14 DAY TRIAL // Apparently, mobile phone carrier Verizon Wireless is indeed pushing back the launch of its first LTE-capable smartphones due to various issues that would affect the user experience.
The company is set to make its 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) smartphones available for purchase before the first half of the ongoing year is over, but does not promise a near release.
Even so, it seems that the operator is struggling to put these devices on shelves sooner rather than later, so as to make its customers happy.
After all, the HTC ThunderBolt, supposedly the first LTE smartphone on the carrier's network, is yet nowhere to be seen, even if it was pinned for a mid-February launch in the first place, and no explanation on this was offered until now.
Tony Melone, Verizon’s chief technology officer, reportedly confirmed on Monday that the company met various issues with the LTE smartphones, which determined it to postpone the launch.
However, he did not explain specifically what these issues are, nor did he commit to an exact launch date for these devices. The first half of the ongoing year will bring those smartphones to shelves, he promised.
“A year ago, people didn’t believe that there would be LTE smartphones in 2011. First half of the year is what we promised, first half of the year is still on track. So we don’t believe there are any new or surprising issues,” Melone said.
“I think what we’re facing is what you would expect, and that is a new technology, you are working through issues. And we anticipated that, and we are pleased at how we are working through issues.
“And as I said, you are going to see LTE smartphones on the network as promised, before the first half — before the second half of the year, by the end of the second quarter.”
When asked whether the battery life of HTC ThunderBolt was one of the issues that caused the delay, Melone did not confirm, nor denied.
He did say that the battery life of smartphones is a much discussed subject, and that the carrier, as well as OEMs, are always focused on offering an enhanced battery performance to all users.
“I would say all the issues are being worked. I’m not sure I would say there are any key issues,” Melone stated.
“Again, battery life has always been a topic of folks, no different than it was with 3G. The OEMs and ourselves, between the network and the device, we’ll optimize it and provide a battery experience that we believe will be acceptable to consumers.”
For those out of the loop we should note that the HTC ThunderBolt was initially expected to arrive on shelves in February and that latest rumors suggest that Verizon would not have it on sale before Apple's iPad 2 becomes available for purchase.