Good morning, folks! We’re here at the T-Mobile press conference at CES 2011 readying for what team pink (fuchsia?) has to say. We’re looking forward to getting a glimpse into T-Mobile’s network plans – namely boosting its HSPA+ speeds up to 42Mbps this year – and perhaps even a few 4G tablets.
Be sure to stay tuned and follow along as we cover this event live and bring you the news as it happens!
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10:53
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Good morning, folks! We’re waiting to get started here as everyone gets seated. |
10:53
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10:54
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Listening to a bit of Michael Jackson. Not a bad way to start the morning. It’s very pink in here. |
10:54
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10:55
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Some of the things we’re looking forward to hearing about this morning are more 4G devices – including tablets – and T-Mobile’s HSPA+ plans. |
10:55
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10:56
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I’m hearing the carrier is planning to boost up to 42Mbps (theoretical top speed) some time this year. Wicked, eh? |
10:56
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10:59
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Still waiting to get started |
10:59
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10:59
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Apparently there was a chemical spill on a major road here in Las Vegas and caused traffic back-ups. |
10:59
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11:03
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The house is getting full. Hopefully we’ll get started very soon. |
11:03
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11:05
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Looks like we’re finally getting started! |
11:05
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11:05
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Although it seems T-Mobile is having some technical difficulties. |
11:05
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11:07
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And we’re getting started. |
11:07
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11:08
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T-Mobile CEL Philipp Humm is on stage talking about the LG tablet the carrier will be launching. |
11:08
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11:08
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The T-Mobile G Slate by LG with Honeycomb |
11:08
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11:10
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200 million folks covered by T-Mobile’s “4G” network |
11:10
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11:11
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Pictures coming, folks. Data in here is slow as molasses. |
11:11
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11:11
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T-Mobile says it has the fastest data in the top 100 markets in the U.S. by an unnamed firm/source. |
11:11
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11:12
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900,000 4G devices sold |
11:12
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11:12
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Today T-Mobile will definitely talk its evolving data speeds and its 4G line-up |
11:12
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11:13
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“81% of all Americans want smartphones.” |
11:13
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11:13
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“31% have smartphones.” |
11:13
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11:13
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T-Mobile wants to offer affordable smartphones and tablets. |
11:13
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11:14
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T-Mobile is also pushing aggressive plans and pricing. |
11:14
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11:14
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$10/month data plan (limited usage, of cousre) |
11:14
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11:15
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“T-mobile customers want to socialize, shop, find each other and more.” |
11:15
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11:15
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“Data has increased over 300% in the past year.” |
11:15
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11:16
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T-Mobile is focusing on embracing its “challenger status” and “break with industry conventions.” |
11:16
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11:16
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“We treat customers like real people, not just like numbers.” |
11:16
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11:17
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“We’re very focused on fueling the wireless data revolution.” |
11:17
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11:18
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Nevill Ray, T-Mobile CTO, has taken the stage. |
11:18
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11:18
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Doesn’t look like images are loading, folks. Sorry for the technical issue. |
11:18
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11:19
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On stage “America’s largest 4G network is 160% bigger than Verizon’s 4G LTE network.” |
11:19
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11:19
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OK |
11:19
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11:20
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“We’ve been rapidly rolling out our 4G this year and have exceeded Clear WiMax” |
11:20
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11:20
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“T-Mobile US has north of 70% of its traffic on ethernet backhaul.” |
11:20
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11:21
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“AT&T is on catch-up mode throughout the rest of 2011.” |
11:21
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11:21
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Hearing “4G” applied to HSPA+, LTE and WiMax still makes me cringe a little… |
11:21
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11:22
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“HSPA and HSPA+ is a dominant global technology, not just today, but for the next 5 years.” |
11:22
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11:23
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“LTE is a very new technology, so it’s going to take time.” |
11:23
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11:23
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In 2011, T-Mobile will boost its network speeds to a peak rate of 42Mbps, up double from 21Mbps where it is today. |
11:23
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11:24
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In real world, we’ll probably be seeing somewhere around half or just under half of those actual speeds. |
11:24
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11:24
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HSPA+ Advanced can get up to 672Mbps theoretical speeds. |
11:24
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11:25
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Or the technology as described when it was lobbied to the ITU to qualify as a true 4G technology |
11:25
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11:25
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So, next up is 42Mbps. |
11:25
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11:27
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We’re now going to see a little demo for HSPA+ 42Mbps |
11:27
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11:27
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Between HSPA+ and Verizon LTE, the difference are small. 8-10Mbps. |
11:27
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11:27
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Clear WiMax is way down there at 3-4Mbps |
11:27
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11:28
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HSPA+ advanced is what we also heard about earlier referred to as “Long Term HSPA Evolution” |
11:28
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11:28
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Right here in the room, we’ll see 42Mbps. I wonder when it will launch officially. |
11:28
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11:29
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Looks like we’re seeing 27.5Mbps on average, live, right now. |
