T-Mobile reaches pact with Apple; iPhone coming soon
It looks like the iPhone may finally be coming to T-Mobile, the last major U.S. network without the flagship Apple device.
Rene Oberman, CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Mobile’s German parent company, announced Thursday at an investors conference in Germany that T-Mobile and Apple have come to an agreement -- although Oberman did not get into specifics.
“T-Mobile has entered into an agreement with Apple to bring products to market together next year,” a spokeswoman for T-Mobile confirmed to The Times. “Additional details will be made available at a later date.”
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T-Mobile didn’t elaborate on exactly which products it will start to sell, but they could include the iPhone 5, iPhone 4S and iPhone 4. The Seattle-based carrier may also offer cellular versions of the iPad and iPad mini.
The company’s rivals -- Verizon, AT&T; and Sprint -- already sell these products, and for now, T-Mobile has been forced to compete in the smartphone market with just Android and Windows Phone devices.
We have reached out to Apple to see if they have anything to add.
[Update 9:56 a.m., Dec. 6: John Legere, chief executive of T-Mobile USA, has confirmed the network will carry the iPhone. Talking about upcoming smartphones T-Mobile will carry, he held up an iPhone, saying the list included the Apple device.]
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