well, they just make a little less profit. there's still much space left for a nice profit margin.

Well that's the idea, and I'm sure they have enough financial room in their voice/data/sms plan wise to account for this (plus if they get alot of subscribers this way). But I was thinking more if they subsidized the n900 heavily. We are talking about a $600 dollar device here, unless Nokia is selling it to TMobile cheaply to get more USA interest in it.

yes, i meant even when subsidizing the n900 they still make sh*tloads of cash. don't underestimate how much you're currently overpaying

Regarding the supposed poster/advertisement for project black:

Am I the only one who thinks that this will be tiered in some way depending on the type of phone? I.e., you can get a $50 unlimited everything plan for your clamshell dumb phone but if you click the "even more plus" button to get the N900 or crackberry or whatever, you either have to pay a hefty subsidy or buy a more expensive unlimited everything plan.

Just a thought.

You mean 2 different plans, one without internet and one with? Well if you read the comments on the linked page you'll see people tend to think it's highly likely. I wouldn't be surprised either, as this forum has discussed just how much money they'd be wasting if they charged us super users the same amount as people who never touch the internets on their phones. If the internet heavy plan comes out at $75(50 for text and talk + 25 for internet) vrs $50 for just talk + text, I wouldn't be surprised in the least. Chances are if there's the opportunity to charge people for something they use extra, they will.

In your opinion, how long would it be before the n900 comes to tmobile? i'm seriously debating whether to wait or buy it now.

I really want to pre order, but I feel like i'll be kicking myself if they announce shortly that they'll have it in november or something like that.

rather than the type of phone i suspect it would be based on whether you got a subsidy on the phone or payed in full/brought your own

These type of companies can greatly leverage the economy of scale that could significantly lower the cost (per customer) as they gain more customers.

Don't forget - heavily subsidizing the iPhone has put a world of hurt in AT&T profits. Not the windfall for them you might think. Profit margins on voice or data in the US (after network build-out + maintainence costs) really aren't so hot. Text message charges are where the easy money is now.

As long as we're all playing Project Black guessing games, I'll throw in mine...nothing new, just my opinion on what will happen...

There's not a merger with Sprint coming. I think T-Mo US has decided it's easier and cheaper to grow by nabbing other carrier's users with better deals and cool phones than to take on a sure-to-be messy and very expensive merger with that friggin' disaster called Sprint. The considerable bandwidth controlled by Sprint/Nextel is tempting, but not that tempting. T-Mo already controls enough bandwidth they pass on Sprint and their semi-satisfied, hard-to-absorb customers.

That said, T-Mo may have made a deal with Clearwire to help build some LTE infrastructure for them in the future. WiMax is a dead end, and Clearwire surely knows it by now. And, what little WiMax Clearwire has built already is easily converted to LTE. Note that Clearwire's WiMax partner Sprint is advertising 4G on TV, but no mention of WiMax.

As for Sprint...well, Sprint is a drowning man grasping at WiMax straws to try and stay relevant, to have something to advertise that sounds like progress. I live in Sprint's hometown, and they've done zero, nada, nothing to even plan for WiMax here. Sprint has neither the money nor the expertise. It will not be built.

To nab those new customers, T-Mo will offer a $50-for-all plan, that seems fairly certain, but it probably will not include 'full' smartphone-type 3G. Will be a little extra charge for that to help pay for infrastructure costs. Some other new plans too, of course.

But I think T-Mo US will break European-type pricing in the US market, where you get a cheaper monthly rate for using an unlocked phone or buying one from T-Mo at retail instead of financing it through a subsidy. Since I have a N900 on order from Nokia USA, I'm really pulling for that to happen.

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/...plans-flexpay/

New Unlimited plans are coming for t-mobile and this further supports the rumored project dark which is supposed to include the N900!