Rumor Mill: T-Mobile getting iPhone 3GS this year?

T-Mobile USA is at the center of the latest rumor surrounding Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) popular iPhone.

Chris Anderson, the editor-in-chief of Wired, sent out a message on Twitter last night that read: "A T-Mobile manager casually mentioned to me that they're going to get the iPhone 3GS (but not 4, oddly) later this year. Common knowledge?"

Like many rumors of the iPhone expanding beyond AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T), this one is a little shaky. However, there is some additional evidence that T-Mobile might be in the running for the iPhone.

As part of a broader report on how Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann sees the company's U.S. unit trending, the Financial Times reported in March that the carrier is looking to sell the iPhone this year or next year, though it didn't cite the source of the information.

"AT&T's problems stem partly from its status as the exclusive network for Apple's bandwidth-hungry iPhone," the report stated. "The iPhone has provided AT&T with strong revenue growth, and T-Mobile USA is hoping to start selling the popular smartphone later this year or next year. In the meantime, it will focus on smartphones powered by Google's Android." Many carriers, of course, "hope" to land the iPhone, though T-Mobile Germany has been a carrier for the phone.

A T-Mobile USA spokeswoman declined to comment.

Recent iPhone rumors have centered on speculation that Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) will launch a version of the smartphone early next year. AT&T said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in August that it does not expect the loss of handset exclusivity agreements--like the one it has with the iPhone--to hurt its wireless earnings.

For more:
- see this Business Insider post

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