T-Mobile, the fourth-largest wireless carrier, officially offered the iPhone for the first time Friday.

It is being publicized partially on the offer that T-Mobile is making with its customers in order to help the customers and rebuild the T-Mobile brand.

Customers can pay off the phone in two years with $20 monthly payments and $99 upfront.

The strategy "could resonate with customers," Walt Piecyk, an analyst with BTIG LLC, said this week in a research note. At about $99, the upfront costs for an iPhone 5 through T-Mobile are lower than the $199 typically charged by rivals like Verizon or AT&T.

"Our goal is to give customers the lowest out-of-pocket cost of anyone in the industry," T-Mobile CEO John Legere said when he announced the iPhone plan in March. "We'll see how the competition responds. I don't think the math is going to work out for them."

Glenn Shuman, 47, was the first person in line this morning at the T-Mobile store at 55th Street and Third Avenue in New York. He was buying two iPhones, one for his wife and the other for his 18-year-old daughter, according to Bloomberg.

 "I'm happy with T-Mobile, and now with the iPhone, I'm doubly excited," he told the newspaper. A T-Mobile customer for six years, Shuman said he has been pleased with the company's customer service and prices. "I've looked at the Verizon and AT&T plans, and they are a little more expensive."

Here is an iPhone 5 T-Mobile price breakdown, reported by slashgear.com.

"1. On-contract from non-T-Mobile carriers: $199 with subsidy costs built-in to your data/voice/text plan (you can't see it, but it's there).

2. Off-contract straight from Apple: $649 (we'll stick to the 16GB version since T-Mobile is advertising that model as their hero with $99.99 down and so forth)

3. T-Mobile payment plan: $579.99 ($99.99 down with $20 per month for 24 months)."