T-Mobile just released their new Sidekick 2008 today, and the price for this new device will start at $149.99 so long as you make a 2-year service commitment along with your purchase. They also are selling custom removable shells… you can literally create your own pattern or design and T-mobile will print it onto a blank shell for $10 each. Not too bad if you ask me.
Sharp is responsible for manufacturing this piece of equipment, with offers a 2.6″ swivel screen, a QWERTY keyboard, a 2 megapixel camera, 3G capabilities, email, messaging, video, bluetooth technology, etc. - It basically has all the same stuff that personal devices have these days. I personally have never owned a Sidekick before, but I do have other Sharp equipment in my house, like a flat screen TV and radio, and those are both very well made. And with all the phones these days being equal in terms of capability, this Sidekick 2008 makes a good offer: a quality phone for $150. Plus that swivel screen is awesome!
T-Mobile in Germany announced that they will sell you the 8GB iPhone 3G for 1 euro if you have a contract that cost 69 euros or more. That comes out to be a little more than $100 a month for the monthly contract.
That’s some genius marketing. They give you the phone for free basically, but requires you to pay more for the contract so they can make the money back in the long run. That’s a great selling point though… “Get your new iPhone for 1 euro!”
Going back to the previous Android entry, T-Mobile has announced that they will be carrying Google Android cell phones by the end of 2008. It seems like Google’s dream is going to turn into reality soon.
What makes Android stand out is the fact that it’s open. For the longest time, the carriers, like AT&T and Verizon, have been reluctant to release that kind of information.
Here’s how Google describes Android on their blog:
“Android is the first truly open and comprehensive platform for mobile devices. It includes an operating system, user-interface and applications — all of the software to run a mobile phone, but without the proprietary obstacles that have hindered mobile innovation. We have developed Android in cooperation with the Open Handset Alliance, which consists of more than 30 technology and mobile leaders including Motorola, Qualcomm, HTC and T-Mobile. Through deep partnerships with carriers, device manufacturers, developers, and others, we hope to enable an open ecosystem for the mobile world by creating a standard, open mobile software platform. We think the result will ultimately be a better and faster pace for innovation that will give mobile customers unforeseen applications and capabilities.” Check out the article on the official Google blog.
Not sure how this is going to really affect us yet, but it sounds pretty cool.
We all figured there will be some consolidation in the mobile industry eventually. It seems like it might become a reality soon. The Wall Street Journal reported a couple days ago (I know I am a little late on this one, sorry) that Deutsche Telekom, the parent of T-Mobile, is thinking about acquiring Sprint Nextel. If that happens, they will become the biggest carrier in the US! You can see the article on AOL Money.
There are a few things that might become somewhat complicated if this happens though. For one, integrating the technologies will be pretty challenging. T-Mobile runs on the GSM network, whereas Sprint Nextel is on CDMA with Java. The two networks are completely opposite like fire and ice, water and oil, donuts and oranges (sorry, ran out of analogies for the last one there).
This will still be very interesting though. We could be seeing some big changes happening in the near future!
Speaking my My Fave 5, here’s this year’s Superbowl commercial with T-Mobile. Chuck just won’t leave Dwayne Wade alone. My favorite part is when Dwayne Wade says, “I am a little busy buddy. I am driving through a tunnel!” Then Charles Barkley says, “You are not driving through no tunnel!!”
T-Mobile is growing fast and their earning report this morning tells you exactly why. They gained 981,000 new users in the first 3 months of 2008! All those MyFaves (or My Fave 5) commercials with Charles Barkley and Dwayne Wade are paying off too, signing up 5.5 million customers at the end of the first quarter. Overall, Deutsche Telekom’s results were in line with analysis’ expectations.
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