BELLEVUE, Wash. — Nov. 20, 2008— Today, T-Mobile USA, Inc., is introducing web2goSM, an intuitive and improved Web browsing experience designed to work across T-Mobile’s portfolio of phones. Web2go makes it easier to view and navigate the Web from basic voice phones and smartphones alike, providing customers with better Web browsing, improved search with Yahoo! oneSearch™, a customizable home page and a simplified shopping and download experience. Read More ...

Looks like WalMart can’t get enough of telecom. The latest word/rumor is the G1, Google’s mobile phone, which is currently exclusive to T-Mobile’s network, will be sold at WalMart stores across the country. Rumor has it that WalMart will sell the device at a discount over comparable pricing at T-Mobile stores. All of this rumor is courtesy of Engadget Mobile, who cites an anonymous source. Engadget reports the G1 will be sold, beginning in November, for $148.88 on a two-year contract, which is about $31 less than retail pricing found at T-Mobile.

T-Mobile announced an aggressive continuation of its 3G buildout, with 120 markets expected to be lit by late November. With 3G market additions in Sacramento, CA, Memphis, TN, and Tampa, FL, T-Mobile says it currently covers 92 markets. T-Mobile has some catching up to do, with their competitors having a significant 3G lead in markets and subscribers served. They have raised the stakes for themselves with the pending introduction of the Google co-branded G1 phone. Poor 3G coverage could prove to be disastrous for T-Mobile if word gets around that the G1 experience is lacking a credible 3G feel. That could drive lucrative 3G customers into the willing hands of AT&T and its iPhone.

Verizon is priming the pump with announcements about the upcoming BlackBerry Storm, their latest attempt to counter the iPhone craze. They have good reason to do so. Some recent research suggests that close to half of AT&T’s new iPhone subscribers in recent months came to them from Verizon Wireless. The Storm is RIM’s first touchscreen BlackBerry smartphone. No firm release date has been announced, but Verizon says the Storm will be out for the holiday season and will be “aggressively priced.” That means somewhere between $150 - $200. The other marquee touchscreen smartphones, including the G1, iPhone, and Instinct are in that range.

Some unique features of the Storm include a tactile touchscreen, compatibility with iTunes, and dual CDMA and GSM modes. The tactile touchscreen gives the user a subtle signal when touched. The dual mode functionality takes aim at probably the iPhone’s biggest weakness right now – being exclusively tethered to AT&T. Although, practically speaking, the Storm will be exclusive to Verizon Wireless for a while. And while the Storm is a smartphone that will appeal to BlackBerry’s entrenched enterprise user base, RIM and Verizon will aggressively target consumers in the hopes of slowing down the iPhone’s momentum with that larger market segment. First quarter 2009 will be an interesting one to watch because it will be the first full quarter for the smartphone competitive battle between Apple/AT&T, Google/T-Mobile, and RIM/Verizon.

The Google phone, or G1, is here and it’s certain to have the industry buzzing for the next few days and weeks. The $179 mobile Internet device (MID) goes on sale through T-mobile October 22nd, and aims to improve on the mobile Internet groundwork laid by Apple’s iPhone. It’s interesting how both these devices hang on to the term "phone," when the reality is the phone portion takes a back seat to the MID functionality that dominates them. Using the term phone is a great exercise in consumer relativity – everyone understands and relates to the term phone, but few people buy either device because it’s a phone. They will buy the G1 because it puts the Internet in their pocket, and Google is the defacto Internet guide. The G1 has all the standard smartphone features including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a 3 megapixel camera, QWERTY keyboard, touchscreen, GPS, email compatibility, and mobile browser functionality.

The G1 aims to beat the iPhone with openness – meaning one goal of Android’s open source mobile operating system is to unleash uncontrolled development. Google hopes to beat the iPhone Apps store by unleashing developers around the globe to do with Android whatever they please, unlike the very controlled Apple iPhone operating ecosystem. Google also hopes to meet Apple head on with Amazon’s help, by preloading Amazon’s music service to the G1. Amazon’s approach to music is analogous to Android’s approach to an operating system – openness. Amazon’s music service is virtually DRM free, giving users many more options with their music library than iTunes does. This approach allows consumers to take their Amazon downloaded tracks and play them on multiple devices, including an iPod.

T-mobile obviously wants to leverage the G1 in much the same way AT&T has done with the iPhone. They’ve announced some very aggressive data pricing plans, starting at just $25/month, and $35/month for unlimited data service. Combined with a T-mobile voice plan, customers can get a voice plan with unlimited data for $55/month, compared with $70/month for a comparable iPhone plan. "The idea is driving mass adoption of the mobile Web in the U.S.," Tom Harlin, T-Mobile USA's senior manager for public relations told Light Reading's Unstrung. The iPhone kicked off bringing the mobile Internet experience to the mainstream, and the G1 hopes to carry the torch even further. Now only if T-mobile can get their 3G network working beyond just a handful of markets.

