Sprint and T-Mobile each announced Wednesday special media events set to take place in New York in coming weeks. Neither carrier is expected to announce anything related to Apple or its mobile devices, though the Sprint invitation sent to some tech industry journalists did allude to an “industry first” up its sleeve.

Sprint’s event is scheduled for February 7, while details on the T-Mobile announcement were unavailable at press time.

With the same uncanny knack for odd timing that led to the launch of the much-ballyhooed “iPhone killer” Palm Pre being completely overshadowed by Apple’s release of iPhone 3G in June 2009, Sprint’s event comes both well in the wake of Tuesday’s big Verizon iPhone announcement and just days before its widely-anticipated launch on the #1 carrier in the US.

Speculation as to which bright and shiny things Sprint might use to draw attention away from iPhone and its two largest competitors seems centered on potential new webOS devices such as the Pixi 2 or Topaz tablet, but which “industry first” either of those devices would bring to the table is anyone’s guess.

Perhaps the star of Sprint’s show, illusionist David Blaine will transform the company’s stock chart into something that hasn’t flat-lined after doing a Dive of Death.

In the iPhone world, the phrase “cat and mouse” brings to mind just one thing: the perpetual struggle between the iPhone Dev Team and Apple when it comes to hacking iOS devices to run unsigned code, commonly referred to as a jailbreak.

Most recently, it seemed like the mouse had managed to drop a ten ton anvil on the cat’s head with the SHAtter exploit, a jailbreaking technique which will work on all iOS devices that is only patchable by Apple through hardware. If what’s going on in the Android landscape is anything to go by, Cupertino might soon regain the upper hand.

Wired Mag Editor Chris Anderson has posted a tasty rumor on Twitter: he claims that a T-Mobile manager revealed to him that they would be getting the iPhone 3GS by the end of the year. Granted, we shouldn’t put too much stock on the word-of-mouth hearsay of an anonymous store manager… but in actuality, other networks getting the iPhone 3GS, but not the iPhone 4, would make a lot of sense.

Here in Germany, for example, the rumored end of T-Mobile’s iPhone exclusivity was heralded with other networks suddenly being allowed to stock the 3GS. In other words, T-Mobile’s “iPhone exclusivity” was shifted to the exclusive sale of the iPhone 4… and even that exclusivity seems likely to end soon.

If Anderson’s nameless manager is right, then, we might see something similar happen in the States: AT&T becomes the exclusive carrier of the iPhone 4 for a time, while other carriers are allowed to sell the 3GS. If this coincides with a rumor of a January CDMA iPhone 4 for Verizon, we might conceivably start next year with an iPhone on every network.

[via 9to5Mac]

All across Europe, iPhone exclusivity deals have already toppled, but here in Germany, T-Mobile still remains standing as the sole carrier of the iPhone 4. The foundations are wobbly, though, as numerous other carriers in the country have begun selling the iPhone 3GS, marking the first time more than one company has offered the iPhone… even if one of those iPhone’s is markedly superior.

It now looks like T-Mobile’s exclusivity deal is finally about to collapse entirely though. According to the Wall Street Journal, Deutsche Telekom is preparing for the loss of the iPhone 4 exclusive in time for the holiday shopping season… while Vodafone and O2 are similarly preparing to carry it.

It’s in Apple’s best interest to sell the iPhone 4 on as many networks as possible, and every country that has seen an exclusivity deal end has seen iPhone sales and profits meteorically rise.

Note the timing here as well: T-Mobile is losing the iPhone 4 exclusive by the end of the year. Meanwhile, here in the States, it is heavily rumored that Verizon will get a special CDMA version of the iPhone 4 in January.

It looks like Apple is just letting all of its existing contracts lapse. Now that T-Mobile looks set to lose its exclusivity contract for the German market, can AT&T be far behind?

T-Mobile USA is very close to getting the iPhone in the fall, ending Apple’s exclusive relationship with AT&T, according to a highly placed source at the wireless company.

Talks between Apple and T-Mobile are at an advanced stage, our source says, and it’s 80 percent likely that the iPhone will be coming to T-Mobile in Q3.

