Verizon Makes 4G LTE A Requirement For Upcoming Phones

Verizon's introduced a number of shiny new gadgets in the past week or so at CES, and as I'm sure many folks noticed, nearly every one was packing 4G LTE connectivity. That's no coincidence, as the carrier has told CNET that 4G support is "a hard requirement" for future devices. That means that almost every smartphone, tablet and hotspot that we see going forward should include LTE, although an exception to that will be Verizon's push-to-talk products. Don't think that this means that Verizon will be exclusively sticking with Android and iPhone, though, as Keith Lampron, Verizon's associate director of device marketing, said that the carrier intends to support Windows Phone in the future as well.

Major smartphone manufacturers have been coming out with new models left and right and 4G LTE appears to be a staple among their list of new features, so conforming with the network’s requirement isn’t much of a problem.

This news isn't a total surprise considering how aggressively Verizon has been in building out its 4G LTE network and picking up spectrum to support that network as of late. Of course, Verizon's requirement may not be terribly exciting for anyone that's not quite ready to make the jump to a 4G device, but it sounds like those folks may not be able to avoid LTE for much longer.

Aside from reiterating the 4G requirement for smartphones, Verizon Wireless’ CTO, David Small, also said that the company is actively pushing its network to many areas. Verizon is looking to have up to 400 areas covered by 4G LTE by the end of the year from the 200-plus currently in service.

Verizon 4G LTE Network Speed Test:

Verizon calls in their special trailers to act as temporary cell sites at CES

Ever wonder how all of those hundreds of thousands of extra visitors to the CES at Las Vegas manage to get connected to their carrier's network to receive data or to make a call? You would think that with all of the media, corporate bigwigs and others attending the show, cellular service would be a bit sluggish or even non-existent at certain places and times.

To combat the large number of people with mobile devices, all trying to get a connection at the same time, the carriers call in their "bulls" or "cows". Those are the nicknames for the trailers that the carriers drive to locations to act as temporary cell sites. The guys from Engadget got to get a look at the inside of a Verizon trailer, and came away with the picture below. It is just one of eight trailers that Verizon is employing for CES 2012.

Trailers like the one in the picture will allow us to keep you fully updated on what is going on at CES 2012. In past years, we told you about the unveiling of such devices as the Palm Pre and the Motorola DROID BIONIC. Keep checking in with us at PhoneArena for our first-hand reports on all of the activities, starting Sunday.

Verizon Galaxy Nexus to sell for $299.99 on two-year contract

The Verizon Galaxy Nexus rumor train is going at full speed. Today we got a new story about the pricing of the Android Ice Cream Sandwich pioneer on the big red US network.

Wall Street Journal has it that, despite earlier rumors pointing at a $199 price tag on a contract, the Galaxy Nexus will cost $299.99 as initially expected. That's the kind of price that gets you an HTC Rezound, which carries a specs sheet quite close to that of the Samsung new flagship.

The new information is said to come from people close to the matter, but the source doesn't get any more specific than this. Unfortunately we weren't provided with a target release date either, so we'll have to wait a little longer to see if the "this Friday" rumors are correct.

We are sure many of you are eagerly waiting for the saga to end and the Galaxy Nexus to hit the Verizon stores as it'll make a great present, so we'll keep you updated as soon as new info comes up.