Ultra-fast 4G smartphones comin

Ultra-fast 4G smartphones coming soon

LG Electronics’ new Android smartphone the Revolution, left, which will be released in the United States soon through Verizon Wireless, is marketed as the company’s first 4G handset. Samsung Electronics will also provide a 4G smartphone to Verizon, although the device has yet to be named. / Korea Times By Kim Tong-hyung LAS VEGAS — Ultra-fast 4G is coming soon, enabling you to eventually gain access to cyberspace 10 times faster than the current 3G platform. Just imagine the ramifications and allow yourself to get excited, because it is opening up a whole new world of possibilities. Here in Las Vegas, this paradigm shift is being witnessed first, signifying that the next-generation battle is on for mobile broadband, and much of the ammunition is coming from Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics. The Korean technology giants are fighting for the limelight in a contest for Long Term Evolution (LTE) smartphones at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which started its official schedule Thursday in Las Vegas (local time). LTE is quickly becoming the technology of choice for fourth-generation (4G) networks, which are equipped for theoretical speeds of 100 megabits per second in downlinks, as much as 10 times quicker than conventional 3G networks. In demonstrating the hardware touted to succeed the current 3G offerings, technology companies are hoping to exploit consumers’ insatiable craving for faster connections in the midst of a mobile computing evolution. Obviously, a key market for these ultra-fast phones will be the Untied States, where Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile have been marketing their LTE, WiMAX and HSPA+ services as 4G. “We are still in the beginning stages (for 4G), but we think this will be a paradigm shift,” Verizon President and Chief Operating Officer Lowell McAdam said in a presentation at the CES. Verizon launched its LTE network in 38 major U.S. markets last month, and AT&T is preparing an LTE network as well. The first commercial LTE networks in Korea are expected to debut around 2012. “We sent a signal to the entire consumer electronics industry that this market would develop very quickly. In 2011, that vision becomes a reality,” McAdam said. LG Electronics in recent years had emerged as the world’s third-largest handset vendor, but has been struggling to expand at the same rate in the more profitable smartphone market. So the company has been showing a sense of urgency to get out of the gate early in 4G handsets, and it remains to be seen whether the Revolution, an LTE smartphone to soon be released by Verizon, will prove to be a legitimate attempt. The Revolution is powered by LG’s own L2000 LTE chipset, and the speed of the processor and Verizon’s network is enough for users to download high-definition videos on the move, LG officials said. The smartphone features a 4.3-inch screen, runs on a version of Google’s Android mobile operating system, has a five megapixel camera on the back and a front-facing camera for mobile video chatting, and an HDMI port. The Revolution was one of the slew of LTE smarpthones and tablet computers on display by Verizon at the CES Thursday. The list included the much-anticipated HTC Thunderbolt, Motorola’s Xoom tablet, and a new LTE smartphone from Samsung as well as the 4G version of its Galaxy Tab. LG had previously introduced LTE data cards for AT&T and Verizon Wireless. Verizon’s LTE network provides download speeds of up to 50 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 20 Mbps. “LG can lead with its LTE technology. We have already been providing LTE data cards and dongles for wireless carriers, and now we can provide them with handsets,” said Park Jong-seok, the head of LG’s mobile communications division. Samsung’s still-unnamed LTE device for Verizon looks essentially like the 4G version of its Galaxy-style Android phones. The smartphone runs on Android 2.2, as does the LG Revolution, features a 4.3-inch “super” active matrix organic light emitting diode (AMOLED) “plus” display with enhanced picture density, and a dual camera. The handset can also double as a wireless hotspot, as could HTC’s rival product, the Thunderbolt. Samsung has managed to sell more than 1.5 million of its Galaxy Tab touch-screen computers, which were the only models that have managed to offer competition to the Apple iPads, and the company hopes to strengthen momentum through the LTE version of its tablet. The Galaxy Tab will be one of two 4G tablets on Verizon’s network — the other being the Xoom. The gadget runs on Android 2.2, features a 7-inch display, compared to the 10-inch screens of the Xoom and iPad, a 500-megapixel camera, and supports flash. Samsung also unveiled an LTE mobile hotspot capable of connecting up to five devices at once. “Samsung is the only company that could provide a total solution in LTE handsets, systems and standard technologies. We fully expect to put ourselves in the driver’s seat,” said Shin Jong-kyun, the head of Samsung’s mobile business division.

thkim@koreatimes.co.kr