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T-Mobile USA announced Tuesday that it’s offering $0 down to qualified customers interested in buying a new iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, iPad Air, iPad mini or iPad mini with Retina display. The plan starts Wednesday, December 11, 2013 and will be available from T-Mobile dealers and online.
T-Mobile’s Simple Choice Plan uncouples its customers from long-term contracts – used by some of T-Mobile’s competitors to recoup the cost of the phone. T-Mobile offers plans starting at $50 per month. But that presumes you have a phone to use with the plan. Unsubsidized, the iPhone 5c and iPhone 5s starts at $549 and $649 respectively. The iPad mini, Retina iPad mini and iPad Air start at $299, $399 and $499 respectively. Not everyone is willing or able to bring their own phone, or pay for a phone up front.
For those customers, T-Mobile offers 24-month financing. They’ve done the $0 down offer for the iPhone before, and they’re ramping it up again in time for the holidays, with iPads part of the mix too. According to T-Mobile, qualifying customers can get a 16 GB iPhone 5s for $27 per month or a 16 GB 5c for $22.91. Likewise, the 16 GB iPad Air, iPad mini or Retina iPad mini will cost $26.25, $17.91 and $22.08 per month respectively.
Obviously if you cancel your service before the phone or iPad is paid off, you’ll be charged the balance. But it gives you a way to get a new iPhone or iPad without having to pay up anything front, at a time of year when you can probably use a bit of extra cash in your pocket.
