Behold the next generation of Galaxy S phones, flowing hard and fast on T-Mobile’s 4G network, these lovely machines work with mobile HD TV, come stocked with the movie INCEPTION, and have a cute 4-inch super AMOLED touch screen display. What other secrets lie in wait? Not just a whole lot more. But you know what? It’s gonna be a pretty solid phone nonetheless – and from a carrier we know to be amongst the most reliable (unless you know different?), T-Mobile. It’s the next level of outer-space, this time speedier.
What we’re most interested in on this particular handset is the fact that it comes stocked with Inception. Did the phone itself not seem like it’d be a big enough sell? Or did the folks at the PR firm for Warner Bros offer Samsung a deal they couldn’t refuse? Also note the date these phones have been released – the morning of Honeycomb’s official coming out party. Did Samsung want their news to be crushed before it had a chance to see the light of day, or were they aiming to get it out before Android 2.2 Froyo was completely extinct?
Take a peek at the full press release below and stay tuned for additional details!
Galaxy S 4G from T-Mobile to Offer Blazing-Fast Speeds and Unparalleled Entertainment Experience Featuring Movies, TV and Video Chat
T-Mobile expands America’s Largest 4G Network to eight new
metropolitan areas in South and Midwest
BELLEVUE, Wash., and DALLAS — Feb. 2, 2011 — T-Mobile USA, Inc. and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile), the No. 1 mobile phone provider in the U.S. 1, today announced the anticipated February availability of the Galaxy S™ 4G, exclusively from T-Mobile. According to T-Mobile, the Galaxy S 4G will be the fastest smartphone running on America’s Largest 4G Network™2. The Galaxy S 4G, T-Mobile’s first smartphone capable of delivering theoretical peak download speeds of up to 21 Mbps, offers enhanced mobile experiences and unparalleled entertainment including mobile HD TV3 through T-Mobile TV, the ACADEMY AWARD® Nominated film INCEPTION, and T-Mobile Video Chat powered by Qik™ — delivered at 4G speeds on its 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display.
T-Mobile also announced the expansion of America’s largest 4G network into more than 100 major metropolitan areas, reaching more than 200 million people nationwide. In addition to expanding its 4G footprint, T-Mobile also has aggressive plans to double the speed of its 4G network in 2011, and the company expects that 140 million Americans in 25 major metropolitan areas will have access to these increased 4G speeds by midyear.
“The Galaxy S 4G pushes the envelope by reaping the benefits of our network’s unprecedented speeds and by offering groundbreaking entertainment experiences,” said Andrew Sherrard, senior vice president, product management, T-Mobile USA. “We are excited to continue to expand our portfolio of 4G devices that enable our customers to have access to unique and compelling features and an optimal 4G experience.”
“The Galaxy S 4G offers customers Samsung’s core premium product investments to speed, screen and content,” said Omar Khan, chief strategy officer, Samsung Mobile. “Galaxy S 4G is T-Mobile’s fastest smartphone and offers Samsung’s brilliant Super AMOLED display and rich multimedia features for premium movie and TV content.”
Through the delivery of faster speeds comes an enhanced experience when viewing video entertainment over the Web using services such as YouTube. In addition T-Mobile TV, a preloaded application, offers consumers access to live and on-demand mobile HD TV on T-Mobile’s 4G network, including free programming from select stations like ABC News NOW, FOX Sports, PBS Kids and Azteca America.
To further enhance the entertainment package on the Galaxy S 4G, T-Mobile has preloaded, at no additional cost to consumers, Warner Bros. Pictures’ ACADEMY AWARD® Nominated film INCEPTION which is nominated for Best Picture, Best Writing (Original Screenplay), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Music (Original Score), Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects. Customers also have the option to rent or purchase their favorite movies and TV programs directly from the Samsung Media Hub, which features a robust collection of new releases and TV shows.
The Galaxy S 4G’s blazing-fast speeds will make sharing memories via e-mail, social networks or video quick and easy. For example, the preloaded T-Mobile Video Chat application powered by Qik enables customers to share any moment with loved ones virtually whenever and wherever they want through T-Mobile’s network or Wi-Fi. Using either the front-facing or the rear camera, which features a 720p HD camcorder, paired with Video Chat allows customers to hold video conversations with friends and family who have a compatible mobile device.
Featured as a pre-installed application, doubleTwist® with AirSync™ provides customers with a useful and easy way to auto-sync and back up photos, HD videos and music to and from their home computer. With a Wi-Fi connection, customers can easily sync their media wirelessly and at no additional cost. The doubleTwist Player lets customers enjoy their favorite tunes and videos directly from their phone while on the go. The Galaxy S 4G also comes preloaded with Slacker Radio, offering music fans more than 130 genre stations and ability to create their own custom stations for free.
With a slim and sleek design, the Galaxy S 4G’s 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display gives customers a vivid, sharp viewing experience, whether consumers choose to watch a movie or read a book or newspaper with the preloaded Kindle for Android application while on the go. Powered by Android™ 2.2, the Galaxy S 4G is equipped with a speedy Samsung 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application Processor, an ST-Ericsson M5720 HSPA+ 4G modem to enable theoretical peak downloads of up to 21 Mbps, a 5 megapixel camera, a pre-installed 16GB microSD memory card, and a 1650 mAh lithium ion battery.
Availability
The Galaxy S 4G is expected to be available to T-Mobile customers in February. Customers can visit http://galaxy-s.t-mobile.com/4G for more information.
Beginning today, T-Mobile’s network will also be delivering 4G speeds to Albany, Augusta, Columbus and Macon, Ga., and Chattanooga, Tenn., in the South region as well as in Champaign, Ill.; Lansing, Mich.; and Rochester, Minn., in the Midwest.
I would like to see the later Galaxy S devices in the summer have the Samsung dual-core Orion chip. THEN Samsung would finally have made an impressive device. BUT i doubt it will be ready by then.
The original T-Mobile Galaxy S phone, the Vibrant, came pre-installed with the movie Avatar, so it’s not surprising that this one comes with a blockbuster movie installed. The Galaxy S phones, with the exception of the Nexus S, are amazing media-playback devices. There’s not a file or format (mp4, avi, mkv, etc) that you can’t throw at the phones – Samsung’s included the codecs for just about anything. Also, you just can’t find a better display in terms of contrast and color. Gorgeous.
The original Vibrant, and the original Galaxy S i9000s were sold as, and heavily marketed as media players, more so than phones.
That said, other than the 4G, this appears to be just another old Vibrant. The same form factor (too thin, slippery), and probably all the same internals, which still make a top notch device, but the upgrades the SGS line in the Nexus S (curved glass, more solid build, INCREDIBLE battery life) would have been a nice addition.
Bottom line for me is T-Mobile’s service. I own both a Nexus One and Nexus S on T-Mobile (and an iPhone 4 and Galaxy S i9000 on AT&T) so I can compare the service. I’m in Los Angeles suburbs and the service just isn’t good. Outdoors it’s fine, but go inside any kind of large building (the gym, the grocery store) more than 30′ from the exterior walls and you have no service. All the 4G goodness won’t do me any good if I can’t get a signal. AT&T blows away T-Mobile in coverage, building penetration, sound quality, and pushes a pretty decent HSPA signal.