T-Mobile has long been one of the leading carriers in the United States for phones sporting Google’s Android operating system. In fact, it was T-Mobile that carried the very first Android phone — ever. It is perhaps no surprise then that the company recently unveiled a cutting-edge 4G phone powered by Android and manufactured by Samsung.
The phone, called the Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G, is another in a long line of Samsung Galaxy S devices carried by T-Mobile and its competitors. The company originally carried the Samsung Vibrant, which featured 3G connectivity, and later introduced the Galaxy S 4G. That device used the company’s HSPA+ network to deliver speeds of up to 14.4 megabits per second.
The Galaxy S Blaze 4G from T-Mobile is the company’s first Galaxy S device to take advantage of the company’s growing HSPA+ 42 network. Users of this new phone can expect download speeds of up to 42 megabits per second, though speeds will vary based on local coverage, customer load per cell phone tower, and signal strength. That makes it on par with leading 4G LTE smartphones from competitors like AT&T and Verizon.
More than Just a 4G Smartphone
The Samsung Galaxy S Blaze 4G is wickedly fast for users with HSPA+ 42 coverage, but this phone isn’t just impressive in the category of data transmission. Indeed, Samsung has packed it full of industry-leading features that Galaxy S users have become accustomed to.
The first is a Super AMOLED screen which is entirely touch-based. This screen is known to display some of the richest and most vibrant colors of any smartphone on the market. It’s backed up by a powerful 1.5GHz Snapdragon S3 processor that assures applications, visual animations, and other niceties will display smoothly and with ease on this beautiful mobile display.
As with most recent Android phones, the Galaxy S Blaze 4G ships with a 3.5mm headphone jack for easy music listening, an expandable microSD slot which can support up to 32GB of flash memory, Bluetooth 2.1 technology, FM radio capability, and built-in GPS for use with navigation apps and social media tools.
Beyond those technical specifications, the company has been mum on just what other features the phone will ship with. However, the company is positioning it as one of their flagship high-end phones, so it’s likely that there are still quite a few surprises in store for T-Mobile’s Android fanatics.
Drawbacks of the Galaxy S Blaze 4G
Unfortunately, the Galaxy S Blaze 4G ships with an outdated version of Android. This has been a particular problem with Samsung’s Galaxy S line of cell phones since the company unveiled a Samsung Vibrant that was outdated from the moment it hit the market.
Compounding this problem is the fact that Samsung tends to be legendarily slow in releasing software updates. And the latest version of Android — nicknamed Ice Cream Sandwich and versioned 3.0 — is an entirely redesigned operating system that would likely revolutionize the phone’s functions and appeal for most users on the network.
Its likely that Samsung and T-Mobile will commit to rolling out an update for the device sometime after its official launch this year. But, with that kind of uncertainty, many more demanding users will likely leave the phone sitting on store shelves.
A Solid Update to the Galaxy S Line
Despite its outdated operating system, the Galaxy S Blaze 4G is still a solid new Android device for the network that brought the operating system to prominence. Its use of HSPA+ 42 technology ensures that it is is among the fastest phones on any wireless carrier, and its fast processor will ensure that those fast data speeds aren’t held back by a slow operating system.
With the right software update, this could easily be one of the most desirable Android cell phones on T-Mobile’s network.