Verizon to offer 'up to' five LTE handsets by next May, Android tablets from HTC and friends
By Chris Ziegler 
posted May 17th 2010 5:43PM
posted May 17th 2010 5:43PM
Turning our attention to Verizon's recent tablet hullabaloo, McAdam says that although "there's no reason [the company] couldn't have an iPad," the first tablets it offers will be Android-based -- yes, "tablets" plural -- and that most of them will launch in the fourth from companies "including Motorola, Samsung and LG." Interestingly, this dovetails rather conveniently with an NVIDIA-powered Motorola tablet with Verizon branding that was briefly (and quietly) shown off at CES this January, so we wouldn't be surprised if that was the unit we ended up getting. None of these devices might end up with the iPad's name recognition, obviously, but an LTE-powered Android tablet with HTC's good design sense certainly can't hurt.
OH God...Motorola isn't dead yet? Will their tablets have locked bootloader like the Milestone too? Making it even less functional than an iPad? And only smartphones have access to Android Marketplace...does that mean Motorola and Verizon are launching their own app ecosystem? ...
@kapanak
Still, competition is always good, and I look forward to a Nvidia Tegra 2 powered tablet...
@kapanak
oh man pop some android 2.2 froyo action on there and you got one bad ass tablet i would buy
@kapanak Locked doesn't make it less functional, just less customizable. All of these companies are trying to duplicate the App store as it's a huge revenue stream. We are the 1% who want to be able to install anything (even shit)on our tablets/phones/whatever. I'm all for open systems but I'm not going to buy an open piece of crap when I can buy an excellent tablet that I can easily (and freely) get a hack for.
@kapanak
I don't get it, does no one realize Sprint uses VZ towers for voice roaming (which is free). So, you get VZ service (granted, no data) for Sprint's $70 a month everything plan. Am I the only one that has figured this out? Or am I totally wrong?
@lelander
Yup, I get it.
@bullshitexpresscom
Hold on, that is my arguement...with Motorola...you CANNOT get a hack for it...Milestone is completely locked...there is no way to root or customize it in any possible way...So is every other Motorola consumer product, with the exception of the Droid, due to possible pressures from Google...I have much hope in the product Verizon will sell as a tablet...but if it is restricted to Verizon, and is not sold elsewhere, how prosperous do you think the app store would be?
And Motorola isn't exactly best known for supporting its products...
@lelander
Not sure what voice roaming has to do with this article. The big advantage of LTE is speed, meaning data. Verizon already dominates US voice and data coverage. Have to give them props for wanting to stay at the top by deploying LTE as soon as they are.
@lelander You are right, but what is you the point you are making? That Sprint's voice network is technically as big as VZ's bc they have free roaming ? Doesn't VZ do the same thing with Sprint's towers? Att does the same with TMobile and vise versa. That's why you see those "ATT has 97% coverage" commercials, eventhough they are intentionally misleading consumers into thinking that the coverage applies to 3G. If actually never been anywhere, with a population of over 500, where I have been voice-roaming on Sprint's network.
@lelander
Good luck getting your phone to switch over though. I've been through that nightmare before. The companies try their hardest not to let your phone switch over to those other networks.
Nice indeed, just in time for my upgrade.
@palomosan YES! mine too! If there's already rumors of a 1.3ghz phone imagin next year.
Can you imagine an HTC tablet running Android 2.2 with Sense UI? I sure as hell can!!
Too late, the EVO looks better now than "up to 5 by next may"...
@masta vaan wow, you're comparing apples and oranges man. Why does every single post on engadget have to be accompanied by a "pssshhh EVO is here next month who cares" post? They're reporting on LTE launching next year, this has nothing to do with an EVO 4G. It's a fantastic piece of hardware but make your posts relevant to the article please
@masta vaan What about the people who aren't on sprint and can't use sprint's 4G even if they were. Sprint has horrible coverage where I live. I'm on T-Mobile and cannot wait for a GSM version of the Evo.
@masta vaan What about the fact that when these handsets launch, the evo will be old news? What are you gonna say then?
"Oh these blow the evo out of the water spec-wise, but it's been out a year so it wins"
@WilliamNighthawk HTC HD2, hardware wise is pretty much the same except the cameras and 4G
@dachiefmizzy and Android. My last two phones have been Windows Mobile; I hate using the same thing over and over again, it gets boring.
@masta vaan
I'm not comparing apples to oranges. This is both new about 4G, and Sprint got lucky enough to release it first, so technically, it's network for 4G is better. As for Lte devices being better, they will, but the next generation of Evo will be as good or better.
Lets hope that one of those 5 is the next (or 3rd Gen :D ) Bad-Ass Palm webOS device that will be 4G compatible... Tablet or SuperPhone (Palm Prime anyone?)
twitter.com/mrkalel
Why not just make a remote monitor for phones instead of a stand-only tablet devices?
That's what I want. I've already got a smartphone with a data plan and I bet most tablet customers do too. I'd rather have a dumb monitor that could sync wirelessly to my phone instead of a separate device that requires another data plan and can't tether. A tablet-style monitor should be smaller, lighter and cheaper too.
