T-Mobile Will Finally Carry IPhone, IPad And Other Apple Products, Starting In 2013

T-Mobile customers, the wait is over: Your cell phone carrier is finally getting the iPhone.

The fourth-largest mobile carrier in America is partnering with Apple after going over half a decade without America's most popular smartphone, the company announced Thursday morning.

 In its financial statement for the fourth quarter of 2012, T-Mo parent company Deutsche Telekom revealed that T-Mobile USA "has entered into an agreement with Apple to bring products to market together in 2013," meaning that the largest carrier in the United States that didn't offer the iPhone has now filled its most glaring product hole.

(A brief caveat: You'll notice that T-Mobile doesn't actually identify which Apple products they'll be carrying. Most are assuming, however, that this announcement means an iPhone and iPad are indeed coming to T-Mobile. We've reached out to both Apple and T-Mobile for confirmation).

UPDATE: T-Mobile is still playing coy about which Apple devices it will carry. "Additional details will be made available at a later date," a T-Mobile spokesperson said in an email in response to a question about whether the iPhone was one of the devices coming to the network.

T-Mobile customers had watched for years as AT&T, Verizon, Sprint and smaller regional carriers like Bluegrass Cellular, Appalachian Wireless and Alaski GCI all reached deals with Apple to carry the iPhone. Executives had repeatedly explained, as recently as November 2012, that Apple's asking price was just too high for the company to justify.

FInancial terms of the deal were not immediately revealed. In 2011 Sprint spent over $15 billion to carry iPhones in its stores in an expensive move that Sprint CEO Dan Hesse defended as essential to compete with Verizon and AT&T.

T-Mobile, meanwhile, had been plagued by widespread subscriber loss as customers fled to other providers that did offer the iPhone; recently, T-Mobile had been attempting to lure iPhone users away from carriers like AT&T, advertising its network and cheap data plans as ideal for those who already owned iPhones or those who bought unlocked iPhones online or through Apple.

The carrier with the pink logo won't have to rely on that gimmick for much longer, as it appears likely that T-Mobile retail stores will soon be stocked with iPhones for the first time since the phone's introduction in 2007. The company's next challenge may be to build out its 4G LTE network in time for its iPhone launch date. The network is expected to launch in 2013.

T-Mobile CEO Rene Obermann first announced the surprising news during a call with Wall Street analysts on Thursday morning, and the official statement confirming the agreement followed soon after, according to Engadget (which like the Huffington Post is owned by AOL).

We still don't know specifically when in 2013 the company will begin carrying the iPhone, but it appears that T-Mobile customers hoping for an iPhone in their lifetimes have finally gotten their wish.

Credit : Huffington Post

Cell Phones : AT&T 'confident' T-Mobile deal to close in Q1 2012

AT&T this morning offered up some earnings tidbits, and there's some good news in there for the iPhone-wielding mobile network. In its best-ever second quarter for smartphone sales, the company moved more than 5.6 million of the devices. The Former Mrs. Bell also revealed that it is "confident" that, much to the chagrin of Sprint and others, its planned purchase of T-Mobile is set to be completed by the first quarter of 2012. AT&T will be offering up more financial details in an earnings call later today, including, no doubt, the much-rumored plans for magenta carpeting in its global headquarters.
Update: The company didn't talk too much about its interior decorating plans, but it did insist that it is "look[ing] forward to working with the FCC," and while it still has "work to do, we remain confident that we can satisfy the FCC and DOJ." AT&T also happily pointed out support from Governors of 26 states. The acquisition, it added, will offer "enormous efficiencies" and "is the surest and fastest way to address the unique network constraints and spectrum shortages affecting AT&T."

Cell Phones : Deutsche Telekom thinking of merging T-Mobile USA with Sprint?

