HTC leads the US in total smartphone sales

The smartphone boom seems to have no end in sight, and for the moment, HTC is right at the forefront. Though Samsung is selling the most units worldwide, HTC has cornered the lucrative American market: according to Business Week, the Taiwanese manufacturer finished out the third quarter with 24 percent market share in the United States. That narrowly beats out Samsung with 21 percent, and Apple with 20 percent.


Not all of those impressive sales are Android, of course; HTC is one of the most popular sellers of Windows Phone 7 devices, and I’m sure there are still a few Windows Mobile holdouts. But with Android sitting pretty at more than 40% of the smartphone market, and Windows Mobile and Windows Phone 7 together claiming about 10%, it’s fair to say that HTC’s fortunes are currently resting on little green robots. Major upcoming phones for HTC include the Rezound on Verizon, expected at the company’s New York City announcement tomorrow, and the Vivid (codename Holiday) on AT&T, one of the first phones to take advantage of the carrier’s new 4G LTE network.
HTC’s bottom line is healthy, as well. The company announced that it had shipped 13.2 million devices worldwide in the third quarter, for an equivalent of $4.54 billion in total revenue, with an impressive 13.76% profit margin. That’s a 93% increase year-over-year. Unfortunately HTC’s outlook for Q4 isn’t nearly as rosy; the company expects sales to be essentially flat. With the iPhone 4S and new Samsung phones on all U.S. networks, it’ll be a photo finish to see who ends the fiscal year in first place.
[via SlashGear]

Related articles

• HTC Rezound gets unboxed and handled on camera (goandroid.co.in)
• HTC ships 13.2 million devices in Q3, confirms two launches for November (goandroid.co.in)
• Nokia Lumia 800 vs HTC Titan (tech-gadget.co.in)
• HTC takes top smartphone spot in U.S. according to Q3 data from Canalys (tech-gadget.co.in)
• Microsoft's lawyer says "Android stands on our shoulders" (goandroid.co.in)

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Motorola reports smaller losses, expects to close merger this year

Motorola has done well out of Android, and vice versa, culminating in Google’s plans to buy the hardware company outright. At their quarterly earnings report, Motorola reported $3.3 billion USD in total revenue, and a $32 million dollar loss – not terrible in a down economy, and better than last quarter’s $52 million. They also extemporized on the Google sale, with enthusiastic plans moving forward.

According to Motorola, the sale of the company to Google should be complete before the end of the year, or early 2012 at the absolute latest. That doesn’t include any sort of integration, and of course, it’s contingent upon stockholders’ approval at the meeting on November 17th. The company was quick to highlight the new Motorola DROID RAZR, releasing on November the 10th on Verizon in the United States and elsewhere in the world as just the RAZR. Motorola is putting a lot of emphasis on MotoACTV, the new fitness sensor-service combination, currently slated for a $249 starting price at an indeterminate date.

Motorola still isn’t where they’d like to be – no company in the red is, and celebrating the fact that you’re losing one less cent a share compared with last year doesn’t exactly warrant champagne. But things are looking up, and with the R&D muscle of Google bolstering their efforts next year, not to mention a possible inside line on Android, things could be a lot worse. Now if only they’d get off that non-removable battery kick that seems to be continuing with the DROID 4…

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Non-US DROID RAZR phones will have unlockable bootloader

Here’s some good news for prospective Motorola RAZR owners: the phone will have an unlockable bootloader. Unfortunately this doesn’t apply to United States DROID RAZRs – Motorola is giving carriers the option to disable the unlock feature, and Verizon has jumped on the chance. Just to be clear, the phone is known as the DROID RAZR in the US and the Motorola RAZR elsewhere. Commence your cursing now, Verizon customers.