Who's with me?
@ECH I agree. It's redundant to have a phone with web access and another data plan for a tablet. This is why I laughed at my iPhone & 3G iPad buddy. He doesn't carry the iPad everywhere and when he does, AT&T's coverage is spotty with it flipping from 3G to Edge every so often. He's not playing some multiplayer games online so not sure why he needs 3G when you can easily tether the iPhone and iPad with MyWi or access the internet from his phone. Redundancy.
so once this happens what will happen to the incredible and Droid? Will they still support them? They are great phones and I have yet to read an article stating if they will still be supported.
@angermeans
Worse case scenario...root it and let the community support it...
@kapanak yeah your right I just wonder how these great phones will work in less than a year since they run on a technology that Verizon and sprint are not going to be using. Seems silly to get into a two year contract with a phone that wont even run LTE in a year. I want a incredible but I need to know this first
@angermeans
Oh, but even a year from now, only less than 5 handsets will support their new standard...don't worry, CMDA 2000 is here to stay for a bit longer...I'd say the last of the CMDA networks will die in 5 years...Telus and Bell have begun the reconstruction in Canada as we speak, and they say they'll drop all CMDA by 2013...
Damn, good thing I only got a year contract on my Incredible
Hmm, I guess Verizon better continue putting out commercials making fun of AT&T, to deviate attention from the fact that Sprint and EVO are kicking their ass in the 4G race. "Next May"... *ahem*
@shishi
The ball is in Sprint's court, they need a few well placed tv spots to show what the EVO can do, and how well it can do it.
@shishi, no one is asking the question, what happened to those 30 LTE markets Verizon said they would have by years end? The real issue is, Verizon has run into a major problem, their existing infrastructure is not compatible with the lower band LTE. Verizon needs the 2Ghz band, current they only have 700Mhz. This is history repeating itself, When Sprint first went CDMA, Verizon had no choice but to follow.
O goodies I'd buy an awesome android tablet later this year if it had LTE
Anybody hear about the early upgrade promotion Verizon is gonna do from May 20th to the end of June?
http://www.googleandblog.com/verizon-makes-it-easy-to-get-an-incredible/31701/
@Kamil R
I was actually gonna submit a tip to engadget once I was off of work.
Basically if you are on a main line may 20th-june 30th you can have a 1 time upgrade regardless of where you are in your contract. it does extend your contract 2 yrs (doesnt allow for 1 yr upgrade) and your upgrade date 20months from date of purchase as well. (1yr if enrolled in my verizon and are one a higher tier plan) Also you can not alternate the upgrade to other lines on the account.
I was going to call HTC the Taiwanese version of Apple (beautiful, innovative products), but HTC does a lot of things better (and a few things worse) than Apple. Kudos to you, HTC.
You say this assuming sense UI would work well on a tablet form factor. I'm not so sure, honestly.
Can we get a new LTE logo
@Xoy seriously... that lte logo is horrendous
Froyo tablet with better specs and lower price (compared to iPad) sounds like a win to me.
Yes, these devices are going to be awesome! Their names: Ghost, Phantom, Shadow, Specter and Wraith
Of course Sprint has the EVO today with 4G and a 11month head start. It's very likely, with the speed of HTC's product cycles that we'll be seeing EVO-2, or whatever they call it, in one year. It will only be one year between the launch of the Palm Pre to the EVO.
I think Verizon is concerned about not making any noise about 4G with Sprint having their network up, growing and with multiple devices (Overdrive, data cards) plus the EVO.
I'll take more 4G & EVO now, please.
I'll take real 4G over Sprint's glorified WiFi "4G" please.
@cherryboom I was referring to the phones, not the tablets. And Chrome and Android are certainly destined for convergence in the not too distant future.
@Elranzer even AT&T seems to be having some second thoughts about LTE, otherwise why would they have made their big HPSA+ announcement yesterday? http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/20100518/with-hspa-network-upgrade-att-buys-time-for-lte/
whats the markets there going in?
That is a long lonesome time for Sprint and the EVO.
@Tohe
my thoughts exaxtly. It's crazy to see VZW and ATT playing catch-up to Sprint. I like it!
@benchase7
Yeah, Sprint is a WHOPPING 13% ahead of the game. Ahead but not by much.
http://newsreleases.sprint.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=127149&p=irol-newsArticle_newsroom&ID=1426178
I just have a question, will verizon's LTE network use sim cards, i really like the network, but i also travel back home every year, and where i am from all the networks use sim cards and i'd rather not buy a new phone all the time....Thanks, and i am sorry if this is not relevant to this discussion.
@Rimz007
It should eventually use sim cards, but the first round of devices will likely be CDMA voice (no sim card) and LTE data (sim card).
@Rimz007
Maybe, maybe not Verizon could go the route of using sim cards but dont have to. Or they could go the route of some prepaid phone companies and solder the simcard to the phone making it impossible to remove.
@ramifications
Actually, I will wager that the majority of devices offered by that time will utilize CSIM's. The network should be ready by the EOY. It's just a matter of device manufactures implementing the tech.