Home

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

Jun 19, 2014 03:33 AM

Jun 19, 2014 03:26 PM

Speaker on stage at a presentation for Un-carrier 5.0 event, with an audience and bright screen backdrop.

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.

T-Mobile test drive event featuring an iPhone 5 on display.

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.

"Presentation slide announcing VoLTE coverage for 100 million people by year end."

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.

Music Freedom event with a speaker presenting on stage against a vibrant pink backdrop.

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.

Music streaming service leaderboard with progress bars for Prime Music, Beats Music, and Google Access Music.

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.

unRadio features and benefits checklist: replay favorites anytime, listen to desired tracks, unlimited skips, no ads, over 20 million songs available.

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.

T-Mobile presentation on Test Drive and Music Freedom in a conference setting.

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.

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

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.

The next big software update for iPhone is coming sometime in April and will include a Food section in Apple News+, an easy-to-miss new Ambient Music app, Priority Notifications thanks to Apple Intelligence, and updates to apps like Mail, Photos, Podcasts, and Safari. See what else is coming to your iPhone with the iOS 18.4 update.