If there was any lingering hope that T-Mobile USA would start offering the iPhone soon, the carrier's marketing chief just killed it.
T-Mobile Chief Marketing Officer Cole Brodman posted a letter to customers on the company's blog yesterday, saying that while he would love to carry the iPhone, the company is currently focusing on "the best that Android has to offer." Translation: T-Mobile is definitely not getting the iPhone in the near future.
T-Mobile now stands as the only national carrier left out of the iPhone game, with all indications pointing to Sprint Nextel joining AT&T and Verizon Wireless as an Apple partner. That's a significant disadvantage for the company, which is already struggling to return to growth and stem customer defection.
"We've heard from many customers who love their T-Mobile service but are disappointed that we don't carry the iPhone," he said in his letter. "To these customers, first, thank you for your business."
He did note that more than 1 million T-Mobile customers use an unlocked iPhone on its network. The GSM version of the iPhone--which is what AT&T uses--can be moved on to T-Mobile's network but can only access the slower 2G network. Brodman reiterated his interest in a "no compromise" iPhone experience on its network.
Brodman also talked up the growing popularity of Android and touted the company's recently unveiled devices, the Samsung Galaxy S II and the HTC Amaze.
"We're very confident that these Android smartphones rival or beat any smartphone out there, in terms of functionality, speed, overall experience, and features--including the iPhone," he said.
Still, that's small comfort for customers who were looking for the iPhone to hit every carrier.
No comments:
Post a Comment