US Cellular launching 4G LTE in March; Samsung to provide the devices

Monday, 13 February 2012

US Cellular launching 4G LTE in March; Samsung to provide the devices

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Galaxy Tab 10.1

We’ve known this was coming for some time now, but US Cellular has finally laid out specific details on their 4G LTE launch. You’ll be able to kick the tires and light the fires and of course also satisfy your need for speed in March. That is of course assuming that you are in one of the select cities in Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas and/or Wisconsin that are part of the initial class[1]. Additional coverage will be announced later this month.

The next logical question is what are you going to be able to use on your nigh unlimited new super network and the answer is a bit of a letdown as the two devices that will be available first are the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the Samsung Galaxy S Aviator.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is going to arrive first in March and it should be indistinguishable from the versions that have been available for about 8 months now. The Galaxy S Aviator is a new name, but it bears a striking resemblance to last year’s Droid Charge. It has the same 4.3″ Super AMOLED Plus display with an 8MP rear-camera, front-facing camera and HDMI port. If you were forced to go with one of the early 4G LTE phones from Verizon that probably would be my pick, but it would have been nice to see something more in line with the Galaxy S II or of course the Galaxy Nexus as was rumored.

While the devices might not be blockbusters it’s nice to see the regional carriers putting pressure on the majors like this. If US Cellular can get a second round of devices out in late Q2 or early Q3 that are a little more in line with at least today’s top-end devices they will be worth serious consideration if you live in one of their LTE regions.

Show Press ReleaseU.S. CELLULAR ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF 4G LTE NETWORK

NEXT MONTH ALONG WITH UPCOMING DEVICES

Brings up to 10 times faster download speeds and better web browsing experience

CHICAGO (Feb. 1, 2012) – U.S. Cellular (NYSE: USM), in conjunction with its partner, King Street Wireless, is launching a 4G LTE network next month that will enhance the wireless experience with countless entertainment possibilities and help customers simplify and organize their lives. The 4G LTE network will cover 25 percent of U.S. Cellular’s customers and will coincide with the launch of the Android-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1 4G LTE mobile tablet followed shortly by the Samsung Galaxy S® Aviator™ 4G LTE smartphone.

4G LTE speeds allow customers to begin watching a movie in seconds and enjoy smoother video streaming with little to no buffering, and video chatting with family or business colleagues is seamless.

With the Samsung Galaxy S® Aviator™, customers have the ability to talk and access the Internet at the same time. They can talk to their family about dinner plans while downloading an app to find nearby restaurants and simultaneously check out reviews online.

The March rollout of 4G LTE includes select cities in Iowa, Wisconsin, Maine, North Carolina, Texas and Oklahoma, including some of U.S. Cellular’s leading markets such as Milwaukee, Madison and Racine, Wis.; Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Iowa; Portland and Bangor, Maine; and Greenville, N.C. U.S. Cellular is the first wireless carrier to offer 4G LTE in several of these markets. The next wave of market launches will be announced later this month.

“With 4G LTE speeds, you can quickly get what you want when you need it,” said Mary N. Dillon, president and CEO of U.S. Cellular. “This 4G LTE network builds upon our industry-leading network satisfaction and is the only one that comes with a valuable rewards program and other unique benefits like Overage Protection and Battery Swap that make our customers the happiest in wireless.”

The Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1 is powered by Android 3.2 (Honeycomb) and has a 10.1-inch WXGA TFT touchscreen. It features superior multi-tasking capabilities, a video watching experience similar to TV and smooth graphics and responsive controls for faster gaming. Apps are downloaded faster on the sleek Samsung Galaxy S® Aviator™ smartphone that comes with Android 2.3.6 (Gingerbread). It has a 4.3-inch WVGA s-AMOLED plus touchscreen, 8 megapixel rear camera and front-facing camera for easy video chatting. Both devices will provide download and browser speeds that are up to 10 times faster than 3G and be similar to a cable Internet connection.

The 4G LTE network builds on the 3G data services that U.S. Cellular customers already enjoy on the carrier’s high-quality nationwide network. U.S. Cellular has the highest call quality and network satisfaction of any national carrier. For more information about the 4G LTE experience, visit uscellular.com/4G.

ReferencesLaunch cities include Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Iowa; Portland and Bangor, Maine; Greenville, North Carolina; and Madison, Milwaukee, and Racine, Wisconsin. ↩

Source: US Cellular

Sean has been obsessed with mobile since first using his dad's bag phone and Android has been on his radar since its earliest days. For his thoughts on gadgets and tech outside of the Android universe you can also find him at Technogasms. Tagged#4g#Galaxy Aviator#Galaxy Tab 10.1#lte#Samsung#US Cellular .nrelate .nr_sponsored{ left:0px !important; }.nrelate .nr_sponsored{ left:0px !important; } 5 Comments Join the discussion!Sort by DateRating

92spazby 12 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

I want sammy to be everywhere!!!

95Sean Riley 11 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

They are definitely going to try to oblige you. After seeing the Metro PCS TV/Phone from Samsung I’m pretty sure they’ll do anything to make sure a carrier uses their phones.