T-Mobile: $1,000 Says Your iPhone's Slower Than Our Galaxy

T-Mobile says the Galaxy S 4G is faster than the iPhone and it’s willing to pay $1,000 to anyone who can prove it wrong.

From Friday through Sunday, the carrier is calling on Seattle-area iPhone owners to bring their handsets in to one of 10 local stores, where the device will be matched against a Galaxy S 4G in a series of three download speed tests (conducted via an application specified by T-Mobile). If the iPhone (on Verizon or AT&T, which is in the process of acquiring T-Mobile) comes out on top in two out of three speed tests, it will pay them $1,000. If it doesn’t, iPhone owners dismayed by the loss can take advantage of a trade-in offer that will give them up to $300 toward one of T-Mobile’s smartphones.

A bold challenge, and I can’t imagine T-Mobile would have issued it if it wasn’t confident the Galaxy S 4G would out-perform the iPhone (T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network does have a theoretical peak download speed of 21 Mbps). That said, while the company’s 4G network is definitely fast in downtown Seattle, I’m told it can be fairly slow outside that area (it’s definitely not the fastest network in Seattle; see chart below). Which means T-Mobile could end up actually writing a $1,000 check or two.

[Image credit: Chart by Root Metrics]

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4S7F77FDHZRPLAOLMQAA6QZGXM Seth

Sprint is the only faster network and they obviously don’t carry the iPhone so it is a pretty safe bet
Anonymous

They will beat the pants off Verizon 3G, but AT&T iPhones are 3.5G, same as T-Mobile (T-Mobile just calls it “4G”) and could make it interesting. They could beat my iPhone 100 times, though, and I wouldn’t trade it for one of the clown phones T-Mobile sells.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_JFCPSRAUXDA65HH7BVCBS37CXI Z.D.

Yep, they didn’t include Sprint.

Didin’t you read the first part of your article before you wrote the last part?
Anonymous

Here’s my plan. I have four buddies with T-mobile 4G modems. They’re going to sit outside the Seattle store, and torrent Avatar 1080p mkv file. I’ll stroll in and walk out with $1000.
http://nigeltufnel.myopenid.com/ Nigel Tufnel

“it’s definitely not the fastest network in Seattle; see chart below”

Well, according to the chart, T-Mobile seems to have the second fastest download speed, combined with the fastest upload speed. Which I think you could make a decent argument that it makes it the “fastest”.

Still, it seems like a desperate move on T-Mobile’s part, and they’re missing the point. People aren’t buying iPhones because the network is fast, they’re buying them because they’re the best overall phone.
http://profiles.google.com/nnataliah Neftali Hernandez

When you say people buy iPhones because they’re better phones, you must mean because of Apples marketing. Because lets face it, that is what Apple is best at. There is a whole crop of new phones out, and coming out that have much better specs than the Iphone.
http://twitter.com/vortec802 Dwayne Matthews

of course the Galaxy S is going to be faster its a new phone going against a phone that is going on a year out on the market..what does this “contest” prove?? nothing…. let T-Mobile brag about their “4G” (laughter) network….oh and i am a T-Mobile subscriber with a Galaxy S phone by the way….all these carriers need to stop lying about “4G” networks but that argument is for another thread…
http://twitter.com/geniusdog254 Jesse

At least Sprint & VZW have variations of true 4G networks. Both meet most of the qualifications for 4G, and are just short on the speed requirements.

AT&T & T-Mobile’s “4G” is just 3G thats eaten a few Mario shrooms and one-upped.
Anonymous

Wow, a thousand bucks is a thousand bucks!
http://www.complete-privacy.edu.tc
Anonymous

WiMAX is garbage first of all (really REALLY poor signal penetration, worse than T-Mobile 4G/HSPA+) and HSPA+ is getting a second carrier so that will open the pipes up even more.

That and Root Metrics is not all that reliable. Their maps are completely inaccurate for my city.
http://www.darnellclayton.com Darnell Clayton

Smart move T-Mobile! But unfortunately I’d rather deal with Apple’s walled garden (with timely OS updates) than Android’ fragmented market where carriers don’t release updates (even for security reasons). The same applies for WP7 phones too!

T-Mobile: $1,000 Says Your iPhone's Slower Than Our Galaxy

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