May 23

T-Mobile lauches new individual and family plans right on schedule

Posted in: mobile, t-mobile, tablets, TMobile, Today's Chili
T-Mobile Unlimited Voice Plans

As rumored, T-Mobile overhauled its individual and family plans today and simplified your options to just three tiers of voice service. Individuals can choose between 500, 1,000 or unlimited minutes, with unlimited text messaging adding $10 and data add-ons ranging from $10 for 200MB to $60 for 10GB. Family plans come in 1,000, 2,000 and unlimited minute varieties while the sharable data and text services cost twice as much as their individual counterparts. There are some odd restrictions, such as the inability to add texting or data to the mid-tier plans and no choice for unlimited voice service without SMS tacked on. We do, however, like the overage-free data options that simply drop to 2G speeds when you reach your plan’s threshold instead of shocking you with huge fees at the end of the month. We can also confirm that restocking fees have been bumped from $10 regardless of device to $50 for smartphones, $75 for tablets, and $25 for USB modems and “basic phone devices.” Check out the sources for all the details and fine print.

Update: Just a few hours after debuting its new individual and family plans T-Mo unleash a pair of new no annual contract choices. $50 gets you unlimited voice, text, and 100MB of 4G or 3G data while $70 pushes the high-speed data cap to 5GB. And, just like the on-contract options, these are overage-free. PR is after the break.

[Thanks, Neal]

Continue reading T-Mobile lauches new individual and family plans right on schedule

T-Mobile lauches new individual and family plans right on schedule originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 May 2011 09:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 18

The AT&T / T-Mobile senate hearing: deciphering the war of words

Posted in: att, merger, Sprint, t-mobile, TMobile, Today's Chili

Over the course of the next year, AT&T and its opponents will be in the ring, duking it out in a war of words in attempt to convince the government that a $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile by AT&T should or should not take place. Consumers have the most to win or lose here, yet we are resigned to watching from the sidelines as both sides lob countless facts and stats at each other like volleys in a tennis match.

If you look at the merger process as a stairway to climb up, AT&T is still near the very bottom. Every rung will be full of intense scrutiny as it is: if the two companies are allowed to merge, the national GSM market becomes a monopoly, and the wireless industry as a whole would shift to only three national players plus a handful of less-influential regional carriers. The carrier’s going to blow as much as $6 billion if the merger is not approved — almost enough to buy Skype — it can’t just expect to put up some feel-good facts and stats to win the hearts of the decision-makers.

AT&T has to be absolutely sure it’ll come out victorious in the war, else it risks losing the trust (and money) of its shareholders. But to accomplish such a feat, it has to be on top of its game. There was no better time to show off what it’s made of than last week’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing conducted by the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights. When the Committee entitles a hearing “Is Humpty Dumpty Being Put Back Together Again?,” it’s either exercising a sense of humor or a preconceived notion of the merger due to the implication that Ma Bell is simply reforming. CEO Randall Stephenson appeared as a sacrificial lamb, going before Congress and his opponents to explain his side of the story, answer hardball questions, and endure a hard-hitting round of criticism. Continue reading as we take you topic by topic and examine what he — and his opponents — had to say about the merger.

Continue reading The AT&T / T-Mobile senate hearing: deciphering the war of words

The AT&T / T-Mobile senate hearing: deciphering the war of words originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 12:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 17

Sprint joins Verizon atop customer satisfaction survey

Posted in: att, Sprint, t-mobile, TMobile, Today's Chili, verizon, Verizon Wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

Sprint LogoSprint is on a bit of a roll recently. Sure, there were some problems with its Google Voice integration and the company is still losing money, but it’s adding subscribers at an impressive rate and now it’s tied Verizon for the number one spot in a recent customer satisfaction survey. The American Customer Satisfaction Index showed Sprint had made significant gains in the last three years, rising from dead last amongst the big four with a score of 56 in 2008 to match Big Red’s field-leading 72. At the same time, both T-Mobile and AT&T saw small drops in their satisfaction scores, with AT&T hitting 66 points — its lowest rating since the launch of the iPhone. Of course, with T-Mo hemorrhaging customers and the reanimated husk of Ma Bell claiming the ignominious title of most dropped calls, we can’t say we’re particularly shocked.

