T-Mobile USA staying single for now
By Tim Stevens 
posted March 27th 2010 11:07PM
posted March 27th 2010 11:07PM
posted March 27th 2010 11:07PM
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What if Google bought them, built them out properly, and turned it into an open, VoIP powered, data-powered 3G/4G network?
@telepheedian
Giddy up!
@telepheedian
A reprogrammed machine will come from the future to stop Judgment day.
@telepheedian I can see it now, all the iTards freaking out over Google and supposed "privacy" concerns and either Jobs or some other CEO screaming bloody "Monopoly"
BUT it would be awesome for us consumers if it happened
@telepheedian DROOL!...
@telepheedian
Not going to happen
@telepheedian
If Google did that, it would gain the rank of "Epic Game Changer"
@telepheedian
And have Google record every single word I ever say on the phone and on the internet? Google is less and less like a company and more and more like a government.
@telepheedian
or google can buy t-mobile AND palm . . .
@Delta Just because they provide great ad-supported services for free, you are accusing them of being like a government? I understand where these privacy concerns come from, but the same worry can be directed at any company.
@Delta I can see it now. You talk about buying a new LCD TV on the phone and decide to take a drive to a friends house. For some reason you decide to map the route on your Android google maps application and start getting advertising about new LCD TV's every time you pass an electronics store... For some reason it takes two times longer to get there and you pass 20 electronic stores on the way...
Btw check the advertising on gmail and see how closely it matches your incoming emails.
@ai4281
It's doesn't take much for anyone to see that Google could flip the switch one day and say, "All your base belongs to us".
@telepheedian
it's kinda like someone were to hit the go button at skynet.
@telepheedian thinkgeek. nothing is impossible
@Plazmic Flame All your base ARE belong to us.
@telepheedian
The problem with T-Mobile is where they are positioned in the marketplace.
(AT&T/Verizon/Sprint) > (T-Mobile) > (CricKet/MetroPCS/TracFone)
They really need to work on their branding to take themselves in one direction or another. Otherwise they will continue to be stuck in limbo, which in their case is an in between market, that doesn't have a whole lot of customers to compete for.
@dxdragon Advertising on gmail?, what advertising?!
@ai4281 Thank you, ai4281. Last I checked, a private sector firm cannot tax you to fund wars, cannot imprison you for exercising your God-given right to free expression or engage in general oppression and genocidal activity against entire cultures. This is what the governments of China, Russia, the U.K. and, sadly, good old U.S. of A., have done at various points to various people.
The most Google can do on its own is provide lots of ads and services based on your behavior. Intrusive? No question. But you also know this when you sign up for any Google service. When you decide not to sign up for U.S. Selective Service, the consequences are far more dear (and you don't even get anything of value in return save for the chance to be drafted for war). Dear Delta: Cut the crap.
@Plazmic Flame
Actually most people here are over estimating google's economic might. Google generates less cash, has less cash in the bank, has lower free cash flow from operations and a lower market cap than either Apple or Microsoft. The cost of subsidizing an entire wireless network is beyond googles ability by a huge margin.... In fact no company can afford to subsidize a service like T Mobile. YouTube costs are insignificant compared to a wireless network the size of T mobile.
Unfortunately, reality is hard sometimes to accept.
Maybe if AT&T brought T-Mobile, they might have decent speed internet on their phones? Not!
@Caprice Dates
You mean like that 7.2 Mbit they have already on 3G? And the 21 Mbit they're planning on in about a year?
I HAVE seen around 5 Mbit in a store on a laptop USB 3G device last week.
@Jouva
TMo's problem isn't speed by any stretch of the imagination. They're rolling out upgrades faster than any of the other big 4. However, their 3g footprint sucks in the actual area that it covers. However, they've been building out pretty aggressively.
@Jouva
I meant more speed for AT&T
Yeah, I'll keep buying more and more "unlimited" plans for all my devices instead of finding a way to share the one. That's gonna happen.
@Houndx I'm thinking that's what this guy means (at least I hope), either that or he expects us to be both way too connected while having way too much disposable income burning holes in our pockets. Or, he he thinks that each person will have some combo of: smartphone, netbook, notebook, (desktop?, if so nettop), mid, tablet, etc, uninvented segment, uninvented segment; and within these devices have 1-3 plans, not 5-10. Besides it being just expensive (at 100-150/month pretending $20-30 if rates come down or stay stable...though that's too optimistic) it's just that we don't have that much use for devices unless the hardware is cheap and we are sharing connections, plus having networks that make us want to consume more hardware, though maybe some networks having poor service or poor speed in select areas.