11:29
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11:29
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Of course, it’s serving just the room. |
11:29
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11:29
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The signal and data is stable, but again T-Mobile set it up to cover this room perfectly. |
11:29
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11:30
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Still, to see 12-15Mbps real world would be great, right? |
11:30
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11:30
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“What does this mean for consumers?” |
11:30
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11:30
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Multimedia downloads and streaming |
11:30
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11:31
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They’re now downloading a full music album |
11:31
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11:31
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Not too shabby. Each song in the album is taking about 6-8 seconds to download. |
11:31
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11:32
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OK, maybe a shade longer. Some songs are taking about 10-12 seconds. Still, not bad when you’re on the road and downloading wirelessly. |
11:32
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11:32
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Now we’re seeing a game up and running. |
11:32
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11:33
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Racing against online gamers. Doesn’t look like there is any lag or bad latency. |
11:33
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11:34
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Crashed and burned. |
11:34
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11:34
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11:34
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11:34
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Oh look, that image decided to finally load up. |
11:34
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11:35
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“There will be no 4G premiums from T-Mobile.” |
11:35
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11:35
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Let’s remember those words, folks. |
11:35
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11:35
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11:35
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11:36
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And here’s the G Slate we saw a little earlier. |
11:36
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11:36
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11:36
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11:36
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Look at those crazy data speeds! |
11:36
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11:37
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Cole Brodman, T-Mobile CMO, is now on stage. |
11:37
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11:37
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Largest 4G network at the smallest price |
11:37
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11:38
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4G data prices starting at $10 |
11:38
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11:38
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11:38
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11:39
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Now we’re talking tablets |
11:39
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11:39
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“We expect tablets to really explode in 2011.” |
11:39
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11:40
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11:40
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11:40
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Lots of tablets slated for this year, folks |
11:40
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11:40
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John Thode from Dell is now on stage |
11:40
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11:41
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First 4G tablet partner is Dell. The Dell Streak 7! |
11:41
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11:41
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11:41
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11:42
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The Dell Streak 7 was announced this morning |
11:42
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11:42
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“It’s the ultimate experience in multimedia.” |
11:42
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11:42
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11:42
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11:42
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“We think of this as your stuff. Your stuff presented your way.” |
11:42
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11:42
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11:42
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11:43
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Looks pretty small. Maybe about the size of the Galaxy Tab. |
11:43
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11:43
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“Under a pound. You don’t have to worry about its weight. It’s portable.” |
11:43
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11:43
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It has an NVIDIA dual core processor |
11:43
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11:44
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11:44
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11:45
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It’s so lightweight that he’s sideways. |
11:45
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11:46
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Specs are coming! |
11:46
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11:46
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7″, so bigger than the original Streak |
11:46
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11:46
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11:46
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11:46
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Here you go |
11:46
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11:46
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Tegra 2 processor, WiFi sharing up to 5 devices, video chat, etc. |
11:46
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11:46
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And it looks like we’re wrapping up soon… |
11:46
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11:47
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Thanks again for joining me folks! Stay tuned for more soon! |
11:47
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11:47
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Ciao |
11:47
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11:47
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Oh wait |
11:47
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11:48
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One more thing |
11:48
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11:48
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The T-Mobile commercial gal is here |
11:48
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11:48
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11:48
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11:48
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11:48
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11:49
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She’s using a myTouch 4G as her personal phone |
11:49
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11:50
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11:50
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11:50
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See ya folks! |
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About The Author
Marc Flores
Marc has been a mobile fanatic for the better part of a decade and has had more devices pass through his hands than he would care to count. Originally from Los Angeles and briefly in San Francisco, Marc now lives in Brooklyn where, unlike Will Park, he longs for simpler times and simpler technology. All the while, he writes about gadgets and wireless technology as he tinkers, hacks and ultimately breaks most of his gadgets in the process.
Marc has written about the mobile industry for Boy Genius Report, MobileCrunch, Laptop Magazine and has had his work appear in the Wall Street Journal, Gizmodo, CrunchGear and more.
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