An unlocked bootloader is an essential part of the modder’s toolbox. Without it, it’s impossible to get a custom Android kernel onto a phone, which means that modders are limited to the latest version of Android that Motorola (or the carrier) is willing to provide. The last time that Verizon offered a Motorola phone with an unlocked bootloader was the original DROID over two years ago, though some Samsung and HTC models are (inexplicably) unlockable.
If you’re smitten with the DROID RAZR’s lusty hardware, don’t despair. Even without an unlocked bootloader root and custom ROMs are possible, it just takes a little more effort, and some of the higher-level customizations aren’t available. Keep in mind that it’s always possible, and in this case even likely, that someone will reverse-engineer the international unlock method for United States DROID RAZR owners, opening up the path to full custom ROMs like CyanogenMod, or even more exciting, early versions of Ice Cream Sandwich. If anyone is up to the task, it’s Android hackers longing to set some high-end hardware free.
Check out our hands-on of the Motorola DROID RAZR:
Motorola DROID RAZR hands-on:

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HTC Wildfire S hits US Cellular

Today the HTC Wildfire S is finally available on US Cellular. For those wanting a great smartphone in a small package, this is for you. Revealed back in January the Wildfire S is one of HTC’s best entry level smartphones available and has a better build quality than any free or low priced smartphone I’ve seen to date, and today it is now available from US Cellular.


What we have is an awesome little phone with a 3.2″ display and Android 2.3 Gingerbread with a 5 MP camera and the usual great build quality with aluminum casing that we all know and love from HTC. Announced by US Cellular last month users from that carrier can now get this phone completely free — with a new contract of course.
The Wildfire S is by no means a powerful device, coming in with a 600 MHz processor, but for the price you pay it will handle almost everything and do it well. From playing games like Angry Birds to browsing the web we found the Wildfire S to be quite enjoyable and many others will too, especially first time smartphone buyers. Again, the Wildfire S is available on US Cellular starting today completely free with a new 2-year contract (and a $100 MIR). Being another solid option running 2.3 Gingerbread I’d recommend you check it out if you’re on US Cellular.

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U.S. District judge says Samsung tablets violate Apple’s patents

Samsung is having a hard day. (They never got the hang of Thursdays.) After Australia upheld Apple’s injunction against the Galaxy Tab 10.1 with possible monopolistic implications, the judge in the United States case covering some of the same issues has confirmed that the Korean electronics giant is violating Apple’s patents here. This could pave the way for sales bans like those already in place down under and in Germany.

The comments come from the honorable U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh, who’s overseeing the ongoing patent case Apple brought forth against Samsung’s Galaxy line of phones and tablets. The news isn’t all bad: the judge said that she wouldn’t grant the requested sales block based on a “utility” patent, covering “graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics”. That’s excellent news for all tablet makers (except for Apple), as without that particular bit of IP it would be almost impossible to make tablet software in the style of Android Honeycomb. There are three more patents in question that could make a compelling case for an injunction, but all three are “Design” patents, covering the look and feel of iOS that Apple is claiming Samsung infringed. Judge Koh did not mention these patents, but she said she would issue a formal order “fairly promptly.”
There’s been a lot of action in the Samsung case lately. Google, T-Mobile and Verizon have files amicus briefs in support of Samsung, claiming that Apple is using the courts to create a monopoly and that a sales ban would irreparable damage their businesses. It’s yet to be seen whether or not American courts will follow in the footsteps of others worldwide, but it looks like Samsung may be able to engineer their way around Apple’s design patents as they’ve done in the Netherlands already.

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HTC Hero S available today from US Cellular

The new HTC Hero S from U.S. Cellular is finally for sale and can be yours today. First leaked as the HTC Kingdom or the Design 4G we quickly learned the full specs of the Hero S. It was then leaked along with the Motorola Electrify as headed to U.S. Cellular. They have silently launched the device and can be purchased starting today.

