Beginning on April 12, T-Mobile users will finally be getting the option to use an iPhone with their plan. As we count down the days to the official launch, it seems Tmo News has tracked down a few bits of promotional material.
T-Mobile retail stores have been receiving posters such as the one pictured, advertising the April 12 release date. Unfortunately, they don't reveal the company's pricing plans for the phones, or any details on their recently announced contract free value plans.
T-Mobile will be taking pre-orders for the iPhone 5 beginning on Friday, April 5. You can receive a reminder of this by heading over to the T-Mobile website and signing up.
T-Mobile's new iPhone options will include unlimited 4G Face Time (with no data cap) for anyone on the provider's unlimited plan. Additionally, the T-Mobile iPhone will be able to access the company's HSPA+ 42 network if 4G isn't available, with claimed download speeds up to 42Mbps. Lastly, the new iPhone 5 will support HD Voice, which cleans up the call quality using both hardware and software improvements. This feature will be available whenever both phones in the call have it. So far, the iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC One S, and Nokia Astound are compatible.
Unfortunately, the downside of the new model will be a lack of Wi-Fi calling at launch. The company hasn't officially confirmed whether or not the feature will be available in the future.
T-Mobile recently became the last major wireless carrier in the United States to make iPhones available to its customers. Like the AT&T version, T-Mobile will use the GSM network A1428 model of the iPhone 5, and will not be compatible with carriers using a CDMA network such as Sprint and Verizon.
Interestingly, on April 14, two days after the T-Mobile phones go on sale, all GSM iPhones will feature built-in compatibility with T-Mobile's 4G network. This means that future owners of an AT&T or unlocked iPhone 5 will be able to switch to T-Mobile at any time without having to use the carrier's 2G data rates.