere in the range of $6 billion. Half of that is cash, the rest is spectrum and a 7 year roaming agreement. That’s obviously not enough to cover T-Mobile’s expenses, so Deutsche Telekom called some bankers to see what they can do.

Some of the options on the table include selling all of T-Mobile’s cell towers. Think about how crazy that is for a second. T-Mobile spent countless man hours over the course of several years to build a nationwide network, and now they want to sell their towers to the highest bidder, effectively gutting their network, just because they need money to keep on running. Another option is to issue bonds, but who in their right mind would invest in the country’s fourth largest operator?

Here’s one possibility we hope that Deutsche Telekom is considering: Sell T-Mobile to Dish Network. The satellite vendor has already announced their ambitions to roll out a nationwide LTE-Advanced network, so why not compliment that data network with some voice? Dish owns 40 MHz of spectrum, so when combined with T-Mobile’s current spectrum holding, plus the extra spectrum they’re going to get from AT&T, that would put the combined companies into a ridiculously nice position.