14 DAY TRIAL // During yesterday's UBS Global Media and Communications Conference, MetroPCS CEO Roger Linquist unveiled the carrier's plans to launch six new 4G LTE smartphones by mid-2011. According to Linquist, MetroPCS is expected to launch its first LTE Android-powered mobile phone in early 2011.
MetroPCS is among the first carriers to launch an LTE mobile phone in the US, the Samsung Craft, which was released back in September.
While there is no certain information regarding the manufacturers of the aforementioned LTE smartphones or if they all use the Android platform, it is certain that MetroPCS will use “voice-over-LTE” (VoLTE) technology on its Android smartphones.
The main reason behind the decision seems to be the fact that the carrier wants to effectively migrate customers from the CDMA network to its LTE network.
VoLTE technology will be delivered along with a special application offered for free, but customers will have to choose if they want to use another third-party VoIP application besides the one provided by MetroPCS.
“We think our VoIP app will have the greatest quality of service associated with it so there will be no reason for consumers to choose another app,” said Linquist.
In terms of pricing, Linquist mentioned that while Samsung Craft was offered by the carrier for $299, he expected that MetroPCS' LTE-based smartphones would be priced close to other 3G smartphones, ranging from low-end pricing around $199 to the high-end pricing around $400 or $500.
Surprisingly or not, Linquist had only good words for Verizon Wireless, the carrier that just launched its 4G network and LTE services.
In this regard, he said that Verizon's LTE advertising would be supportive to MetroPCS and that the 4G term was just beginning to be understood by consumers.
“Verizon is a strong supporter of 4G LTE,” Linquist said.