U.S. Cellular officially announced the Hero S last month, along with the Wildfire S and the HTC Flyer tablet all coming soon and that was the last we heard. Starting today, you can head over to uscellular.com and snag the HTC Hero S for just $199 (after a $100 MIR). This device may not be the biggest and best smartphone available but it’s an excellent option for those using U.S. Cellular.
The HTC Hero S is positioned as a nice mid to top end device being faster than the original EVO, but slower than new dual-core phones. With the Hero you get a 4.0″ qHD 960 x 540 high resolution display, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, HTC Sense UI all running with a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm single-core processor. With a 5MP camera on the rear and 1.3 front for video chat this is overall a great buy. Perfect for those that don’t need the biggest and best and just want a great smartphone that is well designed, sleek, and up to date thanks to HTC. Let us know if you plan to pick one up, or if you opt for the dual-core ELECTRIFY.
[via US Cellular]

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Samsung Galaxy S II now available in T-Mobile USA stores

The T-Mobile version of the Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone can now be had in the carrier's stores across the country. Early buyers have been able to order the phone online since Monday, but now anyone can walk into a T-Mobile store and purchase it. The T-Mobile version of the Galaxy S II is the third edition to be released by American carriers. It features a 4.52-inch Super AMOLED Plus display and a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm processor that is different from other Galaxy S II phones. It also has support for T-Mobile's 42Mbps HSPA+ network. Buyers will have to part with $229.99 and sign up for a new two-year contract should they decide the Galaxy S II is the right phone for them.
source: T-Mobile

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U.S. now has more cellphones than people

The CTIA has released the latest statistics on cellphone users in the U.S., and it claims that there are 327.6 million cellphone subscriptions in America, a penetration rate of 103.9 percent compared to the U.S. population of 315.5 million. Of those 327.6 million subscriptions, 95.8 million are for smartphones.
Americans are putting good use to those 327.6 million active cellphones as well, as text messaging use has increased 16 percent for the year, with 1.138 trillion messages being sent in the past 12 months. Interestingly, only 28.2 billion MMS messages were sent, down from the previous year's number of 32.1 billion. Data traffic unsurprisingly surged, growing 111 percent year over year.
The 327.6 million subscribers represent a nine percent growth over what the U.S. had last year, and up from the 302.9 million connections that the CTIA reported back in March. [via Fierce Wireless]

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US Cellular’s HTC Flyer tablet takes off on October 7th

Regional carriers are often a little behind the times when it comes to the latest devices, but US Cellular customers usually get a pretty good assortment of new toys to play with. Come October 7th (tomorrow), they can add the HTC Flyer Gingerbread tablet to the list. The 7-inch tablet will cost $399 after a $100 mail-in-rebate at its lowest.

The $399 price requires a two-year contract and at least a $54.99 a month data plan – an expensive proposition for a tablet whose WiFi version is now only $299 at most retailers in the US. HTC dropped the price after competition in the Android tablet world heated up from the Amazon Kindle Fire. The HTC EVO View 4G, the only other version of the Flyer hardware that’s available from a wireless carrier, is $399 without the hassle of a rebate. If you’d like a cheaper data plan, you can purchase the tablet for $599 after rebate on a $15.99/200Mb a month data plan. That’s almost $800 at retail, enough to make the HTC Jetstream sit up and take notice.
Still, buyers can console themselves with the fact that the 2.3 Gingerbread tablet will be getting a Honeycomb upgrade soon, though getting it though the wireless carrier is not a certainty. The Flyer comes with 16GB of on-board memory, a 1024 x 600 capacitive touchscreen, a 1.5GHz processor and a respectable 5 megapixel rear camera.

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Android continues to gain market share in U.S. while Blackberry OS continues to dwindle

comScore released their latest U.S. smartphone market share report, and as expected, Android continues to dominate. During the 3-month period ending in August, 2011, 84.5 million people owned smartphones in the U.S., a 10% increase from the previous 3-month period.
During the 3-month period ending in August, Android’s OS market share increased by 5 percentage points to control 43.7 percent of the smartphone market in the U.S. Apple came in second with 27.3 percent of U.S. smartphone market, an increase of 0.7 percent from the previous period.
While Apple and Google gained market share, RIM on the other hand didn’t do so good. Overall, Blackberry OS saw a decline in market share by dropping to 19.7 percent, a 5 percent decrease from the previous period where they controlled 24 percent.
Source: comScore

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Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray heads to the US, unlocked and on sale now

ny Ericsson today has just announced the SE Xperia Ray for the US markets. We last saw the Ray clearing the FCC with AT&T radios but now it is finally here and available for purchase unlocked and ready to rock. You can buy it now at many online retailers including Newegg.com and more for just $429 fully unlocked.

