CES Device wrap-up

CES: Mobile Device Wrap-up

Posted by Sam Churchill on January 17th, 2011

The the Consumer Electronics Show last week, at least 14 new cellphones unveiled at CES, eight were 4G phones for the AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint networks,reports This Week in Consumer Electronics. Eight of those 14 3G and 4G phones sported dualfacing video cameras to enable live video chats of Wi-Fi or cellular networks or both. All 14 were Android-based. Two 4G phones and one 3G phone became the first U.S.-market models to be announced with dual-core processors.

In carrier news:

• AT&T announced plans to accelerate its 4G LTE rollout, beginning in mid-2011 and targeted year-end 2013 for the rollout to be largely complete. The carrier says its HSPA+ is currently available on almost all of its footprint and that its first two HSPA+ phones — the Motorola Atrix 4G and HTC Inspire 4G — will arrive in the first quarter. The Samsung Infuse 4G won’t arrive until the second quarter of 2011.
• T-Mobile announced that about 140 million people in 25 metro areas will get access to an HSPA+ upgrade called multicarrier HSPA, doubling peak data speeds to 42Mbps from 21Mbps and said it will launch at least 25 new “4G” devices, starting with its first 4G tablet — the Dell Streak 7, with Tegra 2 processor, expected to be available at T-Mobile stores across the country in the coming weeks and an upcoming Android Honeycomb-powered LG G-Slate
• Verizon Wireless said it would roll out 10 more 4G LTE devices in the first half to join the two USB modems it launched in December. Their 4G LTE devices, available by the middle of 2011, include: HTC ThunderBolt (1GHz Snapdragon), LG Revolution (4.3-inch screen), DROID Bionic 4G (HDMI and dual-core processor), and Samsung 4G LTE Smartphone (4.3-inch display). Their tablets will include the Motorola XOOM andSamsung Galaxy Tab
• Sprint said its 4G WiMAX network is currently available in 71 markets across the country and announced plans to launch a new BlackBerry PlayBooktablet model featuring WiMAX connectivity and the $149 HTC EVO Shift 4G, a smaller, cheaper version of the HTC EVO 4G smartphone

Handset vendor announcements included:

• Dell: The company’s latest Android smartphone, the Dell Venue Pro, a Windows Mobile phone, was announced, but the company won’t reveal pricing or availability for a few more weeks. The Dell Venue phone is a different animal altogether, running Android 2.2, and will be available in versions for the T-Mobile and AT&T 3G networks, using the 7.2Mbps HSPA 3G standard. It features 1GHz processor, 4.1-inch display with curved Corning Gorilla Glass. Their Streak 7 will be on T-Mobile.
• HTC: The 4G Thunderbolt smartphone for Verizon’s LTE network will feature 4.3-inch screen, 4G hot spot to connect up to eight Wi- Fi devices to Verizon’s network, Android 2.2, 1GHz processor, DLNA, 720p video capture and kickstand. The HTC Inspire HSPA+ smartphone for AT&T features Android 2.2, 4.3-inch WVGA touchscreen, mobile hot spot to connect up to five Wi-Fi devices to Verizon’s network, DLNA certification, 8-megapixel camera and 720p video capture.
• LG: The company will bring the Optimus 2X, one of the world’s first smartphones with dual-core processor, to the U.S. around March as a 3G HSPA device. It will also be the world’s first phone to capture, store and play back video in full 1080p resolution. It will ship with Android 2.2 OS, or Android 2.3 (Gingerbread). It features 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, 4-inch 400 by 800 capacitive touchscreen, 8-megapixel camera/camcorder, front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for video chat and Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n. The Optimus Black HSPA phone is said to be the world’s slimmest cellphone and features Wi-Fi Direct capability for direct transfer of phone content to other mobile devices and PCs, and features a front-facing 2-magapixel camera for video chats. It’s not certain yet when the phone will be available in the U.S.
• Motorola: Two 4G Android phones, one each for AT&T and Verizon, plus a new 3G phone for T-Mobile, debuted. The two 4G phones are the Atrix 4G for AT&T’s HSPA+ network and the Droid Bionic for Verizon’s LTE network, both with dual-core 1GHz processors with a total of 2GHz processing power.T he Droid Bionic will be available in the early second quarter with Android 2.2 OS, 4G and Wi-Fi video chat via VGA front-facing camera, 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, 16GB embedded memory, 32GB MicroSD Card slot, DLNA certification, mobile hot spot. The Atrix 4G for AT&T’s 4G HSPA+ network comes with 4-inch display, Android 2.2, 32MB MicroSD slot, 2.1GHzband HSPA operation in overseas markets, AT&T U-verse app to stream U-verse TV content to the phone and multiple accessory docks.
  
  One Atrix 4G dock takes the shape of a laptoplooking clamshell into which the Atrix 4G is placed and features 11.6- inch display. The other dock connects to a TV, keyboard and mouse to deliver a PC-like experience. The Atrix 4G is due in AT&T stores and enterprise channels “in the coming weeks.” For T-Mobile’s HSPA+ network, Motorola unveiled the Cliq 2 with 1GHz processor, slide-from-the-side QWERTY keyboard, Android 2.2, 3.7-inch screen, 3G HSPA technology, hot spot capability, Adobe Flash 10.1, Blockbuster On Demand app, Kindle app, Motoblur service, 5-megapixel camera and IT-friendly security features. It will be available Jan. 19.
• Samsung: The Infuse 4G HSPA+ phone for AT&T will become available “in the near future” with 4.5-inch touchscreen features Samsung 1.2GHz processor, Android 2.2, 8-megapixel HD camera/camcorder, and front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera. Samsung’s 4G LTE phone for Verizon, as yet unnamed, features Android 2.2, 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display for improved viewing in sunlight, HD video recording, 8-megapixel rear camera, 1.3-megapixel front-facing camera, and access to Samsung’s Media Hub movie- and TVshow- download service. A new Galaxy S device is expected at Mobile World Congress in February that’ll feature Gingerbread, and a dual-core processor. TheSamsung Vibrant Plus will be T-Mobile’s first 4G phone that offers HSPA+ 21 Mbps.
• ViewSonic: The TV supplier unveiled its first cellphone and expects to offer multiple models in the U.S. this year to go with its tablets. The first phone is the Android 2.2-based View-Pad 4 with Qualcomm’s 1GHz Snapdragon processor, 4.1-inch WVGA capacitive touchscreen, 720p HD video camcorder, mini HDMI output, Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, assisted GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 and FM tuner. It supports video chat over cellular data via a font-facing camera. Their G Tablet features an NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor, 1.3MP video conferencing camera, large 10.1” display, and Android 2.2 OS.
• Vizio: The TV maker’s first cellphone will feature 4-inch 480 by 854 capacitive touchscreen, front-facing camera, HDMI output and 802.11n Wi-Fi. It’s due in the U.S. in the summer, with 3G technology to be announced. The Via Phone will also double as an IR remote and access Vizio’s Via Plus Internet service. The VIZIO VIA Tablet features a 1 GHz processor, with an 8” high-resolution capacitive touch screen, 802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity, GPS, and a MicroSD card slot.

Data pricing will be a major factor in how consumers respond to new networks and devices.