And neither one had noticeable AI. T-Mobile brought the actual Backstreet Boys in, while Coinbase broke things up with a weird karaoke-style presentation of “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” to highlight its crypto exchange without actually mentioning crypto.
It’s partnering with Samsung to show off the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Watch 8 as holograms in select stores across New York, Seattle, and other locations. But based on the video shared by T-Mobile, it looks like you’ll still be able to get your hands on the physical device alongside the 3D visualization.
The plan starts at $140 / month for three lines and will only be available for a limited time when it launches on January 14th. It comes with many of the same perks as T-Mobile’s pricer $170 / month Experience Beyond plan, including unlimited 5G and hotspot data, satellite connectivity, and subscriptions to Netflix and Hulu.
The biggest difference is that Better Value allows for phone upgrades every two years (not annually).
Ten years ago, Google ’solved’ our photo backup problems with free unlimited space and some compression... until it didn’t anymore.
T-Mobile’s Google One benefit brought it back in 2022, but as 9to5Google notes, as of September 30th, that offer is gone and seems unlikely to return. We have some ideas if you need alternatives.
Cameron John Wagenius, aka kiberphant0m, had already pleaded guilty on two charges for hacking T-Mobile and Verizon, and could face 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Tuesday to additional conspiracy, extortion, and identity theft charges.
Wagenius reportedly sold data stolen from Snowflake cloud storage accounts, including records for 560 million Ticketmaster customers and information from over 150 other companies, and said he’d posted hacked AT&T call logs for Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Two other men, John Binns and Connor Moucka, have also been indicted in this case.
In a letter to the FCC, T-Mobile executive Mark Nelson confirms that the company is “ending its DEI-related policies... not just in name, but in substance.” He adds that the carrier “will no longer have any individual
roles or teams focused on DEI.”
Earlier this year, T-Mobile updated mentions of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) on its website to appease FCC Chair Brendan Carr, who said he would not approve mergers — like T-Mobile’s joint venture deal with Lumos — if companies have DEI-related policies.
[fierce-network.com]
The anti-Elon Musk protest organizers sent a letter to T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert demanding he “cut ties to Starlink,” citing T-Mobile’s use of the SpaceX subsidiary to power its T-Satellite direct-to-cell satellite messaging service:
By contracting with Starlink, T-Mobile is funding Elon Musk’s attacks on democracy in the US and around the world. We’re demanding T-Mobile pick a side. If they choose to continue in partnership with Starlink, they’re complicit in his assault on working people and his support of far-right authoritarian governments around the world.
The protesters are hinting that they’ll boycott T-Mobile if the company doesn’t comply. And given the brand damage that Tesla Takedown has inflicted on Musk’s company, it’s not a threat that T-Mobile can take lightly.
[actionnetwork.org]
According to Android Police, T-Mobile has added Google’s latest phones to its beta test of direct-to-cell satellite service powered by SpaceX’s Starlink. iPhones and a select few Samsung phones were already in the beta.
The Pixel 9 series also has Google’s own Satellite SOS, which is only designed for emergency messaging. T-Mobile’s beta adds full SMS support, with voice and data planned in the future — while Europe might get full satellite broadband this year.
[androidpolice.com]
According to Bloomberg and user reports, T-Mobile’s list of eligible devices for beta testing Starlink direct-to-cell connections now includes iPhones. While only a few Samsung Galaxy devices were supported at first, now iPhone owners with the most recent update can reportedly connect, as well as some people with Android 15 devices.
That gives those owners an alternative to Apple’s Globalstar-connected service while off the grid that works without pointing their phone at the sky first.
T-Mobile has confirmed last week’s report that it actually stopped a cyberattack in progress before sensitive customer data was exposed — something the company doesn’t have the best track record for.
T-Mobile didn’t identify the attackers, but the breach resembles the recent Salt Typhoon attacks — which sounds increasingly nefarious as more details arrive.
The hackers, who have also reportedly broke into AT&T and Verizon’s networks, breached T-Mobile “as part of monthslong campaign to spy on the cellphone communications of high-value intelligence targets,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
“T-Mobile guarantees it will never raise the price of your rate plan,” we wrote in 2015, because that’s what its CEO said: “I’m guaranteeing those rates for as long as you’re a customer.”
But Ars Technica dug up thousands of FCC complaints that suggest people got fooled. In June, T-Mobile was asked to stop advertising its so-called “price lock.”
