T-Mobile is ready to re-position the T-Mobile G-Slate as one of the best tablets on the market given its recent price drop. According to this internal document T-Mobile is claiming that they have received “legal approval” to “definitively” state that the G-Slate is more than “2x faster than the iPad2 on AT&T and Verizon, and over 3x faster than the Motorola Xoom.”
Except there is a catch because there is always a catch. These speed claims are based on T-Mobile’s 4G HSPA+ 42Mbps network, AT&T’s HSPA+ network and Verizon’s 3G network. Two things stick out right now. The first is that the G-Slate doesn’t take full advantage of the 42Mbps HSPA+ speed since the device is limited to 14.4Mbps. The second notable comparison here is that T-Mobile is taking advantage of the as of yet updated to 4G LTE Motorola Xoom. While Motorola has stated the update to 4G LTE has been delayed slightly for the Xoom, what will T-Mobile claim when the update arrives and the Xoom beats the pants off the G-Slate?
Marketing based on a technicality is something T-Mobile shouldn’t strive for, instead they should continue to focus on the strength of the network and say “hey Verizon, our HSPA+ network is larger than your LTE network and we have more than 3 phones that work on it.” Emphasizing lower costs and the 4G footprint will go a lot farther for T-Mobile when the day arrives that the Xoom has 4G and runs circles around the G-Slate. Just a thought because what do I know about marketing.
