Verizon Wireless expands LTE reach, set for Droid Charge launch

Verizon Wireless (VZ) is looking to keep the momentum building for its LTE network announcing today the launch of service in six new markets and plans for a new smartphone.
The new markets Clarksville, Tenn.-Hopkinsville, Ky.; Cleveland, Tenn.; Columbia and Hilton Head, S.C.; Wilmington, N.C.; and the Greater Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. Verizon Wireless also announced it had expanded coverage in the previously launched market of Charlotte, N.C.
Verizon Wireless has said it was on track to expand LTE services from just over 100 million potential customers at the beginning of the year to nearly 185 million pops by year end.
In addition to the expanded coverage, Verizon Wireless said it will begin offering Samsung Telecommunications Americas’ LTE-equipped Droid Charge smartphone beginning April 28. The device will be the second LTE smartphone offered by the carrier following the earlier launch of the HTC Corp. Thunderbolt.
The Droid Charge will include Samsung’s 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, a rear-facing 8-megapixel camera with LED flash and front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera for both stills and video chatting, a 1 GHz application processor and a HTML 5 Web browser. The device is set to retail for $300 after all rebates and a two-year contract, placing it alongside Apple Inc.’s iPhone 4 32 GB model at the pricing pinnacle for the carrier’s smartphone line up.
Verizon Wireless had initially said it planned to have four LTE-equipped smartphones on its network by the end of the second quarter. The next to arrive is expected to be LG Electronics Co. Ltd.’s Revolution, with the final device from Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. now not expected until sometime in the summer.