Next iPhone Ready for T-Mobile’s Network?: AT&T (NYSE:T) sold 6.1 million iPhones over the holiday quarter. Verizon (NYSE:VZ) sold 4.2 million. Even Sprint (NYSE:S) sold 1.2 million iPhones. How many did T-Mobile USA sell? Zero. None whatsoever. Despite persistent rumors that the Deutsche Telekom-owned company will get an iPhone of its very own one day—even without becoming an AT&T subsidiary—Apple’s device remains elusive for T-Mobile. The iPhone 5 could change that, if comments made on Tuesday to CNET by T-Mobile’s chief technology officer, Neville Ray, are any indication. One of the factors keeping the iPhone off of T-Mobile in the U.S. is the phone’s incompatibility with the Advanced Wireless Services, or AWS band, of telecommunications spectrum used in the company’s network. While extra work would have been required for Apple to make the recently released iPhone 4S compatible with the network, Ray noted that the chipset in the new iPhone 5 expected this year will accommodate the spectrum just fine. That said, he didn’t rule out the possibility that Apple will still decline to support the company.
Dell Gets in the Tablet Game: While Amazon‘s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle Fire nips at the iPad’s heels, the consumer electronics industry is gearing up for another attempt at broadening the tablet market. After sitting out 2011, Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) is ready to take on Apple’s popular device. In a Wednesday Reuters report, Dell’s chief commercial officer, Steve Felice, said that his company has learned from mistakes made by competitors like Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ), and will enter the consumer tablet market “toward the end of the year.” Dell already makes a business-focused tablet, the Dell Streak. Felice did not confirm whether the company would partner with Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) or Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) for the consumer tablet. The company has hinted at alliances with both in the past and Felice said that both are still options for the company.
Apple Employees on the Prowl at CES: While Apple isn’t officially in attendance at the International Consumer Electronics Show to show off products, that doesn’t mean that its employees aren’t stalking Las Vegas to check out the competition. A source cited in a Reuters (via Apple Insider) claims that the Cupertino, Calif., company has 250 employees registered at the show, and vice president Greg Joswiak is said to be among them. Whether the employees are cackling in a sinister fashion when looking at other companies’ Connected TV offerings is unknown as of this writing.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned stocks. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook. For more from the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.
