T-Mobile USA hopes to become the No. 3 U.S. carrier by 2015, surpassing Sprint Nextel (NYSE:S).
In an interview with Financial Times Deutschland, T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm said he expects to achieve the goal through organic growth. At the end of the third quarter Sprint counted 48.8 million total subscribers and T-Mobile had 33.8 million.
T-Mobile recently unveiled a turnaround plan to return to growth and increase revenue. The strategy is largely based around leveraging T-Mobile's HSPA+ network as well as introducing cheaper smartphones and tablets.
To that end, T-Mobile officially unveiled its latest flagship smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, which can reach theoretical peak data speeds of up to 21 Mbps. The phone, another variant of Samsung's Galaxy S line, will run version 2.2 of Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android platform and will feature a front-facing camera with video chatting powered by Skype's Qik, a 1 GHz processor, 4-inch Super AMOLED screen and a 5-megapixel camera with the ability to record 720p HD video. The phone, which will come pre-loaded with the film "Inception," will be available in February; T-Mobile did not give a price for the phone.
Additionally, the carrier offered some more information about its forthcoming tablet, the LG G-Slate, which will run version 3.0 of Android, dubbed Honeycomb, which is specifically designed for tablets. The G-Slate features an Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor, an 8.9-inch display with built-in support for 3D graphics, a rear-facing stereoscopic video recorder with 1080p for HD video capture and a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash. The tablet will be available this spring; T-Mobile did not offer pricing. T-Mobile also said that its Dell Streak 7 tablet is now available for $200 with a two-year contract and after a $50 mail-in rebate.
Finally, T-Mobile added eight new HSPA+ markets in Albany, Augusta, Columbus and Macon, Ga.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Champaign, Ill.; Lansing, Mich.; and Rochester, Minn.
For more:
- see this Dow Jones Newswires article
- see this Galaxy S 4G release
- see this G-Slate release
- see this enterprise plan release
- see this TMoNews post
- see this commentary on T-Mobile's enterprise plan
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