T-Mobile's sub-$100 smartphone and tablet sale, Sept. 24 only

T-Mobile is doing some fall cleaning ahead of some new phone launches on Monday by putting all of its best gear -- 4G smartphones, tablets and even mobile hotspots -- on an in-store only, one-day sale this Saturday, September 24. No hardware will cost more than $100 after the generous mail-in rebate, but you will need to sign up for a two-year contract. The cheapest Value plan bundle includes 500 minutes of voice, unlimited text and 200 MB of data for $45 per month, on T-Mobile's 4G/HSPA+ network.

So just how good are the deals? These are just the ones that caught my eye, but T-Mobile's website has way more selection and details:

• BlackBerry Bold 9900: $99.99 after a $150 rebate (the newest BlackBerry usually starts at $300/$250 on other carriers)
• T-Mobile G-Slate with Google: $99.99 after a $200 rebate (the 4G tablet from LG runs Android Honeycomb and has a 8.9-inch display)
• T-Mobile 4G Mobile Hotspot: $0 after a $25 rebate (you can plug this USB modem into any laptop to access the Internet using T-Mobile's cellular network)

Considering T-Mobile's rivals like Verizon and AT&T only price their lower-tier, 3G hardware running older OSes at the sub-$100 range (Verizon's 4G Pantech Breakout is an example), these are incredible prices for some of the latest devices on the market. With its merger with AT&T no longer a shoo-in, As Larry Dignan said on Between the Lines, T-Mobile needs to nab all the new and long-term customers it can get to stay in business in America, with or without AT&T. But will this sale along with a couple of new phones for the holiday be enough to help T-Mobile stay in the game? Or will customers be too wary of possibly becoming stuck with AT&T if the deal does come through to consider T-Mobile at this point? Tell us what you think.

[Source: BusinessWire]

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