AT&T will be on par with the leader in wireless high-speed data next week when it fully flips the switch on its 4G LTE infrastructure.
On that date, the Samsung Galaxy S II Skyrocket and the HTC Vivid will be released, being the first AT&T-powered devices to be powered by the next-gen mobile standard.
The Skyrocket has Android 2.3.5 and sports a 4.5-inch display. It runs on a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and packs in an 8-megapixel camera. The Vivid’s specs are similar with the exception of a slightly less powerful 1.2 GHz dual-core processor.
Verizon is currently the champion of LTE. It waited to enter the 4G game, which gave it a tactical advantage because it was able to latch onto the superior technology after Sprint had already locked into Wimax and AT&T/T-Mobile set up HSPA+ networks, easily making Verizon the leader in 4G speeds.
Now, it seems everyone else is advancing their existing 4G networks to LTE as well. In addition to AT&T, Sprint is also abandoning its prior infrastructure and moving exclusively to the LTE standard.
The move to LTE is also an important step as AT&T continues to rebuild its brand since the loss of iPhone exclusivity was a shot in the foot.
