After announcing the Lumia 928 for Verizon last week, Nokia announced today that its next flagship device – the Lumia 925 – will be available on T-Mobile later this year. The Lumia 925 is very similar to the Lumia 928 with the only differences seemingly appearing in the camera.

Before we get to that, however, you should know that the Lumia 925 has the same 4.5-inch OLED display that the 928 has. It also features the same 1GB of RAM, 8.7MP camera and 32GB of internal storage.

As for the camera differences, the Lumia 925 features a dual-LED flash – the same on the original Lumia 920. The Lumia 928 went with a Xenon flash instead. The 928 will have the best flash out of the three, but a dual-LED flash isn’t too shabby.

Speaking of cameras, Nokia also announced today new camera software for the Lumia 925 called Smart Camera. As its name implies, it allows users to do some pretty sophisticated photo editing work from within the camera app:

So, when will T-Mobile customers be able to get their hands on the Lumia 925? The carrier isn’t saying yet. The same goes for the price.

[h/t: Engadget]

ORIGNAL ARTICLE: A former T-Mobile employee is speaking out about her terrible last few months working at a call center in Nashville, Tennessee. According to Kristi Rifkin, her ordeal started when she became pregnant with her second child and her pregnancy forced her to take a few extra breaks.

As Rifkin tells it in a blog post on MomsRising.org called Why I Believe in Paid Sick Leave, everything was going fine at her job until she got pregnant.

“It was a very, very rough pregnancy. I was taking medication to keep me from going into labor. I was going to the doctor twice a week, seeing both a regular obstetrician and a high-risk obstetrician. I had to drink a lot of water and go to the bathroom pretty frequently, which is what normal pregnant women do,” she says.

But her supervisor quickly warned her that frequent trips to the bathroom may cause her productivity to drop, which could result in her termination.

“Being on the phone was my job, so if I wasn’t, I risked being written up and possibly fired. Essentially the message was, ‘You can go, but understand that if you don’t meet that metric at the end of the day, week and month, we have the opportunity to fill your seat.’ They didn’t tell me that I couldn’t use the toilet. But the reality was that this is a metric on how your job is measured and if you don’t meet it, then you do not have your job.”

Eventually, her supervisor told her that if she really had a medical necessity to use the bathroom so often, she should get a doctor’s note. Of course, she and her doctor thought it was ludicrous, but she complied.

After a sit-down with H.R., it was decided that Rifkin could use the bathroom as much as she wants, but T-Mobile wasn’t going to pay for it. That meant that she had to clock out and back in for every bathroom break.

“At the same time, I was under so much pressure to keep my sales up. I would sprint – as much as a heavily pregnant woman can — between my desk and the bathroom to make sure I squeezed every second I could out of my work day. Everything I did was scrutinized. I felt picked on. Someone was always watching over my shoulder, monitoring my performance,” says Rifkin.

In the end, she says she wound up using vacation time just to go pee.

Eventually, her doctor ordered full medical leave. The Family Medical Leave Act requires that employers provide up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave and job security for eligible employees – so Rifkin’s job was there when she got back after 7 weeks.

But not for long. According to ABC News, she was soon fired over what amounted to a small clerical error; apparently she “failed to remove an extra-charge feature from a customer’s account, the commission for which was 12 cents.”

“Moms shouldn’t have to choose between their jobs and the health of their families. But too often, companies that are fixated on their bottom lines force women to make this choice. I know. It happened to me,” says Rifkin.

T-Mobile has made a statement. Although they won’t discuss specific employees, a spokesman said this:

“T-Mobile employees enjoy generous benefits including paid-time-off and short and long-term disability coverage. The company has leave of absence policies in line with regulatory requirements.”

UPDATE: I’ve received a lengthy and detailed comment from T-Mobile U.S. Chief People Officer Larry Myers:

Sensational headlines are hard to ignore. Here are some facts you should know:

• Of course we make reasonable accommodations for all of our employees when they need time away from servicing our customers’ needs – and we did that three years ago in 2010 for this employee.
• Our industry-standard policies have been in place since 2008 and are understood by all of our call center employees.
• Beyond the breaks that are built into every shift for all of our call center employees, we have additional flexibility to give employees the time they need – especially when there is a medical need.
• After all reasonable accommodations have been exhausted, employees have a choice – they can take additional, unpaid breaks, or they can choose to apply their paid time off benefit. These decisions do not result in adverse performance evaluations.
• When a medical situation is involved and there is even more need for time away from the job, we work closely with our employees to consider potential Leave of Absence (LOA), then consider Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) time off.
• For this particular former employee, all of these things were discussed and utilized.
• T-Mobile is a values-based organization that has 5 times in a row been awarded as one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies.” And our employees continue to tell us that they enjoy working at T-Mobile. In a recent anonymous third party employee satisfaction survey, 78% of T-Mobile’s employees said they are satisfied with their job and 83% said they are proud to work at the company, placing T-Mobile on par with the top 25% of all companies surveyed in the United States.

