Sprint launched its 4G network early this year to a lot of fanfare. T-Mobile launched its one kind of under the radar. AT&T won’t be ready until later into 2011. So when it comes to 4G at CES, Verizon will be the one that shines.
We first heard rumblings that Motorola would be part of Verizon’s 4G keynote and immediately expected there would be some kind of 4G Droid phone.
Now we’re hearing that HTC and Samsung may be joining the fray as well. There has been a new leaked photo of an HTC phone rumored to be called the Incredible HD, which is tailored for Verizon’s next-generation network.
Additionally, Samsung has had experience with the kind of technology Verizon will be using and remains one of the biggest manufacturers of mobile phones for virtually every major carrier around the world. So the hype is that it will be on hand with Verizon as well.
This is not only the launch of Verizon’s 4G network, it is the first real big test of the Long Term Evolution network standard. LTE is what Verizon is using for its next-gen mobile spectrum, unlike the HSPA+ standard T-Mobile is using and the WiMax technology implored by Sprint’s 4G network. It’s a bit of a format war to determine which carrier can provide the largest-scale, most dependable and most powerful mobile data network around.
In other words, the 4G battle is just beginning. Game on!
