It’s been a while since we’ve heard something REALLY BIG. Well the guys over at PhoneArena have received word from a tipster that T-Mobile is about to “shake up the status quo of the U.S. cellular industry”. T-Mobile employees are being trained tomorrow for “Project Black”. This mysterious but catchy sounding name is supposed to be something so BIG for T-Mobile USA, that it is expected to lift T-Mobile out of 4th place among the nation’s wireless operators (Take that Sprint). PhoneArena’s tipster has stated those involved in this have signed non-disclosure agreements, so this looks to be huge. Also, their tipster also claims that we should expect a 3G enabled BlackBerry (9700 anyone?) headed to T-Mobile by Christmas time. The tipster also bumped into an ex-Nokia Rep who revealed to him that there will be two Nokia N-Series smartphones headed for T-Mobile USA early next year, one of them being the N900 with Maemo5. She says to expect more high-end Nokia devices headed for Magenta in the future. It looks like T-Mobile subscribers just won the Lottery! Sound off in the comments!
UPDATE: After doing a little digging around I’ve found some more interesting info. Our trusted ninja claims that there is something big brewing (not chicken soup) for the end of the month it seems. Bigger than a phone or a promotion plan. Everyone involved in it had to sign secondary non-disclosure agreements apparently. It is seemingly rolling out on October 25th because all field supporting positions are being required to work (its a Sunday) to support this mystery offering. Trainings will be the Friday before. T-Mobile USA is keeping this a super big secret so nobody knows what it is quite yet.
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lol… um.. project black training was training for the cliq.. AWESOME LEAK!
Oooo, how exciting. I wonder what it could be?!
I hope it’s just not some over hyped story, or the Cliq. Good news that high end Nokia phones are coming to magenta. As for pulling it out of 4th place, I hope it’s really no Sprint. More like Clearwire/Metro PCS, and some new plans(Unlimted Everything plans). Whatever it is, I hope it’s good!
Yeah my manager told me about it. Something coming that is super top secret. We are suppose to find out around the 20th of this month. Very exciting to see what we got coming.
@LAWL
The cliq was already announced, so that makes no sense. Project Black is just not training, it’s something way bigger than a phone.
@Lawl
Are you serious?? I was expecting something big.
What the Heck could it BE?! I seriously have no Clue for once.
I want to get excited about this sort of thing. Mysterious training with cool code names and all. But among the holes here is the simple fact that in a company like T-Mo, every employee would be under an NDA from day 1.
Just saying.
@LAWL I am not sure why you think it is the Cliq, especially since most Cliq training has ended… Though I will be honest, my site has yet to hear of this Project Black. The last thing we named was “Pink Storm” and that is when we announced the 49.99 unlimited loyalty plan. That was awesome, so if it has a goofy name like “Project Black” I expect more good things
IPHONE!!!!!! syyyyyke! hmm prolly some unlimited pricing thing…just a guess
Very interested, seeing as how I’m looking to get a new phone in the next few months. Hopefully, there are a lot of good phones, and some with good QWERTY keyboards
@LAWL You don’t know what you are talking about. The Cliq training is not Project Black.
Project Black is NOT the Cliq its something completely different.
Not to be vulgar, but this is totally arousing IF it’s as big as this article lets on…
@Lowe T-mobile wouldn’t make you sign a non-disclosure for phone training. Especially for one that everyone knows about. Has to be something big to be worth it
I hope its like the t-mobile version of Sprints simply everything plan only cheaper.
iPhone exclusiveness is ending in alot of places I wouldn’t be surprised if TMO got it, If so sprint will be left in dust.
After that deeply disappointing christmas line up, lets hope things get better soon.
Iphone? With everything plan for 79.99?
They are going to announce that they are going out of business! All-hands canning!
