It has been quite a week for T-Mobile as the fourth-largest carrier in the U.S. launched the iPhone 5 last weekend. In an interview with CNET, T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Mike Sievert stated the carrier had "one of its biggest weekends in the history of the company" and credited the launch of the iPhone.
Although Sievert did not disclose specific numbers, he stated, "We had really ambitious internal goals, and we beat them."
The launch of the iPhone 5 with T-Mobile is important as it puts itself along with AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon Wireless as the only major national carriers selling the device. In addition, the debut of the iPhone 5 will help T-Mobile retain or attract new customers in a time when the carrier is promoting its "Uncarrier" strategy.
T-Mobile is selling the iPhone 5 for a down payment of $99.99. Buyers can then subsequently make payments of $20 for the next 24 months. The 32GB model of the iPhone is priced at $199.99 while the 64GB variant will cost $299.99 when staying with the carrier for two years.
In further promotion for the fifth generation Apple smartphone, T-Mobile launched its second iPhone 5 commercial (see below).
The addition of the iPhone 5 on T-Mobile was confirmed back on March 26 during an event in New York City.
"This is an important day for people who love their iPhone but can't stand the pain other carriers put them through to own one," said T-Mobile USA President and CEO John Legere. "We feel their pain. I've felt the pain. So we're rewriting the rules of wireless to provide a radically simple, affordable iPhone 5 experience - on an extremely powerful network."