T-Mobile at CES is a company newly transformed after the fallout and eventual termination of the unpopular AT&T purchase and merger. Starting with a new Android smartphone, the carrier has announced a new high-end smartphone in the Samsung Blaze which features HSPA+ 42 Mbps support, Snapdragon S3 dual-core processor at 1.5 GHz, and a Super AMOLED screen at 4.5 inches, with more details forthcoming.
In related news, T-Mobile’s Bobsled Facebook-based VOIP service is now making the transition to smartphones with new apps for Android and iOS via the new Bobsled Calling service, which allows free outgoing calls and text messages via internet connections in the US and Puerto Rico with group messaging and cloud sync.
Finally, T-Mobile has announced a further expansion of its 42Mbps HSPA+ overlay, with Beaumont, Longview, Midland, and Tyler, Texas; Michigan City, Indiana.; Modesto and Stockton, Calif.; Mount Vernon, Wash.; Naples and Punta Gorda, Fla.; Sandusky, Ohio; and Shreveport, La. to markets that feature HSPA+ at 42Mbps and bringing total 42Mbps coverage to 175 markets.
T-Mobile also added nine markets that feature HSPA+ at 21Mbps, bringing the total to 217 markets at 200 million people and noted that it would receive AWS mobile spectrum in 128 markets and in 12 of the top 20 markets in the country, pending regulatory approval. Going forward, T-Mobile will also refocus marketing on the lower cost of its family-oriented postpaid plans compared to the rest of the industry.
