T-Mobile unveils Samsung Galaxy S II, HTC Amaze 4G

T-Mobile USA today showed off what are likely to be its flagship phones for the rest of the year: Samsung Electronics' Galaxy S II and HTC's Amaze 4G.

Both phones will be available on October 12, with the Amaze 4G selling for $259.99 and the Galaxy S II selling for $229.99, with both prices coming after a $50 rebate and a two-year contract.

The two smartphones are the first to run on T-Mobile's newly upgraded network, which the company says is faster than most consumers' home Internet connection. While T-Mobile lacks the spectrum to build a true 4G LTE network, it has instead put its resources behind an upgraded version of HSPA technology that delivers a higher connection speed.

Because of the faster connection, T-Mobile calls its network 4G, putting it on the same level--marketing-wise--as Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel. Cole Brodman, chief marketing officer of T-Mobile, said the phones should be able to average speeds at around 8 megabits per second, and peak speeds of 20 megabits per second--faster than the standard home DSL or cable connection.

T-Mobile has been aggressively cutting prices and putting out a number of affordable handsets in an effort to revitalize customer growth. The carrier is the fourth-largest player in the country and has dealt with several quarters of subscriber losses, partly due to the lack of eye-catching handsets, but also as a result of uncertainty caused by AT&T's planned takeover of the company.

In the second quarter, T-Mobile lost 50,000 net customers, largely due to the loss of 281,000 net contract subscribers, seen in the industry as the most lucrative segment.

Brodman, however, remained upbeat about T-Mobile's prospects.

"There's no better time to be a T-Mobile customer," he said in an interview with CNET today.

He said 75 percent of its device sales are now smartphones, and nearly a third of its base of customers use smartphones now.