Sprint joins Verizon atop customer satisfaction survey originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 18 May 2011 00:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 17

T-Mobile 2011 roadmap leaks, lists loads of specific release dates?

Posted in: HTC, leak, leaked, leaks, LG, nokia, roadmap, rumor, rumors, samsung, symbian, t-mobile, Today's Chili

Samsung’s Hercules was the entree, but there’s always room for dessert, and if you’d like to finish off your meal with juicy cellular rumors, This is my next has you covered. The publication now claims to have T-Mobile’s entire 2011 device roadmap in their possession, replete with alleged release dates for a stable of phones and hotspots — some of which we’ve never heard of before — which should make for plenty of excitement in the months to come. Find all the highlights after the break.

Continue reading T-Mobile 2011 roadmap leaks, lists loads of specific release dates?

T-Mobile 2011 roadmap leaks, lists loads of specific release dates? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 20:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 17

Unannounced Samsung ‘Hercules’ headed to T-Mobile, bearing demigod-like specs?

Posted in: dual-core, nfc, qualcomm, rumor, rumors, samsung, snapdragon, t-mobile, TMobile, Today's Chili

The Samsung Infuse 4G is a beautiful 4.5-inch tabletphone, but it’s not for the spec junkies of the world — a single-core processor and Android 2.2 just don’t impress such folk these days, regardless of actual performance. However, This is my next reports Samsung’s cooking up a $350 handset that ticks all the boxes on the superphone list — a beast of a smartphone it’s tentatively calling the “Hercules.” Mind you, we’re still in rumor territory, but feast your inner speed demon on the possibility of these: a dual-core 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon APQ8060 processor (the same as the HP TouchPad), a 42Mbps HSDPA radio, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of flash storage and Android 2.3, along with the same 4.5-inch 800 x 480 Super AMOLED Plus display as the aforementioned Infuse 4G. The same whispers say it’ll have a 8 megapixel camera with 1080p video capture, MHL support and NFC, and should play for T-Mobile… assuming the buyout doesn’t succeed. Our existing smartphones are already preparing to seethe with jealousy.

Unannounced Samsung ‘Hercules’ headed to T-Mobile, bearing demigod-like specs? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 16:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 16

T-Mobile confirms gratis WiFi calling for the magenta-clad masses

Posted in: free, t-mobile, TMobile, Today's Chili, wifi

Last week, the online grapevine foretold that T-Mobile users would have complimentary calling over WiFi. Now, the pink provider’s powers that be have made good on the gossip and officially made free WiFi calling official. The service is available to those with Android handsets with the carrier’s Smart Wi-Fi app preinstalled and are on T-Mo’s Even More or Even More Plus plans. All others wanting a dose of free will have to pony up for a new plan — you didn’t think it was actually free, did you?

T-Mobile confirms gratis WiFi calling for the magenta-clad masses originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 21:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 16

Samsung Exhibit 4G coming to T-Mobile on June 8th?

Posted in: Android, gingerbread, Google, hspa, samsung, t-mobile, Today's Chili
It wasn’t even two weeks ago that we first glimpsed the Samsung Exhibit 4G for T-Mobile in the wild (and spied its FCC footprint). Now it looks like this Gingerbread phone will go on sale June 8th — if this flyer sent in to TmoNews is to be believed. Still no word on pricing, though we know dealers will pay $325 a pop. To recap, a peek at the filing and unauthorized photos reveals the Exhibit 4G is an HSPA + handset running TouchWiz on top of Android 2.3, with front and rear-facing cameras, an LED flash in the back, and a microSD card slot. The site’s sources also suggest the phone will pack a 1GHz Hummingbird CPU and a 3 megapixel back camera, a departure from the speculation we were treated to earlier this month. In any case, it looks like T-Mobile will set the record straight in a matter of weeks.

Samsung Exhibit 4G coming to T-Mobile on June 8th? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 19:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 16

HTC Sensation 4G hitting mid-June for $200?

