T-Mobile unveils latest bold moves: twice-yearly upgrade plan, LTE, and new phones

T-Mobile's then-newly-minted CEO John Legere made sure the March "uncarrier" press conference was one for the history books — and one that was definitely not PG. The company today announced its so-called "boldest moves yet" — a plan allowing two phone upgrades every year (vs. one phone upgrade every two years) — and along with it came bombastic and somewhat profane language. We're not surprised, but we are entertained. See for yourself.

T-Mobile just unveiled its latest "uncarrier" moves at a press event in New York City, and the new Jump plan was undoubtedly its biggest announcement. For $10 a month, customers can upgrade their phone twice every calendar year, a move that the company says will set it apart from competitors that make you wait two years to upgrade to a new handset. The question is whether or not this is truly a good deal, and the answer is: it depends.

Imagine you picked up a Samsung Galaxy S4 on T-Mobile today. The phone, which has a $579.99 list price, would cost you $99.99 down, plus $20 every month for 24 months, as well as an additional $10 per month for Jump. You're first eligible for a Jump upgrade after six months, and let's imagine you wanted to take advantage of it immediately. At that point, you'd have paid a total of $279.99 ($99.99 plus $30 per month for Jump and your standard equipment installment plan). Assuming you were buying another new, high-end phone like the Galaxy S4 without Jump, you'll likely be paying somewhere in the neighborhood of $600 for a new phone.

The Xperia Z is Sony's latest flagship smartphone, meant to be a contender with other major Android devices like Samsung's Galaxy S4 and HTC's One. The device is water resistant, runs Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and has a 5-inch, 1080p display. Though T-Mobile's LTE network still isn't widely available, the Xperia Z will be able to take advantage of the increased speeds in supported areas. Though the device is available in stores today, it won't be appearing online until next Wednesday, July 17th. To find out just how well Sony's device fares on T-Mobile, you can read our review right here.

T-Mobile is announcing more major changes to distance itself from the other US carriers — for starters, it just introduced a new plan called Jump. For $10 per month, customers will be able to upgrade their phones up to two times per year. It's similar to what we heard earlier today, though phone upgrades won't be unlimited. Also, you'll need to wait six months until you're eligible for your first upgrade. While there are definitely some caveats to this new plan, it's a far sight better than AT&T and Verizon's full two-year wait period before customers can upgrade with a subsidy.

Here's how Jump works: after an initial six-month waiting period, users can trade in their T-Mobile phone "in good working condition" (must have no water damage, an unbroken screen, and able to boot up) and purchase a new one for the same price as new customers to T-Mobile. Your old installment payment plan will be eliminated and you'll get charged a new one based on your new phone. In addition to using this to simply replace your phone if you're interested in an upgrade, Jump also includes a full insurance plan — coverage includes lost, stolen, or malfunctioning phones. Since T-Mobile said upgrades need a phone in "good working condition," you'll need to pay a deductible (ranging between $20 and $170 depending on what phone and how new it is) — but you can still switch over to any other phone you might want.

After launching in the UK last month after a promised T-Mobile debut in the US, the carrier is finally detailing its plans for the Lumia 925 today. Available as an exclusive, T-Mobile plans to launch Nokia's latest flagship on July 17th priced at $49.99 with 24 monthly device payments of $20. The Lumia 925 is effectively a slimmer version of the Lumia 920 that launched back in November. It's made from aluminum, with a polycarbonate rear and optional colorful wireless charging covers.

T-Mobile's announcement comes just a day before Nokia will hold its "zoom reinvented" event in New York City. The Finnish smartphone maker is expected to launch a successor to the Lumia 920 and 925, dubbed the Lumia 1020, with a 41-megapixel camera. Nokia is believed to be planning an exclusive partnership with AT&T, a rival to T-Mobile, to market the Lumia 1020 as a hero device this summer.