The much anticipated Google phone is scheduled to make its debut September 23rd on the T-Mobile network. The phone will be co-branded with Google, HTC (phone manufacturer), and T-Mobile. It will be interesting to see how all of these brands get represented. The phone will have a retail price of $199. The Wall Street Journal quotes T-Mobile officials as saying the phone will include “aggressively priced” data plans. It will be the first phone to run Android, an operating system developed by Google and its partners. Google hopes that other carriers, including Sprint, will follow T-Mobile’s lead with Android powered phones of their own. Verizon Wireless is being somewhat coy about their Android plans, and AT&T has its wagon hitched to the iPhone for now.

It’s already clear that the Google phone won’t reach the mania achieved by the iPhone and 3G iPhone launches. Some will interpret that lack of comparable buzz as evidence of a failed launch. But I think such analysis misses the point. Google is less interested in selling handsets, and more interested in pushing a mobile operating system “open source” movement. Conceivably, success at such a movement draws more people to the mobile web – and more people on the mobile web leads to more demand for search. Google doesn’t care whether consumers access that search through Android, Symbian, or other mobile operating platforms. What matters most is more demand for search, and Google wins in that environment regardless. The mobile web is the next frontier for Google's growth. Android is simply a means to a bigger end. Google co-founder Larry Page’s quote in a recent CNET post confirms this approach, "As people get better phones, they do 20 times more searches."

T-Mobile has been busily trying to play catch up on the 3G front, and now that they have enough markets operational with 3G, customers can finally take advantage of their first true 3G phone. The Sony Ericsson TM506 is now available and offers a 2-megapixel cam, TeleNav navigation, video capture/playback, and stereo Bluetooth. It retails for $79.99 (after rebate).

T-Mobile will be the first carrier in the U.S. to launch Google’s highly anticipated Android phone. Android is the open source mobile operating system being developed by Google and its partners, who together form the Open Handset Alliance. According to the New York Times, the new Google phone may be available in October. The phone will be manufactured by HTC, and is often referred to as the “Dream.” Google can’t wait to get Android going because it believes its long term future resides in mobile computing. The New York Times article quotes Google CEO Eric Schmidt as saying, “We can make more money on mobile than we do on the desktop, eventually.”

A first to market launch of Android could also help T-Mobile. They have been somewhat behind the wireless innovation curve, arriving late to both the 3G and smartphone parties. A successful Google phone launch, and the buzz it will create, could help T-Mobile’s competitive posturing with AT&T and the iPhone and Verizon’s continuing wireless gains. T-Mobile will have to leverage any potential Android buzz effectively, because they won’t have the limelight to themselves for long. Sprint is expected to follow with an Android launch sometime in 2009. Both T-Mobile and Sprint could use a boost from Android. Their competitors, AT&T and Verizon, seem to be hitting on all cylinders when it comes to wireless. Maybe Android can help them catch up.

T-Mobile is taking the gloves off in its battle against wireline voice carriers. They will take their T-Mobile@Home service nationwide on July 2nd. T-Mobile has been testing T-Mobile@Home in Dallas and Seattle and according to their press release, "...virtually all customers (97 percent) who had a traditional landline phone service reported dropping that service since adopting T-Mobile @Home." T-Mobile@Home is a VoIP powered voice service that uses a customer’s home broadband connection for connectivity. It’s priced at $10/month, and provides unlimited local and long-distance calling as well as basic features including voicemail, call forwarding and call waiting. The service is only available to T-Mobile customers who have a wireless contract of $39.99/month or more and requires the purchase of a $50 modem. The service utilizes UMA technology, which is also used for their Hotspot@Home service.

T-Mobile@Home offers some interesting competitive implications. It remains to be seen how consumers will react, but it seems like a decent value add to say to a customer who is buying a wireless service contract, we’ll throw in home phone service for an extra $10/month. That’s a pretty compelling differentiating feature that other wireless carriers can’t match right now. Bring your own broadband VoIP players like Vonage and Packet8 also seem vulnerable in this T-Mobile scenario. If I’m an existing T-Mobile and Vonage customer right now, why wouldn’t I switch to T-Mobile? Last I checked, Vonage didn’t have a $10/month plan. At the end of the day this strategy is more about maintaining and growing their core wireless business, than trying to take market share from traditional wireline voice business. Wireless providers are "pulling as many rabbits out of a hat" as possible these days to maintain and hopefully grow their business. The wireless market in the U.S. is approaching saturation. Expect to see more interesting strategies like T-Mobile@Home, as wireless carriers try to meet expectations of stakeholders in a sure to slow wireless growth market. Early indications are encouraging for T-Mobile. They tell PC World that 45% of T-Mobile@Home users in the Seattle and Dallas trials switched from other mobile operators.

T-Mobile will introduce two new handsets to their Hotspot@Home service. Hotspot@Home allows voice over Wi-Fi capability, allowing T-Mobile customers to utilize Wi-Fi coverage at home or abroad to make voice phone calls. The Hotspot@Home plan provides unlimited calling over Wi-Fi networks for $10/month. The new handsets include the Nokia 6301 and Samsung SGH-t339. T-Mobile now has eight Hotspot@Home compatible handsets, including three smartphones.