We just spent a tick talking with
Verizon Wireless' Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer Tony Melone (shown speaking) after the company's LTE roundtable here at
CTIA, and while we've
heard a lot through the
grapevine recently, we wanted to set a few things straight for ourselves. For starters, VZW affirmed that data-centric devices would be splashing down on its commercial LTE network first, possibly as early as the end of this year. When we asked specifically what kinds of devices he meant, he stated that "aircards, USB data sticks and
MiFi-type devices" would be first out of the chunnel, with smartphones being "about a quarter behind." Naturally, we asked why there would be a delay, and he stated that getting a smartphone onto a new network is more difficult than a simple data-only product; there are obvious voice-related issues to work through that aren't present when you're only sucking down torrents, and it'll take some time before full-on phones join the fray. He assured us the earlier data-only device launches wouldn't be "a public trial," and he noted that a conservative estimate as to when we'd see LTE phones on Verizon would be "the first half of 2011." Though, he did confess that folks would likely be pushing for earlier ship dates, and we may see a few phones drop closer to January than July if all the stars align.
posted March 24th 2010 3:42PM
... and technology marches forward!
@DaHarder
I look forward to the distant future when LTE phones won't be the size of my shoe and have a battery life longer than a couple of phone calls.
What do you mean my EVO will only be fresh for 6 months?!
I wish I could have that kind of future-proof guarantee...
@HerbieDerb
In the world of mobile tech, the best model in 3 months becomes a has been within another 3 months, 6 if you're lucky. This time next year, I bet you the Evo will be what the original HTC Touch HD is now and eclipsed by several or more powerful devices come 2011.
Good, Sprint needs a running start. I like underdogs.
While this is totally off topic, where the hell is a Verizon Nexus One announcement!
@RevisionZero
Thank you, it was supposed to be avaliable by tomorrow last time we heard something about it.
@RevisionZero
seriously, if it comes out today, maybe 3 months ahead of the EVO, then i'm on board. if they wait, that gives sprint time to recruit me with stuff like "our 4g plans with the EVO will cost the same as 3g!" and "the EVO is just $200!" and "hey, your town just got added to the 4g list for this year!"
@dantzig
Sprint has better plans and better phones. It's really simple. You'll do yourself a favor waiting a little longer for the EVO which I am almost certain will be competitively priced.
@Slvrgun
sprint, as of this moment doesnt have one better phone than verizon available for purchase, although I do admit the EVO is certainly a beast.
Based on that sweet stage and the dude in the jeans I'm thinking this panel is going to be the one to unveil the Incredible!
@GatorCoder
You are so right on about that! Was thinking the same thing. Funny sh8!
If they launched the Incredible from there i don't think i could buy it on principle!
Nobody CARES.. Bring out the INCREDIBLE NOW!
So it Verizon's "media event" tomorrow?
Hmm, in this picture, Tony Melone vaguely resembles Hitler.
@codemaker I thought it was him at first look...
The other panelists look super bored, except for that first guy from the right. The second guy from the right looks almost like he is looking at the first guy like, "what are you so happy about?".
So, what about the data caps? With all of this newfound data throughput enhancement, we'll be able to hit those caps, what, 2-3 times faster?
So not only do we have to wait for them to leave the Chunnel, we then will have to wait for them to ship from either the UK or France? LAME!
Good news - fast network coming soon
Bad news - come next year, I will end up feeling like an ass if I buy a new 3G slowphone (smartphone) this year.