Attention iPhone Freaks!

Photo courtesy MRBECK, CC

An announcement from T-Mobile that will make all AT&T lovers wince …

You know that one spot along Mopac where your call always gets dropped (ok more like those 15 different spots along the highway). Phone-tag inevitably ensues. Or how about the countless times you've said, "Hold on I'm going down this hill, I'll call you back if I lose you" and you always lose them. And how maddening is it that you can get coverage everywhere in Austin except for your house! Don't even get me started with the iPhone. The perfection of the iPhone which doesn't even ring half the time someone calls. What I'm trying to say is that it's no secret that Austin has terrible cell phone coverage.

Well here's to all you iPhone lovers and AT&T fanatics (I'll admit I'm an AT&T junkie too), T-Mobile has some news that might shake your unwavering love for AT&T and their holy grail of cell phones. Dun dun dun …

T-Mobile is launching it's new HSPA+ network, a 4G network that will cover 185 million people by the end of this year. Neville Ray, chief network officer for T-Mobile USA, said, "T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network now offers 4G speeds to more people than any other wireless network in the country." A 4G network means better reception, more coverage, and faster exchange of information. T-Mobile says that their 4G network will work on most 3G phones, but they will also unveil a brand spanking new 4G phone before the summer ends. This will be the rival to Sprint's HTC EVO 4G phone that also operates on a growing 4G network.

T-Mobile's 4G network is already available in a select few cities, Austin being one. Maybe Austin was on the top of the list because our city is chalk-full of gadget geeks. Or maybe it's because Austin's SXSW festival brings in thousands upon thousands of people to whom texting, tweeting, and updating Facebook is essential. AT&T even had to bring in extra cell boosters for 2010 SXSW because iPhone aficionados crashed the network at SX '09.

Whatever the reason, Austinites now face the difficulty of choosing between their beloved iPhones and a crazy fast phone that can beat that old iPhone in pulling up the latest Youtube hit. Could this new HSPA+ network be the answer to all our uploading and downloading and every-which-way-loading problems? Will this be the end of phone-tagging up and down the hills of Austin? But most importantly, will anyone be willing to give up their iPhone for an extensive 4G network?