Please consider the facts, and judge for yourself.

Larry Myers, Chief People Officer
T-Mobile US, Inc.

The new T-Mobile US board of directors will have 11 members, which will include two board members from MetroPCS. Tim Höttges, the CFO of Deutsche Telekom, will be the board’s chairman.

“The combination of T-Mobile and MetroPCS creates an even stronger disruptive force in the U.S. wireless market,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile US. “Together, as America’s ‘Un-carrier’, we’ll continue our legacy of marketplace innovation by tearing up the old playbook and rewriting the rules of wireless to benefit consumers.”

The newly rebranded carrier is still the fourth-largest carrier in the U.S. but now has 43 million subscribers, putting it closer to Sprint Nextel’s subscriber numbers. T-Mobile estimates that the companies’ combined 2012 financial results would have reflected $24.8 billion in revenue.

“By uniting T-Mobile and MetroPCS, we have created a dynamic new player in the wireless industry that has the right strategy and management team in place to compete successfully in today’s marketplace,” said Höttges. “We look forward to realizing the tremendous potential of the new T-Mobile.”

The combined company will be known as simply T-Mobile USA, and will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange today under the ticker “TMUS.”

John Legere will serve as President and CEO, with former MetroPCS Vice Chairman and CFO, J. Braxton Carter, serving as CFO of the combined company. T-Mobile and MetroPCS will continue to operate as separate brands.

“By uniting T-Mobile and MetroPCS, we have created a dynamic new player in the wireless industry that has the right strategy and management team in place to compete successfully in today’s marketplace,” said Tim Höttges, currently Deputy CEO and CFO of Deutsche Telekom, who will serve as Chairman of the Board. “We look forward to realizing the tremendous potential of the new T-Mobile.”

Under the deal’s terms, MetroPCS effected a 1 for 2 reverse stock split, made a cash payment of $1.5 billion to its stockholders (approximately $4.05 per share prior to the reverse stock split), and acquired all of T-Mobile’s capital stock from Deutsche Telekom in exchange for about 74% of MetroPCS’ common stock on a pro forma basis.

The combined company is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington. It also maintains a “significant” presence in Richardson, Texas.

Today, Reuters reports that MetroPCS shareholders voted to approve the merger after Deutsche Telekom “sweetened its terms under pressure for activist shareholders”.

Deutsche Telekom reportedly agreed to reduce the combined company’s debt. Lisa Maria Garza reports:

Activist shareholder P. Schoenfeld Asset Management had led a proxy battle against the original deal, while biggest MetroPCS shareholder Paulson & Co had also threatened to vote against it. Both investors have said they were pleased with the improved terms.

The percentage of shareholders who voted in favor of the merger is unknown.

According to Bloomberg, the transaction is likely to be completed by the beginning of May.

T-Mobile had originally announced that Samsung’s latest flagship Android device would be hitting its online store on April 24 – two days before the smartphone hits AT&T’s network.

Now, the “un-carrier” (as it is now branding itself) has revealed that it is pushing online availability of the Galaxy S4 back to April 29. The move was due to what T-Mobile is calling an “unexpected delay with inventory deliveries.”

T-Mobile’s statement, in full:

We know customers are really looking forward to getting their new Samsung Galaxy S 4 soon. However, due to an unexpected delay with inventory deliveries, the Galaxy S 4 will not be available on www.T-Mobile.com as planned on Wednesday, April 24. Instead, online availability is expected to begin on Monday, April 29. We apologize for any inconvenience and are working with Samsung to deliver the device to T-Mobile customers as soon as possible.

The date change does not seem to have affected T-Mobile’s pricing options for the smartphone. The Galaxy S4 will be available on the carrier using the company’s new pricing scheme, which requires only $150 upfront, plus monthly payments until the full cost of the device is paid off.

A petition on Change.org asking Verizon to drop contracts has reached over 94,000 signatures. Its next milestone will be to reach 150,000 signatures, but just reaching 100,000 signatures should send a strong signal to the higher ups at Verizon that its consumer base wants a system where they’re not tied down to expensive contracts for two years, but are rather allowed to come and go as they please.

