Rumor: T

T-Mobile will move to a no-contract model on March 24, with an announcement as early as Monday — that is, if a story on blog TmoNews pans out.

In reporting the shift, Tmo cites an unnamed source — “while we’re confident the details are accurate today, they could easily change tomorrow,” it says — and it adds that T-Mobile will also ditch early termination fees (“which makes complete sense when announced with the removal of contracts”). It also reports that the carrier will offer a monthly installment plan on handset purchases that will be in the $25 to $30 range.

The second half of the Tmo report touches on new marketing plans for T-Mobile, with the blog saying we should watch for the phrase “Dual 4G,” a likely reference to the carrier’s HSPA+ and LTE networks. The “Stick Together” tagline will apparently be retired as well, along with the Ducati driven by spokesmodel Carly Foulkes, who last spring swapped her pretty-in-pink dresses for no-more-Mr.-Nice-Girl motorcycle leathers.

In December, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said the carrier would be out with a new “in-your-face” campaign when it finishes its merger with MetroPCS this year.

Legere also said then that T-Mobile would eliminate subsidies on handsets this year — that’s the model used by most big carriers, which gets you an upfront deal on the cost of your phone but typically locks you into a two-year contract. Instead, T-Mobile will move completely to its Value plans, which let customers pay for their devices by the month, or bring their own, unlocked devices to the carrier.

In its fourth-quarter earnings report this week, T-Mobile said those plans, which debuted last year, were doing well, with the company adding 1.3 million new Value customers during the quarter, for a total of more than 6 million people on its Value plans.

CNET telecom guru Roger Cheng calls T-Mobile’s killing of subsidies a good thing for consumers. You can check out his take here. And Jessica Dolcourt of CNET Reviews took a look at T-Mobile’s Value plans and discovered that the name may well be fitting. Her report is here.

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Rumor: T

myTouch HD details uncovered.
TmoNews

Yet another handful of new details have been unearthed for the upcoming T-Mobile MyTouch 3G HD.

A leaked internal document obtained by TmoNews for the carrier suggests that the handset will sport a 1GHz dual processor and feature support for T-Mobile’s HSPA+ burgeoning network.

While we’re still waiting for T-Mobile to formally acknowledge the handset, the picture continues to get clearer. Much like the soon-to-be-released G2, the MyTouch HD will come with Android 2.2, 4GB internal memory, a preinstalled 8GB microSD card, and a 5-megapixel camera.

However, unlike its counterpart, the MyTouch HD is expected to have a 3.8-inch touch display, a front-facing VGA camera, a screen-sharing feature, and a new “driving mode,” which allows for messages to be read outloud. There’s no direct mention as to how the phone’s videos will be shared, but I’d assume a Micro-HDMI port like the one found on the HTC Evo 4G.

The next few months will be very busy for T-Mobile and its customers. With the G2, MyTouch 3g HD, and today’s Motorola Defy announcement, there are now three Android phones in the pipe. Looking at the leaked roadmap from a few months back, we can expect another two devices before the year is out.

HTC is holding a press event later this week at which it’s widely rumored they will unveil the MyTouch HD in addition to other handsets. As much as I’d like to see pricing and an expected release date, I assume that will come from T-Mobile in the weeks to follow.

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