RadioShack and T-Mobile are pairing up on a last-minute offer, giving shoppers with just enough time to find some wrapping paper, fill out a card and give dad a new smartphone this Father’s Day.
On June 19, RadioShack will be offering all of its T-Mobile phones for free, with activation of a qualifying new two-year contract. Shoppers will need to stop by the nearest RadioShack location, however-the deal doesn’t apply online.
Good sons and daughters can even help out dad with the first monthly bill-Radio Shack is waiving its normal $35 activation fee, in the form of an account credit.
So what’s there to choose from? The Shack carries the HTC HD2, which is the first Windows phone to run HTC’s contacts-and-social-status-managing Sense user interface. Described as “ultra thin” by the phone maker, it also features a 4.3-inch capacitive touch display and a 1GHz Snapdragon processor. To have a look, click here for images.
If dad’s a big e-mailer, you might go for the T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide, which, unlike the myTouch 3G and myTouch Fender Limited Edition, features a four-row qwerty keypad that slides out from behind its 3.4-inch HVGA display. The operating system is Google’s Android 2.1, and the phone features a myModes switch, for making a clean break between work and home, as well as integrated GPS and improved voice-recognition technology, so dad can feel like a king, dictating commands-if even only to his new phone.
Another option is the Garminfone, which like the myTouch 3G Slide can take advantage of T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network. T-Mobile rolled it out to 25 additional cities over the last four months, and insists that the technology delivers 4G-equivalent speeds.
The Garminfone is also the first Android phone to be fully integrated with Garmin’s navigation technology, and it offers walking, driving and even public transportation navigation, whether as voice or on-screen directions. It can even re-route for factors including weather and traffic. Additional features include a 3.5-inch screen, a 3-megapixel camera and support for Microsoft Exchange, among other types of e-mail.
Still other options include the Motorola Rokr E8, the Motorola Cliq XT and the BlackBerry Bold 9700 – which features the BlackBerry OS 5, trackpad (not trackball) navigation, crisp music playback, a bright screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera and all the enterprise features you’d expect. A full review can be found here.
RadioShack’s full list of T-Mobile-supported phones is available on its Website. Note before heading out, however, that add-a-lines and flexible-pay contracts aren’t included in the June 19 offer.
Happy shopping, and don’t forget to put your number in the phone, so dad can call to thank you.