Filling a major gap in its product line, the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier T-Mobile will begin selling the iPhone 5 and two earlier models on April 12 with a cheaper and contract-less data plan, the company says.
The announcement makes T-Mobile the first major U.S. carrier to offer the Apple smartphone (iPhone 5) with no contract. Users are required to enter into a two-year service contract in exchange for discounts when they purchase smartphones from other major wireless carriers such as AT&T and Verizon.
"If you come to T-Mobile you have signed your last contract. They are dead. Gone. No more," said T-Mobile's CEO John Legere during the company's 'Uncarrier' event in New York City on Wednesday.
With the new plan, T-Mobile will offer the iPhone 5 for $99.99 down plus an additional monthly payment of $20 per month for 24 months, meaning you will be able to get an iPhone 5 for around $579 compared to $649 at retail. While it does not tie the users to a contract, the handset will be locked to T-Mobile until the amount is paid off.
"T-Mobile announced today that qualifying customers can get an iPhone 5 for $99.99 down, plus monthly payments. T-Mobile is the only major U.S. wireless company to offer iPhone 5 with no annual service contract plus unlimited talk, text and Web on a screaming-fast nationwide 4G network. And because there are no annual contracts, customers make the decision when to upgrade their devices - not the carrier," the company says in a press release.
Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile also offers the iPhone 4s for $69.99 down and $20 per month for 24 months and the iPhone 4 for $14.99 down and $15 per month for 24 months in select markets. The carrier offers just one Simple Choice Plan that begins with a base $50 per month for unlimited talk and text and 500MB of data. Users can upgrade their plan to unlimited data for an extra $20.
T-Mobile's iPhone 5 will allow anyone with an unlimited plan to use the device's FaceTime calling feature over both 4G LTE and HSPA+ networks, with no data cap. Users will also receive HD Voice support in iPhone 5.
