T-Mobile advised me to not buy a G1 !! (from them)

I had an interesting experience in a T-Mobile store in Boston today. I went in fully prepared to pay $179 and commit to a data plan that would cost me an extra $20/mo for two years in exchange for a T-Mobile/HTC G1. I happen to know that this particular store has about 30 in stock, unlike the website, where they are back-ordered. I wanted instant gratification, and I told the (knowledgeable) sales guy as much. He started to process the upgrade. Funny thing was, as the sales guy and I were chatting, the subject of unlocking came up (can't remember how).

He said, "Well, you know, this is one of the only phones that T-Mobile will not unlock."

Still looking for reasons to buy it, and knowing that its 3G is not compatible with AT&T, I said, "Well, it doesn't make sense to bring it to another carrier anyway, so that's OK, unless of course I'm in Europe."

He said, "They don't unlock this phone. So if you want to use a foreign SIM card in Europe, I would not recommend it."

I said, "You mean if I have this for 3 or 4 months and tell T-Mobile I will be traveling in Europe they won't unlock it?"

He said, "That's right. What you could do is sign up for the Google Developer Program, which anyone can do for $25, and then you can buy the unlocked, unbranded version from Google. It's $400, which is the same price we sell it for without a contract." Then he told me a few other cool things about the special Google version.

I thought this was extraordinary. He actually talked himself out of a sale! When I walked out of there, he had to know there was only a slim chance I would ever be back. So what I want to know is:

• Given that T-Mobile is a European company, is there a real downside to not being able to slip in a random European SIM?
  
• If I only go to Europe once a year at most, what are the chances I will spend more than the $220 difference (now) in phone charges (later) by sticking to T-Mobile's offerings?
  
• Does anyone know what the international roaming charges are (voice and data) on a G1? (I can ask T-Mo this, of course).

Thanks,
SW

 

Somehow, I knew you would say that.

Of course, I still have the unlocked LG, so I agree that voice is not really a problem. It's really Web browsing and Google maps I am concerned about. I need maps and restaurant reviews!

I looked up T-Mobile's rates for France, Italy and Germany, just to get a sampling. They were all the same, as follows:

That's a lot more than $25 for 20 meg, obviously, and it could run into real money. Looks like I may need to get the Google version.




SW

 

Well the plot thickens a bit. I called T-Mobile Customer Service today and they told me that T-Mobile will unlock the G1. The rep further said that since I've been a customer in good standing since 2006, they would unlock it for me right away, without a waiting period. I'll believe that when it happens, but it was nice to hear. Also, it seems somewhat consistent with this Engadget article:

T-Mobile's CTO on G1 unlocking and tethering -- plus a few details you might have missed

Which contains the following: "(CTO Cole) Brodman also said that the company's policy of unlocking phones for customers in good standing wouldn't change for this phone."



SW

 

As you suggested below, if I get the T-Mo version, I'm definitely going to test this policy during the eval period.

I know you would. I'll have more on this later.


SW

 

Thanks, I am going to come back to you if I have an issue doing this. One other question - do you know if/when T-Mobile will be sending out the "Cupcake" update for the G1?

Thanks,
SW

 

Yes, thanks. I'm less concerned with the date or exactly what's in the update (lots of speculation and hair-splitting in the comments below the article you referenced) than the principle. If T-Mo is willing to periodically send out updates that fix bugs or improve functionality, that's great. That's what I would expect in a phone based on an "open" platform. Beyond that, whether we get stereo bluetooth in a week or 3 months is less important to me.

Having a supported version of the phone was one reason I decided to give the T-Mo version a try, over the developer version (or "Android Dev Phone 1"). Apparently this is unlike the situation where Nokia, Palm, or some other manufacturer releases an unlocked, but fully functional device. Google is making no claims for its functionality other than as a developer testbed.

Then I read this detailed discussion of updating a Dev Phone with the latest software yourself, and it seemed like more effort than I was willing to commit. Laziness won out and I am trying the stock G1. I'll have some impressions in the next few days.



SW

 

Yes, I have received my unlock code as well. The store person meant well, but was misinformed. I will report on the unlock in my G1 review thread.




SW