T-Mobile to intro unlimited smartphone upgrades at today

[V-Tech]

 

A new report suggests that T-Mobile is preparing to announce a new plan that will allow customers to upgrade their smartphones at any time. The new plan, called ?Jump,? will reportedly let customers ?upgrade when [they] actually want to? and as often as they like for the same price as a new customers, The Verge reports. An earlier report from TmoNews claimed that the company will require subscribers to trade in their current smartphones to qualify for each upgrade, and they will also apparently have to pay monthly ?membership fee.? The program is different from anything else in the industry today. Verizon and AT&T recently changed their upgrade policies, forcing customers to wait a full 24 months before upgrading to new devices. T-Mobile is expected to announce the new Jump plan at a press conference in New York City on Wednesday.

 

 

http://bgr.com/2013/07/10/t-mobile-uncarrier-unlimited-smartphone-upgrades/

[Roger H. Veteran]

T-Mo definitely trying to shake things up a bit. Hopefully some of this change works out!

[techbeck]

I would of stuck with T-Mobile if the area I lived in actually had good service with them.  They are great in cities, but anywhere else...eh.

[SirEvan]

These guys are on the ball.. too bad they dont offer a corp discount, first contractless plans (non subsidized phones) now this?  I'm getting more and more convinced to switch.

[Dinggus]

I've been with Cingular / AT&T since I was 2003, I'm afraid of switching and losing my unlimited data contract with AT&T. I don't know anyone who has T-Mobile. They either have AT&T, Verizon or Sprint (which they hate).

 

I'm just tried of spending $160/month for 2 iPhones for 700 minutes, unlimited; nights & weekends, mobile 2 mobile (calling/texting), and data.

 

Honestly, if a phone company came out with just a data & texting plan and no calling, I'd be set.

[Spartan Erik]

I've been with Cingular / AT&T since I was 2003, I'm afraid of switching and losing my unlimited data contract with AT&T. I don't know anyone who has T-Mobile. They either have AT&T, Verizon or Sprint (which they hate).

 

I'm just tried of spending $160/month for 2 iPhones for 700 minutes, unlimited; nights & weekends, mobile 2 mobile (calling/texting), and data.

 

Honestly, if a phone company came out with just a data & texting plan and no calling, I'd be set.

 

Have you looked at T-mobile's family plans (and coverage too, for that matter)?

 

For a family of four, $100/mo. before tax gets us unlimited minutes + unlimited text + "unlimited" data (500 MB of high speed data; over 500 MB, we're throttled down to 2G speeds).

It's $80 for the first two lines, $10 for each additional IIRC.  Each tier of family plan service just adds more high speed data (500 MB, 2 GB, etc).  I mostly have WiFi where I go, so I rarely hit the 500 MB high speed cap.

 

Didn't buy any phones from T-mobile either, all are from eBay or the Google Play Store (Nexus 4's), far cheaper than paying $600+ for a smartphone.

 

As long as the coverage is good, there's no reason not to switch.

[BajiRav]

I've been with Cingular / AT&T since I was 2003, I'm afraid of switching and losing my unlimited data contract with AT&T. I don't know anyone who has T-Mobile. They either have AT&T, Verizon or Sprint (which they hate).

 

I'm just tried of spending $160/month for 2 iPhones for 700 minutes, unlimited; nights & weekends, mobile 2 mobile (calling/texting), and data.

 

Honestly, if a phone company came out with just a data & texting plan and no calling, I'd be set.

What's your monthly average data consuption? wouldn't mobile share make more sense for you?

[Dinggus]

Have you looked at T-mobile's family plans (and coverage too, for that matter)?

 

For a family of four, $100/mo. before tax gets us unlimited minutes + unlimited text + "unlimited" data (500 MB of high speed data; over 500 MB, we're throttled down to 2G speeds).

It's $80 for the first two lines, $10 for each additional IIRC.  Each tier of family plan service just adds more high speed data (500 MB, 2 GB, etc).  I mostly have WiFi where I go, so I rarely hit the 500 MB high speed cap.

 

Didn't buy any phones from T-mobile either, all are from eBay or the Google Play Store (Nexus 4's), far cheaper than paying $600+ for a smartphone.

 

As long as the coverage is good, there's no reason not to switch.

 

I've looked into it, do you share the 500mb? What are 2G speeds like? I need to sometimes tether my iPhone to my iPad for internet access.

 

My wife just bought the iPhone 5, and I bought the 4S back in 2012. So, cancelling the contract would be pricey.

 

What's your monthly average data consuption? wouldn't mobile share make more sense for you?

 

I use probably close to 3-4GB/month and the wife probably uses 1-1.5GB/month. Never looked into it. Would I save much money?

[msn_crazy_100]

I've been with Cingular / AT&T since I was 2003, I'm afraid of switching and losing my unlimited data contract with AT&T. I don't know anyone who has T-Mobile. They either have AT&T, Verizon or Sprint (which they hate).

 

I'm just tried of spending $160/month for 2 iPhones for 700 minutes, unlimited; nights & weekends, mobile 2 mobile (calling/texting), and data.