The source works at T-Mobile but asked not to be quoted directly and to remain anonymous because they aren’t authorized to talk to the press.

T-Mobile’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, which carries the iPhone in Germany, was able to influence, the source said. T-Mobile USA is the fourth-largest U.S. carrier with 33.7 million customers.

Image via Mactropolis

In certain corners of the Internet, it has become received wisdom that the iPhone will appear on Verizon any time now. Timelines are speculated upon. AT&T’s rampant incompetence is cited. And then Apple announces another must-have product that only works on AT&T’s network in the U.S.

So, in case you’re wondering, the iPhone 4 isn’t coming to Verizon in September. It’s not going to T-Mobile (in spite of what some misinformed analysts think, it’s still not 3G-compatible) or Sprint, either.

This is understandably frustrating, as every U.S. iPhone user has, at one time or another, experienced complete AT&T meltdown — full bars but no connectivity, battery life dropping at more than a percentage per minute, and dropped calls every few steps. But the sad fact is, AT&T was and is the only credible partner for Apple to work with on the iPhone and the iPad. And the reason for that has very little to do with the United States and everything to do with the rest of the world. They’re stuck together until everyone goes 4G.

T-Mobile — not Verizon — is more likely to get the nod when Apple is expected to expand it U.S. iPhone carriers as early as this fall, one analyst suggested Thursday.

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu told investors the likelihood that Apple will add a second iPhone carrier in the U.S. to augment the currently exclusive arrangement with AT&T is “closer than reality than ever.” Additionally, “we continue to believe that T-Mobile USA is the most likely candidate given its use of similar cellular technology as AT&T,” he wrote.

Such a deal would have advantages both for the carrier and the Cupertino, Calif. iPhone maker. “We are picking up that T-Mobile views the iPhone as a key in winning back lost customers and as such could be more likely to agree to Apple’s terms,” according to Wu. Verizon and Apple reportedly have been at odds over the iPhone’s price. Apple wants Verizon to pay $700 per iPhone, while the carrier is paying $400 per Droid, an Android-based rival, according to analyst Maynard J. Um.

Also, Apple sees expanding the iPhone’s availability beyond AT&T as a way to counter the growth of such handsets as the Droid. Google has taken advantage of the single source for iPhone owners to offer its Android platform on a number of U.S. carriers. The tactic has propelled the iPhone rival from 0 percent of the market to 9 percent.

“Our sources also indicate that one of the key reasons why Apple is more open to adding U.S. carriers in the 2011 is to attack Android more directly,” Wu told investors. “Looking at industry data, Android’s wins have been where iPhone isn’t available and that could change dramatically if the iPhone were available on more carriers,” the analyst adds.

Another point in T-Mobile favor is technology. T-Mobile’s 3G service operating at 1700MHz and 2100MHz, which closely matches the iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS’ 2100MHz 3G. AT&T supports 850MHz and 1900MHz frequencies.

[via AppleInsider]

Take out the trusty old ex-acto knife and whittle down your T-Mobile SIM cart just right and you can cram it right into your iPad 3G’s medulla oblongata. Jailbreak with Spirit and you can then use your iPad to send SMSes, provided you’ve got some command line skill. Who said there was no reason to jailbreak your iPad?

[via 9to5Mac]

Carrier T-Mobile has announced a bounty of sorts for iPhone switchers. The carrier will pay up to $350 when you trade in your iPhone for a HD2 from HTC. If your turn in a working iPhone, you could get $100 credit toward the Windows Mobile handset, according to a report Thursday.

To obtain the bounty, iPhones must be in working condition and the screen intact. T-Mobile retail locations are participating through May 19.

T-Mobile USA, the carrier that released the first Android-based cell phone, said it plans this year to introduce more smartphones using Google’s open-source handset platform.

Promising “more G series phones” in 2009, T-Mobile USA senior engineering vice president Neville Ray breathed new life into rumors of the G2, according to industry publication FierceWireless. The G2, created by HTC, reportedly could be released in April.

Unlike the G1 which T-Mobile released in mid-2008, the G2 would ditch a slide-out QWERTY keyboard for a virtual one similar to the iPhone. The phone could also carry a smaller price, making the handset attractive in the current tight economy, according to reports.