Verizon's Future Available Now
posted Friday Aug 5, 2011 by Scott Ertz
Considering Verizon's big announcement that they will be reentering RadioShack stores, we weren't expecting to see any more information from them for a little while. Well, much to their surprise, and ours, a photo was leaked claiming to be Verizon's roadmap for the rest of the year. While this happens from time to time and often turns out to be only somewhat accurate, this one has a lot of interesting information to it, so we are hoping it is accurate.
Not surprisingly, Verizon is spending a lot of time and money on their true 4G LTE network. In evidence, out of 16 devices listed, 8 of them are full 4G LTE devices. Granted 3 of them are tablets, but that still leaves 5 new 4G handsets before the end of the year. Also, it seems that despite Google's fears, Android will play a major part in Verizon's year.
Want to know what is on the list (and what is not)? Hit the break.
Let's start with the 3 tablets. First, a 4G LTE version of the Motorola Xoom. For anyone who has interacted with the Xoom, you know you can skip this device - September 8th's disaster. Also on the list is a Samsung Galaxy Tab P8. While we don't know exactly what the device might be, we do know it is a 4G LTE tablet, assuming to be the 8.9" version of the Galaxy Tab we have been waiting to hear a release date for - now we know November. Also a new Blackberry Playbook, no details and no release date.
In the non-smartphone department, there are a couple of handsets, including 2 from Pantech (the Breakout and Jest 2), a Casio (C781), Verizon's second ZTE (Adamant) and one from LG (Crescendo). All of the handsets are direct replacements for existing Verizon phones, so little to talk about.
In the 4G LTE smartphone arena, there are a lot of new handsets. We have the Samsung Stratosphere, which is hopefully Verizon's Samsung Galaxy S 2 dual-core handset. It does say it will ship with Android 2.3. The Motorola DROID Bionic is next. There have been plenty of detail about this handset throughout its life, but the final version has yet to be revealed. Also on the 4G LTE list is the HTC Vigor, which will replace the Thunderbolt. That handset didn't seem to last as long as I expected it to, but it is difficult to try and keep up with Google's ever-changing landscape. The biggest surprise was the addition of a 4G LTE Blackberry Curve 9370. Blackberry just did their big reveals, and this handset was not a part of it. Rounding out the list is the LG Revolution 2, replacing the existing Revolution.
There are also non-4G smartphones, but we won't get into those. The last important thing to note here is the obvious lack of any Apple products. No iPhone 5 (or 4s) and no iPad 3. This could indicate what we have suspected, that Apple is not releasing a new device as quickly as they have in the past. It could also indicate that Apple was not satisfied with Verizon's roll-out of Apple's products and has not offered them new devices. Of course, it could also be that Verizon doesn't know of new hardware coming yet, either. No matter, the lack of Apple hardware on their roadmap is certainly interesting.
So, what do you think? Are there any handsets or tablets on the list you are excited to see or any you are surprised NOT to see? Tell us in the comments section below. Also, here's the full image to see for yourself.