Sprint to Release 4G Phone by Summer
Even though millions of people don't have phones that can take advantage of the current state of the art 3G cell phone networks, carriers and manufacturers alike are already looking to the next generation, the 4G phone. Sprint has officially announced that it will be offering a 4G phone by this summer.
The term 4G refers to the next generation of cell phone networks that can handle data even faster than current 3G networks. Sprint claims its 4G network is 10 times faster. Sprint has been one of the first networks to roll out 4G coverage, and has been doing so since 2008. However, Sprint has only offered USB modems and PC cards that can use the 4G signal to access the Internet, no phones.
Sprint told Forbes that their first 4G phone will be coming before the middle of this year, sooner than expected. A specific model wasn't mentioned, but early indications point toward the HTC Supersonic, an unconfirmed Android phone that has been rumored for weeks to be intended for Sprint's 4G network.
The network, called WiMax, is being built with the help of Clearwire Corp., a wireless Internet service provider. Sprint has rolled-out WiMax to 27 markets in the country though, curiously, many of the most metropolitan areas have yet to get it. Boston, New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C. will have to wait until the end of year to get WiMax 4G coverage. The good news is that by then, residents will probably have even more 4G capable phone to choose from.
