T-Mobile talks down iPhone while Sprint silent

T-Mobile in a discussion at the Mobilize conference further ruled out the prospects of an iPhone 5 on its network. CMO Cole Brodman told AllThingsD his network would "love to have" the iPhone, as it was a "great device," but was adamant there would be no iPhone on T-Mobile in 2011. Instead, he argued, the carrier would put a focus on halo phones like the HTC Amaze 4G and Samsung Galaxy S II.

"If we were to get an iPhone this year, nobody has told us," Brodman explained.

T-Mobile is still a potentially large target for Apple. A full 90 percent of T-Mobile's smartphones run Android, the executive said, leaving just 10 percent between the BlackBerry and Windows Phone. In the past, the iPhone has almost automatically become the top-selling smartphone and sometimes OS platform the moment it reaches a carrier. An end to a near-monopoly by Google on the carrier would shift its dynamics almost automatically, even if Android remained the top seller.

Sprint CTO Stephen Bye, however, gave non-denials that supported the indirect confirmation of iPhone plans. When pressed, he explained that he "can't comment" on whether or not an Apple deal was in the works. As supported by the T-Mobile remarks as well as past Verizon behavior, carriers in the past have only made such statements when an iPhone deal was already cemented and they were just waiting on Apple's official word.

Prototypes have already been seen of the iPhone running T-Mobile 3G, suggesting that any absence of a T-Mobile deal relates to policy or rollout deals. Apple may be hesitant knowing its work could be redundant if the AT&T buyout clears or may be hesitant to expand too rapidly past Sprint with shortages likely to follow the iPhone 5 release next month.

By Electronista Staff