The movement definitely has support, but the hard part is convincing Verizon to do away with its expensive, and highly lucrative, contracts. Thankfully, the company at least seems willing to do so as its CEO, Lowell McAdam, said earlier this month that he would be ok with following T-Mobile’s lead into canceling contracts if there was enough consumer demand.

If Verizon did follow T-Mobile’s lead, it’s not like contracts would just magically disappear. They would replaced with what T-Mobile calls the “Simple Choice” plan which essentially replaces the contract with small monthly payments. The smartphone is still subsidized and you will still pay the same for data as you did before. The only difference is that you can leave the carrier at any time. Granted, you will have to pay the balance left on the phone if it’s not completely paid off.

Still, supporters say Verizon adopting a T-Mobile-like contract-less plan would be good for consumers on all carriers, not just Verizon and T-Mobile. With the backing of a major carrier like Verizon, other carriers like AT&T and Sprint would have no choice but to adopt a no contract policy as well. It could also possibly lead to all the wireless carriers agreeing on phone unlocking, an issue that the government hasn’t had much luck in regulating.

[h/t: Wireless Week]

T-Mobile announced today that the Galaxy S4 will be available on its network starting April 24. The phone will cost $150 upfront, and the rest will be paid off in monthly installments of $20 over the next two years. The $20 installments will be added onto your monthly bill, and will be removed once the phone is paid off.

“Samsung has a proven track record of delivering the ‘Next Big Thing’ in smartphone innovation,” said John Legere, president and CEO, T-Mobile USA. “By combining our bold, Un-carrier moves — no restrictions, no limits and an unbeatable value — with Samsung’s leading-edge technology, you’re going to get the most from your Samsung Galaxy S 4 at T-Mobile —hands down.”

The main advantage of going with T-Mobile over other carriers is its unlimited 4G data plan. For $70 a month, subscribers will get unlimited talk, text and 4G data. T-Mobile’s Galaxy S4 will have an LTE chip in it so it will be able to jump onto T-Mobile’s LTE network once the carrier brings it to more markets.

Unfortunately, unlike every other carrier, T-Mobile will not be offering pre-orders on the Galaxy S4. If you want one, you’re going to have to order it online as soon as it becomes available on April 24. If you prefer to buy your phones at physical retail locations, the S4 won’t be available until May 1.

Engadget received an internal memo from an anonymous source that lists the S4 release date across three major carriers – AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile. As expected, the Galaxy S4 will be hitting AT&T first on April 26. T-Mobile subscribers won’t have to wait much longer as the device will launch for them on May 1. Those with Verizon will unfortunately have to wait a month as its launch is scheduled for May 30.

The memo says the above launch dates are tentative at the moment so things can change. The whole thing could be fake as well, but it certainly fits with previous comments from T-Mobile’s CEO when he said that the S4 would be coming to the network on May 1.

If these tentative launch dates stay the same, we should start seeing the Galaxy S4 going up for pre-order on T-Mobile and Verizon shortly. The leaked memo doesn’t mention any other carriers though so those waiting for word on Sprint’s pre-order and launch plans will probably have to wait a little longer.

On a final note, those interested in the S4 should probably get their pre-order in as soon as they open for your respective carrier. The memo says that inventory will be “highly constrained” at launch. We can hope that a repeat of last year’s Galaxy S III launch won’t be repeated, but Samsung may very well run out of stuck as soon as it launches.

Today, official pre-orders begin. You can access all the iPhones that T-Mobile offers here.

The 16GB iPhone 5 starts at $99.99, with a monthly payment of $20 per month got 24 months. Without the plan, it’ll cost $579.99 up front. The 32GB iPhone with with run $199.99 with a 2-year plan, $679.99 without. And the 64GB device will cost $299.99 with the plan and $779.99 without.

The phone will ship on April 12th.

Also, if you want a cheaper option, T-Mobile is offering the iPhone 4S for $69.99 down and $20 per month for 24 months and the iPhone 4 for $14.99 down and $15 per month for 24 months.

“This is an important day for people who love their iPhone but can’t stand the pain other carriers put them through to own one,” said John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile USA when he announced the addition. “We feel their pain. I’ve felt the pain. So we’re rewriting the rules of wireless to provide a radically simple, affordable iPhone 5 experience — on an extremely powerful network.”

Speaking of pain, plenty of T-Mobile customers painfully waited for the company to offer the iPhone 5. As you probably know, T-Mobile was the last of the major U.S. carriers to offer the device, trailing AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint.

Apple’s App Store went down early this morning, but it wasn’t because of the T-Mobile addition. When buying an iPhone via the Apple online Store, T-Mobile has yet to be included as an option.