Verizon unveils 10 4G devices with aggressive LTE expansion

Alongside an arsenal of ten new 4G capable devices, Verizon confirmed today that it is bringing the world’s first large-scale 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network to the Triangle this year.

 

LTE is significantly faster than Verizon Wireless and other wireless providers’ current 3G offerings with real world speeds of 5-12 megabits per second (Mbps) on the downlink and 2-5 Mbps on the uplink with 30 milliseconds latency. These are speeds that rival residential wired broadband Internet.

 

The 700 MHz spectrum used for LTE is also noted for better penetration through buildings.

 

The availability of a 4G LTE wireless network in Raleigh is part of the company’s aggressive expansion of its network into 140 additional markets in 2011.  Last year, the world’s first large-scale launch of LTE began in 38 major metropolitan areas and in more than 60 commercial airports coast to coast. 

 

Verizon Wireless says its 4G LTE in the Raleigh area will provide LTE coverage throughout Cary, Durham, Apex, Clayton, Morrisville, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Gorman, Wake Forest, Rolesville, Knightdale, Wendell, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Garner and Smithfield.

 

Verizon also unveiled a suite of 4G LTE devices including 4 smartphones, 2 tablets, 2 notebooks, a MiFi and a wireless hotspot device. 

 

During a webcast press conference, Marni Walden, vice president and chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless, said, “For consumers, our 4G LTE network isn’t about simply doing things faster.  It’s about doing things we couldn’t do before.  In the consumer electronics arena, it’s not just about devices.  It’s about those powerful devices with deeply integrated applications and how our 4G LTE network truly transforms the wireless experience with rich multimedia and real-time response intervals.”

 

The 4G LTE devices available from Verizon Wireless by the middle of 2011 include:

 

• HTC ThunderBolt (exclusive to Verizon Wireless) – HTC Sense 2.0, Skype mobile™ with video, 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 4.3” WVGA display, Dolby surround sound, 8-megapixel camera and HD video recording, wireless DLNA capability. 

 

• LG Revolution – HD support for streaming, playing and recording video, large 4.3-inch touch screen, Android™ 2.2, video telephony support with front-facing camera and mobile hotspot capability to share a 4G connection with up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

 

• DROID Bionic 4G – Android with Adobe® Flash® and HTML5, front-facing VGA camera and See What I See video feature, rear-facing 8-megapixel camera, 4.3-inch HD quality screen, HDMI connectivity, dual-core 1GHz processor, 512 DDR2 RAM. 

 

• Samsung 4G LTE Smartphone – Android 2.2, Google Mobile services, including Google Search™, Google Maps™ and Gmail™, YouTube™, brilliant 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus touch screen display, powerful 1GHz application processor, HTML5 Web browser, rear-facing 8-megapixel camera with LED flash and front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera to support video chat capabilities, Samsung Social Hub and Media Hub.

 

• Motorola XOOM – 10.1-inch HD 4G LTE upgradable tablet, Android™ Honeycomb, 1080p HD video, Adobe® Flash® Player, front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video chats and 5-megapixel camera to capture video in 720P HD.  Mobile hotspot capability provides connection for up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices. 

 

• 4G LTE-enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab™ – 7-inch enhanced TFT display with 1024 x 600 WSVGA resolution, Android 2.2, Adobe® Flash® 10.1, 1.2GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird application processor, rear-facing 5-megapixel camera and front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera and camcorder enable video chat capabilities.

 

MiFi and Mobile Hotspot

• Novatel MiFi® 4510L Intelligent Mobile Hotspot – Small enough to fit in the palm of the hand, share Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE and 3G networks with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices.   

 

• Samsung 4G LTE Mobile Hotspot – Dual-mode device works as a wireless access point to connect up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices to Verizon Wireless’ 4G LTE or 3G networks. 

 

• Compaq CQ10-688nr – 10.1-inch diagonal anti-glare widescreen LED display, Intel® Atom N455 processor, up to 8.5 hours of battery life, multi-format digital media card reader, webcam and multiple connectivity options. 

 

• HP Pavilion dm1-3010nr – 11.6-inches, HP CoolSense Technology, HD 1080p, VISION Technology from AMD, up to 10.75 hours of battery life, 320 GB of storage, full-size, island-style keyboard, multi-format digital media card reader, HDMI port, Dolby Advanced Audio and GPS for mapping and navigation.