The giant phone that has been referred to as a “phablet” (phone + tablet) may soon have two homes.
It is being rumored that Samsung’s Galaxy Note is being primed for a launch on the T-Mobile network. It is currently exclusive to AT&T.
First, sources pointed to a new Wi-Fi certification for a device that seemed to be the Galaxy Note – it’s unique enough in design that just a brief description could give it away – and then pictures of a Galaxy Note with T-Mobile branding surfaced earlier this week.
If the pictures a PhotoShop hack, they did a pretty good job because there are many minute details that point to it being legitimate.
The pictures show specific T-Mobile apps on the phone, as well as technical settings that show it is running on the magenta-colored carrier. Oh, and one very interesting note – it appears to be running Android 4.0, Ice Cream Sandwich.
This is interesting news because Android phones really don’t like to cross carriers. Almost every major Android handset has remained exclusive to one service provider.
There have been some exceptions, but that’s been the rule. The iPhone, meanwhile, is now available on three of the four major networks, giving it a huge distinguishing advantage.
It’s no secret that Samsung wants to create the iPhone or Androids, and part of doing that would no doubt require cross-carrier support. So we’ll see what happens.