It ain't as crazy as you may think. If you'll recall, we actually heard last month that Deutsche Telekom was mulling the idea of spinning off T-Mobile USA from its portfolio, and now it looks as if one carrier in particular is interested. According to the imitable "people with knowledge of the matter," Bloomberg Businessweek is reporting that Deutsche Telekom has gone ahead with talks to "sell its T-Mobile USA unit to Sprint in exchange for a major stake in the combined entity." Granted, there's no guarantees at this point that the two will actually reach a deal that sits well with both boards, and up until now, they haven't been able to come to terms with T-Mob's valuation. As the story goes, Deutsche Telekom has purportedly said that it could sell "all or part of the US business, and all options are open." Meanwhile, Sprint's remaining mum. A merger of these two would combine the number three and four players in America, but if that doesn't pan out, T-Mobile USA may end up buying wireless spectrum from Clearwire as an alternative. We're hearing that an outright sale of T-Mobile in the US is pretty much off of the table, but considering just how many backroom talks are apparently going on in both camps, we won't be surprised until they tell us to be.

Cell Phones : R.I.P. T-Mobile Sidekick As Of 5/31/11

If you're still lugging around a T-Mobile Sidekick -- and we know there has to be at least a few of you -- we've got some bad news. On May 31st, T-Mobile will officially be turning off access to Danger's servers. The company hasn't released a new Sidekick since 2009, and in mid-2010 stopped selling the devices altogether. The brand isn't completely dead, but T-Mobile is gearing up for a launch of new Android-based Sidekicks to replace the aging Danger models. The hiptops (as they were called before T-Mobile rebranded them) were ahead of their time. Not only were they one of the first consumer-friendly smartphones on the market, but they offered a host of cloud-based services that went largely unmatched until the launch of Android and WebOS.

The shift to Android, with its focus on the cloud, makes a lot of sense -- not only from a features standpoint, but also because Danger founder and father of the Sidekick Andy Rubin is the creator of Android and Director of Mobile Platforms at Google. T-Mobile says it will be working hard to ease the transition for Sidekick customers. In addition to offering Web-based tools to backup and move your data, T-Mobile also promises to "provide offers" for new devices, as old Sidekicks are destined to become nothing more than glorified paperweights. A new 4G, Android-powered Sidekick built by Samsung should be landing this spring, presumably before the Danger servers go offline.

Tech : T-Mobile intros DriveSmart Plus service to block texting while driving, FamilyWhere to track down your kids

The texting-while-driving epidemic is starting to get a lot of carrier attention, and T-Mobile's taking it to the next level today by throwing its weight behind a new subscription-based upgrade to the DriveSmart app that's been available on the LG Optimus T since launch. DriveSmart Plus runs $4.99 a month for all lines on your account (provided the lines are attached to compatible devices) and upgrades the basic DriveSmart app by automatically detecting when your car's in motion -- no need to enable it by hand -- at which point incoming calls are automatically sent to voicemail and incoming text messages are met with an automatic response that the recipient is currently driving. Naturally, there's an emergency override built-in -- but to make sure young drivers aren't abusing it, DriveSmart offers parents the option of being contacted by text or email when it's overridden and can let them monitor overall phone usage through a web interface. The service is only available on the Optimus T initially, but more hardware support is "coming soon."

On a related note, T-Mobile is also introducing FamilyWhere, matching similar services already offered by Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint by letting parents see where their young'uns are and set up customized alerts by location and time; it's apparently compatible with "nearly any type" of phone on the T-Mobile network, so you shouldn't need to equip the tykes with superphones just to get this action set up. It runs $9.99 a month and covers all the lines on your account.

Location Labs Launches First Carrier-Grade Solution to Help T-Mobile Customers Prevent Texting While Driving

Leader in Mobile Personal Safety and Communication Products Attacks Distracted Driving Epidemic by Launching DriveSmart Plus with automatic driving detections

San Francisco, California – January 19, 2010 – Location Labs, the leading provider of mobile location-as-a-service infrastructure and applications, today announced the launch of its DriveSmart™ Plus application on T-Mobile® devices, the industry's first carrier-grade service to help prevent texting while driving, specifically designed for T-Mobile customers with Android™ smartphones.

DriveSmart Plus is a subscription-based, opt-in service that automatically detects when a handset user is driving and sets the phone into a 'Driving Mode'. Once this service is activated, it disables most texting and calling features to the handset while the car is in motion, ultimately decreasing the possibility of unsafe, distracted driving.

