Rumor: T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy Note 2 to come lacking 4G LTE speeds

With the Galaxy Note 2 unveiled and confirmed for a U.S. release over the next couple of months, the race is now on what carrier will be getting the “phablet” first and for the lowest price.

That is of course if and only if all five differently branded versions of the Galaxy Note 2 will come with the exact same set of features. The “compatibility” issues between LTE and the Exynos quad-core platform are rumored to have been solved, so the 4412 CPU seems like a certain for all models of the Note 2.

Well, yes and no, because there still is one little spec we’re certain not all “phablets” will include. We’re talking about the 4G LTE connectivity option, unavailable yet from T-Mobile. Magenta will only be kicking off its LTE network next year.It looks like the nation’s fourth largest carrier won’t be making its version of the Note 2 LTE-capable. At all. Meaning that, even if the network will be up and running by, say, mid-2013, the second-gen Samsung phablet will be stuck to HSPA+. Which is pretty decent, don’t get us wrong, but it’s not as “flashy” as 4G LTE. And most times people aren’t patient enough to look for speed tests and such, relying only on hard facts.

Now this is far from official news, so it should be taken with caution and slight mistrust, but seeing as it comes from a pretty trustworthy source, it’s highly reliable.

Unfortunately, the “internal” leaked screen reveals nothing about pricing and availability, while the rest of the specs listed there fit with all the other versions of the Note 2. Those include a 1.6GHz quad-core CPU, a 5.5-inch HD Super AMOLED Plus, a 3,100mAh battery, and Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean.