T-Mobile

This Friday at T-Mobile, you can swap an iPhone 4 or 4S for Apple's latest and greatest, the iPhone 5, for $0 down. What's the catch, you ask? We break down T-Mobile's no-contract trade-in deal to find out what it's all about and how to maximize savings on the best iPhone around.

The Basics

• What — Trade an iPhone 4S or 4, and receive an iPhone 5 for no cost upfront and $20 per month for two years (total $480) without a wireless contract.
• Where — T-Mobile retail stores will offer the deal.
• When — Customers can trade in their old phones for new ones starting this Friday, April 12 until June 16.

What will you save? What about the data plan? The answers to your burning questions are after the break.

Want an iPhone in your life, minus the pressure of a contract? After years of speculation, today T-Mobile announced the iPhone 4, 4S, and 5 will be available to customers April 12, with preorders beginning April 5.

The iPhone 5 will be offered nationwide for a $100 down payment, plus monthly payments of $20 over 24 months, which equals a total cost of $580 for the phone. The iPhone 4S and 4 will be in limited markets with a down payment on the 4S costing $70, plus $20 per month for 24 months, while the 4 has a down payment of $15, plus $15 a month for 24 months; that brings the total price of the 4S and 4 to $550 and $375, respectively.

The phones join T-Mobile's new contract-free plans, which include unlimited calls, text, and data (up to 500MB before data speed throttling) for $50 per month. For an extra $10 per month, add 2GB of high-speed data, or $20 per month for unlimited 4G data.

If you already have an unlocked iPhone (likely bought on Amazon, eBay, or directly from Apple), T-Mobile allows you to use the device with its monthly plans and actually have no contract, since the monthly payment setup still technically has you locked into a contract with the company until the value of the phone is paid in full. Unlocked iPhones only work on the GSM network, which both T-Mobile and AT&T are part of in the US; devices purchased from Verizon Wireless and Sprint are part of the CDMA network and aren't compatible.

Are you considering taking your iPhone to T-Mobile and its contract-free monthly plans?

Unlimited data freedom fighters, victory is here. Beginning today, T-Mobile will offer nationwide unlimited 4G data to pay-per-month, contract-less customers.

Users must purchase the $70 monthly 4G service for unlimited capacity; T-Mobile's other no contract plans include $50 per month for the first 100MB of data and $60 per month for the first 2GB of data. Phones available without an annual contract include the Samsung Galaxy S II and III, LG Optimus L9, and the Nokia Lumia 710, among others.

If tied to a data-capped contract for a while longer, you'll want to continue monitoring your phone's data usage.

Putting a spin on the traditional subsidies of wireless devices, T-Mobile is offering up its latest tiny tablet on a payment plan. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus is expected to hit shelves on Nov. 16 (just in time to compete with the Amazon Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet) for $250 down (with a $50 mail-in rebate) and $10 monthly payments spread out over the next 20 months, making the $450 price tag more bearable. Of course, the data plan will set you back an additional $30 a month to start, bringing the total cost per month to 40 bones.

The 7-inch Galaxy Tab Plus comes with some improvements over the last iteration, including a jump in processing power (now 1.2 GHz dual-core), 4G capabilities, Android 3.2, a 3MP rear camera and 2MP forward-facing cam, along with an infrared sensor to use the galaxy tab as a universal remote. There's also 16GB of on-board storage with a microSD expansion slot so you can store your videos, pics, and more.

The Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus adds another entry to the small tablets trend we're seeing, and I'm betting there will be plenty more to come. Are you into smaller tablets, or do you prefer your tablets to be on the larger, 10-inch side?

It's no secret that I'm a little bit smitten with the Windows Phone UI (and now Windows 8), so I'm excited to see T-Mobile's new Windows Phone offering, the HTC Radar 4G. Coming this holiday season, the Mango-running Radar 4G will be stocked with a 3.8-inch LCD touchscreen, 1Ghz processor, 5MP rear-facing camera with LED flash and a VGA forward-facing camera, along with a dedicated camera button on the aluminum white body so you can snap pics instantly without having to unlock your phone.

Windows Phone Mango has plenty of features to love as well, like Kinect support, SMS dictation, fast app resume, and threads, along with the sleek tiled interface. No pricing details have been released yet, so stay tuned for more info.

In the latest chapter of the wireless data price wars, T-Mobile announced today value plans intended to make smartphone and tablet data plans affordable. While Verizon recently announced tiered data plans, T-Mobile now offers its solution for affordable mobile data use.

Set to take effect July 24, the data value plans are available for new and existing customers for single and family lines when signing a two-year service plan. Customers can choose the talk and text plans they prefer and add unlimited data with 2GB, 5GB or 10GB of high-speed data, whichever fits their needs. T-Mobile will not inflict overage charges if streaming too many YouTube videos one month, but the connection speed will dramatically decrease for the remainder of the month to balance the high-data use. Customers can estimate their monthly data usage and which data speed to purchase with T-Mobile's data plan calculator.

The company offers the example that a value family plan with unlimited talk, text and data with 2GB of high-speed data is $49.99 per line for two lines, totaling just under $100 minus taxes. In the accompanying graph, T-Mobile compares their pricing structure to competitors claiming customers can save nearly $1,000 annually.

We knew this day was coming — the end of Verizon unlimited data plans. Verizon confirmed it will switch to a tiered data pricing model for new customers beginning Thursday, July 7.

A Verizon spokesperson dishes on the details saying:

". . . new smartphone customers will choose from one of three options: $30 for 2 GB, $50 for 5 GB or $80 for 10 GB. There will be an overage charge of $10 per GB of data. Verizon will also charge $10 for 75 MB per month for feature phone users."

Good news is current customers on unlimited plans can keep their unlimited plans as they upgrade to new devices. AT&T also recently began usage-based data service; though, their 2GB plan is just $25 per month. Once Verizon's new data policies go into effect, Sprint will be the only top nationwide provider to offer unlimited data packages for smartphone plans.

For those considering a wireless carrier switch, act fast for unlimited data before Verizon's Thursday changeover. If you are already on a tiered data plan — which option do you use?

Adding to the already-established voiceover IP options of Google Voice and Skype, T-Mobile announced today it has developed an app that enables users to make free VoIP calls through Facebook.

It's all centered around the Facebook app called Bobsled. After downloading the app, you'll be able to call friends on your computer with just a click and can even leave voicemail messages (marking them public or private) if you've missed them. It's all free, and you can call pals no matter where in the world they're located.