Even more information suggesting that T-Mobile will end up supporting the iPhone come October is circulating the Internet, following a report that the cellular carrier’s parent company is offering preorders.
According to a story from 9to5Mac, a German language website, Focus.de, is reporting that T-Mobile in that country has been accepting preorders for the iPhone 5 since this morning. Apparently, the company has been issuing something called a “Premieren Ticket” to users: “These are basically support tickets – one per customer – for early adopters and informed buyers who couldn’t be otherwise convinced into buying the existing iPhone 4 or iPhone 3GS,” 9to5Mac writes.
With ticket in-hand, customers can claim their chance to purchase the as-yet-unannounced next Apple handset when it eventually becomes available, on a first-come, first-served basis. Only existing T-Mobile customers are eligible, and supposedly the company is trying to keep the initiative somewhat hushed. However, Bloomberg has reportedly confirmed the rumor with a spokesperson from Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s parent company.
Bloomberg’s report says that Deutsche Telekom is handing out tickets to customers “who expressly request the successor model to the iPhone 4,” although the company isn’t giving away any details on the device or its release date. While T-Mobile in Germany is avoiding telling anyone anything about Apple’s unannounced device, the big implication is that T-Mobile will obviously carry it, despite that information not having been officially announced, either. And if T-Mobile Germany is carrying the iPhone 5, it stands to reason that T-Mobile U.S. will as well.
Most reports suggest the iPhone 5, or whatever the next iPhone is called, is due to be available in the first week of October with preorders beginning in the last week of September. There have also been reports that the handset will be available on Sprint’s network as well as T-Mobile’s, the latest piece of evidence being a leaked internal document from Best Buy suggesting the stores would sell the handset.
Before that, we heard that Sprint would be getting the iPhone from rumors reported by the Wall Street Journal. And earlier, T-Mobile rumors came by way of a Boy Genius Report.
With all this craziness floating around, I can’t wait to hear what Apple is finally going to announce when it eventually gets around to it. It could very well be that the iPhone will be available to all cellular customers in the U.S. come October. That would be an extremely big change for the market and could change the landscape of Apple’s battle with Google’s Android operating system as we know it.