The Xperia Ray may not be a top tier high end smartphone but it has the specs to hold up well against most of Sony’s current offerings. A decent mid range phone the specs come in with a 3.3″ 480 x 848 display with Sony Ericsson’s Bravia engine for true colors, Android 2.3 Gingerbread, a Qualcomm single-core 1.0 GHz processor, 512MB of RAM and a powerful 8.1 megapixel camera capable of some amazing HD video capture. Here are a few more images and video to see more if you’d like.

Xperia Ray features video







The best part of that awesome video demo has to be the Michael Bay moment when the Xperia Ray transforms into an HD camcorder, who agrees? Again this Android 2.3 powered smartphone is available now in the US and comes fully unlocked. This means you can use it on AT&T, T-Mobile, and any other GSM carrier you choose. This is a well rounded smartphone and while it may not be dual-core, everything else is quite nice and will make any photography or SE fan plenty happy.

The Xperia Ray was announced at $429 but today Neweegg.com has it on sale for just $379 in all four colors (shown below). So head on over to Newegg and snatch up one of these fully unlocked smartphones. Then if you dare, flash some CM7 once it becomes available.
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Your Ad Here

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Samsung Galaxy Note (GT-I9220) Passes Through FCC – Headed To The North America

Although not expected until 2012 in the US and Europe, the Samsung Galaxy Note (GT-I9220) passed through the FCC on Tuesday sporting North American 3G/4G bands that just so happen to be compatible with AT&T’s network. Judging by the fact that Canada received the Galaxy S II and Galaxy S II X before the US, it’s more than likely this device is headed to ‘ol America Jr. and her networks.

The Galaxy Note features a whopping 5.3-inch, 1280×720 HD display and will blur the lines between a phone and tablet earning the new title of “phoneblet.” Will be interesting to see how the average consumer takes to the device once it’s finally launched.
Thanks, Boondoc!
[FCC via AndroidForums]

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U.S. Cellular announces the HTC Wildfire S, Hero S, and Flyer Tablet coming soon

Today U.S. Cellular has just announced three new exciting Android products to their existing lineup. We have the HTC Wildfire S entry level smartphone, the HERO S, and the HTC Flyer Android 2.3 Gingerbread tablet. All devices will come running with Android 2.3 Gingerbread and will be available starting next month.

The one we probably know the least about is the HERO S. Previously codenamed the Kingdom and also leaked as the EVO Design 4G. This is a nice mid-range smartphone bridging the gap between the Motorola Electrify dual-core smartphone, and other lower end devices for US Cellular. The HERO S is a 4.0″ qHD 960 x 540 resolution packing smartphone with a 1.2 GHz single-core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, 768MB of RAM and a 5 megapixel camera on the rear with LED flash. It also features a VGA front for video chat, Android 2.3 Gingerbread and HTC Sense UI. It comes with a 1520 mAH battery and will start at $199.
 The Wildfire S comes in rocking a 3.2″ HVGA display, Sense UI, a 600 MHz processor, 512MB of RAM and again a 5 MP camera on the rear with LED flash. This is as entry level as it gets and is an awesome low priced Android smartphone — Launching for just $79 after a $100 MIR.
The HTC Flyer will be available for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a two-year contract and a $54.99 eligible data plan.
The benefit of US Cellular is customers on belief plans who are eligible for a phone upgrade can get the Wildfire S and Hero S at the same promotional price without having to sign a new contract. These are some great additions to the US Cellular lineup and should be available early next month. More details on all of these smartphones can be found over on uscellular.com
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Sprint to cap mobile hot spot data plans starting October 2

Sprint has gone and killed off one of the few things that many of us liked about the carrier. It has stuck to the unlimited offerings while other carriers have been killing them off. Sprint is having second thoughts now as it has confirmed to BGR that it will in fact place a cap on mobile hotspot data used from Android smartphones and other smartphones starting early in October.

