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Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/07/t_mobile_valentines_day_promotion/

T-Mobile answers Verizon iPhone with free handsets

A little Valentine's day luv

By Rik Myslewski in San Francisco

Posted in Phones, 7th February 2011 22:31 GMT

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Just as the much-ballyhooed Verizon Wireless iPhone is making its debut in the US, smaller rival T-Mobile is attempting to grab the spotlight with a new promotion: on this Friday and Saturday, all of its phones will be free with a two-year contract.

And that "all" includes high-end models such as the Android-equipped HSPA+ myTouch 4G [1] and G2 [2], and the Windows Phone 7 HTC HD7 [3]. A total of 30 free phones will be available from brands that include HTC, Garmin, Motorola, Nokia, and Samsung.

Don't think that T-Mobile's move is necessarily an act of desperation in response to the iPhone juggernaut. Although the company is number-four among US wireless carriers, it reported a comfortable 33.8 million customers [4] as of the end of the third quarter of 2010, up from 33.6 million at the end of the second quarter.

Number-three Sprint Nextel reported having 48.8 million wireless customers [5] at the end of the third quarter – but determining which carrier is number one is a bit more difficult. Although AT&T recently reported that it had 95.5 million [6] wireless subscribers, and Verizon puts its wireless customers at 94.1 million [7], one analyst notes [8] that the two companies count connections somewhat differently.

T-Mobile is hooking its promotion to next Monday's celebration of chocolates and roses, calling it [9] "a Valentine's offer to fall in love with." However, the company suggests that you not dawdle: "All phones will be available while supplies last, so customers are encouraged to arrive early."

T-Mobile has tried this inducement once before – on Father's Day 2010 [10] – apparently to great success. According to TmoNews, that promotion resulted in the company's largest one-day sales ever [11].

With two free-phone days in this Valentine's promotion, el número cuatro is hoping to best last Daddy Day's 110,000 new customers. ®