Will Baseball Fans Help T-Mobile Hit a Home Run with Tablets?

Using a tablet while watching a ballgame may not be the smartest of ideas as an incoming home run ball can strike you in the head, but T-Mobile USA, in an effort to get more Android tablets to the masses, is teaming up with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to lease out tablets to game watchers.

In a deal with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, T-Mobile will offer ballpark visitors either a Galaxy Tab from Samsung or an LG G-Slate for a $10 rental fee. With the tablets, users will have access to free game-day program, free magazine content from the Zinio magazine app, ESPN, MobiTV access, and more.

Why any Major League fan would go to the game and not actually watch the game that they’re attending is beyond me, but hopefully the cheap $10 rental fee for a few hours will give T-Mobile and Android tablets a boost. I suppose at the end of the rental period, if customers are happy with the slate, they may go out and purchase their own tablets.

Press Release:

T-Mobile Teams Up With Los Angeles Angels Offering Fans Unique Tablet Rental Program

Fan experience enhanced with customized content, game-day program, and access to America’s Largest 4G Network™

ANAHEIM, Calif. — July 22, 2011 — T-Mobile USA, Inc. today announced that the company has partnered with the Los Angeles Angels to provide fans with a unique tablet rental program, giving fans customized content designed to enhance their experience while watching their favorite team at Angel Stadium of Anaheim.

“T-Mobile’s Android tablets, combined with America’s Largest 4G Network™, give Angels fans customized content for an affordable price when they rent a tablet during Angels games,” said Darrin Silveria, vice president general manager, Southern California, T-Mobile USA. “We’re always excited to bring T-Mobile customers unique offerings that they can’t find elsewhere, and that’s exactly what we’re doing for Angels fans who rent a tablet.”

T-Mobile began partnering with the Angels near the beginning of the season, and has been fine tuning the company’s network inside Angel Stadium of Anaheim, running a beta program with fans providing feedback on their experience, and building partnerships with content providers, including Zinio and MobiTV, the provider of T-Mobile TV.

“There’s no question that baseball fans love stats, replays, MLB news and more,” said Angels chairman Dennis Kuhl. “We wanted to enhance the fan experience while viewing home games, and we’re excited to bring this partnership with T-Mobile to life. We see lots of possibilities and are really just at the beginning of this new offering for our fans.”

Fans who rent either a T-Mobile G-Slate™ or Samsung Galaxy Tab™ for $10 get the following unprecedented value:

Free game-day program, optimized for viewing on the tablet — an instant $3 added value.
Free content from the Zinio magazine app, with the ability to read from a sampling of magazines during the game, including ESPN and many other popular magazines, drawing from Zinio’s library of more than 4,500 magazine titles.

Free T-Mobile TV (on the T-Mobile G-Slate only), providing content from popular TV shows. All regular free content, plus the “Select” package, regularly $4.99, is available as part of the game-day tablet rental.

Access to T-Mobile’s blazing-fast network, powering fast video chat sessions with friends and family at home, and blazing downloads of rich media content.

“This is the kind of unique combination of hardware, fast mobile network speeds and rich content that has the potential to be transformative, not only for Angels fans, but for fans of all sports,” said Jeanniey Mullen, global executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Zinio. “We see great possibilities for the future and are looking forward to bringing even more unique offerings to Angels fans as we develop our partnership with T-Mobile over time.”

Angels fans can choose to rent either a Samsung Galaxy Tab or the 4G T-Mobile G-Slate. Rentals come equipped with a “quick start” guide and a simplified content experience as a result of T-Mobile’s partnership with Zinio and MobiTV.

About T-Mobile USA, Inc.

Based in Bellevue, Wash., T-Mobile USA, Inc. is the U.S. wireless operation of Deutsche Telekom AG. By the end of the first quarter of 2011, approximately 128 million mobile customers were served by the mobile communication segments of the Deutsche Telekom group — 33.6 million by T-Mobile USA — all via a common technology platform based on GSM and UMTS and additionally HSPA+/HSPA+42. T-Mobile USA’s innovative wireless products and services help empower people to connect to those who matter most. Multiple independent research studies continue to rank T-Mobile USA among the highest in numerous regions throughout the U.S. in wireless customer care and call quality. For more information, please visit https://www.T-Mobile.com. T-Mobile is a federally registered trademark of Deutsche Telekom AG. For further information on Deutsche Telekom, please visit www.telekom.de/investor-relations.

Via: Phandroid