The data cap is set at 5GB and will go into effect on October 2. The cap will apply to WiFi tethering on 3G or 4G networks and will not count on the actual phone data plan says Sprint. If this goes smoothly for Sprint though I would not be surprised in the least to see, caps come to normal data plans too. Sprint is mum on what any overages will cost the user.
It has been rumored that the overage charges will be in the area of $0.05 per megabyte, which will get expensive very Quickly. The new hotspot plan will apparently still cost $29.99 monthly to use. I guess it’s still good that the normal data plans are unlimited, but a cap on one part certainly puts a damper on things.
[via BGR]

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Motorola ELECTRIFY lands tonight at midnight on U.S. Cellular

So you’re working with the carrier by the name of U.S. Cellular here in the United States, are you? You’ve been waiting for what seems like forever for a device that’s any better than the HTC Merge? Today (or tonight, rather) is your lucky day (and night) because your smartphone companion for your Motorola XOOM is here, and it comes in a dual-core flavoring! It’s time for the Motorola Electrify, a device that’s basically the newest version of the Motorola Photon 4G and the Motorola ATRIX 4G, aka the first dual-core smartphone to be released in the USA officially. Now we’ve got the ELECTRIFY coming to U.S. Cellular and it’s coming tonight!

That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, you can pick up this Android 2.3.x Gingerbread toting 4.3-inch qHD Touch Display having dual-core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 AP20H processor that you’ll be able to use to access the NVIDIA Tegra Zone where you’ll be able to grab a whole handful of HD games that work ONLY on Tegra 2-toting devices. You’ve got an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera, a VGA camera on the front, and 16GB of storage built in. There’s also a microSD card slot so you can add up to 32GB more storage.
You’ll also get Motorola’s Webtop software and the ability to purchase all kinds of accessories. All of this is covered essentially in the Motorola Photon 4G review we’ve got, just imagine that it’s got U.S. Cellular markings on it instead. There’s certain to be more than a few application change-ups as well, so of COURSE we’re going to do a full review of this device for you barring some sort of major natural accident.
All this said, midnight is the time. Over on U.S. Cellular’s website at http://www.uscellular.com/ you’ll be able to purchase the Motorola ELECTRIFY for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate tied to the purchase of a data plan. Data plans for new customers are two-year agreements and activation fees may apply for new customers as well. Those who are already on U.S. Cellular and have Belief Plans who are eligible for an upgrade will be able to get the promotional price without signing any sort of new contract. Fun!

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HTC Hero S coming to U.S. Cellular

A new image has surfaced thanks to U.S. Cellular showing us a glimpse of the HTC Hero S. Last week we mentioned US Cellular would receive the Motorola Electrify and now it is being pictured with the HTC Hero S, confirming it’s headed to the market soon. Originally known and leaked as the HTC Kingdom, we now know this will most likely hit carriers any time now.


We first saw the HTC Kingdom way back in April and many were unsure as what to think or expect of the leaked photos, then in August a few more details were revealed showing that it was headed to the Now Network with 4G WiMAX. Originally thought to offer a 4.0″ display the image above shows it neatly next to the 4.3″ touting Motorola Electrify (aka Photon 4G).
Full specs and details were later revealed and they include a 1.2 Ghz Qualcomm Snapragon single-core processor, 768MB RAM, Android 2.3.4 Gingerbread and a 4.0″ qHD Display. Now we know this will have a 4.3″ 960 x 540 qHD screen as well as a 5 MP camera and VGA front for video chat. Originally thought to be called the EVO 4G Design, it will be known as the HTC Hero S on U.S. Cellular and probably keep the EVO tag for the WiMAX carrier in yellow.
We are digging around for more confirmation but the leaked photo tells us plenty and most likely we’ll be seeing this land sometime here shortly in the next month or two.
[via PocketNow]

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Verizon 4G LTE keeps getting stronger, 21 new markets coming in October

We’ve said AT&T has their work cut out for them regarding 4G LTE a few times and this is just one more confirmation that it’s true. Verizon is showing zero signs of slowing down their impressive roll-out of 4G LTE. They have been steadily adding 15-25 new markets every month or so since their LTE networks first launched and they seem to be continuing the extremely fast pace of integration.

