T-Mobile Deep-Sixes Device Upgrade Fee

According to T-Mobile, which put the $18 fee in place just over than a year ago, it axed the added charge as of Dec. 17.

"T-Mobile is pleased to announce that beginning yesterday, the company has ditched the handset upgrade fee for customers," T-Mobile said in a press release.

All T-Mobile devices are covered whether bought in retail stores or online, the carrier said. The $18 reprieve also includes the T-Mobile G1, the HTC-built 3G touch screen that puts the G1 head-to-head against the Apple iPhone 3G in the battle of the touch-screen titans. The G1 is first smartphone to hit the market based on the open source Google Android mobile operating system.

When the G1 hit stores in October, many T-Mobile customers were surprised by the added $18 fee, which brought the total device purchase to about $200, despite the advertised $179 price, while new T-Mobile customers who bought the G1, however, were spared the price hike.

The fee, T-Mobile said, was eliminated to ease the burden on buyers picking up cell phones and smartphones during the holidays. The carrier, however, stressed that the fee elimination is not strictly a holiday promotion and there is no set date when it will end.

"With consumers watching every dollar this holiday season, the savings come at a perfect time," T-Mobile said in a press release. "Note however this is NOT a holiday promotion, as there is no specified end date; it's just another way T-Mobile is thanking its loyal customers."