Just a couple weeks after T-Mobile COO Jim Alling told investors that carrying Apple’s incredibly popular iPhone wasn’t worth the risks involved, T-Mobile’s parent company Deutsche Telekom has announced that, beginning in 2013, the US-based GSM carrier will indeed begin to sell Apple products.
Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann told the news to analysts today at the company’s analyst day event, wherein he showed off the company’s financial plans through 2015. 2013 marks the first time that T-Mobile and Apple will work together to sell iDevices to customers – though we currently don’t know which iDevices will be sold through T-Mobile. I predict that the entire line of LTE-equipped iPhones and iPads will be on offer, as T-Mobile is set to launch its LTE network the same year.
After Engadget posted about the news, both Deutsche Telekom and Apple responded to and confirmed it. The former company sent out a press statement, while the latter sent out its own confirmation to The Loop.
Both companies stressed that Apple products that are compatible with T-Mobile’s network will be sold next year, and that T-Mobile is working hard to restructure itself, its market presence, and its network to provide the best experience for users of Apple devices.
Despite its earlier comments, T-Mobile has got to be incredibly excited right now. The ability to finally offer what a large portion of consumers consider to be the best smartphone will certainly help the carrier achieve much greater success than before. And, combined with the news that T-Mobile and MetroPCS are merging, there should be very few problems with the added stress that iPhone users are bound to bring.
It’s simply going to offer the United States consumer yet another choice – which ultimately drives innovation to bring us a better future.
[Engadget via Mac Rumors | The Loop]
I can’t help but wonder if this is just happening too late, though. Since the other 3 carriers already carry it, what’s the motivation for an iPhone user to switch to a network with worse coverage (other than unlimited data, of course…)?
Unlimited data is something I would definitely switch for. Plus, the merge with MetroPCS should really help with coverage. Considering that T-Mobile is a GSM carrier with unlimited data and the iPhone, I think that it might become a juggernaut in the near future.
Metro PCS isn’t going to help with coverage at all until T-Mobile converts all the towers and the customers. That’s going to take years.
I don’t think they’ll be a juggernaut. However I do think that with the iPhone and the increased network from MetroPCS that T-Mobile will grow significantly in the next couple years instead of die out like others thought. Of course as John said it will take some time for the Metro PCS spectrum to be fully integrated into T-Mobile’s network, so only time will tell.
The unlimited data aspect is nice, but you can hardly call their network 4G.
They’re actually cheaper than Sprint now, though, so I can see why people looking to buy in the near future would go with them, especially if LTE hasn’t showed up yet for Sprint in their area.
I’m on contract until July with my Evo 3D, but thankfully I have Wimax in my area – no LTE yet, but my choice of carrier will definitely depend on whether it’s rolled out in Denver by then. I have no issues waiting it out, either – No need to renew a contract when I already have a phone that’s more than capable of doing what I need it to.
Do I change my battery three times a day? Yes, but that’s what a wall charger is for, and I still love my Evo and the service I get from Sprint – at least for how much I pay.
Good for T-Mobile getting the iPhone though, it’ll definitely boost their business quite a bit. Maybe they’ll invest in a faster network in the future.