Verizon to Roll Out LTE Network in 30 Cities in 2010

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Verizon has announced that they will be rolling out their LTE (4G technology) network in 30 cities by the end of the year. To give you an idea of where the service will initially be rolling out, Verizon has said the 30 cities will be   "National Football League Cities". This would be a surprise to those in large cities such as New York and San Francisco, as they typically are skipped in the initial roll out new services, to avoid too much congestion at start up and allow for time to make sure that they network is operating smoothly.

Speeds for Verizon's new LTE network are 5-12 Mbps downstream and 2-5 Mbps upstream. These speeds are significantly higher than current 3G capabilities, in which Verizon is capable of producing less than 2 Mbps downstream. That means that we will see significant differences in the ability of Verizon's network to run quickly.

This all makes the rumor of a Verizon iPhone, expected in Q1 2011, much more interesting. When and if it comes, will if be capable of the 4G speeds of the LTE network?

Samsung Epic 4G to be released August 20th

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Over the past 24 hours, Samsung has hinted that its upcoming release of the Epic 4G, which will be carried on Sprint, is set to be released on August 20th. This rumor is supported by the fact that the Sprint webpage for the Epic has now gone live. Some notable specs of the upcoming Epic is that is will feature a 1Ghz Hummingbird processor, a 4 inch Super AMOLED screen, and a slideout QWERTY keyboard.

This is big news for those who want to experience Sprint's 4G network, but do not want to part with a physical keyboard. Unfortuanately, the Epic 4G will debut with Android 2.1, and not 2.2 Froyo like hoped, but that is expected to change with an over the air update within the coming months.

In addition to this, Sprint has also announced that they have rolled out 4G coverage in Delaware, Florida, and Michigan, as well as expanding coverage in California. Hopefully Sprint continues to stay busy rolling out coverage to more and more customers nationwide.

HTC Evo still facing supply shortages

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The HTC Evo 4G Smartphone (Sprint) has seen some huge demand since its early June release. Such large demand in fact, that once again the widely popular handheld device is out of stock at sprint and nearly every other retailer selling the device. Even Best Buy is out of stock according to their website, stating that shipping is not available for the item. As of just a few days ago, the exclusive to Best Buy white version of the device was still available, and with that model no longer in stock, the wait for an HTC Evo has caused frustration among customers and caused some to purchase the newly released Motorola Droid X (Verizon) or the Apple iPhone 4 (AT&T).

Customers are not the only ones upset with the shortage however, Sprint is equally upset. Sprint expected to have a larger lead on the 4g coverage race, but due to shortages for various parts, namely the touchscreens, of the Evo, Sprint is quickly losing that advantage. With no available phone to access the 4G network, few customers are able to experience the service.

Hopefully HTC finds a way to get parts suppliers to make more of the needed parts, that way customers will once again be able to get the hands on this hot device.