T-Mobile exec says iPhone 5 not coming this year ? report

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
A T-Mobile exec has reportedly denied claims that the wireless operator will land iPhone 5 during the 2011 calendar year, leaving the German carrier as the only major U.S. cell service provider not expected to participate in Apple's launch next month.



The comments were reportedly made by T-Mobile's chief marketing officer Cole Brodman in a corporate newsletter distributed internally on September 15th, a copy of which was photographed and shared with TmoNews.com.



?We are not going to get the iPhone 5 this year,? Brodman allegedly told T-Mobile employees, without further expanding on the matter.



Still, the opening paragraph of the internal communication suggests that the carrier will launch two new smartphones during the holiday season without going into specific details about either model.



T-Mobile has been rumored on various occasions to carry the iPhone, with some recent reports implying that the nation?s fourth largest mobile operator will launch the next-gen handset alongside its largest rivals in the U.S.



Brodman?s terse statement on a potential iPhone 5 launch seems to have temporarily quenched T-Mobile iPhone rumors, although the nature of the denial could further spark speculation on an imminent iPhone 5 launch with the carrier sometime next year.







Meanwhile, the exec made no mention of a so-called iPhone 4S, or updated iPhone 4 model, in the purported denial, suggesting only that the mobile operator will not get the iPhone 5 ?anytime before midnight on December 31st."



Apple is expected to launch at least one new iPhone by mid October. While there is no official product name for the fifth-generation smartphone yet, the media is currently using at least three different monikers for the upcoming device or devices: iPhone 4S, iPhone 5 and iPhone 4GS.



The first two are predominant in reports, with the iPhone 4S describing a cheaper iPhone 4-based device and the iPhone 5 representing a high-end major product refresh.



T-Mobile isn?t the only major U.S. mobile operator that has been rumored to land the iPhone for its customers. Numerous reports have indicated that Sprint will join AT&T and Verizon in launching the iPhone 5 this year. Sprint officials have neither confirmed nor denied a potential iPhone launch but a recently leaked internal company memo revealed clear instructions for employees not to comment on any iPhone matter with customers.



Moreover, the carrier has recently increased its early termination fee for advanced devices, which includes smartphones, to $350 and made critical modifications to its Premier program, with the changes being perceived as signs pointing to a potential iPhone launch.



Recent reports have also claimed to provide evidence showing that that the carrier has installed signal boosters in and around at least one Apple store location and that the company has blacked out staff vacation for the first half of October.



Finally, sales associates at Sprint claimed last week to have been officially briefed on an imminent iPhone 4 launch.
«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    ?We are not going to get the iPhone 5 this year,? Brodman allegedly told T-Mobile employees, without further expanding on the matter.



    Still, the opening paragraph of the internal communication suggests that the carrier will launch two new smartphones during the holiday season without going into specific details about either model.








    Makes sense. T-Mobile is cheaper than the other carriers. Android users are cheapskates. So the cheapskates are all at T-Mobile buying Android.



    No iPhone user would use T-Mobile anyways, because you get what you pay for.
  • Reply 2 of 37
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    Makes sense. T-Mobile is cheaper than the other carriers. Android users are cheapskates. So the cheapskates are all at T-Mobile buying Android.



    No iPhone user would use T-Mobile anyways, because you get what you pay for.



    seriously? that's about the lamest, uninformed statement i've heard. i have an unlocked iphone (apple store) and i use t-mobile. i'm probably one of the only people in hayes valley in s.f., that has a signal and doesn't have to go to the hayes valley green to make a call.



    ?and, at $50/month no contract, i'm saving more money than you.
  • Reply 3 of 37
    poochpooch Posts: 768member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    Makes sense. T-Mobile is cheaper than the other carriers. Android users are cheapskates. So the cheapskates are all at T-Mobile buying Android.



    No iPhone user would use T-Mobile anyways, because you get what you pay for.



    i don't know what their pricing is here, but i use my unlocked 3GS on t-mobile when i travel to the uk. for £2.50 (about US$4.08) i get five days of unlimited 3G data. roaming and paying at&t for that same data would cost thousands of dollars.



    /s

    cheapskate
  • Reply 4 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mac_dog View Post


    seriously? that's about the lamest, uninformed statement i've heard. i have an unlocked iphone (apple store) and i use t-mobile. i'm probably one of the only people in hayes valley in s.f., that has a signal and doesn't have to go to the hayes valley green to make a call.



    ?and, at $50/month no contract, i'm saving more money than you.



    You only get 2G data. Like I said, you get what you pay for.



    Other T-Mobile customers pay the same as you and get 4G data.
  • Reply 5 of 37
    Maybe nobody get the iPhone 5 this year.



    Maybe T-Mobile gets the iPhone 4 or some variant next month.



    Either is entirely possible if taking the T-Mobile exec's comments at face value.
  • Reply 6 of 37
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    Tell that to the million plus unlocked iPhone users, myself included, currently on T-Mobile in the US. Further, tell that to T-Mobile executives who have publicly said the lack of the iPhone on its network has caused subscriber loss. Like Sprint, T-Mobile's internet services are unlimited. Many people would be interested in that.





    If the iPhone 5 is coming out this year, and it is not on T-Mobile, the likely reasons are either 1) T-Mobile doesn't want it on its network as this will undermine AT&T's offer to buy, 2) like was the case with Verizon, Sprint has an exclusive window where Apple can only sell it on existing carriers and Sprint for a certain amount of months, 3) Apple doesn't want the iPhone 5 on T-Mobile because staggering the release of phones on different networks helps keep its earnings up (better to release on T-Mobile next quarter); or 4) Apple is worried about supply constraints so again it wants to stagger new carrier introductions. Any combination of the above could also be true.



