Verizon is going for a big 4G push in 2011, and so far has just been warming up with their initial deployment of the 4G LTE network and data plans for laptops. In 2011 we’ll see a lot of other kind of devices taking advantage of their network, with the most important being phones and tablets.
Verizon just tweeted this from its official Twitter account: “Jan. 6 at #CES: #Android and #LTE – could it be like peanut butter and chocolate? YUM!”. What does this mean? We can’t know exactly, but it could be either Android phones or tablets, or both.
HTC has already said that they won’t sell any 4G phones until mid 2011. LG will launch its LG Optimus 2X in January in USA, but it’s highly unlikely it will hav a 4G chip. Plus it’s unlikely it will be on Verizon anyway, since it doesn’t have a CDMA chip from what we know. What’s left is Motorola with its Olympus/Etna phone and Samsung with their upcoming Galaxy S2. We’ll see at CES, if any of these will have a 4G chip, or entirely new phones.
But also let’s not forget about Motorola’s Honeycomb (Android 2.4) tablet, which I think it would be best if it came with a $500 price for the Wi-Fi version (unlocked), and $200-$300 price for the 3G/4G version (subsidized). I don’t think people will accept a data plan on their tablets until they’re offered significant discounts on the tablets, and a decent price. A $300 price for a 4G tablet would be decent. A $200 price for it would be perfect and it would sell in droves.
But, they also shouldn’t alienate people who just want a good old Wi-Fi tablet, with no data connection, and $500 needs to be the price for it, regardless of the hardware components. If it’s any bigger, people will have a hard time comparing it with an iPad, because whether we admit it or not, the iPad is a very popular device and the mainstream population has heard of it. They won’t be easily swayed by “impressive” specs if it has a higher price than an iPad, about which they know a lot more.
Are you looking forward to a LTE phone or tablet as well?