T-Mobile's "Project Dark"

How does flexpay no-contract have eip? I dont get it cuz it doesnt require a SSN so how would they get ur credit for no pay?

Also, Whats going to happen with current contracts? Will they be ripped up or do they have do still do those.

Current contracts will stay in tact, I dont know how they will migrate things going forward, we'll have to wait and see all the detail on that...

As for FP monthly, they are not eligible for EIP at all.  They will have to pay full price for a phone still, unless they actually do change that and give them an EIP credit line (I doubt it).  Flexpay annual gets a $100 EIP credit line after having the account with good payment history for at least 1 year.

I love the idea of non subsidized phone rate plans, all 3 of my phones came from a source other than T...

Anyone have insight about what they'll do to the family plans?

"The iPhone is what everybody wants."  Huh?  

I don't recall anybody saying everybody wants the iphone.  I think people have said that if T-Mobile carried it, it would sell extremely well.  A point which you've never dis-proven, nor could you.

Let's see, since the iPhone debuted in July 2007 Apple has sold appx. 22 million iPhones (it's closer to 21 million, but I will round it up).  

In that same time period about 2.2 billion "non-iPhones" have been sold.  

Yeah, 22 million versus 2.2 billion.  That's "everybody" for sure. LOL.  Those 2.2 billion people all wanted the iPhone.

Well, as I pointed out in a previous post, actual sales do not indicate actual want.  People want things yet still don't have them.  In the case of an iphone, people may not be able to afford it or it may not be available on their carrier or even in their country.

The iphone doesn't even go on sale in China (the country with the largest population in the world) until the end of this month.  So how can you say that people in China who bought something different during the past two year did not want the iphone.  You can't because they didn't even have the choice. 

The iphone costs $800 in India.  Do you know what the average yearly income for a person in India is? 

India, however, is projected to have the most cell phone sales this year at 139 million units:

http://blog.taragana.com/index.php/archive/cell-phone-sales-expected-to-grow-to-1-billion-per-year-by-2009/

By your logic, T-Mobile should find out whatever cheap device is most popular in India and start selling it on October 25th for Project Dark. Wouldn't that be the device that many people would want??? I'm sure that would go over really well. 

reuthermonkey:  I don't want to bring this up again, because I think we're mostly in agreement (did you, uh, read my last big post?  The one where I listed out reasons why Project Dark was *not* the iPhone?  I'm not saying that Project Dark is the iPhone, so I don't get why you're so...perturbed), but you're a little off:

Apple does *not* have a unique plan revenue sharing scheme with AT&T any more.  They did with the first iPhone, but the iPhone 3G (and now 3G S) follow the traditional carrier-subsidy model.  This is why anyone on AT&T could buy an iPhone when it first launched, even if they had just received another phone - the iPhone wasn't subsidized (which is why it was $600!).  They changed that with the iPhone 3G.  This is why iPhone users could easily upgrade to the iPhone 3G, despite still being on contract, but iPhone 3G users could not upgrade to the iPhone 3G S.

The rest of what you say is sort of...obvious. (T-Mobile won't get the iPhone until AT&T's exclusive agreement ends?  You don't say!  Now, when does it end?  January 1?  June 30?  2010?  2011?)

I've never read someone so emphatically "correcting" someone who, uh, agrees with them.  And then talk about "wasting people's time"...

I know im new at your forums (and i like your forums), but i swear im getting so sick of seeing everyone talking about the iPhone P.O.S. im bout ready to freakin scream. Apple is freaking as bad/worse as Microsoft IMHO! Please people STOP!

I know im new at your forums (and i like your forums), but i swear im getting so sick of seeing everyone talking about the iPhone P.O.S. im bout ready to freakin scream. Apple is freaking as bad/worse as Microsoft IMHO! Please people STOP!

lol! Definite karma deserved for that post I don't have a problem with Microsoft though, but I see what you mean

So no new phones just plans..Any ideas on what the plans will be?

touch pro 2 is much better than that other phone that i dare not mention...haha!!! i hope the family plans are worth the hype of project dark.

Yikes!  Tmo could have a black cloud over them rather than a project under them.

Sholes may likely be priced the SAME as the Cliq  

Compared to Cliq for same price with two year contract:

Bigger screen
16gb built in memory and slot
MUCH better chipset
Better camera
Eclair 2.0 (Could be a chipset based exclusive- need active DSP perhaps?)
Google is planning to use Verizon as their main push in 2010 due to a bigger install base and better 3G coverage.  

If Verizon lowered their service prices, this could ironically cause Tmo to lose customers rather than gain.

How can Verizon charge $199?  Seems off by $100.

I just called T-MO to inquire about the 4 month EIP. The rep told me this is only for existing customers when upgrading their phone, not for new customers. I found this odd because after reading multiple sources I have not seen this being mentioned. Any truth?

T-Mobile has similar or better coverage than AT&T and Sprint in most areas. They are even #1 in some areas.  They will not be getting a lot of returns due to coverage, their coverage is definately on par with the other national carriers.

I do not know where you live, but Tmobile is not very good here but yet they claim it is good in this area. Too many dropped calls, inside buildings stinks

I left Sprint for Tmobile and now I wonder why because Sprint is perfect in this area. I had only 1 dropped call in 3 years and had no problems inside our local super walmart. I guess the myfave thing was what brought me over, but now sprint comes out with the mobile to any mobile thing.