    If the rumors are true, Apple will release an inexpensive pay as you go option. If that phone is unlocked, many people, myself included may buy that phone and stay on T-Mobile. My 3GS works better on T-Mobile then my various friends iPhone 4s do on AT&T (in the same area).







    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    No iPhone user would use T-Mobile anyways



  • Reply 7 of 37
    tbelltbell Posts: 3,146member
    T-Mobile's plans are unlimited. It offers different data plans. For instance, a 2 GB plan. After you use the 2 GB, you still get data, it is just at a slower price. Not sure how that is inferior to AT&T or Verizon. Further, depending on were you live, T-Mobile's voice service is better then AT&T.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    You only get 2G data. Like I said, you get what you pay for.



    Other T-Mobile customers pay the same as you and get 4G data.



  • Reply 8 of 37
    cameronjcameronj Posts: 2,357member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TBell View Post


    T-Mobile's plans are unlimited. It offers different data plans. For instance, a 2 GB plan. After you use the 2 GB, you still get data, it is just at a slower price. Not sure how that is inferior to AT&T or Verizon. Further, depending on were you live, T-Mobile's voice service is better then AT&T.



    2G, not 2GB.



    Good luck using 2 gigabytes of data on Edge though!
  • Reply 9 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    Makes sense. T-Mobile is cheaper than the other carriers. Android users are cheapskates. So the cheapskates are all at T-Mobile buying Android.



    No iPhone user would use T-Mobile anyways, because you get what you pay for.



    You're either joking or horribly misinformed. Verizon has nearly tripled the Android user-base than T-Mobile as of August:

    http://www.geek.com/articles/mobile/...ines-20110818/



    I'm also confused on where the cheapskate comments originate from. There are a wide range of price points w/ contract for Android phones depending on how cutting edge you are looking for.
  • Reply 10 of 37
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TBell View Post


    T-Mobile's plans are unlimited. It offers different data plans. For instance, a 2 GB plan. After you use the 2 GB, you still get data, it is just at a slower price. Not sure how that is inferior to AT&T or Verizon. Further, depending on were you live, T-Mobile's voice service is better then AT&T.



    TBell, it's not TMobile that's the problem. The iPhone 3GS doesn't have the proper hardware to support 3G on their network. There is a workaround, using MiFi for the data (up to 1GB/mo included), but that would bump the total price up.



    Otherwise I've been hearing good things about TMobile the last year. My daughter and boyfriend moved over to them a couple months back and much happier than they were with ATT. YMMV of course.
  • Reply 11 of 37
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    Makes sense. T-Mobile is cheaper than the other carriers. Android users are cheapskates. So the cheapskates are all at T-Mobile buying Android.



    No iPhone user would use T-Mobile anyways, because you get what you pay for.



    I just noticed your member date. All of your posts seem very suspicious coming from such a recent member. What is your agenda? Making any friends? I think not.
  • Reply 12 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Hudson1 View Post


    Maybe nobody get the iPhone 5 this year.



    Exactly what I was thinking
  • Reply 13 of 37
    eriamjheriamjh Posts: 1,631member
    T-Mobile doesn't know what company it will be in 6 months.



    Maybe T-Mobile isn't getting the iPhone 5, but only the 4S (4s, 4+, 4-whatever)?



    Maybe Apple is only giving AT&T the iPhone 5?



    Maybe we'll all find out in 2-4 weeks? I think so...
  • Reply 14 of 37
    chiachia Posts: 713member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post


    TMobile that's the problem, it uses a UMTS 1700Mhz frequency which only a couple of other networks in Canada and Chile use. The iPhone 3GS only supports the 3G frequencies which most other networks in the world use. There is a workaround, using MiFi for the data (up to 1GB/mo included), but that would bump the total price up.



    There, fixed that for you.
  • Reply 15 of 37
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mac_dog View Post


    seriously? that's about the lamest, uninformed statement i've heard. i have an unlocked iphone (apple store) and i use t-mobile. i'm probably one of the only people in hayes valley in s.f., that has a signal and doesn't have to go to the hayes valley green to make a call.



    ?and, at $50/month no contract, i'm saving more money than you.





    ATT works just fine outside of hippie we don't want any cell phone towers land
  • Reply 16 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mac_dog View Post


    seriously? that's about the lamest, uninformed statement i've heard. i have an unlocked iphone (apple store) and i use t-mobile. i'm probably one of the only people in hayes valley in s.f., that has a signal and doesn't have to go to the hayes valley green to make a call.



    ?and, at $50/month no contract, i'm saving more money than you.



    Amen!



    Generalizations are always wrong.
  • Reply 17 of 37
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    [QUOTE=ChiA;1946263]There, changed the quote for you for no particular reason QUOTE]



    It was fine before. The iPhone's hardware doesn't support TMobile's 3G(4G) frequencies. Don't confuse others.
  • Reply 18 of 37
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by al_bundy View Post


    ATT works just fine outside of hippie we don't want any cell phone towers land



    No cell towers but we have big ass white windmills that love killing protected birds!



    Gotta love dem environ-demented-less! Including head clueless broad NP...

    /

    /

    /
  • Reply 19 of 37
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rot'nApple View Post


    No cell towers but we have big ass white windmills that love killing protected birds!



    Gotta love dem environ-demented-less! Including head clueless broad NP...

    /

    /

    /



    Please stop spreading lies from the Fox news channel.

    Read this:http://science.howstuffworks.com/env...kill-birds.htm
  • Reply 20 of 37
    I jumped to this article because I thought the iPhone 5 is not coming out this year.



    Turns out T-Mobile exec saying that the iPhone 5 is not coming to his company this year.



    Such a misleading title.
Sign In or Register to comment.