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Live from T-Mobile's UnCarrier event!
It's time for T-Mobile to unveil its new set of UnCarrier plans -- and maybe more. Back in January, we heard the iPhone would be going magenta sometime in the next three months and... why, would you look at the time? It's been just over three months! Are you ready for Apple's latest and greatest to break down the walls of one more carrier, and for that carrier to turn everything we know about contracts and plan pricing on its head? You'd better be. Join us at the time below for some proper liveblog action live from the event here in New York City.
T-Mobile's 4G LTE goes live in Phoenix, San Jose
T-Mobile has started to roll out 4G services in the Phoenix and San Jose ahead of a press gathering today, according to our tipsters. Screen grabs show the service alive and kicking out speeds in the 20-30Mbps range, though we've yet to verify it for ourselves. The company already outed its "UnCarrier" plans on its site earlier featuring non-subsidized smartphones -- including LTE models -- along with unlimited voice, text and basic data plans. We should be able to color in the rest of the details later this morning. [Thanks Nick, Dustin]
T-Mobile takes its UnCarrier plans live earlier than expected
T-Mobile must not want to wait for a special event to lure customers through its doors: it just launched its revamped, decidedly UnCarrier-like plans a couple of days early. As became clearer this weekend, unlimited voice, text and basic data are now things you can take for granted on Magenta's network. It's only the cap on throttle-free data that determines how much you pay: rates sold through T-Mobile itself start at $50 for a basic 500MB of online use and climb in steady 2GB increments that each cost an extra $10 per month, up to a total of 12.5GB for $110. You can still get truly unlimited service if you want, for $70 -- although you'll have to bolt on a separate hotspot plan that the capped tiers get for free. Costs at resellers are expected to run slightly higher, but it's still clear that T-Mobile is aggressively courting those of us who see internet access as the very reason to have a smartphone in the first place.
The Daily Roundup for 03.22.2013
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
T-Mobile 'UnCarrier' plans possibly leaked, make unlimited talk and text a given (updated)
T-Mobile made much ado at CES of its desire to become the "UnCarrier," with steps away from subsidies and the usual complexities of smartphones. Thanks to tipsters, we have a better sense of what the provider meant. A memo suggests that T-Mobile is revamping plans in the near future to make unlimited talk and text a de facto part of the experience, where data would be the only changeable factor: on Classic tiers , the starter $60 plan would have 500MB of full-speed data with hotspot support built-in, while subscribers could upgrade their service in 2GB increments that cost between $10-20 dollars per month for individuals. You'd still have 'real' unlimited data on Classic from $90, with the hotspot as a bolt-on option. What we've seen doesn't specify a date or price, but T-Mobile happens to have an appropriately-themed event coming up on the 26th; we wouldn't be shocked if we heard more at that stage. [Thanks, anonymous] Update: We've done some digging, and this is the full sheet that made a quick stopover at TmoNews. The Classic plans may only be available at third-party stores, while T-Mobile's own stores would go only with contract-free Value rates that start at $50 and include the $70 unlimited plan we saw in January.
T-Mobile planning March 26th press event, hints at strategy change
It's been a slow news day for most of the tech industry, but it's been a helluva Monday for T-Mobile. First the carrier announced expansion plans for its fledgling LTE network, and said that the Galaxy Note II would be getting an over-the-air update allowing it to take advantage of T-Mo's new 4G speeds. Now, Big Magenta is planning a press event for March 26th in New York City, reports AllThingsD. As you can see, the invite promises the wireless operator will no longer be acting like one, which makes us think a splashy product launch isn't in the cards. Given the teaser, we have to wonder if T-Mo is finally ready to elaborate on its plan to offer Value plans only, under which customers pay for their phones outright in exchange for lower monthly fees (and no contracts, of course). If we were betting types, that's where we'd be putting our money, but it'll be another eight days before we know for sure.