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"4G" Verizon Wireless LTE: No iPhone... no phones at all
Verizon Wireless switches on LTE; the not-quite-4G network is for now in just 38 cities for USB modems only, not for phones -- especially not a Verizon iPhone.
Verizon Wireless will switch on its so-called "4G" Long Term Evolution (LTE) network Sunday. But despite all the wishful thinking, there's no Verizon LTE iPhone in the pipeline -- no 4G phones at all, in fact. In IT Blogwatch, bloggers feel the need for speed.
Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention The Joy of Stats...
(VZ)
Matt Hamblen reports:
What's less clear is when actual smartphones will be sold by Verizon that are ready for advertised LTE download speeds of 5Mbit/sec. to 12 Mbit/sec. ... The emergence of LTE smartphones will be important for Verizon's early success with LTE.
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Verizon seems more focused on laptop-centric business users in its marketing. ... The first [USB] modem to be sold by Verizon will be an LG VL600, selling for $99.99 after a $50 rebate and a two-year ... plan that runs $50 for 5GB of data per month and $80 for 10GB monthly. ... Any overage will cost $10 per 1GB.
Can you get it? David Sarno knows:
Verizon Wireless said Wednesday that it would turn on its 4G wireless network Sunday in 38 U.S. cities ... major markets such as Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Washington and Boston.
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It will only reach about one-third of the U.S. ... Potential buyers [can] check [Verizon's] website Sunday to see if their home or office areas will get a 4G signal.
Harry McCracken's not liking the USB modem idea:
What I really want is a 4G MiFi mobile router that I can use with a laptop, an iPad, a smartphone, and any other Wi-Fi device. ... Hope that it arrives before too longand that theres a way for me to upgrade from my 3G MiFi without spending a fortune.
Glenn Fleishman explains some background:
Verizon's commitment to CDMA left it without a reasonable path to future higher speeds in 3G. ... That leaves Verizon stuck at about 3 Mbps downstream with EVDO Rev. A ... while AT&T and T-Mobile complete rolling out HSPA (7.2) and HSPA+ (21 Mbps), respectively.
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[There are] three other advantages of LTE: capacity, coverage, and latency. ... And Verizon clearly wanted the worldwide advantage of converging on GSM.
Mark Spoonauer's been trying out the USB modem:
Holy cow. ... So far Verizons 4G LTE is pretty mind-blowing. ... Were getting a sizzling 7 to 11.5 Mbps. ... Sprint 4G is getting 2.8 to 2.9 Mbps down in the same location. ... Whoa.
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We need to test in more locations ... but these numbers are pretty staggering. ... Verizons 4G LTE is living up to the hypeand then some.
Richi Jenningsis an independent analyst/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and security. A cross-functional IT geek since 1985, you can follow him as @richi on Twitter, pretend to be richij's friend on Facebook, or just use good old email: itbw@richij.com.
