T-Mobile USA Launches iPhone, Rolls Out New TV Ad

[jayducharme]

Wonder how T-Mobile service compares to AT&T.

I was tempted to switch -- until I discovered that T-Mobile has only 2G service in most of my area, with just a few tiny spots of 4G on the outskirts. For me, there's no way to switch until their service expands. It's the same with Sprint. My area is owned by Verizon and AT&T.

 

[Xgm541]

Wise decision staying with the 4S. I should have kept mine.

The stretched out iPhone 5 I have now is bland, odd sized long & narrow display, not to mention its fragile finish.

You mean the aluminum back is more fragile than the all glass body of the 4s?

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On AT&T now and think T-Mobile would be a good option. I have no real need for LTE. I mean who needs 30 down and 20 up on a smartphone. Really.

Wonder how T-Mobile service compares to AT&T.

LTE also has much improved response time. You probably wont get 30/20 on LTE all the time, but youll notice ping is low.

 

[HenryDJP]

no mention of price? c'mon.

tmobile $579
apple $649

also, if you have iphone 4/4S you can get the new iphone 5 for $0 down payment (instead of usual $99 down) . you ALSO get a "fair market" value for your iphone4/4s when buying ip5 from tmobile.

Mentioning price in ads is not only tacky but ineffective and lessons the customer's reasons to come into the store to inquire more about the iPhone and plans. Ever heard of TMI?

 

[radven]

Check T-Mobile LTE coverage maps...

We rushed out a quick update to our app 'Coverage?' to show all the announced T-Mobile LTE and 1900MHz 3G markets - it is a great way to check and see what kind of signal you'll get in the places that matter to you.

Check it out:
http://bit.ly/CoverageApp

Free 'LTE Finder' version:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lte-finder/id509600075?mt=8

I love that there is so much LTE out there now. Where we are at right now AT&T is outperforming our cable modem - if only it didn't have a usage cap!

Cheers,

- Chris

 

[CEmajr]

We rushed out a quick update to our app 'Coverage?' to show all the announced T-Mobile LTE and 1900MHz 3G markets - it is a great way to check and see what kind of signal you'll get in the places that matter to you.

Check it out:
http://bit.ly/CoverageApp

Free 'LTE Finder' version:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/lte-finder/id509600075?mt=8

I love that there is so much LTE out there now. Where we are at right now AT&T is outperforming our cable modem - if only it didn't have a usage cap!

Cheers,

- Chris

Damn @ that Verizon LTE coverage. They're really in another league. When it comes to LTE. There's Verizon and there is everyone else. Too bad they no longer offer unlimited data.

 

[Kar98]

My earballs!!!

 

[Rot'nApple]

Glad T-Mobile has the iPhone now, but that's a really unimaginative ad and awkward use of Hendrix.

Yeah, can see your point regarding the symbolism... outside of the music that is. I took the ad to convey that T-Mobile's uncarrier mantra is breaking the "Glass Ceiling" barrier as it were, imposed by the rest of the cell phone community with T-Mo's no contract, no ETF, etc. I guess they used Hendrix music to reach the high note to break the glass barrier.

Am I right in the 'meaning' of that ad, probably not, but that was my take.
/
/

 

[JayCee842]

They should've mentioned the price!

 

[BC2009]

Anybody remember how when iPhone 4 released on Verizon during the middle of its product lifecycle that there were small lines for it and so many said that it did not bode well for Apple?

However, the iPhone 4 went on to have an extremely strong year and last quarter, iPhone made up 67% of Verizon smartphone sales. Keep in mind that Verizon is the only carrier that actively markets its own branded Android-based phones in competition with iPhone, and still iPhone did 2/3 of their sales last quarter? Finally, during the last quarter iPhone 4S lifecycle we still saw iPhone make up 45% of Verizon sales. I would say that is a pretty good share of their sales. I expect T-mobile to follow suit.

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Yeah, can see your point regarding the symbolism... outside of the music that is. I took the ad to convey that T-Mobile's uncarrier mantra is breaking the "Glass Ceiling" barrier as it were, imposed by the rest of the cell phone community with T-Mo's no contract, no ETF, etc. I guess they used Hendrix music to reach the high note to break the glass barrier.

Am I right in the 'meaning' of that ad, probably not, but that was my take.
/
/

Would it have been cooler if they made a mockup of the glass cube from Apple's flagship store and then broke that?

 

[radven]

Damn @ that Verizon LTE coverage. They're really in another league. When it comes to LTE. There's Verizon and there is everyone else. Too bad they no longer offer unlimited data.

Verizon is WAY ahead when it comes to LTE, but when you look at AT&T's "4G" coverage (and not just LTE) they jump a bit ahead of Verizon, and the speeds other than for uploads are actually pretty comparable.

Sprint and T-Mobile both have a long way to go to catch up.

But depending on where you are at - there is no single best carrier. That is why we wrote 'Coverage?' - so we could plan our travels around our connectivity needs. *grin*

- Chris

 

[maxosx]

You mean the aluminum back is more fragile than the all glass body of the 4s?

I did not make any comment on materials, why you would imagine something that I didn't say is curious.

 

[Xgm541]

I did not make any comment on materials, why you would imagine something that I didn't say is curious.

"Fragile finish" is making a comment about materials.

 

[sniffies]

My earballs!!!

You mean eardrums?

 

[maxosx]

Verizon is WAY ahead when it comes to LTE,

My day to day experience with AT&T AND Verizon as it relates to speed reveals AT&T the fastest, Verizon the best at its marketing.


My iP5 is on AT&T, my wife's iP5 on Verizon.

