A new breed of 4G phones

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A new breed of 4G phones

AT&T Mobility and Sprint Nextel unveiled some of the first smartphones that will tap into their new, even faster fourth-generation networks.Chief executives for AT&T Mobility and Sprint Nextel, speaking at the CTIA wireless-industry trade show on Tuesday, took potshots at each other in their respective keynote speeches.But wait, Sprint has been talking about its 4G network since launching one in 2008 followed by its premier phone, HTC’s Evo 4G, in 2010.

And AT&T began adding “4G” to the names of many of its smartphones early last year.Sprint has come out as the most vocal opponent of AT&T’s proposal to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom. After the U.S. government sued to block the merger, Sprint, the third-largest U.S. carrier by subscribers, also filed a federal lawsuit last month, calling it anti-competitive and harmful to consumers.That phone will soon be outdated.

Now, two of the largest U.S. cellular carriers are ramping up yet another 4G system. They will have LTE, or Long-term Evolution, to compete with the one Verizon Wireless launched more than a year ago.AT&T continues to promote the proposed transaction as one that will create jobs and improve cellular service for customers.T-Mobile USA says it has 4G, which is similar to AT&T’s old 4G, but the carrier has not talked about plans for 4G LTE deployment. (Get all that?)

One entire wing of this year’s show, the 80,000-square-foot iLounge, is devoted to showcasing add-ons for Apple’s iGizmo universe. Exhibit space there sold out in record time: two hours.At many of the large CES exhibits, 4G was pervasive. For example, a station at the entrance to LG’s booth displaying a row of phones was called True LTE Expert.Sprint announced three new devices at CES: a portable wireless hotspot, a Samsung phone made from recycled materials, and the Galaxy Nexus from Samsung and Google.

Sprint’s new 4G LTE network is expected to match its older, slower 4G network by the end of this year, Steve Elfman, the carrier’s network operations president, said in an interview. Claims from insurance and technology companies are also listed on the controller’s office website. IBM reported that it owes Jobs $21.45 in stock and another mysterious property listed as costing $14.30. The company will stop selling devices that support its old 4G around that same time, and it will turn off access to that network in 2015.

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