News: T-Mobile Announces Free Music Streaming, New "Test Drive" Program

T-Mobile continues to make waves in the U.S. wireless market behind CEO John Legere's UnCarrier program. At the latest installment in a series of industry-challenging announcements, Uncarrier 5.0 unveiled Test Drive. The new program is set to allow would-be customers to try out the "latest generation" iPhone for seven days on T-Mobile's network without any financial commitments.

But they didn't stop there. In a surprise UnCarrier 6.0 event, Big Magenta announced a new service that will allow customers to stream music without it counting against their data caps. For customers on one of T-Mobile's unlimited data plans, Legere and company promised free access to an online radio service dubbed unRadio.

UnCarrier 5.0

The first part of the event focused mainly on T-Mobile's new Test Drive program. In move that took some coordination with Apple, T-Mobile will send out iPhone 5S devices to folks who sign up for the program on their website.

A credit card is needed to sign up, but no charges will be applied unless you decide to keep the device and continue to use T-Mobile's service.

Legere also took the time to boast of new features on his network, such as the VoLTE coverage that is already in place for 100 million subscribers.

UnCarrier 6.0

In an unexpected twist, Legere announced a new program that will allow T-Mobile subscribers to stream as much music as they'd like without it counting against their data cap.

Six common services, allegedly comprising "85 percent" of music streaming traffic, are already whitelisted by T-Mobile's data counter. Pandora, iHeartRadio, Slacker, Spotify, iTunes Radio and Rhapsody are already supported, and customers have been given a chance to vote on additional services to be included.

But, for customers on one of T-Mobile's unlimited data plans, free music streaming is of little value. The UnCarrier had these folks in mind when they partnered with Rhapsody to create a new unRadio service.

The service, available starting June 22nd, boasts over 20 million songs and will be free to access to T-Mobile's unlimited subscribers. Customers on a lower-tiered plan will get access to the service at a discounted rate of $4/month. An app to access this service should be made available on Google Play and iTunes in short order.

All-in-all, it was another big day for the nation's 4th largest carrier. Legere dodged questions about a Sprint-T-Mobile merger, but remained his usual, charismatic self throughout.

What are your thoughts? Are T-Mobile's recent efforts enough for you to consider making the switch? Or are you already a loyal T-Mobile customer like myself? Let us know in the comments section below.