T-Mobile is an interesting position. The company continues to hint at their efforts to make their network iPhone compatible, but at the same time must directly compete with other carriers who have the iPhone.
Solution? Come up with an ad campaign that blasts the carrier more than it does Apple’s device and imply that Apple’s device, or any device for that matter, would be faster on your network.
The new campaign offer users the ability to pit the speed of Apple’s iPhone 4S on any network (Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint) against the Samsung Galaxy S II on T-Mobile’s network. To the layman the trouncing of Apple’s iPhone in every test could constitute proof of the SII’s superiority and and the superiority of T-Mobile's 4G network. However, to the knowledgeable gadget owner T-Mobile’s tests are incredibly disingenuous.
In order for T-Mobile’s test to be fair they would have to test the 4G Galaxy S II against another 4G capable phone operating on either AT&T’s, Verizon’s, or Sprint’s 4G networks. The iPhone itself isn’t a true 4G device and only earns the “4G” status on AT&Ts faux-4G HSPA+ network. While the download speeds are faster than EVDO Rev A, it still pales in comparison to LTE 4G networks.
Despite the sly marketing tactics, T-Mobile is careful in the direction of it’s comparison’s. They want to emphasize how fast their network is, not how much better the Galaxy S II than the iPhone (although it is inferred anyway). Expect more ads like the one above until T-Mobile can tout an iPhone of their own later this year.
Source: BGR, T-Mobile
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