With its back against the wall, T-Mobile has decided to shake up the mobile market by putting an end to subsidized smartphones. All four major U.S. carriers offer smartphones at a subsidized price, but customers must agree to long contracts which prohibit them from upgrading their devices. T-Mobile believes ditching the subsidy model favored by AT&T, Sprint and Verizon will appeal to customers who are tired of the restrictions. Chief Executive John Legere said under the new model customers will be able to freely upgrade their devices by trading them in.

Legere did not say when the carrier plans to rollout its new policy, but promised the Apple experience would be "dramatically different" for T-Mobile customers. T-Mobile also managed to avoid agreeing to the same $15.5 billion iPhone deal Sprint signed up for last year, and the move will help T-Mobile cut back on upfront costs.

Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and Napster cofounder Sean Parker met for an interesting conversation at the Spotify press event in New York City on Thursday. Spotify CEO Daniel Ek's announcement that Metallica would be joining the music streaming service was followed by an interview with Parker, who is a Spotify board member, and the outspoken Ulrich. The two talked about their legal feud and long history. You can watch the entire Spotify event below, or skip to the Parker/Ulrich Q&A at the 36:00 mark.

Spotify also announced a few new features including a Follow tab which allows users to get music recommendations from friends, artists, influencers and media in real time. The all-new Discover tab uses social tools with content from Pitchfork, Songkick Tunigo and more to continually seek out the most relevant content for you.

The page includes:

· New single and album releases from the artists you follow

· All the music and playlists shared by influencers you follow

· Intelligent recommendations based on your listening history including music, reviews, and concerts

Google has been on an app updating tear lately, with revamped versions of Gmail, Google Voice and YouTube all hitting the app store within the past week or so. Shopper is the latest Google app to receive a major overhaul. One of the highlights of the update to version 3.0 is a redesigned interface with faster navigation and larger images.

New features include the capability to discover sales and limited time special offers in your local area, right on a special section for sales. Shopper also gets push notifications, to keep you up to date on new features and content available in the app. With GoodGuide product ratings, Shopper also helps you find the best product, not just the lowest price.

As expected, Deutsche Telekom has announced its U.S. subsidiary T-Mobile will be carrying the iPhone in 2013. The telecommunications company tweeted the news on Thursday:

$DTEGY T-Mobile USA has entered into an agreement with #Apple #dtcmd $AAPL

— Deutsche Telekom IR (@DT_IR) December 6, 2012

Merrill Lynch's Scott Craig accurately predicted the deal last week when he told investors "speculation is heightening" that Deutsche Telekom and Apple will enter into an agreement. The deal gives Apple access to 98% of the U.S. post-paid market, and analysts are predicting T-Mobile will sell around 4 million iPhones next year.

Google has been busy launching iOS apps lately. The stand-alone YouTube application received full iPad and iPhone 5 optimization for the first time yesterday. Now Gmail users can rejoice that Google has completely redesigned the official iOS Gmail application.

Not only did the app get a new icon and a slick user interface update, but several new features have been added to make life easier for Gmail fans. Multiple account support makes it possible to quickly switch between up to 5 different Google accounts. Search predictions are entered as you type, and iPhone 5 optimization means mail is displayed using the entire screen.