 

Honestly, if a phone company came out with just a data & texting plan and no calling, I'd be set.

 

Wow the US carriers are such a rip off! For my SIM only 30 day contract in the UK I pay (converted from GBP) roughly $9/month for 2500 mins, unlimited same network mins, unlimited landline mins, unlimited texts and unlimited data.

[Grinch]

I'd love to switch to T-Mobile but sadly my Sprint contract isn't up until late 2014. :|

[Spartan Erik]

I've looked into it, do you share the 500mb? What are 2G speeds like? I need to sometimes tether my iPhone to my iPad for internet access.

 

My wife just bought the iPhone 5, and I bought the 4S back in 2012. So, cancelling the contract would be pricey.

 

 

I use probably close to 3-4GB/month and the wife probably uses 1-1.5GB/month. Never looked into it. Would I save much money?

 

It's 500 MB per phone, so it's not shared.  If you exceed your high speed bandwidth cap, here are the speeds: http://support.t-mobile.com/docs/DOC-2741

 

List of family plans here: http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/plans/family-plans.aspx

It looks like you can get unlimited everything (no bandwidth cap) for $120 a month, two lines.  That's $40 cheaper than your ATT plan, and offers unlimited minutes.

 

Do the math and see if it's worth the extra $40/mo. for the remainder of your contract vs. terminating and going with T-mobile.  Keep in mind, T-mobile does not have any contracts so you can leave them any time some other carrier offers a better deal.

 

Before you do consider switching, be sure to check T-mobile's coverage in your area.  Consider asking friends in your area who may use T-mobile and what their opinions are of it.  What good is cheaper service if your phone isn't 100% functional all of the time?

 

Also, if you plan on using your iPhones, do some research on unlocking/jailbreaking, and make sure the phones can utilize T-mobile's 4G spectrum.  I know T-mobile sells iPhone's, but I don't know if they are any different from your current models. I've always been an Android user so I can't answer any questions regarding your iPhone :\

[RangerLG]

I use probably close to 3-4GB/month and the wife probably uses 1-1.5GB/month. Never looked into it. Would I save much money?

I have the TMo plan with 700 shared minutes, unlimited family texts and 2.5GB data per line (4 lines total) and my bill this month was a few cents over $100.  I do have a 15% corporate discount through my gym.

[BajiRav]

I use probably close to 3-4GB/month and the wife probably uses 1-1.5GB/month. Never looked into it. Would I save much money?

:| not at your level. You will end up paying more. I pay $199/mo for 3lines on a 6GB mobile share (includes 15% corp. discount).

[Spartan Erik]

:| not at your level. You will end up paying more. I pay $199/mo for 3lines on a 6GB mobile share (includes 15% corp. discount).

 

Woah, for T-mobile? Corporate discount is a rip off then, you're far better getting your own personal family plan.  It's possible that corporate phone plans may have remained unchanged before T-mobile changed its individual and family plans.

 

Check the post I made https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1163828-t-mobile-to-intro-unlimited-smartphone-upgrades-at-today%E2%80%99s-event/?view=findpost&p=595810194

 

It would save Dinggus roughly $40 a month by switching to unlimited everything with T-mobile.

[BajiRav]

Woah, for T-mobile? Corporate discount is a rip off then, you're far better getting your own personal family plan. It's possible that corporate phone plans may have remained unchanged before T-mobile changed its individual and family plans.

Check the post I made https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1163828-t-mobile-to-intro-unlimited-smartphone-upgrades-at-today%E2%80%99s-event/?view=findpost&p=595810194

It would save Dinggus roughly $40 a month by switching to unlimited everything with T-mobile.

that's my att plan, not tmo

[notchinese]

If they want to shake up the US market then they should promise not to delay Vendor software updates. Its complete non-sense that it takes so long for an update to get pushed out.

[Spartan Erik]

If they want to shake up the US market then they should promise not to delay Vendor software updates. Its complete non-sense that it takes so long for an update to get pushed out.

 

That goes for many other carriers too.. it's why I gave up relying on carriers and went with the Nexus 4.  All updates come straight from Google

[Des]

Sadly, T-Mobile doesn't even offer 3G in my area, and very sketchy EDGE data service. If they can get on the ball with some tower upgrades, maybe they'll see my money again in the future. This is pretty awesome.

[BetaAddict]

If they want to shake up the US market then they should promise not to delay Vendor software updates. Its complete non-sense that it takes so long for an update to get pushed out.

 

That goes for many other carriers too.. it's why I gave up relying on carriers and went with the Nexus 4.  All updates come straight from Google

 

It's not just carriers that are the problem, it is the OEMs too. Samsung, HTC, and everyone else have stuck to the one year, one update model of selling phones. Beyond that, you are stuck with a top notch phone with aging software because OEMs won't release anymore updates.

 

Thankfully, we are slowly shifting Android closer and closer to where Google will force all phones to be pure stock right out of the box and allow users to add Touchwiz, Sense, or whatever custom UI's through the app store, similar to Nova or Apex launcher.