CES 2011: Verizon Announces 10 4G Devices
LAS VEGAS ― Verizon announced today (Jan. 6) that 10 4G devices from various manufacturers will be available in the first half of 2011 to take advantage of the company’s rapidly growing 4G LTE network. The lineup presented at the Consumer Electronics Show consisted of four Android smartphones, two tablets, a netbook, a laptop and a pair of mobile hot-spot devices.
Verizon launched its 4G network in 38 markets just 32 days ago. The company plans to expand its 4G coverage to 140 markets by the end of this year, providing speeds of between 5 and 12 megabits per second even when the network is fully loaded, Dan Mead, Verizon Wireless CEO, said.
Verizon's Big 10 4G Devices
One of the Verizon-network devices , the LG Revolution 4G smartphone, was unveiled by Jong-Seok Park, the chief executive of LG, as his company's first 4G phone. The Revolution runs Android 2.2, acts as a mobile hot spot for as many as eight other devices, features a 4.3-inch (10.9-centimeter) touch screen and supports HD playback, streaming and recording.
The HTC Thunder Bolt was shown off by that company's CEO, Peter Chao. "It's blazin' fast," he said. It runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and Android 2.2 operating system, features HTC's Sense user interface and a 4.3-inch touch screen, and offers a shared hot spot for up to eight nearby devices. The Thunder Bolt is also DLNA-capable for streaming movies and other content from the phone to a compatible HDTV.
J.K. Shin, president of Samsung Mobile, took the stage to show off Samsung's three 4G devices for Verizon. From one pocket Shin brought out the Samsung LTE smartphone with a 4.3-inch Super Amoled Plus display ― the next generation of smartphone display technology, offering a brighter image and better visibility in direct sunlight. The phone has an 8-megapixel rear camera along with a 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera for video calling. It includes HD video recording and an integrated mobile hot spot to support as many as five devices simultaneously via Wi-Fi.
From his breast pocket, Shin revealed the company's 4G Galaxy Tab tablet , which runs on Samsung's own 1.2-gigahertz processor. After some searching, Shin found his third 4G device, a credit-card-sized mobile hot spot that can be used to give an Internet connection to the requisite five devices without a physical connection.
The other five devices were presented by Marni Walden, chief marketing officer for Samsung: an HP Pavilion dual-core HD laptop, a Compaq netbook, a 3G/4G MiFi mobile hot-spot card from Novatel, the new 4G Motorola Droid Bionic, and Motorola's 10.1-inch (25.6-centimeter) Honeycomb Xoom tablet, which is the media darling of this year's CES.
Verizon also presented announcements from two companies that will launch apps across its 4G mobile devices. First up was Skype Mobile, which said its new video-calling app will be "deeply integrated" into all of Verizon's 10 4G products. Skype contacts will be stored along with others in the address books of each device, making a video call simple with one-touch activation.
Electronic Arts said it will launch a mobile version of its Rock Band across all of the 4G devices, enabling up to four players from across the country to go head-to-head on 20 songs, including "All the Small Things" from Blink 182 and “Sabotage” by the Beastie Boys. No date was announced, but Travis Boatman, vice president for EA’s worldwide mobile studios, said it’s coming soon.
As with many of the products presented at CES, no pricing for the new devices or for 4G service plans was announced. However, Mead said consumers can expect prices they’re already accustomed to.
Currently Verizon charges $50 for 5GB and $80 per month for 10GB for its USB 4G connection devices.
