T-Mobile Orders iPhone 5 Friendly Nano-SIM Cards, Arriving In October
T-Mobile recently encouraged customers to purchase and test unlocked iPhone devices on its network. Now an internal document from T-Mobile shows the delivery of iPhone 5 supported Nano-SIM cards, which are expected in Mid-October.
The Nano-SIM card is currently only supported by iPhone 5 devices, which likely means the company hopes to push the unlocked version of the smartphone to customers. T-Mobile and Apple have never been able to reach an iPhone sales deal for locked devices, and T-Mobile lacks 4G LTE support for iPhone 5 devices, instead relying on the much slower HSPA+ mobile data network.
According to the internal document, the card will be available at “Care, Retail, and T-Mobile.com.”
9to5Mac suggests that some T-Mobile locations may have already started to receive the iPhone 5 Nano-SIM cards, although unlocked versions of the phone will not be made available for at least “several weeks” after the release of locked versions, according to Apple officials.
Purchasing an iPhone 5 unlocked version is not cheap; prices start at $649 and increase based on memory size all the way to $849.
While a hack for the iPhone 5 may eventually be revealed, the cost to purchase those devices will likely be comparable to the unlocked version, which retains its original warranty.
While T-Mobile may not offer 4G LTE mobile data technology, the unlocked iPhone 5 would likely be accessible through the company’s unlimited data plan, which could be a blessing for users who don’t require the ultra-fast speeds of 4G LTE or who do not live in an area where the faster mobile data technology is supported.
