It's not an everything-must-go sale,
but T-Mobile's planned one-day super sale Sept. 24 could push some smartphone
and tablet lovers off the fence they've been perched on.
During this Saturday's "Yes, Every
Smartphone Is on Sale, Sale," T-Mobile is selling all of its smartphones,
tablets and mobile broadband hotspots for $99.99 down or less, after a mail-in
rebate card.
Consumers need only put down between $0
and $99 for devices such as the HTC Sensation 4G and T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide
Android smartphones, the T-Mobile G-Slate, and the new BlackBerry Bold 9900. T-Mobile
lists all the deals here.
For example, the Sensation 4G will cost
$99 after the $100 mail-in rebate card. The G-Slate, which is made by LG Electronics, will be
$99 after the $200 mail-in rebate card.
The kicker is that consumers can't just
buy the device. They must subscribe to one of T-Mobile's unlimited data plans
and ink a two-year agreement at any T-Mobile retail store.
"T-Mobile is committed to making
4G affordable with the latest wireless mobile Internet services and devices
that fit within every budget, all on America's largest 4G network," said
John Clelland, senior vice president of marketing at T-Mobile USA.
T-Mobile is ostensibly begging for
consumer adoption at a time when it faces an uphill battle in AT&T's
(NYSE:T) $39.6 billion acquisition bid for the company.
T-Mobile in July launched its Value
plan, with unlimited talk, unlimited text and unlimited data, including 2GB of
high-speed data, for the heavily discounted price point of just $49.99 per line
for two lines.
T-Mobile could use a good, big sale
after U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle set Feb. 13,
2012, as the starting date for the trial of the U.S. Department of Justice's
antitrust lawsuit, which seeks to permanently block AT&T's buyout of T-Mobile.
The DOJ Aug. 31 filed its antitrust
lawsuit against AT&T and Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile's parent company),
charging that the merger would be bad for consumers by raising prices, limiting
choice, and reducing competition and innovation. Sprint, which would be shunted
to the bottom of the top U.S. carrier pecking order if AT&T succeeds in its
bid, also vehemently protested the move.
If nothing else, the merger bid jump-started
lackluster product efforts from T-Mobile, which is in limbo, and especially
Sprint, which has pumped out Android phone after Android phone. These include
the Kyocera Echo and Motorola Photon 4G.
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Enterprise Mobility News & Reviews 