Posted in: Android, dual-core, gingerbread, hands-on, HTC, htc sense, HtcSense, price, pricing, Release Date, rumor, rumors, sense, snapdragon, t-mobile, Today's Chili

Oh, the sweet smells of summer: surf, sunscreen, barbecue, Gingerbread. We’ve known all along that HTC’s Android 2.3-packing smartphone was set for release at the “beginning of the summer,” and thanks to some loud-mouthed Google AdWords, we’ve seen June 8th floated as a possibility. Those who understandably doubt the word of search-based text advertisements, take heart: it’s shaping up to be a big weekend for Sensation 4G leaks. First TmoNews got its hands on a Target placard pricing the snappy dual-core Snapdragon handset at $199.99, for what appears to be a June 12th release, and then the site snagged a shot of internal T-Mobile documentation that confirms the earlier June 8th date. Why the discrepancy? Well, it certainly wouldn’t be unheard of for the carrier to give itself a head start, and surely Target wouldn’t mind timing its own release up with its Sunday circulars. In both cases, it looks like the phone’ll be spending a fair amount of time beneath beach umbrellas.

HTC Sensation 4G hitting mid-June for $200? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 May 2011 03:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 13

T-Mobile baking fresh prepaid plans May 22, adds more 4G data for flavor

Posted in: leak, leaked, t-mobile, TMobile, Today's Chili, wwan

Consumers are flocking to prepaid about as fast as children to an ice cream truck, and T-Mobile is welcoming them with open arms. Pushing out a competitive and timely response to Verizon’s Unleashed plans is vital — especially given T-Mobile’s paltry first-quarter results — and the company will be ready to match wits with the country’s number-one carrier on May 22. The official site is already saying as much, proclaiming to its prepaid customers that their monthly packages will become even tastier at that time. What it’s missing, though, is a name, and TmoNews has uncovered evidence suggesting ‘T-Mobile Monthly 4G’ will be the re-branded title. So what will these new enhancements bring to customers?

Monthly rates will stay exactly the same as before, with additional 4G data supplying an extra oomph to the offerings. The top-of-the-line plan goes for $70 and will offer unlimited minutes, text, and web (a jump up from the 2GB currently in use); the $50 choice is identical in minutes and text, but will only allow 100MB before data gets throttled. This idea of cutting down internet use is a definite upgrade to the current plan, since at present time it gives out the same 100MB but cuts data use completely off as soon as that point is reached. We’re also noticing that international and BlackBerry services are available a la carte for an extra $10, as well as a noteworthy day pass that bestows 24 hours of unlimited 4G data for $1.49. Color us impressed; all of the latest revamps to T-Mobile’s prepaid options are a refreshing contrast to its competitors mandating more and more restrictions to their monthly data plans.

Continue reading T-Mobile baking fresh prepaid plans May 22, adds more 4G data for flavor

T-Mobile baking fresh prepaid plans May 22, adds more 4G data for flavor originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 May 2011 00:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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May 12

Reuters: a failed takeover of T-Mobile would cost AT&T as much as $6 billion

Posted in: att, deal, leak, money, price, speculation, t-mobile, Today's Chili

AT&T’s proposed acquisition of T-Mobile was a big deal as soon as it was announced, but now Reuters has unearthed some more context to lend it even more cruciality. We already knew that in the event of AT&T&T-Mobile failing to garner regulatory approval, AT&T would owe Deutsche Telekom, the current owner of T-Mo USA, $3 billion in cash, some spare AWS spectrum, and a roaming agreement “on terms favorable to both parties.” Reuters’ sleuths say that the spectrum in question is worth $2 billion and the roaming deal a further $1 billion, bringing the total breakup payout to a hair-raising $6 billion. Given the wording of the two companies’ deal, we don’t expect the roaming part of that settlement would be free for T-Mobile (so $6b looks to be a bit of an over-estimation), but the fact remains that AT&T is staking a whole lot of moolah on this takeover going through. Whether it does or not, Deutsche Telekom’s René Obermann (above left) looks assured to still be laughing this time next year — but will the same be true of AT&T’s Randall Stephenson?

Reuters: a failed takeover of T-Mobile would cost AT&T as much as $6 billion originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 20:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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