I really hope the tmobile project black has to do with adding towers EVERYWHERE, otherwise the $50 price point does nothing for me if I cannot enjoy a 5 minute phone call without walking from area to area worrying about the call dropping.

T-Mobile has similar or better coverage than AT&T and Sprint in most areas. They are even #1 in some areas.  They will not be getting a lot of returns due to coverage, their coverage is definately on par with the other national carriers.

I do not know where you live, but Tmobile is not very good here but yet they claim it is good in this area. Too many dropped calls, inside buildings stinks

I left Sprint for Tmobile and now I wonder why because Sprint is perfect in this area. I had only 1 dropped call in 3 years and had no problems inside our local super walmart. I guess the myfave thing was what brought me over, but now sprint comes out with the mobile to any mobile thing.

I really hope the tmobile project black has to do with adding towers EVERYWHERE, otherwise the $50 price point does nothing for me if I cannot enjoy a 5 minute phone call without walking from area to area worrying about the call dropping.

Adding a lot of towers everywhere while dropping price seems counter intuitive since they would need hundreds of millions in capitol to get up to speed with AT&T or Verizon.

Would be nice though

So no new phones just plans..Any ideas on what the plans will be?

I had posted the latest leaks on the plans types here----no pricing as of yet which is the most important detail still missing:

http://forums.tmonews.com/index.php?topic=11376.msg231071;topicseen#msg231071

In addition to that, a new leak says that the Even More Plus option which has no ETF or length of stay requirement but has lower cost plans, will require a $35 "migration fee" for existing customers to use that option to get the very lowest priced plans. ($70 fee to migrate all family plan lines over).  Current customers will have to be out of contract to migrate to Even More Plus.  

I didn't catch if new customers will have to pay more for Even More + or if it will be included in their activation charge.

Sholes may likely be priced the SAME as the Cliq  
How can Verizon charge $199?  Seems off by $100.

Have you priced Veri$on's plans?  They'll come out just fine.

A Sholes for $199 is like a used car lot advertising "$99 down buys any car on our lot!"  Of course, you pay over retail for the car and the interest rate is like a payday loan, but you can get a nice car for $99 down...

Sholes may likely be priced the SAME as the Cliq 
How can Verizon charge $199?  Seems off by $100.

Have you priced Veri$on's plans?  They'll come out just fine.

A Sholes for $199 is like a used car lot advertising "$99 down buys any car on our lot!"  Of course, you pay over retail for the car and the interest rate is like a payday loan, but you can get a nice car for $99 down...

VERY good point- that is why I said if the drop their prices that would be a problem for Tmo.

Update on project dark from BGR:

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/10/17/more-t-mobile-project-dark-rumors-financed-phones/

Well this thread has degraded into nonsense with all the deluded folks posting how the iPhone would be this, iPhone would be that.

And you've spent just as much time talking about how the iPhone sucks.  Did an iPhone kill your mom or something?

Bringing something up in conversation to complain about how it keeps coming up in conversation makes no sense.  I have a hard time imagining how trashing a mobile platform on the internet can be so worthwhile to someone, but hey, have at it.  I think you're misunderstanding why it keeps coming up, though.  Nobody is talking about how the iPhone is good or bad, just how it's *popular.*  It's really the only single device that T-Mobile could "shake up the industry" or "have a game-changer" by launching.  Even the self-proclaimed "iPhone haters" recognize that.  I mean, what device do you think would be a game-changer?  Not just for geeks, but for the public at large?  There's other popular devices out there, sure, but nothing really on the iPhone level, not since the RAZR really.

My iPhone is okay.  I like it, but I don't love it, and I wish there was a little more to it.  I really hope Apple makes the UI a bit more sophisticated, with an actual home screen and widgets and stuff, like Android.

You have not been following the threads.  I have only discussed the iPhone after posters keep bringing it up.  And I have only retorted to those who keep saying the iPhone would be some kind of salvation for T-Mo.  While those people saying that don't support their statements, I try to.

The best deal for you is to simply not read my posts if they bug you so much or you consider them a waste of your time because of content or format. 

Or even better, see my name on the left.  Press the "ignore" icon.  It works wonders.

Update on project dark from BGR:

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/10/17/more-t-mobile-project-dark-rumors-financed-phones/

Oh I hope that's true! I'd get a Cliq or Behold 2; or an HD2 if available!

Update on project dark from BGR:

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/10/17/more-t-mobile-project-dark-rumors-financed-phones/

BGR got the part wrong about who Even More Plus is for.  They're saying it's for "those who would otherwise qualify for FlexPay".  This is not correct, Even More Plus will be available to postpaid customers including the ability to spread the device cost over 20 months. 
 

How does flexpay no-contract have eip? I dont get it cuz it doesnt require a SSN so how would they get ur credit for no pay?

in my market, we NO LONGER have fp annual.  Only post paid and then fp monthly.......we were also a market that piloted the 20 month eip.  That was why monthly got eip and why we did away with annual......trust me, I have seen it a million times.  You are correct, flex monthly DOES NOT REQUIRE a ss# however, if you run credit with a social and it comes back monthly, whammo....there you have it.

Flexpay and post paid are not going away......credit class is credit class....as to who will get even more or even more plus, I have not seen anything indicating that flex will not be able to do either one......