14 DAY TRIAL // Today, wireless carrier T-Mobile officially launched its 4G LTE network in the United States in seven major metropolitan areas in the country, and announced the availability of no less than five top smartphones that will provide users with access to it.
At the moment, the network is live in Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose, Calif., and Washington, D.C., and can be enjoyed on two smartphones at the company, namely Galaxy Note II and BlackBerry Z10.
“The advanced 4G LTE network is expected to reach 100 million Americans by midyear and 200 million by the end of 2013,” the company announced.
For those out of the loop, we should note that Galaxy Note II was already available at the carrier, and that it received a software update only recently to enable it to connect to the new network, and that BlackBerry Z10 went up for purchase at T-Mobile only a few hours ago.
Soon, T-Mobiles customers will also be able to enjoy the carrier’s LTE service on Samsung’s Galaxy S 4, on HTC’s One smartphone, and on Apple’s iPhone 5. Apple’s latest iPhone model will arrive on April 12, yet no details on the availability of the other two smartphones has been provided as of now.
However, rumor has it that HTC One will be released soon at $99 on contract, and that Galaxy S 4 will follow shortly (most probably on May 1, Engadget notes).
One thing that is certain, however, is that the carrier will offer an appealing deal to its customers, with all these high-end smartphones put up for sale at only $99 (though with monthly payments for the length of the contract).
“T-Mobile is deploying the latest LTE technology, paving the way to LTE Advanced. T-Mobile’s 4G LTE deployment will complement its existing nationwide 4G network — which third-party tests show rivals or beats existing LTE networks — creating what T-Mobile expects to be the fastest 4G combination in the United States,” the carrier announced.
“T-Mobile 4G LTE devices will automatically and seamlessly transition to T-Mobile’s nationwide 4G where LTE has not yet launched.” More on the carrier's latest changes can be found on this page.