[Editor’s note: Be sure to join us in person April 11 for the GeekWire Radio Show, live on stage for the first time, at the HUB Seattle in Pioneer Square.]
T-Mobile USA this week made a series of attention-getting moves — finally landing the iPhone, and rolling out a major change to the way its customers will pay for their smartphones.
The company is breaking from the tradition of wrapping — some might say hiding — the cost of a phone inside a wireless contract. Instead, T-Mobile customers will pay for their phones in interest-free installments. Once the phone is paid off, they’ll be done paying for the device.
Our guest in the studio is Andrew Sherrard, the senior vice president of marketing for T-Mobile USA, who answers our questions about the new strategy. Will it ultimately be cheaper? What does it mean that T-Mobile customers will no longer have contracts? What happens if customers want to change to another carrier or get a new phone? What does this mean for existing T-Mobile customers, and could the changes by T-Mobile force the larger players in the industry — Verizon, AT&T and Sprint — to change how they do business?
Also see this T-Mobile FAQ and this demonstration of the new HD Voice capabilities.
That discussion begins in the second segment of the show, at the 8 minute mark.
[Related: T-Mobile confirms layoffs as part of ‘operational changes’]
The show starts with our weekly news roundup. Topics this week include Wal-Mart’s idea to have customers deliver packages to other customers and compete with Amazon’s network of delivery lockers; Amazon’s pending acquisition of Goodreads, adding new social networking capabilities to its e-reading business; and our first look at Safeco Field’s gigantic new high-definition video scoreboard.
Name that Tech Tune: Which phone used this version of the T-Mobile ringtone?
App of the Week: Evernote 3.0 for Windows Phone 8.
Listen to the show above or via this MP3 file.
