T-Mobile’s merry prankster of a CEO John Legere is up to his old tricks again.
Any chief executive who would buzz his competitor’s headquarters with a skywritten taunt, or become a Las Vegas Lyft driver for a CES video, certainly couldn’t let the first day of April pass without some fake news.
Past April Fool’s efforts included the faux launches of wrap-around headgear for hands-free handset viewing, and a full-body wearable called the T-Mobile ONEsie, both of which served to underscore the company’s unlimited streaming and data plans.
This go around, the magenta carrier introduced the almost believable “Phone BoothE,” a soundproof “vertical vestibule” accessible only to T-Mobile customers that offers sanctuary from the blaring sounds of the city. The full-size cubes, which were supposedly placed in New York, Washington and Seattle over the weekend, provide power cords for worry-free charging, a large display screen for video chats and selfies, and a little bit of quiet time in the midst of the urban jungle.
Based on the strong response, the company said it has also released a personal version of the phone booth, a “portable fortress of solitude” that is essentially a box worn over the head.
Like past pranks, the spoof brought tongue-in-cheek attention to T-Mo matters — in this case, the so-called Un-Carrier’s history of disruptive innovations, and, via the “E” after Booth, AT&T’s widely criticized 5G Evolution technology, which is displayed on phones as “5Ge” but reportedly delivers far less than 5G speeds.