Well, at least one of the hot new phones shown off at CES is getting an official launch date. The HTC Inspire 4G for AT&T has been given the green light, and the deal seems sound. The Inspire will be on sale February 13th for the suspiciously low price of $99.99 on a two year contract. This is an Android phone running version 2.2 of the OS with HTC’s updated Sense experience on top. The screen is a 4.3-inch Super LCD at 480×800 resolution. There is no front-facing cam, but a rear-facing 8MP sensor is present. It runs the same current-gen Snapdragon processor found in the Desire HD.

The 4G referenced in the name is not AT&T’s upcoming LTE network, rather we’re talking about HSPA+ here. Both AT&T and T-Mobile have decided to brand their enhanced 3G networks as 4G. Speeds will be higher than regular 3G, but probably will fall short of what Verizon’s LTE is capable of. The bandwidth you are getting can be pumped out through a mobile hotspot app on the device, but expect to drop a few coins each month for the privilege. Anyone planning to surprise their sweety with an Inspire 4G this Valentine’s Day?

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Verizon is expected to launch the much anticipated HTC Thunderbolt 4G LTE phone in the coming weeks. Although there were some previous leaks indicating that the device might be capable of simultaneous voice and data, we were skeptical. CDMA networks running on EV-DO like Verizon have not traditionally been capable of this feat. But now Engadget is reporting that a new leaked document seems to confirm the Thunderbolt will have what is called SVDO (a modification of EV-DO). This would allow users to use voice and data at the same time on 3G. 

There is, however, a catch. The internal memo also indicates that the “experience will not be one that is consistent with our brand.” We take that to mean it won’t work particularly well. Perhaps data speeds are greatly reduced, or there is voice drop out. As a result, Verizon is instructing employees to not discuss the feature with buyers. The document is dated today, so if real, the information is fresh. Do you buy it?

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If you thought Verizon was going to go it alone in their legal quest to overturn the FCC’s recent net neutrality policy decision, you’d be wrong. But who has joined them in their fight? AT&T? Sprint? Nope, it’s MetroPCS according to the Washington Post. The regional carrier may seem like an odd duck to be in this battle, but it isn’t that surprising given their recent moves. 

MetroPCS already has a 4G LTE network up and running in a few markets. What’s more, the carrier is preparing to launch a Samsung Android phone with LTE baked in. Consumer interest groups have cried foul over MetroPCS’ 4G rates, and their apparent blocking of some high-bandwidth applications depending on the plan. The FCC plan would not allow carriers to outright block content. 

In a statement, MetroPCS President Roger Linquist said,  ”…the recent appeal filed by Verizon, and challenges raised by some proponents of Net Neutrality to MetroPCS’ recent 4G rate plans, have caused Metro PCS to appeal the FCC’s net neutrality order to ensure that the concerns of competitive wireless carriers.” The FCC has been tightlipped about the new suit. It appears that even the much relaxed rules for wireless carriers are not going over well. Do you think the net neutrality plans will hold up?

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AT&T is reportedly planning to implement both speed and data tiers on their upcoming LTE 4G network, BGR has said. The data tiers are nothing new to the modern mobile user. AT&T will have different plans with various size monthly data allowances. Overages are not discussed, but we expect a similar arrangement to the current 3G plans. The new wrinkle is that AT&T will be tiering speeds too. This is what we’ve been seeing in wireline broadband for years.

AT&T will also be offering “Top Up Sessions” and “Speed Up Sessions” on LTE devices. Customers that have reached their bandwidth limit can pay for a top up, and get more data for the current billing cycle. As you might have guessed, Speed UP Sessions will increase the data rate to the maximum for a pre-determined period of time. 

AT&T will be trialing these plans when the LTE network begins rolling out later this year. These changes could make mobile data feel more like a pre-paid service with all the timed sessions. What do you think of the plan?

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If this leaked spec sheet is correct, T-Mobile is about to step up their mobile data game with an even faster breed of HSPA phone. The Samsung Vibrant 4G is listed here as having an HSPA+ modem rated at 21Mbps. This is the full speed of the T-Mobile network, but other “4G” phones from the carrier have only 14.4 Mbps data modems. This includes the T-Mobile G2 and MyTouch 4G.

In addition to the super-fast data, the new Galaxy S variant will have mostly unchanged hardware from the current iteration. Though, it will ship with Android 2.2. Samsung has yet to bump US Galaxy S phones up to Froyo, but this news is only slightly comforting considering Gingerbread has been open source for almost a month now. We assume that the phone will have the Samsung TouchWiz skin on top of Android. 

We’re not sure if a minor update to the existing Vibrant will lure consumers in. it is also unclear if the faster HSPA connection will drastically affect speeds. We’ve found HSPA+ devices on T-Mobile to only be marginally faster than those capped at the old 7.2Mbps rates. How do you think this product will fare?