I switched over to AT&T yesterday with an iPhone 3GS and it is more than I could ever expect! I’ve been with TMOUSA since 2003 and have waited for something good, but they could not deliver. I thought that the Touch Pro2 would be their savior, but, wrong, too high price point and no apps. I’m surprised what a great business phone the iPhone is — supports Exchange right out of the box. I couldn’t get a signal in my garage with my MotoRizr on TMOUSA, but with the iPhone, I got 4 bars and 3G service! The iPhone has an excellent interface, too, it’s almost perfect. My only regret is not switching over sooner!
TMOUSA couldn’t get any exclusivity (TP2 on Spring and Verizon), and couldn’t even get exclusivity on Android devices, or even the better ones (ala HTC Hero on Sprint, with a better plan and value).
TMOUSA is going down. If a lifelong Apple hater like myself, who wishes Steve Jobs would die of pancreatic cancer already, could love the iPhone, TMOUSA is doomed.
@Luke
Yes I’d probably have a heart attack if T-Mobile announced it will be selling the iPhone this Summer of 2010.
I just want 3G already.
i think g2 and bumbing up the fave fives to fave fifteens and probley adding a nice unlimited plan so you can call anyone for 50$ a month.i wonder if we might even see netbooks and maybe even a new os?a new phone producer coming to t-mobile…posibly iphone?….cause verizon got to choose between iphone and android….they chose android……..hello iphone.
@Elrich
Please don’t compare AT&T and it horrid over congested 3G network to T-Mobile. I agree that AT&T has more coverage, but at everything else T-Mobile beats AT&T hands down. Like most people say, AT&T will most likely be doomed once another carrier gets the iPhone, and I’m pretty sure it’s T-Mobile since it’s the other GSM carrier. Also, hope their announcing HSPA+ launches, so they can prove they have the fastest 3G network
@Elrich
Your post makes me laugh! And everyone who is wishing for the iPhone to come to Tmobile. ARE YOU GUYS SERIOUS?? Android and WM ftw!
@ Elrich
Go jump off a cliff with your new stupid iphone. Tmobile is not going down, the only thing keeping At&t alive is the iphone and they can barely even handle that. The iphone sucks ass, I would rather have my wing back than that over priced crap.
Iphone is the only thing that can increase them out of fourth place.
Oh I forgot MAEMO is coming to the Magenta. With Android, WM, and Maemo we don’t need iPhone.
POST UPDATED!!!
i really dont want the iphone to load the tmobile network… stupid iphone users =P lol
What could be bigger than a phone or plan?
Netbook maybe? Android netbook, perhaps?
I know of a couple things going on around that time. I am just not certain that it is what they are speaking of or we are doing it in preperation for this “Project Black”. I would think it would most likely be the latter since the project probably won’t cause an instant improvement to the point where we would be open on a Sunday.
I’m so over T Mobile. I have the Samsung Gravity and I never get service. EVER!!! If this does not involve me ending my contract early, then I really don’t care. I’m moving to Verizon, maybe then I will get some service.
F U TMobile
I’ve been thinking about buying an unlocked N900 but now I’ll just kick back and wait for it as far as the bigg secret i think it is the deployment of HSPA+ but knowing nokia phones are on the way BB 9700 is on the way and HSPA+ is on the way plus my G1 is like a new toy (reset the phone) and started fresh and it seems twice as fast got rid of all the apps that i had but didn’t need/use anyway lets go T-Mobile let’s go!!!
Like Pedro said, what could be bigger than a phone or a plan that would ALSO require them to stay open an extra day? The only reason to keep the store open is if there is something physical to sell to people, who REALLY want it. That smells like iPhone (because what other device inspires that kind of mindless consumerism?), but I still don’t believe it… for one thing, they are still telling TP2 for $50 more than the highest end iPhone.
This is so exciting! I knew that the rather unimpressive Christmas phone lineup seemed like a ruse to get everyone to kick T-Mobile when they’re down and then they have an amazing come from behind victory at the end and kick every other carrier right in the pants.
Sony XPERIA X3 code name Rachael with Android is coming, thats what project black is about!
