14 DAY TRIAL // Wireless services provider AT&T is reportedly gearing up for the launch of new mobile phones on its airwaves in the near future, being set to expand its offering of Android and Windows Phone devices further more.
In a recent interview with PCMag, AT&T Senior Vice President of mobile devices, Jeff Bradley, confirmed plans to launch a new Android-based slider from Pantech in the near future.
The new device would sport a rugged form factor, it seems, along with a large touchscreen display, which should go along nicely with the aforementioned sliding QWERTY keyboard.
Apparently, AT&T feels that it should release more side-sliding handsets on its airwaves.
Also of interest for Android enthusiasts should be the fact that AT&T is considering changing its policy towards the installation of applications beside those offered through the Android Market.
Until now, the carrier was quite strict about it, and prevented users off its Android handsets from side-loading applications.
“We took a lot of negative publicity for doing it, but it was 100 percent driven by a desire to be able to have the ability to support our network and be able to help our customers. It really was,” Jeff Bradley stated.
This would change soon, and AT&T Android users would have the possibility to load apps from third-party stores too on their devices, something that was rumored a while ago, when Amazon launched its own Android app portal.
Another handset that would make an appearance at the wireless carrier in the very near future would be the HTC HD7S smartphone, which runs under Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 platform, and which was unveiled in late March.
This would be the last such device the company plans on adding to its offering before the next flavor of Windows Phone, called Mango, would arrive on the market.
The next batch of devices would also include different hardware specifications, and the carrier won't have anything else available for its users to fill the gap between the first gen Windows Phones and the next gen devices.
As soon as HD7S lands at AT&T, the carrier's customers would have a number of no less than 5 Windows Phones at their disposal, if we count the Dell Venue Pro here as well. The phone has just started selling with AT&T connectivity.