T-Mobile G1 now free on £30 plans

Are things looking a bit shaky for the T-Mobile G1? In a move that might seem to some like desperation, T-Mobile's dropped the minimum subscription charge for a free G1, barely a month on from its launch.

Buyers will now be able to sign up for a free G1 with just a £30 a month contract, rather than the £40 at launch. For that you'll still get a respectable 300 minutes and 600 texts, versus 800 minutes and unlimited texts on the £40 plan - and you'll still get the web'n'walk "unlimited" data. Between that there's also a £35 plan with 700 minutes and unlimited texts.

Indicating that the launch of the BlackBerry Storm on Vodafone and the ever present threat of the iPhone on O2 might be starting to put pressure of the G1, T-Mobile told Mobile that "We have chosen to offer the device free with a £30 contract to make the pricing more competitive in light of recent device launches."

Just in case that sounded like T-Mobile was struggling to flog the G1, it also added: "We are well on track to achieve our sales forecasts". We believe you, guys. We believe you.

So where does that leave those who opted for the higher tariff at launch? Well there's good news there too for credit-crunch-hit G1-early-adopters. T-Mobile's confirmed that those who bought early will be able to take advantage of the new tariff structure and drop down to the £30 a month deal without penalaty. 'Onya T-Mob.

UPDATE: We withdraw our 'onya - T-Mobile won't be letting existing G1 customers change to the £30 deal. See our fresh story here.

[ Mobile via Pocket Lint]