Vodafone announced its plans to release Germany’s first LTE smartphone, called the HTC Velocity, slated to hit store shelves in Germany. The new HTC offering will use the 4G network only for data services as Voice over LTE has not yet been implemented. Besides that, the Velocity carries Android 2.3 Gingerbread and is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core CPU.
Other noteworthy specs include:
- 1.5 GHz dual-core processor
- Support for quadband GSM/GPRS/EDGE, dualband UMTS/HSDPA/HSUPA at 900/2100 MHz as well as dualband LTE at 800/2600 MHz
- Bluetooth 3.0, WiFi b/g/n and a GPS
- 4.5-inch qHD touchscreen
- 8 megapixel auto-focus 1080p HD camera on the back
- Front-facing 1.3 megapixel camera
- 1 GB RAM
- 16 GB flash memory expanded with microSD memory cards up to 32 GB
- 1620 mAh battery
There were 2,000 base stations added in Germany that is suppose to power up more than 8.5 million households with LTE service. But a large part of these base stations only reside in rural areas where Vodafone LTE in the 800 MHz frequency space lies, as this provides large areas and many users as possible with a DSL replacement.
So with a 4G network finally ready to go, the HTC Velocity is a pretty good beginning. That said, a price or launch date hasn’t been announced, but Vodafone Germany, HTC and Qualcomm will hold a press conference next week, which will more than likely reveal even more details on the country’s first LTE handset official.
[via Computerwoche]