AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega gave a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show Tuesday in Las Vegas and talked about his company accelerating its LTE (long term evolution) wireless network deployment.
He said AT&T's new high speed network will launch later this year and will be complete by 2013. Verizon launched its LTE network late last year. LTE promises to bring home-like broadband speeds to wireless phones and devices.
de la Vega also touted AT&T's expanding 3G network variant, called HSPA+, that allows what he called "4G speeds" now. He also talked about 20 new 4G devices coming this year, including modems, tablets and mobile hotspots as well as phones.
One phone not on his list? Apple's uber popular iPhone.
He included Apple on the list of companies set to launch LTE devices in 2012. Apple has typically let technology mature until it drops its hardware for it. The Cupertino, Calif, company did the same thing with the original iPhone, waiting a year before taking it to 3G.
This would seem to mean that the upcoming Verizon iPhone, which some analysts feel is just weeks away now, will be 3G only and will remain that way, even when iPhone 5 debuts later this year.
It will be interesting to see if Verizon customers have to wait for iPhone 5 until June, and that any announcement upcoming from Verizon is simply "Wait til summer."
In any event, I'd be loathe to buy an iPhone 4 in February or March knowing iPhone 5 is coming in June.
The plot thickens.
UPDATE: AT&T has issued a statement that no specific iPhone/LTE announcements were made at the keynote and there was some confusion over 4G and LTE 4G.
Bottom line customers are going to be confused as some companies, like AT&T and T-Mobile, push their updated 3G networks as 4G while Verizon and to a lesser extent Sprint push next gen networks, also calling them 4G.
Below is the video from a website claiming it has iPhone 5 or Verizon iPhone 4. Take it for what it's worth
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
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8 comments:
This makes sense. Apple is all about user experience. They will wait until the 4G networks are more built out, as they 4G coverage is currently sporadic at best.
This year's iphone models will likely have a minor speed and storage bump, as well as a redesigned antenna.
2012 is when you'll see a more substantial redesign.
DROID will have market share by 2012
Fairly certain that CDMA terminals do not yet use SIM cards. But its been a long time since I bought a CDMA terminal.
My current iPhone 4 already runs very close to the touted 4G speeds advertised by Verizon. I typically get 4.5 to 5.5 Mbps downloads on Charlotte's, AT&T HSPA+ network. Abundant LTE coverage isn't going to be available on any carrier until 2012, so I can live with my iPhone's high data speeds until LTE has matured a little more.
I can't wait to see how much more fragmented Android is going to be by then. Device makers can't keep up with OS updates as it is, so with them pumping out a new Android device every week, it should be utter chaos by then. Not to mention the release of the multiple app stores......Android users are not going to know where to go for trusted apps. Good luck kids! I'll stick with a proven phone and company in Apple!
@Anon 4:39 PM
You're crazy man. I was a long term Apple supporter from the late 1980s up until around 2 yrs ago. If you really believe Apple is going to keep up with your wants and needs you are delusional. They've seriously stopped caring about their customers. Take it from someone who was using and buying their computers back when they had a very small market of users. Today they're a different beast, and in my opinion becoming the next Microsoft. Today's Apple fans are people like you who were brought or shall I say reeled in by products like the ipod and iphone. History has a way of repeating itself and very soon you'll see and understand that when Apple releases their next best thing you are basically left in the dust unless you cash in on it. At least Android allows me to make choices... I choose the phone manufacturer I want, what cellular network to go with, and able to customize my user experience on their phones. Also great for developers who don't have to worry about all the rules and regulations of trying to get an app into itunes. I feel for the mac community as that whole iOS app platform will be the ground for Apple releasing their Mac App store tomorrow. Goodbye to being able to choose what software you want to run on your mac, and if you have any older software you will be tough out of luck for support.
"I choose the phone manufacturer I want, what cellular network to go with, and able to customize my user experience on their phones. "
PREACH IT ANON >>> PREACH IT
@anon 5:44
Android is more customizable, but dramatically less stable.
The problem with the Android platform is that it is next ti impossible to get a device with stock android. Every manufacturer creates a custom skin that makes the software more bloated, buggy, and increasingly difficult to update.
I owned a Droid X, and ended up so frustrated with it that I sold it on ebay. I found the Motoblur skin unwieldy and filled with bloatware.
Android still lacks good gaming API's, a robust market of applications, and timely updates.
Having so many hardware manufacturers also leads to market fragmentation, which leads to poorer user experience. the NPR, This American Life, Pandora, apps I used all crashed at least two to three times an hour, or constantly lost data connections.
Apple chooses to exert more control over their platform to maintain a consistent user experience. I would say that they place customer experience higher than anything else.
Google doesn't care about end user experience, as every company just skins their software from their get go. They've pushed out what, five major software versions in roughly a year?
Phone manufacturers have sometimes stopped updating their phones in less than six months. Apple's phone latest OS update worked for phones that were two years old. Try getting An android update for a two year old android phone....
This can't have effect in actual fact, that's exactly what I think.
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