T-Mobile USA introduced its Samsung Galaxy S 4G, an Android 2.2-based smartphone the carrier says will offer peak download speeds of 21Mbps. While few other details were provided, the device will likely feature a 4.3-inch AMOLED (active matrix organic LED) screen and dual cameras, as do others in the Galaxy S line.

At a press event in New York City, T-Mobile CEO Philipp Humm promised the Galaxy S 4G "will be the fastest smartphone running on America's largest 4G network" when it appears later this year. Specifically, he claimed the Galaxy S 4G could reach peak download speeds of 21Mbps, which would make data-hungry applications that serve video and gaming quite zippy.

During his presentation, Humm showed an image of the Galaxy S 4G (right), but full hardware details weren't provided. Presumably, however, the device will be similar to others in Samsung's Galaxy S line: Featuring a 1GHz processor and a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED (active matrix organic LED) screen, more than ten million units have already been sold worldwide.

Humm said T-Mobile hoped to unleash twenty-five 4G devices in 2011. These include the Galaxy S 4G, the Vibrant 4G, which includes full HSPA+ (Evolved High-Speed Packet Access) connectivity (up to 21M bps), the Dell Streak 7 tablet-phone hybrid, and the T-Mobile G-Slate, based on the Android 3.0 operating system tailored for tablets.

T-Mobile expects these devices to be fueled by its faster HSPA+42 (42MB per second) network, which will be available to 140 million Americans in 25 cities by midyear.

The Samsung Galaxy S 4G and other devices will launch amid heady competition from Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint, all of whom made their own 4G handset noise earlier this month.

Verizon's Samsung 4G LTE is yet another Galaxy S variant
(Click to enlarge)

Verizon, for example, touted its own Samsung 4G LTE phone (above), likely very similar to the model now being promised by T-Mobile. The carrier said at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show it expects to have ten 4G LTE (Long-Term Evolution) devices available by midyear, including the Motorola Droid Bionic and HTC Thunderbolt smartphones, plus the Motorola Xoom tablet.

AT&T pledged to deliver more than twenty 4G devices this year, though its LTE network won't be ready until the end of 2011. To prepare for that speedy platform, Motorola introduced the Atrix 4G smartphone for AT&T at CES. HTC will offer the Inspire 4G and Samsung the Infuse 4G on AT&T.

On Jan. 10, Sprint — which already sells the HTC Evo 4G and Samsung Epic 4G handsets — released the HTC Evo Shift 4G, an Android 2.2 device geared for Sprint's 4G WiMAX network.

Availability

T-Mobile declined to announce a launch date and pricing for the Samsung Galaxy S 4G, though the company's 4G plans start at $10 per month for 200MB.

Clint Boulton is a writer for eWEEK.

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