If you’re looking to upgrade your smartphone, T-Mobile is giving you some incentive to do so.
Its “Magenta Deal Days” promotion offers customers the opportunity to receive a guaranteed trade-in value of $50–$200 when they exchange their old working phone and upgrade to a new 4G smartphone. The two-week sale will take place from April 25 until May 8.
The “Magenta Deal Days” trade-in offer allows customers to receive a guaranteed value toward any T-Mobile 4G smartphone, including the Samsung Galaxy S II, the HTC Radar 4G and the new HTC One S, which is powered by Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich).
“T-Mobile continues to make getting a great 4G smartphone easy with our latest ‘Magenta Deal Days’ promotion,” said John Clelland, senior vice president of marketing, T-Mobile USA. “No matter how old their phone, and even if it’s valued less, T-Mobile will offer customers a guaranteed minimum trade-in value so they can get rid of those old devices gathering dust and move up to a newer, faster T-Mobile 4G smartphone.”
New customers will be eligible for this deal when they trade in their old smartphone and sign up for a qualifying T-Mobile Classic or Value plan with a two-year agreement. Existing customers also can take advantage of this offer if they are eligible for an early upgrade, meaning 18 months or more on their current contract.

The following is a list of the guaranteed trade-in value T-Mobile will offer for old devices:

iPhone (iOS)
$200.00

Android, Blackberry, Windows, Symbian 9.0+ OS
$100.00

Any Other Phone
$50.00

In addition to the Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Radar 4G and HTC One S, other new smartphones customers can trade-up to as part of the “Magenta Deal Days” trade-in offer include the following:
— Nokia Lumia 710
— Samsung Exhibit II 4G
— Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G
— T-Mobile myTouch 4G Slide
— T-Mobile myTouch Q
— T-Mobile myTouch T
— BlackBerry Bold 9900 4G
— LG DoublePlay™
— HTC Amaze 4G
— HTC Sensation 4G

The “Magenta Deal Days” promotion will be available at participating T-Mobile retail stores nationwide. For more information about T-Mobile’s products, services and the “Magenta Deal Days” promotion, visit http://t-mo.co/HkPh9J.

Follow Matt Myftiu on Twitter @MattMyftiu.

T-Mobile USA, Inc. and HTC Corp. have announced the long-awaited HTC One S will be available at T-Mobile stores on April 25. T-Mobile will be the first U.S. carrier to offer the sleek HTC One S, which ships with Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)--which Android fans will be happy to hear -- and the HTC Sense 4 user interface.
The phone will run on T-Mobile's 4G network.

“The HTC One series is a revolutionary device portfolio and we’re proud to be the first carrier to introduce the HTC One S to the U.S. market,” said Andrew Sherrard, senior vice president of marketing, T-Mobile USA. “With a stunningly thin design that doesn’t compromise performance, the HTC One S is a sleek 4G smartphone with beauty and brains that our customers will be proud to show off.”

For music lovers, the HTC One S will feature integration of Beats Audio sound.
Customers can listen to their Google Music libraries — up to 20,000 songs — from the cloud and purchase new music on the go with Google Play.

For cameras, the HTE One S features an 8-megapixel back-side illuminated camera and HTC ImageSense. Consumers have immediate access to their cameras from their home screens and continuous shooting to take photos at 4 frames per second simply by holding the shutter button.

The phone enables high-quality video recording with a full high-definition 1080p camcorder. With access to 25 GB of free cloud storage from DropBox, HTC One S customers also can bring their photos, documents and videos virtually anywhere they go and upload new content to the cloud.

“Blending the latest technology with HTC’s focus on consumer experience, the HTC One S allows people to capture amazing high-definition video and photos at the same time with merely a touch of their finger,” said Martin Fichter, vice president, product management, HTC Americas. “And HTC’s Media Link HD accessory provides an easy wireless solution to share those great photos, videos and other entertainment on their TV screen with a swipe of their hand.”

The ultra-sleek and modern HTC One S will be available in gradient blue and is T-Mobile’s thinnest smartphone (7.95mm). In addition to featuring a 4.3-inch qHD Super AMOLED screen, the HTC One S features a 1.5GHz, dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor -- putting its specs among the best phones on the market.

The HTC One S will be available on April 25 at T-Mobile retail stores, select dealers, national retailers and online at http://www.t-mobile.com for $199.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate card with qualifying two-year agreement. For more information, visit http://www.t-mobile.com/one or http://www.htc.com/us/products/htcones-tmobile.

Follow Matt Myftiu on Twitter @MattMyftiu. Email him at matt.myftiu@oakpress.com.

It is estimated that one billion people will own smartphones by 2016, according to a recent report by the research company Forrester. In addition, the Pew Research Center said the share of U.S. adults who own tablets nearly doubled (from 10% to 19%) during this year’s holiday gift-giving period between mid-December 2011 and early January 2012.

Verizon Wireless provides free in-store and online wireless workshops to smartphone and tablet users — no matter his or her service provider. Verizon is the only wireless carrier approved to conduct Apple workshops. Covering topics like extending battery life, setting up email and buying apps, Verizon’s Wireless Workshops discuss everything users want to know but have not had time to figure out independently.

And whether users are newbies to the smartphone world, upgrading or switching to new devices, or looking for more information about specific operating systems, the Workshops provide answers to virtually any question.

Topics covered in the Workshops include, but are not limited to:
— Accessories: Learn about different accessories and ways they can maximize productivity.
— Tablets: Obtain general information about tablets and how they can benefit every lifestyle.
— Tips and Tricks: Learn everything from how to copy and paste text to setting a ringtone.
— The Basics: For the wireless newbie, learn how to turn it on and off, how to enter contacts and how to send text messages.
— Q&A with Wireless Experts: Gain direct access to the experts and ask away.

The lineup of online and in-store workshops is routinely updated and expanded to include the newest devices such as the Galaxy Nexus by Samsung, Spectrum by LG, and DROID 4 by Motorola.

To learn more about Verizon Wireless Workshops, visit www.verizonwireless.com/workshops.

Matt Myftiu can be reached at matt.myftiu@oakpress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MattMyftiu and check out the Facebook page OPTechTime.