It says “Field Supporting Positions” will be working that Sunday. Its not just store personnel. Do you people really have T-Mo stores that aren’t already open on Sunday? Basically people who do not normally work on Sundays are going to be out promoting this thing. Think people who support Dealers or Wal-Mart, etc and their management.
I’m totally speculating (wish I knew more) but I’m inclined to think everything they offer today is out the window. They’re going to hit the restart button and overhaul their service offerings from top to bottom.
Me thinks that this is probably just a cheerleading session for the 4th quarter. I’ve worked retail and this seems about right. The “Black” is probably “Black Friday” when there will probably some new incentives for selling for the store folks, probably some moderately decent promotions for holidays, I don’t think I would expect anything earth shattering for existing users.
I’m betting it is some way of spending more money to get more functionality. Of course I’ll be happily stunned if I get to spend less money for more functionality.
If I was them I would make unlimited text messages be included in all plans for no extra charge (providing existing customers re-up for two years). Text messages place so much less strain on the network than voice calls and you want your customers to get addicted to them vs instant messages or other non-phone based forms of communication. Customers would also get less peeved about ‘marketing’ text messages if they aren’t paying for them and it provides a way for tmo to sell the customer base to spammers, errr I mean marketing people.
Secondly I would make some amount of data be no extra charge each month (eg 250MB). You would get no more data once hitting the quota – a hard cutoff. Again the point is to get people hooked into using data with their phones. And for people using a non-trivial amount they would end up buying a data plan. Those using a small amount of data would never have signed up for a plan anyway, but everyone wins.
Disclosure: I have neither an SMS nor data plan since their expense is nowhere close to the benefits to me. I would however use both if there was no additional charge.
I think Carl is on the right track with Clearwire/Metro PCs. There was some talk a few weeks ago that TMo was talking to Clearwire/Metro PCS, so maybe TMo will be gettin 4G through them?
Well i’m using a unlocked Iphone on T-mobile right now and it’s the bomb. If Tmo really gets the Iphone,sales will increase massively and i bet half the Iphone haters would change their mind about them. It really is a nice phone instead of that damn Android BS. As for the big suprise, i hope Tmo will bring out a rate plan that’s $50 or $60./month for everything. What good is HSPA+ if they can’t even get the 3G out in full coverage.
My manager at T-mobile has a brother that works at the head office. From what he has heard the black project is what they have been running in test markets. Its a new plan stradegy. T-mobile is going to be doing away with the unlimited plans and doing all inclusive plans like Sprint. They are going to have unlimited talk/txt/data for 79.99 for existing customers and 39.99 for each additional line and for new customers it is going to be 89.99 and 49.99 for each additional line.
This will put T-mobile in a better position so they sit as the best plans on the market to combat Sprints all in one for 99 (the only plan T-mobile doesn’t beat) and their new unlimited to any mobile calling plan. It will also put them in a better position to combat AT&T’s new A-list calling which put them over Verizon because they have the exact same plans as Verizon but they also have rollover.
So there you go unofficially.
How do you figure $79.99 everything plan is better for existing customers. I have the unlimited loayalty plan(49.99)and unlimited interent(24.99)for a total of $75.00 / month now. That would’nt be better or good news at all,I would be paying more.
lol lol lol they are gonna train 20,0000 call center employees the Friday before the big news. btw T-MO would NEVER use a term like project “BLACK.” I know.
@rtx
One source stated training starting tomorrow. Another stated the Friday before the assumed launch. There are multiple departments with different schedules within multi-billion dollar companies usually ya know.
It’s called the Dark Project get it right!
im preparing for a letdown
If boost mobile and others can have unlimited everything plans for $50.00/month, why can’t T-mobile do it ? That would Rock the cell phone pricing wars if they came out with that.
@Destonomos
If that is the big news, that’s pretty sucky. I have a better plan than that now. Also, does it really take a lot of “training” to pass out a listing of the new plan updates? It must be awfully hard to train someone to sell “unlimited everything for $xx.xx”.