4G in the house! … and the car, office, park …
While the rise of 4G networks was a major story of 2010, CES should show us some lust-worthy gadgets which can take advantage of these next-generation mobile networks. There are currently four smartphones which can utilize 4G networks in the United States (EVO 4G, Epic 4G, myTouch 4G and the T-Mobile G2) but we should see multiple phones and tablets at CES for multiple networks.
Sprint is all but guaranteed to show off the HTC Shift 4G, which is expected to have a four-row slide-out QWERTY keyboard, Android with HTC Sense and access to the WiMax 4G network. The rest of the specs aren’t known yet but it will likely be on par with devices like the EVO and we’re expecting it to be released as early as Jan. 9.
Verizon is going to make a big splash with its 4G LTE network, as the nation’s largest carrier has promised to show off half a dozen smartphones and tablets which are capable of utilizing this next-generation mobile data network. HTC should have the Android-powered Thunderbolt, Samsung is working on an Android 4G device and Motorola will also have a phone.
We were convinced that the Motorola Android Honeycomb tablet (The Xoom) would have 4G LTE support but recent reports suggest it won’t. That leaves the tablet space wide open or the company could work on some sort of 4G MiFi solution for its tablet offerings.
T-Mobile will continue to push its 4G HSPA+ network and it will likely outline the next step in its upgrade. The nation’s fourth-largest carrier will talk about its plans to upgrade to HSPA+42 and this should deliver up to 42 Mbps download speeds to users. While real-life speeds will approach half that figure, that could make it the fastest mobile data network in the United states.
The company will likely also show some tablets which can take advantage of its HSPA+ network but we’re not sure what to expect yet. Seeing another 4G smartphone also wouldn’t be bad, particularly if it nabs the LG Optimus 2X, as rumored.
AT&T has remained relatively quiet about its 4G plans but this could be a great time to give specifics about its deployment schedule, as it has previously said it will begin rolling out 4G in the middle of 2011. The second-largest carrier has just spent $1.9 billion for FloTV spectrum and this will position it well to roll out its next-gen mobile data services.