Just last week they flipped the switch on 26 new markets as well as expanded the reach and capabilities in multiple cities that already had LTE. Now today they’ve announced they are getting ready to start another big push and will flip the same BIG RED switch enabling 4G LTE in another 21 network locations late October. At this rate I see them hitting and passing that 175 markets by the end of 2011 with ease.

Verizon wasn’t extremely clear on this next release but we should receive a full press release shortly with all the details. We can expect these 21 cities to have LTE come October 20th but there is a good possibility you’ll start seeing it a few days early so be sure to give it a try with any Verizon LTE enabled device. Along with those new markets they’ll also be expanding in many others like they’ve done in the recent past and we’ll update when we know more.
AT&T just launched their 4G LTE two days ago and sadly they only included a very unimpressive 5 markets in the launch. They did however mention plans to fire up 4G LTE in 10-15 additional markets before years end. If that is all they plan on pushing I have a feeling Verizon is sitting pretty and smiling behind closed doors right about now. With Verizon 4G LTE in around 140+ cities to date and more coming very soon things are looking quite bright for Big Red regarding this next-gen LTE stuff. We will update when the list of cities becomes available.
[via SlashGear]

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Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 hits pre-order in US from $470

Samsung went official with the Galaxy Tab 8.9 Android tablet not long ago. The tablet hasn’t been out of the closet for long at all and its up for pre-order now. Laptoping is reporting that the tablet has now gone on pre-order in the US and will slot between the Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Tab 7.7 in the line. The 8.9-inch screen of the new tablet has a resolution of 1280 x 800.

The WiFi only version of the Tab 8.9 has landed at Best Buy for pre-order in two versions with one packing 32GB of storage and the other offering 16GB of storage. The tablet will come later in LTE versions. Both versions of the tablet have 1GB of RAM under the hood. Other features of the tablets include a 3MP rear camera, 2MP front camera, a USB port, Bluetooth, and both are gray.
We had heard before that the processor is a 1.0GHz dual-core unit. The GT-P7310MAVXAR with 32GB of storage pre-orders at Best Buy for $569.99. The 16GB GT-P7310MAYXAR pre-order will set you back $469.99. The tablets are expected to land in late September.
[via Laptoping]

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US Cellular HTC Merge Customers Receive Gingerbread

Gingerbread is all over the place lately, it seems. US Cellular has delivered the upgrade to owners of the oft-forgotten HTC Merge Unfortunately it does appear you may need a Windows PC to apply this yourself as it requires HTC Sync, but be sure to call your local US Cellular location to see if they can do it for you in-store. If you are able to do it yourself, head over to their site to get started with the instructions and download. [via AP]

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Verizon 4G LTE reaching another 26 markets tomorrow

Verizon has been on a roll lately with their 4G LTE network roll-out and it appears they aren’t slowing down any time soon. Back in August we mentioned they would be updating additional network markets in September starting on the 15th (tomorrow), but we only reported around 15 or so.

Verizon isn’t taking any chances at anyone catching up because now they’re telling us they plan to add 26 more markets to 4G LTE tomorrow instead of the original 15. They’ve also expanded the reach in many current markets too. With plenty of devices on the way to take full advantage of 4G LTE Verizon has a clear lead over the rest of the pack and it’s only getting stronger.
Over the past few months we’ve seen upgrades about twice a month from Big Red, leading me to believe soon enough they’ll have everyone covered with their blazing fast 4G LTE speeds nationwide. With Verizon also getting ready to release a slew of mid-range and competitively priced phones with 4G LTE like the Samsung Stratosphere and the Pantech Breakout it’s safe to say AT&T has some catching up to do.

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