T-Mobile’s Free Handsets, the Latest Hat Trick?
T-Mobile (in the U.S.) is still just one of the “others.” You know, not AT&T. Meaning, you won’t find any iPhones here. But that hasn’t put T-Mobile completely out of the smart phone game. Taking advantage of newcomer Android and its line of HTC devices, the wireless provider helped revive the company–a tactic that Sprint is also leaning towards. Now, there’s more marketing that T-Mobile is gearing up for, and it’s centered around smart phones and their mobile app markets.
As Father’s Day nears, rumors swirl about a T-Mobile promo that’s set to be revealed on June 19th. Free handsets for all, as long as you sign up for a family plan. That means multiple handsets and multiple lines. It also means easy access to younger consumers that also happen to be early adopters of smart phone technology, and tend to buy a lot of apps. With additional rumors spreading of T-Mobile’s marketing push for Android and BlackBerry apps, the possibilities for T-Mobile’s actual plans begin to stack up.
Marketing ploys of this nature are nothing new for T-Mobile, especially around the time of Apple’s annual iPhone update. T-Mobile has restructured its contracting options drastically in the past year in an effort to become more appealing to consumers. And the mobile company has also been quick to recommend Android apps, with specialized portals and resources for customers to discover the apps.
Should T-Mobile actually offer free handsets to users on June 19th, the company could catch a ton of consumers just days before the iPhone 4 is set to become available in stores. In the long run, however, T-Mobile may not need to worry about curbing the yearly AT&T flight, with growing rumors of being the next to offer iPhones. Analyst Shawn Wu told the AP that
“T-Mobile also sees the iPhone as key to winning back lost customers, meaning the company will be more likely to settle for Apple’s terms.”
And while T-Mobile doesn’t often comment on rumors, T-Mobile USA spokesman Peter Dobrow then went on to comment, “Would we like to offer the iPhone to T-Mobile customers in the U.S.? You bet. Ultimately though it is Apple’s decision on who carries its product.”
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