T-Mobile won't deny its customers the best. With the AT&T merger in doubt over antitrust concerns, and what appears to be the increasing likelihood that the carrier will not offer iPhone 5 come October when its other large competitors likely will, T-Mobile needs to offer some truly innovative smartphone.
The carrier is showing the best comes to those wait. Its Samsung Galaxy S II variant may be the last to come to these shores, but it is by far most powerful of the three that were launched for Sprint, AT&T and T-Mobile.
When Betanews was up in New York City last month for the unveiling of the device, T-Mobile curiously placed its S2 under glass and wouldn't let the media handle it for themselves. We now know why: the phone's specs exceeds any of its siblings.
While AT&T and Sprint S2 models have 1.2GHz dual-core processors, T-Mobile's version sports a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S3 processor. You really can't compare T-Mobile's data to Sprint's due to the differences between WiMax and GSM, but comparing it to AT&T's model is fairer: here T-Mobile's S2 maxes out at a top speed of 42Mbps versus 21Mbps for the AT&T variant.
T-Mobile is publicly claiming its field tests in four major markets showed the devices (the HTC Amaze 4G included) averaged download speeds of 8Mbps and peak speeds approaching 20Mbps. That performance would put these near the top of the fastest phones available on the market today, not only for the speed of the hardware but also data throughput as well.
T-Mobile is also enabling NFC on the device, allowing it to take advantage of the growing support for the technology for mobile payments. The carrier itself is part of a mobile payments effort called Isis, although it has been repeatedly delayed since its initial debut in late 2010, and is not expected to be live until next year.
Like the HTC Amaze, T-Mobile's Galaxy S II will also be available October 10 for an online presale, and October 12 in stores. T-Mobile says the phone will cost $279.99 with a two-year contract, but will come with a $50 mail-in rebate bringing the price down to $229.99. It's pricier than the AT&T and Sprint models, which go for $199.99 but without rebate. But they don't have that screaming Snapdragon processor.
Here's the specs we got from T-Mobile:
Size: 5.11 inches x 2.71 inches x 0.37 inches
Weight: 4.77 ounces
Battery: Rechargeable 1850 mAh lithium-ion battery
Processor: Qualcomm® Snapdragon S3 Processor with 1.5 GHz dual-core CPUs
OS: Android 2.3.5 Gingerbread
Outputs: DLNA, HDMI output (MHL adaptor required)
Memory
Internal storage: 16 GB
External storage: Micro SD Memory card slot (up to 32 GB)
RAM: 1 GB
Connectivity
4G: Up to 42 Mbps download speed
Wi-Fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n
Bluetooth® 3.0
Cameras
1080p HD video capture and sharing
8 MP rear-facing camera with flash, 2 MP front-facing camera
Display: 4.52" Super AMOLED Plus WVGA touch screen
800-by-480-pixel resolution
Photo Credit: Ed Oswald