You may remember that T-Mobile was the carrier that pushed the rest of the wireless industry into selling phones without traditional contracts, but with interest-free installment plans. Now, though, T-Mobile wants to take advantage of the publicity surrounding Google’s Pixel phone and… subsidize it for you. Sort of.
The Pixel, you may recall, is available two ways. You can buy it from Verizon, and you’ll see Verizon advertising the phone as an “exclusive,” but that just means that Verizon is the only carrier that sells it. You can also buy an unlocked version directly from Google, which you can use with any carrier, including Verizon.
T-Mobile’s plan is to remind everyone that the Pixel isn’t a Verizon exclusive by giving customers bill credits amounting to $325, half of the cost of the 32 GB version of the phone.
The catch, of course, is that you have to stay with T-Mobile for 24 months, since the bill credit is applied to your account monthly. Other catches are that you have to turn in your Pixel receipt within 30 days of purchase, and that you have to be a first-time purchaser of the Pixel. T-Mobile hasn’t said how long the promotion will last.
CEO John Legere is annoyed at the competition, as usual, pointing out the problem with Verizon’s advertising. “Don’t let the ‘exclusive’ advertisements fool you,” he said in a statement along with the promotion announcement, “the Pixel phone is tested and proven to be fantastic on our lightning fast network, and we want to help you get the best of both worlds!”
Is T-Mobile trying to gain new customers here, or just troll Verizon and make sure that reminders that the phone isn’t exclusive are in the news? Maybe it’s both.
by Laura Northrup via Consumerist
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