Samsung Galaxy S3 On T-Mobile Won't Be Compatible With Its Upcoming LTE Network [REPORT]

Technology website CNET came up with a report Monday, in which it claimed that a T-Mobile spokesperson confirmed to it that though all U.S.-bound models of the Galaxy S3 feature the same LTE radio, the T-Mobile variant will miss out on the carrier's forthcoming LTE network.

The Samsung Galaxy SIII won't run on T-Mobile's LTE network in the future, but we will continue to operate our HSPA+ 42 network when we launch LTE in 2013, the anonymous T-Mobile spokesperson confirmed to CNET in an e-mail.

The device is the same across carriers, but [the phones] are optimized to work on each carrier's specific network.

According to CNET, it's T-Mobile's AWS spectrum, which has to be blamed for this fault as AT&T and Verizon use bands in the 700MHz spectrum for their LTE, something that T-Mobile won't do.

The report, however, did mention that while LTE promises superior speeds, T-Mobile's HSPA+ 42 should not be underestimated by potential buyers, with independent tester RootMetrics claiming it to be faster than Sprint's 4G WiMax.

CNET reported that during a speed test on the Galaxy S3 in the San Francisco Bay Area, T-Mobile's data speeds peaked at about 16.5Mbps.

During another speed test of the T-Mobile variant conducted by folks at The Verge, speeds weren't quite at LTE levels, but they were still impressive - download speeds average about 9.5Mbps and uploading speeds at about 1.3Mbps.

Although there's a slight dip in speed with T-Mobile's Galaxy S3, there's a very nice upside too. The Verge report said that on its Battery Test, which cycles through a series of 100 websites and high-res images with the screen's brightness set at 65 percent, the T-Mobile variant of the Galaxy S3 lasted six hours and 50 minutes, nearly 50 percent longer than the AT&T variant with a super-fast LTE connection.

It's worth mentioning here that T-Mobile's Galaxy S3 is the most expensive variant costing $279.99 with a two-year agreement for the 16GB Galaxy S3, while other carriers are selling the same model at $199.99 with contract agreements.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 in the U.S. features Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor, while the international models come with the Quad-core Exynos 4 chipset including the Korea-bound version, which features the 4G LTE support.

Other key features of the U.S. variants of the Galaxy S3 include a 4.8-inch HD Super AMOLED display, surrounded by an ultra-thin bezel to maximize the viewing area of the handset; Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, 2GB of RAM, an 8MP Rear-facing camera, a 1.9MP Front-facing camera and a 2100 mAh battery.

From the connectivity part, the Galaxy S3 comes with NFC, Bluetooth 4.0, DLNA, WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n and MHL Video Out. It weighs 4.7 ounces (133.24 grams) and is 8.6 millimeters thin.

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