 

[wxman2003]

This would be great if T-mobile actually had an LTE network, and not a few LTE markets.

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My day to day experience with AT&T AND Verizon as it relates to speed reveals AT&T the fastest, Verizon the best at its marketing.


My iP5 is on AT&T, my wife's iP5 on Verizon.

My experience is just the opposite. Verizon provides LTE where I live. AT&T just talks the talk where I live.

 

[iSayuSay]

You mean the aluminum back is more fragile than the all glass body of the 4s?

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For me, having severe scratches and dents on a rear iPhone 5 body is just as bad as breaking the back glass plate on an iPhone 4s, I'd want it replaced too.

Glass does not break unless it's having impact.
Aluminum dents and scratches from normal use and interaction.

So yes, iPhone 5 finishing is just as fragile as 4s backplate. If not more.

 

[Ted13]

I have no real need for LTE. I mean who needs 30 down and 20 up on a smartphone. Really.

Tethering? WiFi hotspot for your laptop and you friend/relative's tablet?

The immortal words of Bill Gates: "640K is more memory than anyone will ever need" should teach you not to make assumptions about extra computing/data resources being unnecessary.

 

[Xgm541]

For me, having severe scratches and dents on a rear iPhone 5 body is just as bad as breaking the back glass plate on an iPhone 4s, I'd want it replaced too.

Glass does not break unless it's having impact.
Aluminum dents and scratches from normal use and interaction.

So yes, iPhone 5 finishing is just as fragile as 4s backplate. If not more.

Because I usually carry my phone naked, i found that be it aluminum or glass, it scratches about the same over time. I've seen the horrors of cracked backs and I would prefer to have a severely scratched, but in tact back cover instead of a cracked, exposing internal parts back cover. Besides, carrying broken glass in my pocket isnt something I like.

 

[M-O]

Only T-Mobile lets the iPhone 5 be as great as an iPhone 5...

...except for the hotspot

 

[RoastingPig]

they went all american on this joint too bad there purchasing plan is stupid

 

[3282868]

More competition = happy consumers (in theory)

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Because I usually carry my phone naked, i found that be it aluminum or glass, it scratches about the same over time. I've seen the horrors of cracked backs and I would prefer to have a severely scratched, but in tact back cover instead of a cracked, exposing internal parts back cover. Besides, carrying broken glass in my pocket isnt something I like.

However, a good amount have had issues with the front glass breaking due to new 'in-cell" tech, which produces a thinner front glass. Also, the aluminum dents quite easily when dropped in situations that the glass may not crack or shatter. In the end, it's a trade off as both devices are susceptible to damage in differing ways.

 

[solamar]

Looking good for t-mobile

Just bought the T-Mobile version, I'm still getting EDGE Speedswherever I used to have 3G with my old T-Mobile phone. Are we sure this has full 3G ?

Meh? working great for me, I just picked mine up. Ran all through town. My old iPhone 5 only got GPRS mostly, Edge a little. Sounds like yours is broken. I'm selling my old iPhone 5, want to buy that? lol

I'm getting about 10meg down, 2 meg up, we're only HSPA+ 21 here though.. MetroPCS deal is supposed to pump us to HSPA+ 42 and get LTE in our area. can't wait!!

Local T-Mobile Store:
They had 40 iPhones to start this morning in store, opened at 9am, and by 9:30 already had 7 sold(including me). I doubt they will keep stock past today. Ever since the uncarrier event the local store here has been more busy. Combined with this, I think this afternoon will be crazy.

 

[roboclint]

I picked up a T-Mobile iPhone 5 this morning before going to work about 30 miles outside of New Orleans, so far I'm averaging about 8-10 Mbps down and about 2-3 up. It's not great but it's better than the 1.5 and less that I was getting with Verizon on 3g. I don't even care about the speeds that much, I was just upset with Verizon for pulling the plug on my unlimited data plan and wanted to switch to someone else (other than AT&T).

I'm only getting 3 bars on 4G right now, the coverage is supposed to be better at my place IN New Orleans.

 

[Taz Mangus]

they went all american on this joint too bad there purchasing plan is stupid

How so stupid? Are you referring to the $20/month for 24 months? It is an interest free loan, you know that?

I think it is great that I can get the 32GB iPhone 5 for $199 down, the others will charge me $299. I will actually be getting the iPhone 5 for $679 vs $749 if I bought it directly from Apple.

Also, there is no ETF to worry about which is what I really like. Again, please explain how all this is stupid?

 

[macagain]

is it an unlocked iPhone?

[url=http://cdn.macrumors.com/im/macrumorsthreadlogodarkd.png]Image[/url]


In line with its launch previously announced launch plans, T-Mobile USA today officially launched the iPhone, offering the iPhone 5 nationwide and the iPhone 4S and 4 in markets where the devices are supported on its network. The T-Mobile iPhone is also available through Apple's online store at full price with interest-free financing offered through Barclaycard.

Image​

TechCrunch notes that some T-Mobile retail stores are seeing small lines this morning as customers seek to purchase the device using under T-Mobile's new "Uncarrier" service plans which begin at $50/month with no contract. The business model separates the device and service costs, putting the full unsubsidized device cost onto a separate 24-month payment plan.

As noted by TmoNews, T-Mobile has also rolled out a new television ad for the iPhone, touting the pairing of the popular device with T-Mobile's network and service plans.

YouTube: video​

Article Link: T-Mobile USA Launches iPhone, Rolls Out New TV Ad

Does anyone know if it's an unlocked iPhone or if they will they unlock immediately?

Since they are "financing" it, as opposed to "subsidising" it, you are technically paying full price, and so it should be an unlocked phone, no?