Tmobile has great customer service but their coverage and phones leave a lot to be desired.
@alex2792
HD2, Touch Pro 2, Nexus 1, what exactly do you want?
@Delta
Agreed. They do have awesome phones. Sprint plans are still better deals though.
@alex2792 The coverage is a problem. That (along with the appeal of the Simply Everything Plan) is why I decamped from T-Mo for Sprint. The customer service is great and the phones are nice; but Sprint is equal (and arguably, among some, better) on the phones, cheaper on the plans and the coverage is awesome. But I can't blame T-Mo customers for sticking with the company; Verizon is too costly and,I hate hate hate AT&T, especially after messing around with my mother-in-law's phone this weekend and learning that not all all-in-one plans are equal ($6 just to get e-mail even when you are on an everything plan; ridiculous).
I think they maybe my next provider. I have been outta contract with Verizon for a while.
@iPaul 'Been with them for over 6 years. Customer service is the best I've ever experienced. Never been on hold longer than 15min. Service has gotten very good too. Never drop calls in the city (DC/BAL).
@vertigo1
Customer service is absolutely amazing from TMo and they're much cheaper than ATT and Big Red. I'm a recent convert. The only thing that kills me is that I only have Edge where I live.
@all t-mo haters...
I have been with t-mo for five years now and plan on staying another five, as long as they continue the service I receive now. The plans are priced better than by other carrier as well as no usage caps on internet, and tethering for Christs sake. T-mobile knows what I want, and they deliver without prompting. If Google bought T-mobile I wouldn't be upset.
@ashleythehottiest:
I don't fuck with 12 year old girls that don't know how to spell.
@Butler the law says 14 minimum. If the person has power over you (parent, teacher) then the minimum age is 18 to have relations with that person.
Srry, i started studying Canadian law.
@IvanP91 :
I didn't even know that I was living in Canada o_O
You didn't have a chance anyways fool.
@ashleythehottiest
No.
But think of the ads!!! "by going with T-Mobile insted of AT&T for your 10 wireless plans, over the course of two years you will save enough too buy a Corvette!"
I have t-mo and won't change providers even though I really want a bb storm... Damn them with their fair pricing and excellent service!
@Okjeff171 get the 9500 or 9520 models, they support quad band GSM and certain HSDPA 3G
@Okjeff171 why the he'll would you want a storm? And there are unlocked gsm models you can get.
@Okjeff171
umm, just get a BB Storm and unlock it. I used a Storm on T-Mobile for about a year without any problems.
@infinitii Yeah I get what you're saying... I just want the new contract pricing... I'm up for a new phone and haven't been able to pull the trigger just yet... My 8820 has been good but I need something new
@Okjeff171 Bold 9700? If you like BB's, that's probably the best you'll find. Seriously, why get a storm? The whole point of blackberry's is the keyboard - otherwise get a nexus one or HD2 or palm pre(or even iPhone if you can live without multitasking and with the stupid restrictions)
Google buying t-mobile?
with a partnership with HTC?
A carrier that supplies only android devices??
im ready to jump ship!
I think what they are getting at is the trend towards embedded data radios with the cost of service included in the price of the device or content (Kindle is the most obvious example). Here's a few off the top of my head that could use a cell data connection:
Home Security System (cut phone lines)
E-Reader (Kindle)
Fleet management systems (both corporate and consumer eg Onstar)
GPS Devices (traffic subscription)
iPad
Aircard
Cell Phone
Potable Gaming Device
Of course, the data costs are huge for some things (Aircard), but miniscule for other things (E-Reader), so it's not like they expect people to be paying 30$/pop for each device.
I've been looking into getting a divorce from TMo.
gotta hook up with att
@ips0fakto I totally wouldn't look forward to that.
Rogers and Fido? Before Bell and Telus went HSPA, we only had one GSM/UMTS carrier (the combined Rogers and Fido) up here and times were dreadful. Fido was actually competitive but ever since the buyout they've been neutering the poor dog to death. Plans were mirroring what Rogers offer, decent phones that were supposed to launch kept disappearing let with only some worthless prepaid-grade phones.