T-Mobile is using the Mother’s Day holiday to promote the iPhone 5. The popular carrier will offer both new and existing customers the opportunity to trade the iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S for a brand new iPhone 5 at $0 down. All that’s required is that the phones are usable and work. The devices should be able to power on and have no signs of physical damage like cracked screens or liquid damage.
On May 10, T-Mobile will be running the ads for the promotion in select newspapers across the United States including The New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
Last April, T-Mobile finally added the iPhone. They were the last major carrier to add the popular phone to their stores. Unsurprisingly, the iPhone is a big seller for T-Mobile (the company sold half a million phones within the first month) and could be just the ticket to boost the company’s profits. This iPhone 5 trade-in offer should also help boost sales.
Despite the positive reports regarding T-Mobile’s decision to add the iPhone and ditch traditional contracts, there are still some valid concerns. According to a recent post from Motley Fool’s Evan Niu, the whole “contract-free” plan seems a bit misleading. He mentioned, “The un-carrier is starting to turn the boat around with its most important operating metrics, but its new messaging is still a little misleading at times, since most customers are still locked in to two years of service. The only difference is that it’s an installment plan instead of a service contract that’s tying them down.”
Even so, customers still seem to flock to T-Mobile (and other carriers) for the iPhone 5. Most people don’t mind paying into a contract at first if it means they can purchase the iPhone. It works for Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and that’s really all that matters right now.
