T-Mobile pans lack of 4G in Apple iPhone; more evidence of Android apps for RIM PlayBook

T-Mobile attacks iPhone 4 as 'a 3G phone'

"True story," a new advertisement from T-Mobile reads. "Despite the '4,' both the Verizon and AT&T iPhones run on 3G networks."

The sales pitch and accompanying graphics were noted Monday by Engadget. It displays the AT&T and Verizon networks as slower turtles, while T-Mobile's 3G network is represented by a rabbit.

T-Mobile's numbers come from a third-party speed comparison of networks in New York City and Atlanta. For the campaign, T-Mobile is pushing its lineup of so-called "4G" handsets, including the Galaxy S 4G, myTouch 4G, and Dell Streak 7.

T-Mobile's decision to portray its network as "4G" has been the subject of controversy, as it is technically built on "3G" technology. However, the carrier has argued that its HSPA+ network operates at "today's 4G speeds."

Verizon launched its proper 4G long-term evolution network in limited markets late last year, while AT&T plans to launch its own LTE network later this year. Because LTE networks utilize different technologies than today's standards, a new iPhone with a 4G-capable internal radio from Apple would be required to access those new networks.

RIM representative says PlayBook will run Android apps

Adding even more evidence to the rumor that RIM's forthcoming touchscreen tablet, the PlayBook, will run Google Android applications is a video discovered by CrackBerry.com. In a hands-on demo done at the recent Mobile World Congress expo in Barcelona, a RIM representative is heard as saying "We will also support Android apps" (see 14 second mark of embedded video below).

The discovery lends support to rumors that RIM plans to add support for Android 2.x applications to the PlayBook. Though the PlayBook will run its own custom QNX operating system, reports have suggested that RIM will emulate Google's open source Android operating system to support the more than 100,000 applications available for it.

Software options for users have become a major selling point for tablets, as Apple's iPad has mounted a considerable lead with more than 60,000 iPad-specific applications available as of late January. The iPad can also run almost all iPhone applications in a scaled-up format, while early Android tablets like the Galaxy Tab ran applications not designed for its larger screen and form factor.