Verizon to Launch First 4G Phone in Mid-2011

Verizon said it will sell a smartphone that runs on its super-fast fourth-generation network as soon as mid-2011, six months earlier than the company had said before.
The Basking Ridge, N.J.-based company said the new device, which could arrive three to six months after the carrier launches 4G service known as Long Term Evolution, will be able to send data up to 10 times faster than current networks. The company expects to begin rolling out the service by the end of the year.

It will be some time before full coverage is available, so the new handset will feature dual chipsets to be compatible with both LTE and Verizon's existing cellular technology.

"Very likely, we initially won't have a single, integrated chip," said Anthony Melone, Verizon's chief technology officer.

Rival Sprint already sells 4G service in some markets on a competing technology known as WiMax through a partnership with Clearwire. Last month, the carrier said it plans to release its first 4G handset as early as this summer, as part of a turnaround effort to win back subscribers.

AT&T and T-Mobile are still planning their 4G networks.

Source: Mobilmedia

BlackBerry Slider Spotted in the Wild

The BlackBerry (NSDQ: RIMM) slider of which we’ve been hearing whispers has made its first public appearance in these two blurry, but telling pictures. As you can see, it’s got a trackpad, a Bold-style fretted keypad, navigation keys in a unified, and a single-button style for the navigation keys much like the Storm2.

If we’re to take the specs that were leaked out earlier at face value, this slider should have OS 6.0, Wi-Fi n, have a 360 x 480 screen (possibly a SurePress touchscreen), and run on GSM networks. If it does, indeed, have both a trackpad and touchscreen, it will make for an interesting combination for a BlackBerry, but not entirely unfamiliar in the grand scheme of manufacturers. The prototype of the apparently-discontinued Magnum opted for a touchscreen without a trackpad, which could have also worked, but for fine cursor manipulation, the finger isn’t ideal.

I might take this opportunity to toot my own horn a bit for calling a BlackBerry slider at WES ‘09, although that was really based on sheer logical might rather than any kind of insider information. Personally, I think a slider makes good sense for RIM. Ever since the Storm, they’ve been experimenting with new form factors, and so far, the Pearl Flip is the only one to really make a stab at the feature phone crowd. Even if all of the specs under the hood are ho-hum, your average consumer will be more interested in how it feels and looks, rather than counting than comparing RAM or processor speed. It’ll be interesting to see if it does, indeed, pack OS 6.0, but so long as it has Wi-Fi, 3G, and GPS in there, the slider should do just fine.

Another pic of the device closed after the jump… Videos and more pics are on the way, apparently, so stay tuned!

By Simon Sage on Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010 at 7:37 AM PST



In BlackBerry, Rumors