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We might look back on 2011 as the year of 4G (in addition to the year of the tablet, year of Sandy Bridge, the year 3D fizzled, etc). That’s what HTC’s hoping for, as company execs have set an internal goal of shipping around 10 million 4G-enabled smartphones with support for either LTE or WiMAX, DigiTimes reports.

For the sake of comparison, HTC shipped just 3.5 million 4G smartphones in all of 2010, and that includes 3 million of the popular Evo 4G devices for Sprint. The other 500,000 were myTouch 4G phones for T-Mobile. Combined, the two smartphones accounted for 14 percent of HTC’s total smartphone shipments.

This year HTC plans to supply 4G models to Verizon, Sprint, and some lesser known names in Europe and Japan. One of these will include the HTC Incredible HD, which will start shipping to Verizon in the second quarter.

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Sprint today added a a few more markets to its 4G service umbrella, including Denver (as well as other cities along Colorado’s Front Range, such as Boulder, Fort Collins, and Greeley) and Bridgeport, Connecticut, the wireless telco announced.

“Sprint is the leader in providing 4G service, and we’re proud to extend our advanced mobile broadband network to two more cities today,” said Matt Carter, president, Sprint 4G. “Sprint is the first national wireless carrier to make 4G a reality for our customers, and now Sprint’s 4G is available in 70 markets across the country.”

Those markets include coverage in 26 states, the District of Columbia, and several major metropolitan areas, some of which include Los Angeles, Atlanta, Las Vegas, Boston, Nashville, Salt Lake City, and more.

Sprint says its 4G service peaks at more than 10Mb/s compared to up to 3.1Mb/s for 3G, offering downloading speeds at up to 3-6Mp/s versus 600Kb/s-1.4Mb/s.

“Customers can use video chat on their HTC Evo 4G, and families traveling for the holidays can power up the Overdrive 3G/4G Mobile Hotspot to share 4G speeds with up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices — such as an iPad, laptop, iPod touch, or game console — making downloads, streaming video, and Web browsing fast and easy,” Sprint said.

Sprint offers a pair of 4G Mobile Broadband plans, including a $50/month 4G-only option and a $60/month 4G/3G combo option. Both plans boast unlimited 4G usage.

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A joint statement today from Nokia Siemens and T-Mobile USA offered up some details on the new Long Term HSPA Evolution cellular data standard. The technology should be ready for commercial deployment sometime in 2013. It should be pointed out that these are theoretical maximum speeds. By the time this technology is deployed, it will be competing with LTE 4G networks from AT&T and Verizon. The current generation of LTE has a maximum downlink speed of 400Mbps, so Long Term HSPA Evolution could have a chance.

T-Mobile certainly has a stake in this. The smallest US carrier has not yet announced its plans for a new network technology. Long Term HSPA Evolution is an enhanced 3G technology that is backwards compatible with the current HSPA networks. It’s a perfect fit for T-Mobile, as they continue their rollout of 21Mbps HSPA+. If Long Term HSPA Evolution was used, it would take another generation of LTE for Verizon or AT&T to catch up in speed.

The real concern is that a technology needs to be widely adopted to encourage manufacturers to build phones around it. T-Mobile is already hurt by having an odd 1700MHz 3G frequency, using a completely different technology than other North American carriers won’t do wonders either.

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Good news for MetroPCS customers living in the Boston, New York City, and Sacramento metropolitan areas, you now have access to the carrier’s unlimited, no annual contract 4G LTE services.

“As the only no annual contract, pay-in-advance wireless service provider offering 4G LTE services, we continue to build our network to allow more customers to experience our unparalleled value and flexible, affordable service,” said Roger D. Linquist, president, CEO and chairman of MetroPCS. “By offering customers the ability to do more with easy access to their social networks, exclusive MetroSTUDIO content and expanded web browsing capabilities, we are giving our customers what they need – a way to stay connected, without sacrificing time or money.”

The caveat? MetroPCS only offers one phone that can take full advantage of its 4G network, the Samsung Craft. The Samsung Craft runs $299 after a $50 mail-in-rebate, while 4G service plans start at $55/month.

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Just as Sprint is trying to do, T-Mobile is building a 4G tablet and hopes to have it in the hands of consumers in 2011, Yahoo News reports.

T-Mobile’s tablet will actually run on HSPA+, so it’s not true 4G, at least not by ITU’s definition. But then again, neither is Sprint’s WiMax infrastructure.

“Consumers will continue to see HSPA+ fuel future innovation in a variety of mobile consumer electronics from smartphones and tablets to emerging devices,” T-Mobile said in a statement. “T-Mobile will continue to be at the forefront of wireless innovation, delivering an aggressive 4G product lineup in 2011, including 4G tablets.”

Also like Sprint, T-Mobile is so far keeping secretive about its upcoming tablet, other than support for 4G connectivity. There’s no word yet on things like OS, screen size, cost, or a specific release date.

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