Although every Samsung Galaxy S3 GSM handset coming to the good old US of A is packing the same 4G LTE radio, if you are pondering on whether to pick up the Galaxy S3 on T-Mobile, you might like to know that if you do, you wont be able to play nice on T-Mobile’s upcoming LTE network, something that might be a bit of a deal breaker for some.
According to the guys over at Ubergizmo by way of an article over on Cnet, a spokesperson for T-Mobile has confirmed that despite their version of the Samsung Galaxy S3 sporting the same LTE radio, it will be incompatible with the carrier’s future LTE network.
Apparently the spokesperson says the latest Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone from Samsung wont play nice on their LTE network, however the smartphone will continue to operate on T-Mobile’s HSPA+ 42 network once they launch LTE in 2013.
The reason for the T-Mobile SGS3 not playing nice on their LTE network is due to T-Mobile’s AWS spectrum, whereas both Verizon and AT&T use 700MHz spectrum bands for LTE, and apparently adding support for T-Mobile’s LTE network would mean adding extra bands in the LTE radio.
A spokesperson for Sammy has stated that the Samsung Galaxy S3 is the same across all carriers, but the handsets are optimised to work on each carrier’s particular network.
Apparently one shouldn’t underestimate the speed of T-Mobile’s HSPA+ 42, as independent tester RootMetrics says that HSPA+ 42 is faster when compared with Sprint’s 4G WiMAX network.
Furthermore, if pricing is a factor when considering which US GSM carrier to opt for with the Samsung Galaxy S3, the T-Mobile version comes in a tad more expensive than the AT&T SGS3, with the 16GB Galaxy S3 on T-Mobile commanding $279.99, and if you want the 32GB model it costs an extra 50-bucks, whilst the AT&T 16GB SGS3 costs $199.99, although if you want a 32GB model AT&T doesn’t offer that capacity.
So does the Samsung Galaxy S3 on T-Mobile not being able to play nice on T-Mobile’s future LTE network put you off going with T-Mobile?