"With our blazing fast network speeds, T-Mobile customers can do more on their phones than ever before while on the go," said Torrie Dorrell, vice president of applications, content and games, T-Mobile USA. "We feel strongly that with this freedom comes the responsibility to use their phones only when it is safe to do so. The T-Mobile DriveSmart Plus application is designed to keep our customers, their loved ones and the road safe."

"We continue to invest heavily in mobile personal safety services, for which we are seeing huge demand from consumers and families," said Tasso Roumeliotis, CEO of Location Labs. "We are thrilled to launch DriveSmart Plus on T-Mobile with our patent-pending drive-detection technology to help address the national crisis of distracted driving."


DriveSmart Plus
The industry's first carrier-branded service to help prevent texting while driving, DriveSmart Plus, automatically detects when a user may be driving and sets the phone into 'Driving Mode', sending incoming calls directly to voicemail and preventing access to text messages, except through applications specified by the customer. Additionally, an auto-response text message is sent to the person who phoned or texted alerting them the recipient is driving and unavailable to receive calls or messages.

In the event of an emergency or if the user is a passenger in a car, DriveSmart Plus allows the user to override 'Driving Mode'. Parents can choose to be notified by text message or e-mail when the override occurs and can view phone usage during the override from the DriveSmart Web interface.

DriveSmart Plus, powered by Location Labs, is available for download onto the LG Optimus T™, with support for more devices coming soon. T-Mobile subscribers can also visit http://www.my.t-mobile.com to learn more about the service.

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Location Labs Launches T-Mobile FamilyWhere™

New Family Safety Service Available to All T-Mobile Customers

San Francisco, Calif. – January 19, 2010 – Location Labs, the leading provider of mobile personal security applications, today announced the launch of T-Mobile FamilyWhere™. Powered by Location Labs, FamilyWhere is a service that allows parents to access location information for their child or other family members from a computer or their own mobile phone.

Leveraging Location Labs' technology, the T-Mobile FamilyWhere service can locate nearly any type of phone using the T-Mobile network, providing peace of mind to parents trying to keep up with their kids regardless of what phone they're using. Parents can also set up scheduled alerts, for example, to provide and update when their child arrives at school or an elderly parent arrives home safely after an appointment. The service is able to locate other phones within a T-Mobile family plan and location information is accessible through a customer's password protected account at http://www.my.t-mobile.com.

"We're excited to launch T-Mobile FamilyWhere, powered by Location Labs" said Torrie Dorrell, vice president of applications, content and games, T-Mobile USA. "As we continue to enhance our customers' lives with faster, richer connections, T-Mobile will take every smart opportunity to provide value-added services that help families stay in touch and stay safe. FamilyWhere is the latest T-Mobile service that gives families peace of mind."

T-Mobile FamilyWhere™, powered by Location Labs:
• Provides parents with a Web and mobile safety net that provides real-time location information and the option to receive location alerts via the Web, text message or e-mail.
• The FamilyWhere mobile application is also available on a wide selection of Android-powered smartphones from T-Mobile for easy access to a child's location information while parents are on-the-go.
• Allows parents to create scheduled alerts to help ensure a loved one is at home by curfew or arrived at school or other predefined location on time.
• Provides parents with a history of locations visited and other customizable alerts with a real-time Family Feed.
• Helps ensures parents are prepared in the event of an emergency; FamilyWhere's emergency profile pages allow parents to store critical information about their children including physical description and photo, allergies, family member contact details, child care or school location and contact details, all within the FamilyWhere environment.

"More than ever, family safety is top of mind for parents," said Tasso Roumeliotis, CEO of Location Labs. "We are proud to launch the T-Mobile FamilyWhere service, bringing peace of mind to the millions of families on the T-Mobile network. We continue to invest heavily in building solutions that improve communication among families and are on an aggressive path to expand our suite of products and services again in the near future."

Availability
Eligible T-Mobile customers can subscribe to FamilyWhere by visiting http://www.my.t-mobile.com or by downloading the T-Mobile FamilyWhere application from Android Market™.