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iPhone debut on T-Mobile was "gangbusters"

iPhone debut on TMobile was 'gangbusters'

T-Mobile on Friday began selling the iPhone 5 and sales thus far appear to be very good.

In a statement issued to AllThingsD, T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert said:

Today has been gangbusters for T-Mobile. We experienced lines out the door this morning at nearly all of our almost 3,000 stores nationwide.

That's certainly welcome news for T-Mobile, the last large U.S. based carrier to offer the iPhone. Indeed, the carrier over the past few quarters has been rather forthright in attributing high subscriber churn to the fact that they didn't offer the iPhone.

Another factor contributing to "gangbuster" sales at T-Mobile stores is likely a new trade-in program for iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S owners, who can swap the older device for a 16GB iPhone 5 and no money down if they sign up for a Simple Choice Plan. The 16GB iPhone 5 is normally $99 from T-Mobile; the carrier is also offering up to $120 in account credit, depending on the residual value of the older phone.

As noted earlier this month, the iPhone 5 model sold by T-Mobile is slightly different from the previous GSM unit; it works with the AWS 4G networks deployed by the new carrier.