December 3rd, 2008
With new competition, T-Mobile slashes G1 prices in UK
U.K. site PocketLint is reporting that T-Mobile is making dramatic price cuts for its exclusive Android-based G1 smartphone.
Though the device only went on sale a month ago in the U.K., T-Mobile is now giving away the phone for free on £30 tariffs, or about $44.30 USD. Previously, British customers had to sign up for a £40, or about $59 USD, monthly contract in order to get the phone for free.
In other words, early adopters get the short stick again.
Unnamed industry sources in the article suggest the £10 drop, or about $14.70 USD, is an attempt to “overcome fierce competition from other high-end devices.”
An unnamed T-Mobile spokesperson reportedly said the following: “We have chosen to offer the device free with a £30 contract to make the pricing more competitive in light of recent device launches. We are well on track to achieve our sales forecasts.”
So does this mean price cuts for the G1 on U.S. shores? It’s less likely, since the G1 is already the cheapest smartphone on the market. But if the G1 is trying to get more consumer market share, it may want to slash the price of the device and raise data plan prices, much like AT&T and Apple did with the launch of the iPhone 3G.
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Andrew J. Nusca is an associate editor for ZDNet and SmartPlanet.
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