14 DAY TRIAL // Apple's latest handset, iPhone 4, was rumored to come to a load of US carriers, including Verizon and Sprint, and now is suggested to be headed to another wireless operator, T-Mobile. Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu says that this carrier would be best fitted for the new iPhone model, given the fact that Apple won't have to come up with a new version of the device for that, as it would happen for Verizon's CDMA airwaves.
“Currently, T-Mobile’s 3G service (UMTS/HSPA) supports 1700 MHz and 2100 MHz frequencies while AT&T supports 850 MHz and 1900 MHz frequencies,” Wu wrote in a recent note to clients, AllThingsDigital reports. “Interestingly, both the new iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS support 3G at the 2100 MHz frequency and, from our understanding, the technical hurdle to support T-Mobile is minor compared to supporting CDMA technology at Verizon and Sprint.” Chances are that the prediction would pan out in the end, but AT&T does not seem set to let go of the money-bringing Apple device for the time being.
In case there are some who doubt that, the latest rumors on the matter should make them believe it. It seems that AT&T would plan on offering customers their money back in case they bought an iPhone 3GS in the month before the device enjoyed a price drop on June 7. $50 for the 3GS 16GB and $100 for the 3GS 32GB is what AT&T users should get back in case they purchase the device after May 7, it seems. Moreover, the carrier is said to offer these users the possibility to exchange their iPhone 3GS for an iPhone 4, though they would have to pay the price difference.
“This one-time Customer Price Protection will allow customers who purchased iPhone 3GS 16GB/32GB through a Local Dealer from May 7, 2010 until June 7, 2010 to receive a bill credit for the difference in the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price in May 2010 and the new Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price plus sales tax. This special one-time credit from AT&T will be provided to customers of Dealer regardless of what price the customer actually paid for their iPhone,” a leaked document from AT&T reads, according to a recent article on modmyi.