Hasta La Gadget!

The Roku 3 is unquestionably the king of the streaming boxes. It’s also new, and doesn’t go on sale that often. Grab it today for $89 bucks- the lowest price we’ve seen on it and even more on an easy impulse buy than its MSRP. [Amazon]

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T-Mobile launched its 4G LTE for the first time a couple of months ago with a handful of devices on board that offer the carrier’s faster data speeds. However, during T-Mobile’s NYC event today, the carrier announced even more devices that will support T-Mobile’s LTE network, including the new Sony Xperia Z and Nokia’s Lumia 925.

T-Mobile announced that its 4G LTE network now covers 157 million people in the US, which exceeds their original goal of 100 million people by mid-2013. The carrier’s LTE is now available in 116 markets in the US, with service now live in cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, Seattle, Atlanta, and Miami, just to name a few.

T-Mobile is still keeping their year-end goal at reaching 200 million people in at least 200 metropolitan areas, despite surpassing its mid-year goal. As for T-Mobile’s 4G HSPA+ network, it’s available to 228 million people in the US.

T-Mobile also announced new devices for their 4G LTE lineup, including additions such as the Sony Xperia Z and the Nokia Lumia 925. The Xperia Z will be available for $99.99 down, with 24 equal monthly payments of $20. The Xperia Z will available on July 17 with pre-orders starting the day before. The Lumia 925 will be available on July 17 as well for $49.99 down and 24 monthly payments of $20.

T-Mobile’s current Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 will also be getting an upgrade to 4G LTE via an over-the-air update. The tablet is available for $99.99 down with 24 monthly payments of $15. T-Mobile seems all-in on 4G LTE, so we should be seeing more devices from them in the future, on top of more locations offering 4G LTE.

T-Mobile 4G LTE expands with more devices, locations is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

At long last, the Xperia Z is coming to the states. It was the most appealing phone at CES back in January, with its good looks and waterproofiness. But that was half a year ago, and since then the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4 have made quite an impression. The Z is still pretty and quirky, but it ultimately breaks your heart.

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As part of T-Mobile’s “Boldest Moves Yet” smorgasbord of service changes announced today, the carrier is introducing a family option that doesn’t require a credit check. The new plan, which kicks in beginning July 14th, enables families to activate up to four Simple Choice Plan lines with unlimited talk, texting and up to 500MB of data for $100 per month plus taxes and fees. In lieu of the traditional credit check, individuals who want to take advantage of this option can make a deposit equivalent to one month’s bill. Otherwise, the available offering is similar to the Simple Choice plan that T-Mobile detailed in March.

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, T-Mobile

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Source: T-Mobile

When you sit down and read the rules involved in the current web of oddities known as smartphone contracts, it’s easy to find surprisingly complex ins and outs. T-Mobile has suggested several times over the past several months that they will be aiming to take an axe to tradition, making way for their own, much more “consumer friendly” rules. Here with what they’re calling “Jump”, T-Mobile says they’ll be turning the upgrade process on its head, allowing consumers to upgrade from their current smartphone to a new phone with the same prices a new customer would pay.

Of course it makes sense – if you’ve got a T-Mobile phone with one of their current new-age plans, you’re not paying a subsidized price for a smartphone. You pay an up-front cost then a monthly cost to pay off the rest of the smartphone. While other carriers include this monthly cost in with the data and voice plans they’re attached to, T-Mobile shows the cost clearly, this cost disappearing once the phone is payed off.

When “Jump” is brought to the market, the obvious becomes true.

Switching from one phone to another with T-Mobile will cost the same as it very well should, sensibly, given the company’s current rule set.

Once you want a new phone, you pay T-Mobile for the phone, the same cost you’d pay if you were a new customer. If you were a new customer, you’d pay X amount then Y per month until the device is paid for in full. With AT&T and Verizon, to give two fine examples, there are two approaches:

Approach 1. A new customer gets the cost of the device as advertised, X amount attached to a 2-year contract with Y cost rolled in on the monthly data cost.

Approach 2. A customer that’s currently inside a 2-year contract, currently under contract as they are, must pay an additional cost to get out of that first contract and into another – the full “unsubsidized” price of the new smartphone, that is.

With T-Mobile there’s also a cost you may want to consider: the cost of the first phone. No matter what you do, once you’ve been locked in with the phone you’re purchasing, you’re still responsible for the full cost of the phone. I

f you’re switching over to a new phone and still intend on only paying T-Mobile for one line of service, the original phone must still be paid for in full. Switching to a new device still means you’re paying the full cost of the phone (though the final cost may be ever-so-slightly different from AT&T or Verizon’s “unsubsidized” price) – so there’s no good reason for T-Mobile to penalize you for wanting to jump in on another purchase, is there?

Also note – this upgrade system only works twice per year, so if you’re planning on upgrading every time you see a new device – think again!

T-Mobile “JUMP” unlimited upgrades and what it means for consumers is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.